The Completely Chaotic Christmas of Lottie Brooks

The Completely Chaotic Christmas of Lottie Brooks by Katie Kirby is a festive diary story for 10 year olds about Secret Santa, a very busy elf and a French boy who thinks he's coming for Christmas.

What happens

Lottie LOVES Christmas. She opens with a list of her favourite festive things, and number seven is parents getting tipsy and saying yes to things. She has a feeling in her bones that this one's going to be epic.

Her family has other ideas. Mum and Dad have the same row about the tree every year (and Dad always ends up sawing the top off). Toby is Sheep Two in the Nativity and won't stop baaing. Baby Bella shouts something Mum insists is "Mum". It's "bum".

The garden centre trip to see Father Christmas is probably the funniest bit. Bella bites his nose. Toby gives the whole queue updates through a megaphone. The family has to leg it.

Then there's Antoine. Lottie mentions eggnog in a message and somehow his whole family now thinks they're invited. By the middle of December he's sent their flight details (and a list of dietary commands, including VERY expensive steak for his dad). Who hasn't said something by accident and watched it snowball?

Daniel's around too, and they're meant to be just friends. Then Lottie dreams about kissing him at a doughnut-eating competition. A jam doughnut in the canteen goes very wrong after that.

As it's her actual diary, you get everything as it happens, sometimes to the minute. She'll be chasing Toby round the kitchen with a pear one minute. The next she's thrilled about the name she's pulled out of the Secret Santa hat.

Worth knowing before you hand it over

The family has an Elf on the Shelf called Gavin Sparkle-Balls, and Lottie is very clear that Mum is the one moving him about. If you've still got a believer at home (or a younger one listening in), you might want to have a look first.

For a reader who's already in on it, Gavin is great fun (snow angels in flour, a block of ice, chocolate chip "poo" on the worktop).

This is the fifth Lottie Brooks diary. It opens with a catch-up on the story so far, which gives a few things away. If your reader hasn't met Lottie yet, go back to The Extremely Embarrassing Life of Lottie Brooks first.

What to read next

If this one goes down well, Liz Pichon's Best Book Day Ever is another story told by a kid with LOTS to say about his family. Tom has a costume to make, a grumpy big sister and a boy next to him in class who's very easy to wind up.