I love the holidays. Christmas carols, yummy treats, time with family and friends, practically daily viewings of A Christmas Story and of course LEGO under (and on) the tree. I don't know about you, but there's always several LEGO Christmas ornaments on our tree, and this year there's going to be a few more thanks to this new book from No Starch Press and author Chris McVeigh. Chris should be no stranger to readers of this blog, we feature his amazing work all the time. Few builders are so consistent with their quality and of course photography. Now he's sharing his ornaments in a fantastic little hard bound instruction book.

My first impression of the book was it was smaller than I expected. At just over 7" in both width and height, it's dwarfed by most of the other books on my shelf, but what it lacks in stature, it more than makes up for in content. It's a high quality book too, with a sturdy hard cover and back, heavy paper stock and a quality binding. The binding also allows the book to lay flat with little coaxing, which is so important with an instruction book. There's also fun touches too, like the glossy printed snowflakes on the front and back of the cover, and big, beautiful pictures of some of the ornaments inside the front and back cover.

The contents are exactly what they should be, instructions. There's a short and sweet introduction by Chris and that's it in the word department. Then it's right to the meat of things, building instructions for 15 models, one after the other. They range in complexity and style from a simple wreath to an adorable old school personal computer. All of the models are the caliber we've come to expect from Mr McVeigh, they're clean, balanced and fun.

Each chapter or model opens with something else we've come to expect, an impeccable photograph of the model. Chris is one of the best LEGO photographers out there, and I'm happy that we get treated to pictures of the models rather than digital renderings. There's also a handy bill of materials so you can collect the parts you need ahead of time, with LEGO part numbers as well as color pictures of the elements. I will admit I wish there was at least a few words about each model, the inspiration behind them, an anecdotal story about how it came to be, or just what they mean to him. But that's a pretty minor complaint.

Like Christmas cookies from grandma, Chris delivers a bounty of holiday cheer with these wonderful and irresistible models, all wrapped up like a present under the tree. All of them would look great on any tree, and you can bet you'll find several on my tree this year. I give it five out of five Nerdlys.