Shiny Brites and Other Treasured Ghosts from Christmases Past by Kathryn Hills #RomanceGems

It happened just a year ago. My family home of seventy years was sold, and everything needed to go. Decades of happy memories, gone through, divided up, donated, or thrown away. My two siblings and I, plus a couple of our kids, chipped in to tackle the monumental task. From the musty basement to the eaves of the dusty old attic, we sorted through our parent’s and grandparent’s lives along with our childhood things. There were laughs, countless stories, and more than a few tears. Parting with a beloved place can be rough.

Then came the effort of taking what we wanted back to our own homes and families. Cars were jam-packed, every remaining box, scrap of paper, and old cloth used as transport material. Two moving trucks later—thank God, because we foolishly imagined we could move some of the big stuff ourselves—we were on our way. It’d been a long time since any of us moved on such on grand scale.

Some things are still packed away, but others immediately became a part of my family’s holidays. My mother’s dining room furniture… That china closet takes me back. The sound of it opening—rattling glass and dishes—and its familiar, pleasing scent. Childhood and the first home I’d ever known was still there! It had been my job as a kid to dust and wax that furniture whenever we entertained. I can’t smell Lemon Pledge without reminiscing. Now, that china closet is proudly displayed in my home.

From that "dusty old attic" came Christmas ornaments. Shiny Brites to be precise. Some so old and fragile, there is no way they’d hang on a tree again. To keep them safe I purchased fancy glass jars. They graced my own tables beginning last season, and I just put them out again.

And mom’s dining room table? It’s now in my family room/kitchen space, so our guests can enjoy it. Last Christmas Eve, family and friends shared their own stories around that table. Everything had come full-circle.

But the best part was Christmas morning, when I was up alone and early with my pups. My memories were all there, nestled into the hush of the peaceful winter’s morning. I sat with my coffee, gazing at our pretty tree and all the new, “old” things surrounding me again. It had been quite a harrowing journey, getting everything there. Especially during the hectic holiday season. Yet, I could feel them…my treasured ghosts of Christmases Past. They’d found a new home with me, and it was perfect!

Psst...want to hear an author secret? I've got a "thing" for attics, basements, and the treasures they can hide. Perhaps it's more of a ghost hunter thing, but places like those are intriguing to me. They play their parts in my Time Traveler's Journey Series. Take a peek at My Books if you'd like to learn more.

Also, if you're a fan of Shiny Brite ornaments, check out a fun and informative post on the history of these classic holiday decorations by DIY decorating guru Laura Tedesco - CrackerJack23.

Thanks for reading! I wish you ALL a blessed holiday season and a happy, healthy, prosperous New Year!

~ Kathryn

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The Countdown is Truly On by Nancy Fraser

Here we go...the countdown is truly on. 

Just three days until Christmas and ten until the New Year!

I don’t know about you, but I’m well past ready. All of my gifts have been bought since early November. Wrapping is now complete. The “early” baking (e.g., cookies and fruitcake) is done and packaged for gifting.

If you’re looking for a last minute, easy-peasy treat, may I suggest a visit to Nancy's Holiday Treats.

If you’re going to do a bit of extra baking, may I also suggest some music to go along with your efforts? Those of you who grew up on the late and magnificent Whitney Houston will appreciate this beautiful remake of her holiday hit, Do You Hear What I Hear. The instrumental background has been removed and replaced with the beautiful a capella vocals of Pentatonix.

For me, personally, the only thing left to do is the Christmas dinner preparation. Since the majority of the meal is taken care of by my son and daughter-in-law, I’m relegated to desserts and one casserole. Which, of course translates to Sweet Potato Pie, homemade Banana Pudding, and Heart Attack Potatoes. I’m tempted to add a fluffy Corn Casserole to this year’s menu but it will depend on time. Either way, my enitre December 24th is pretty much going to be spent in the kitchen.

The holiday routine of prepping the desserts and casseroles the night before is one handed down to me from my mother and my aunt, both of whom spent the week before Christmas creating the most delicious assortment of goodies. No holiday meal was complete without two (or three) kinds of pies, a coconut cake, a chocolate cake, the requisite banana pudding, and an assortment of candy and nuts. And, like me, while they cooked they listened to holiday music. They were both avid country fans, but probably their favorite holiday song was Bing Crosby’s White Christmas.

