Among the essays, memories, playlists, and more contained within the pages of the engaging new book, All American Christmas, is a father-and-son dialogue by none other than Steve Doocy, a cohost of "Fox & Friends," and Peter Doocy, a White House correspondent for Fox News Channel and the oldest of Steve and Kathy Doocy's three children.
The father-and-son team bring readers close to a cherished family tradition at Christmas in the new book — something many of us can identify with in one way or another and totally enjoy.
The pair's playful banter makes it even better.
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Check out their story below from the new book by Rachel Campos-Duffy and Sean Duffy. This slice is from a much longer essay by the Doocys that appears in a section of the book aptly called the "Joy of Family."
Read this holiday excerpt by Steve Doocy and Peter Doocy
Steve Doocy in All American Christmas: Sometime in 1987, when my wife, Kathy, was pregnant with our son, Peter, I saw a story that set me on a path I hadn't considered taking before.
This gentleman had been snapping a photo of his son on the young man's birthday for twenty-five consecutive years.
More than that, he took the photo with his son standing in the exact same spot every time. It was a time-lapse family, every shot taken one year later.
The Doocy family enjoying Christmas in New York City. A young Peter is standing in front of dad Steve. (Courtesy Steve Doocy)
I know that has been done by millions of parents by now, but this was the first I'd heard of it. I didn't want to copy his idea exactly, but I liked the concept of having that year-to-year record we could all review at some point in the future.
I decided then and there that I wanted to video our children coming down the stairs on Christmas morning to get to the tree and the presents beneath it.
So, the first Christmas that Peter could walk on his own, we instituted what has become an ongoing tradition.
Mary, our second child, joined us in time for the second year of the photo opportunity and was carried downstairs by my wife, Kathy. And then our youngest child, Sally, joined her brother and her sister for the mad dash down the stairs, a cherished family tradition that we kept alive every single year after that, right up until the 2020 pandemic, which kept Peter from joining us at the home he'd grown up in.
Steve Doocy, Ainsley Earhardt, and Mike Rowe at the All-American Christmas Tree Lighting at Fox Square in Manhattan recently. Steve Doocy contributes warm Christmas memories and more in the new book ‘All American Christmas.’
Some of you reading this may have seen a collection of clips that I stitched together into a video that we aired on "Fox and Friends" about fifteen years ago.
Quite a few times, Kathy and I have been out at a promotional event for one of my books or some other function. Inevitably, someone will approach us and say, "Hey! I watched your kids grow up running down the stairs."
"He was like a cameraman at a NASCAR race filming us as we dashed past him, banked the turn through the dining room, and then the straightaway through the kitchen to get to the tree."
I'm glad that treasured family moment, and such an iconic experience in many kids' lives, has been one we can share. After all, that's what Christmas is all about: giving.
Right, Peter?
Peter Doocy in All American Christmas: That's true, Dad.
From my perspective, though, as kids we might not have been as charitable and loving as the season calls for.
At the top of the steps, we did engage in some jostling to get to the head of the line and be the first one down the stairs and to that tree. It was almost as if we were basketball players trying to box out our opponent and get the rebound!
Peter Doocy is a White House correspondent at Fox New Channel. His Christmas-focused memories are interwoven with his dad's in the new book, ‘All American Christmas.’
Steve Doocy: Peter's right; the competition was fierce. It took Mary twenty-eight years to finally get to the tree first, and she celebrated with a little end-zone dance.
Peter dominated the competition for most of those years.
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Peter Doocy: Dad should know all about it. As the cameraman/director, he wanted to be sure he got as much of the moment on tape as possible.
He was like a cameraman at a NASCAR race filming us as we dashed past him, banked the turn through the dining room, and then the straightaway through the kitchen to get to the tree …
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Steve Doocy: Being together is the magic of Christmas.
Excerpted from All American Christmas by Rachel Campos-Duffy and Sean Duffy. To purchase a copy, click here.
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