Barbara Robinson

Barbara Robinson rolled into the world back in 1927, right in Portsmouth, Ohio—a spot you probably miss on the map if you blink. She wasn’t just any writer; she’s the mind behind “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever,” which, honestly, if you haven’t read or watched, you’re missing out on some grade-A holiday chaos. That story isn’t your usual sugarplum fairy kind of Christmas—it’s wild, messy, and packed with the sort of kids that’d make any Sunday school teacher break into a cold sweat. The Herdmans, that’s the family at the center, are basically the definition of troublemakers, and when they end up taking over the church’s Christmas pageant, all bets are off. Robinson’s work got picked up not just once, but twice for screen adaptations—one way back in 1983 and now again in 2024, which just shows you how these misfit kids and their not-so-holy hijinks keep landing with new generations. There’s also “Wir warten auf’s Christkind,” a German take on the holiday, which is kinda wild if you think about her Ohio roots reaching all the way across the pond. She was married to John F. Robinson—yep, she kept her last name, which is honestly a power move. Barbara hung around this world until 2013, when she passed away in Berwyn, Pennsylvania. Still, her stories just keep rolling along, popping up every December when people start craving something less Hallmark and more, well, real.