The week between Christmas and New Years can be special as well. The rush of the gift-giving and over-eating has passed. Perhaps the respite is a good time for romance. Or, at least it was for the characters in my between-the-holidays romance, Pushing the Limits.

When a case of mistaken identity puts Cade Tucker in the wrong place at the right time, he can't believe his luck. Drawn to the beautiful Julia McCormack, he flirts his way into her bed, and they welcome the New Year together.

Though they agreed their time together was no-strings-attached sex only, Julia’s having a hard time letting go of the best sex she ever had. She dives into work at her corporate law firm, hoping to get her mind off the man who rocked her world. But then Julia finds out the senior partner has appointed a new attorney to work with her on her biggest case, and her co-counsel will be Cade Tucker.

Her plans to make partner are in serious jeopardy when she and Cade disagree on the best legal strategy for their case, but what will happen when they can no longer fight their desire, and the company’s strict non-fraternization policy threatens both of their jobs?

Don't forget to enter our December Rafflecopter contest, "Candy Cane Kisses". You can find all the details about the contest on our Monthly Giveaway page. Or, you can go straight to the ENTRY FORM.

Until next year ... have a safe and joyous holiday!

Nancy

Thankful by Karen Kelley #RomanceGems

I'm thankful that I don't have to go back to Cosco and the grocery store again for quite a while. We did that today and I'm drained! I'm thankful all the presents have been bought. Okay, I still have a few to wrap.

Christmas really is my favorite time of the year. I love the memories I have. When my parents became very ill, my husband and I brought them to live with us. It was right before Christmas. I quit work and transformed my dining room into their bedroom because it was large enough to fit Mom's hospital bed and a regular size bed for Dad so they could be together.

Dad had end stage cancer and Mom had had a stroke that left her unable to turn or even feed herself. They required a lot of care but I figured I was a nurse and Karl was a paramedic so, along with home health, we could manage. And we did.

The night before Christmas, I was still up at midnight finishing everything that needed to get done. I had an iron skillet with cornbread almost done and pies cooling on the counter when I heard them talking about how good the cornbread smelled (hint, hint?). They both had this thing about cornbread. I still smile thinking about it.

As soon as I took it out of the oven, I cut them each a slice, poured them a glass of milk, and carried it in to them. While we all ate cornbread, we laughed and talked. It's one of my favorite memories. Yes, I was totally exhausted, but somehow it didn't really matter anymore.

Dad passed two weeks later and Mom lived another sixteen months.

I don't remember the times I was so tired my feet ached. I remember sharing stories, laughing, hugging--and yes, eating hot cornbread at midnight on Christmas Eve.

I hope everyone makes really good Christmas memories.

Don't forget to enter our cool giveaways this month.

 

Remember to enter CANDY CANE KISSES. For all the details, visit our Monthly Giveaway page. Or, go straight to the ENTRY FORM.

 

Karen Kelley

www.authorkarenkelley.com

CHRISTMAS MEMORIES

By Caroline Clemmons

This season resurrects so many memories for each of us—some good and some not so nice. Fortunately for me, Christmas brings happy memories. Certainly, some are better than others, but this is a happy time—my favorite time of year.

What’s the first Christmas you remember? 

Mine is when I was three. My parents and I moved from North Texas to Southern California when I was ten months old. By the time I was three, we lived in a home I loved in a suburb of Bakersfield.

That year the family Christmas Eve celebration was at our home.  Around twenty extended family members were assembled for dinner and… Santa! One of my favorite relatives, Buster, knew Santa personally and went to the airport to pick him up. Though I adored Buster anyway, this fact cemented him in my favor permanently.

Sure enough, Santa came in loaded down with toys. He gave me a rattan doll buggy and a doll. I remember the look on the face of my 9-month-old niece, Linda, as she stared wide-eyed at Santa. Probably the same expression was on my own face. When all the toys had been delivered, Buster took Santa back to the airport so he could catch his plane to the North Pole in time for his sleigh run. I didn't question why Santa had to take a plane when he had that sleigh and reindeer.  

