“I’m obsessed with the holiday,” Fallon tells EW.
“I love the music.
I love the Lifetime movies.
Credit: NBC/The Tonight Show; Feiwel & Friends
I love the Hallmark movies.
That’s the perfect holiday for me.
It’s the spirit.
It’s all that stuff.
I love the coziness of it.
I love the sweaters.
I love hot cocoa.
I love anything that’s associated with it.”
“This is the longest book I’ve ever written.
This is myWar and Peace.This is myGoldfinch.
This is probably 12 times the amount of words than my other books.”
But his experiences seeing kids interact with the book gave him a hunger to keep writing.
“I got the buzz and I go, ‘I’m gonna do another one.’
It’s just a great feeling.
I like going to the bookstores and seeing the kids' faces and making noises and changing characters.”
“I love Christmas, and I always wanted to do something holiday-themed,” he says.
“I always have since I was a kid.
I used to freak out for Christmas.
I don’t know what I saw.
Or if I made it up.
I was so excited.
So, I wanted to write a book about kids being excited for Christmas.”
The concept initially came to Fallon with an innocent question asked by one of his daughters.
“I never said that in my life.
I’ve never heard of ‘How many more sleeps?’
I always said, ‘How many more days ‘til Christmas?’
It’s so boring.
‘Sleeps’ is so cute and dreamy and magical.”
As for why he chose five days instead of a more traditional 24 or 12?
“I’ve done so many bits where I had to sing ‘12 Days of Christmas.’
It’s too long for me,” he quips.
“Five is perfect because it’s a workweek.
The book is long enough so that you might actually read the book and it counts as a book.
“What do you think about when you’re when you’re thinking about the holidays?”
he muses, explaining his process for deciding on what to flesh out in the imagery.
I was never really into popcorn tins for Christmas, but I think they’re great now.
Can we put the record player?
Or the cookies and milk for Santa?”
“We would go sledding on nothing in our backyard,” he laughs.
“We had to make a hill out of snow.
My grandfather got a rope and he would pull us around.
Then, my grandma would make hot cocoa.”
“I’ll never forget when I got my guitar,” he enthuses.
“It was the best.
It was an electric guitar, red and white.
I’ll never forget it; it changed my life.”
“you’re able to’t go too old school with these toys,” he explains.
“Because technology changes every year and kids don’t like the same thing.
I always wanted a guitar; everyone wants a remote control something.
A bike is a classic.
My kids love building stuff like Lego things.
I tried to throw all those in there as well so everyone can relate, adults and kids.”
“FAO Schwarz is the mecca of Christmas and the holidays,” he gushes.
“I walk around even without my kids.
I go by myself.
You get so excited.
It’s that childlike mentality.”
“When you read to a kid, it’s not just the words.
It’s stories that you tell,” he reflects.
“You share your memories and get your kids excited about the holiday too.
you’re able to tell your kid, ‘This is the way I had it in our house.
It never snowed, except for one year.’
It sparks your stories.”
“It’s such a magical, fun time as a kid,” he concludes.
“It’s the most special day of the whole year.
Half the fun of Christmas is waiting for Christmas.
You don’t realize that until you’re an adult.”
