Introducing Counting Down to Christmas 2025...
Who Packed the Turkey?
What happens when your Christmas plans are completely up-ended? This Advent, join Anna on a Christmas adventure like no other in our brand new, all-ages story, 'Who Packed the Turkey?'
Each day of Advent, as you open a new door in our Counting Down to Christmas daily emails, we'll release a new chapter of Anna's journey. On this journey, we discover what it means to experience God-With-Us, through a retelling of the Nativity Story. Anna's own story has many quirky, fun, and poignant coincidences with the story of the first Christmas.
A special focus for 2025 is our interactive community. In the story, Anna is guided by the 'Three Wise Movers.' In our community, you'll be guided by our own three real-life 'wise movers'—wonderful, strong women who will take turns curating a daily comments section. This creates a real-time online book club where you can choose to participate in the conversation, read the comments, or simply enjoy the story each day.
The story has been written by Caroline Bindon for Kererū Publishing. Caroline is a published author of several children's books. Subscribers may be more familiar with her writing of creative Christian resources, through a variety of organisations, churches and Kererū Publishing.
Next Christmas, this story will be published in book format (print and digital). Be part of the adventure ahead of the official publication date!
BLURB
Ten-year-old Anna’s world is shattered when her family is forced from their home on Christmas Eve. Bracing for the worst Christmas ever, her path is unexpectedly changed by the arrival of a mysterious moving truck, the Joyful Camel. It’s drivers, the remarkable Three Wise Movers, offer Anna more than just a ride—they invite her on a journey of wondrous discovery she will never forget.
Inside the cozy, star-lit cab of the Joyful Camel, the movers begin to share the story of the very first Christmas. Anna starts to hear strange and beautiful echoes of this ancient tale in her own life. Each surprising connection reveals a new layer of meaning, guiding her on an adventure that feels both mystical and deeply personal.
This captivating novella is a heartwarming journey of faith, family, and finding our way. It gently reveals how our own stories are woven into the greatest story ever told, and that even the hardest journeys can lead to unexpected and profound joy.
EARLY FEEDBACK FROM TEST READERS
I had a delightful time this morning reading Who Packed the Turkey! I really did enjoy reading it — and more — found it heart-stirring. And I loved the names of the characters and the image of the camel caravan. It is wonderful. I can so see it used for sharing as a series. It is so imaginative and yet so grounded.
What a wonderful read! At one point my screen froze and it made me realise that I was hanging out for (couldn't wait to read) what was coming next. Surprising. Enjoyable. Light. Deep. Loved it!
It really is wonderful story that brought both tears and smiles, a great adaptation of the original ! It offers a clear, contemporary understanding of the Christmas Story. I’d have read it to my kids and I think that adults will find it to be a delightful read and hopefully it will be a great addition to the “Christmas library “ in any home or church!
From the very beginning I was drawn into reading and wanting to know how the story of Anna and her family would unfold. The words made me want to keep reading and I felt like I was part of the story.
DAILY COUNTING DOWN TO CHRISTMAS EMAILS
The daily emails arrive at 5am (NZT) every morning starting from 30 November 2025 with a final email on 26th December 2025. Most emails will include one chapter, although we kick off our first email with a few chapters to set the scene and some of the weekend days there'll be two chapters. The final three chapters are delivered on Boxing Day. (NZT)
You can access the content right here on the Counting Down to Christmas website each day - in fact you'll want to! Right here is where the excitement will happen with our comments section filled with reflections, thoughts, creative ideas, questions and interactions. All paid subscribers can participate in the comments section each day.
Caroline Bindon
Caroline writes Counting Down to Christmas. She usually starts writing in January of the preceding year and aims to complete it by June or July. She thrives on the creativity, bringing fresh ideas each year with a unique angle. The opportunity to share the story of God-With-Us never gets tiring. This is the seventh year for Counting Down to Christmas, but she's been writing Christmas resources for more than 30 years.
Caroline became a published author of her first book for children when she was 18 and very quickly had a further six books published in the same genre. She continues to scribble away at writing for children. Writing creative Christian resources has been a parallel stream, starting at a similar period in her life. She was editor of the youth group newspaper at Milford Baptist Church in her early teens and sub-editor of the NZ Baptist Newspaper at 20. She's written resource material for a variety of church denominations and Christian organizations. In 2013, Caroline and Andrew set up Kererū Publishing. Ministry colleagues of both Andrew and Caroline had often requested access to their respective creative ideas, and they've published several titles together, individually, and also published the work of others under Kererū Publishing.