That's me with the buggy
and doll from Santa.
No snow--it's in 
Southern California.

Santa—Buster’s older brother, Roy—wore a luxurious red velveteen suit trimmed with artificial fur that looked real to a child. Years later, I learned my half-sister, Clarice, had sewn that costume. She was the best seamstress I’ve ever known. That suit was handed down in the family for decades.

The summer before my eighth birthday, my parents and I moved back to Texas. I missed those wonderful Christmas gatherings until the year my husband and I took our infant daughter there. The evening was as wonderful than I remembered.  By this time, Roy had passed Santa duties to my half-brother, Herschel.  He was so impressive that even several teenaged guests were awed.

For years, when kids told me there was no Santa, I argued with them. I had seen Santa and he had personally handed me toys! That Christmas remains an outstanding memory and the first of many wonderful Christmases in my life.

For this Christmas, I wish you joy, peace, and love--and the wonder and faith of a child. Merry Christmas! 

I’m giving away a copy of one of my e-books to one person who comments today. Winner's choice from my Amazon Author page at https://amazon.com/Caroline-Clemmons/e/B001K8CXZ6/

In addition, we have a great Rafflecopter giveaway for the month for our CANDY CANE KISSES GIVEAWAY. This is five Amazon Gift Cards. Grand Prize is $30, 2nd prize is $25, 3rd prize is $20, fourth prize is $10, and fifth prize is $5. 

Rafflecopter Giveaway

A Cookbook Christmas

As I contemplated what I wanted to write about for this month I began to reminisce about all the Christmas holidays of the past. One year holds a vivid memory that I’d like to share.

Each year I strive to find special gifts for those I love. I usually make a handmade gift for my girls. A few years ago, I received an old recipe book that was my Aunt Betsy’s. I love to cook family recipes each year, such as pumpkin bread, fudge and a chocolate coconut cookie to name a few.  All of which hold very special memories for me. 

Over several weeks I scoured my recipe files and I asked their dad for some of his grandmother’s recipes too. I had lemon pie from my aunt, donuts from my grandmother who passed when I was five, a relish recipe from Mom and of course a few of my “secret” recipes that had never been written down. Each special dish was included in the cookbook I had created just for them. The special touches; in some cases, I had time-faded handwritten notes to include, of course, after I had typed the recipe for ease of use. 

When Meg and Em opened them on Christmas morning tears flowed. It was as if all the amazing women who came before them and who were gone lived within the pages of their new cookbooks. 

From time to time one of them will call and tell me they just made something from it. Or Meg swears I left something out of the ingredient list for my turkey stuffing, which of course I didn’t. I reminded her that sometimes Mom’s will always taste better but to keep trying. 

This year as I prepare my cookie baking schedule the girls will wonder which of our favorites will be discovered as they open the well-worn tins which will fill the table. 

As for many families the special foods we prepare for any holiday are little bits of family history. I like to think that the women who came before me are watching adding a dash or sprinkle of love to all I bake. I know the recipes I’ve passed down to my girls will live on for years to come. 

Happy Holidays! 

Love,

Lucinda

As a small token of my appreciation, and for a limited time, you can purchase book 1 of The MacLellan Sisters Trilogy for just 0.99 

Smashwords

Our December Rafflecopter has 5 Amazon Gift Cards as prizes. Be sure to enter often to improve your chances of winning, and, please, tell your friends about Romance Gems—our Authors, our books, our blog posts, and our Giveaway every month.

Complete information on the contest can be found on our Monthly Giveaway page.

Watch our December Promotion Video, Candy Cane Kisses, and share the celebration with our authors. You'll also find this video and many others on our Movie Theater page. You can also watch our videos on YouTube.

Fill Up Your Stocking! by @karilemor #RomanceGems

When I think of Christmas morning, my best memories are of waking up to find my Christmas stocking on the end of my bed. My sisters and I would spend at least an hour or more going through the contents, sometimes trading the tiny gifts, and almost always sampling a little piece of candy or two.

Each year there was a variety of toys to keep us occupied, like the little plastic maze games, that had a tiny ball inside. You had to tip the toy in different directions to get the ball to go through the maze and end up at the finish.

