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What does it take to make the perfect Christmas? Take some time to rediscover what it means to give - and receive - the gift of pure love.

“ All I Have to Give” is a touching, heartfelt read. I really enjoyed this book. I liked it more than “The Christmas Bus.” I felt the story flowed better, and the story is great. If your looking for a quick holiday read, I would recommend this one.
Anna and her husband have been putting Christmas off for two years. After suffering a traumatic miscarriage and multiple expensive failed fertility treatments Anna and Michael have no more hope of conceiving a baby. Michael and Anna have offered their nursery furniture to her brother and reluctant sister in law in an attempt to move on. Anna suddenly feels sick, and worries she may have ovarian cancer. The same sickness and symptoms that has taken her mother. Anna believes she may not have much time left, and promises to not put Christmas off any longer. She wants this to be the best Christmas ever. Michael is unaware of the situation, and Anna does everything she can to make this Christmas memorable. Anna and Michael really love each other, and this truly is a Christmas love story. ( )

Anna and Michael have everything they want in life except for one thing: a child. Now approaching her forties, and after trying almost every option, it looks as if that door appears to be closing for good. Just when Anna is ready to accept her fate, she fears that she has the same symptoms of an illness that claimed her mother. Worried that this is the last Christmas she will ever spend with her husband, she tries to do everything in her power to give him the best possible Christmas. She sacrifices what she cherishes the most to make him happy.

This is a sweet modern retelling of the classic story The Gift of the Magi by O. Henry. It makes one wonder if you knew this was going to be your last Christmas what would you do to make it one to remember for your loved ones. I really liked the way that Anna wanted to do everything to make her husband happy even to the point of giving up what she loved the most. It's refreshing to see a Christmas story where the focus is on others and not on one's own self. I also appreciated her outburst during the mom's group as people need to be aware that couples without children are not always childless by choice. The only negative thing about this book was the way that Anna acted when she first thought she had cancer. If someone has had a history of cancer in their family and they start to believe they have the same symptoms, now is not the time to be a protector from bad news. She should have told her husband immediately and gone to see a doctor. Even if funds were short, this was not something to push back. Further more by keeping such an important secret like this from her husband would also hurt their relationship in the future. Other than that, it is a great way to spend an afternoon to get yourself ready for the holidays. This is a wonderful addition to the Christmas short stories that Melody Carlson has written throughout the years. It's a story that takes only a day to read yet the spirit of the Christmas season will remain with you throughout the entire year. ( )

Anna suspects she is dying of ovarian cancer like her mother and does not want to tell her husband or see a doctor since they do not have insurance. She wants to wait until after the Christmas holiday since she wants this Christmas to be the best Christmas ever. It does turn out to be a wonderful Christmas but not in the way that she expected. Nice Christmas read, however, I do get tired of Melody's continual repetition of what Anna is thinking about the cancer. ( )