A Richmond Christmas Story

In the 1990s, a young couple wrote and illustrated a Christmas book for their children, “The Special Guest, A Christmas Story.” The book reached beyond their household, then gained new meaning with the birth of their first granddaughter.

Nearly three decades ago, on a quiet street in Richmond, Lee Allen sat at the kitchen table surrounded by crayons, scraps of paper, and the usual family noise of raising kids. Next to him, his wife, artist Donna Campbell Allen, sketched characters while their children drifted in and out. They weren’t trying to create a bestseller. They just wanted to make something meaningful for their own family – a story about forgiveness, generosity, and the kind of simple Christmas miracle that sticks with you.

That story became “The Special Guest, A Christmas Story.”

When the book came out in 1996, something unexpected happened. Families around Central Virginia picked it up, shared it with neighbors, and read it year after year. It quietly turned into one of those local holiday traditions people don’t necessarily talk about, but they keep returning to because it feels familiar and warm.

“We wrote it for our kids,” Lee says. “But Richmond families made it their own.”

Over the years, readers have told the Allens that the book became part of their December rituals – usually alongside a tree, hot cocoa, and a sense of slowing down for a moment. Parents who once read it to their kids now read it to their grandkids. It’s the kind of long, gentle life a story rarely gets.

This year marks the book’s 30th anniversary, arriving at a special moment for the Allen family. Their daughter recently welcomed her first child, which gives the new edition a fresh sense of purpose. The book, once written for their own children, is now dedicated to the next generation.

“That’s been the sweetest part,” Donna says, “seeing our grandchildren step into the picture just as the book turns thirty.”

For the anniversary edition, Donna chose to keep the original ’90s illustrations – drawings she made with the kids running around nearby. “The first version always has the spark,” she says. “You can’t recreate that.”

Lee also released a new companion book this season, “Legend of the Wooden Star,” which expands the world of the original story while keeping the same focus on faith, family, and small-but-meaningful acts of kindness.

The anniversary release includes one additional layer that reflects the spirit of both books. The Allens partnered with Operation Christmas Child, a ministry supported by many Richmond-area churches. It’s not the centerpiece, but it adds a sense of community, another reminder that stories about giving can inspire real-world generosity too.

At its heart, though, “The Special Guest” is still what it always was: a Richmond family’s Christmas story that somehow became part of other families’ traditions too.

“We’ve always been grateful for the way the community held onto it,” Lee says. “It means a lot.”

As Christmas settles in across Central Virginia again this year, the Allens’ story lands right back where it began – and right where it’s meant to be. A quiet reminder about kindness. A nudge toward connection. And proof that sometimes the smallest stories end up lasting the longest.

For more information about the Allen family, their partnership with Operation Christmas Child, and the story’s 30-year legacy, visit TheSpecialGuestChristmas.com.