With Waiting-for-Christmas Stories, publication of the series nicknamed Waiting-for[1] moved from Harper & Row[4][5] to Houghton Mifflin's Clarion Books imprint.

[1] Maine-based artist Susan Stapler,[7] who replaced William Joyce by the time of Waiting-for-Papa Stories, remained as series illustrator.

[6] Bethany Roberts, a children's author based in Hamden, Connecticut, originally drafted Waiting-for-Christmas during 1984; in later years, she would spend one week on a revision that formed the basis of the final version.

"[2] Margaret Deaver of The Wichita Eagle remarked, "The short, simple sentences make this book a good one for beginning readers.

[2][3][8] Among those, Abbott said, were "a mailbox, a rolling pin, a gift box, and a treetop star" that "provide a refreshing tone to these gentle episodes.