We always, always had one of the Life Saver books with about a dozen rolls of Life Savers in it. I’d trade my Pep O mint roll for my sister’s Fruit flavor. If there was anything root beer flavored, she’d get that and grudgingly give me something in exchange. At least a few foil-covered Santas nestled among the other occupants of the stocking.

And then at the bottom, snugly sitting inside the toe, was an orange. Once we got older and understood who filled the stockings, we realized the orange was to take up space. And the stocking on the end of the bed was to keep us upstairs a little longer so mom and dad could sleep later. Especially since my mom stayed up much of the night wrapping her last-minute gifts.

It was a brilliant idea and one I used with my own children. And if you wrap most of the little gifts, you get even more time to sleep as they have to unwrap each one. And cleanup and throw away the wrapping paper before they could open new gifts.    

Some of the other candy I loved, that only made an appearance at Christmas time, were the filled raspberry candies and the chocolate oranges. Without a doubt, those would be on the counter or coffee table when everyone else showed up for dinner. And I’d nibble on them happily all day long.

What are some of the candies you remember, either good or bad, that were always there at Christmas when you were young?  What was, or still is, your favorite?

In my newest book, Elusive Dreams, Erik and Tessa are adopting two children he rescued from Kandahar. They have to start their own Christmas traditions with their new family. Here’s a little snippet of Christmas morning:

~~

“Santa came. Daddy, Mama, Santa came.”

Erik opened one eye and turned toward the voice. Matty’s curl-covered head rested on the bed next to him. It was too early for this. Glancing at his watch, he noted it was a little after six. But if they were going to open gifts and get down to New Hampshire, they should probably get started.

“How do you know he came already?” Could he buy himself a few more seconds of Tessa’s warmth by playing Devil’s Advocate?

“There’s stuff under the tree,” Matty whispered like it was a secret. Were he and his siblings ever so adorable on Christmas morning? For some reason, he figured they were more obnoxious than anything.

Tessa stirred, her head nestling on his chest, her hand moving to play with his dog tags. He loved when she did this. Though this morning, he couldn’t really enjoy it.

“Wake up, my sleeping beauty. We’ve got some very anxious elves waiting to get Christmas started.”

~~

 

                                                   

ELUSIVE DREAMS

Of course, there's more. There's CANDY CANE KISSES, our December Rafflecopter!

Remember to enter CANDY CANE KISSES. For all the details, visit our Monthly Giveaway page. Or, go straight to the ENTRY FORM.

Happy Holidays from Romance Gems!

Winding Down on Christmas by @BonnieEdwards #RomanceGems

When my family was younger, including myself, I was too busy over the holidays. I'd bake for friends and family. I even made homemade Irish Cream and drove around town delivering it to friends. Some of whom didn't drink!

I felt I had to compensate for living thousands of miles away from my family. I didn't get to see my siblings or parents over Christmas. My husband is an only so there was only one set of grandparents nearby and they barely acknowledged the season.

I felt pressured to do more, to go big, to give it my all.

And then, one year, I had writing commitments. (YIPPEE, my first contract and the book was due January 1.)

I couldn't do it all. In fact, I couldn't do most of what I'd been doing for years.

How did I slow things down you ask? My daughters were mostly grown, my husband needed to lose a few pounds anyway ... so ... I asked what treat meant Christmas to them. What one thing did they really want to have over the holidays?

And that's when I realized I was going overboard because I wanted to, not because anyone else expected me to.

I gave up baking cookies! Yes, yes I did. I saved a day. I saved another day by telling friends they'd not be getting their usual bottle of Irish Cream. (They're writers so they understood.) I found the best bakery in town for cookies and limited candy to Christmas stockings.

I had one, busy, fun day cooking a delicious meal and baking pies for dessert.

The stress eased and for the first time, I didn't exhaust myself with all the preparations. It's not Christmas Day itself, it's the weeks leading up to it that are draining. It's right now, these days, that find us overwhelmed and too busy.

What survived the purge of treats? Christmas Bark. In the past week, I've had all the fun of making this treat with two sets of grandsons and sending it home with them. They were excited and pleased to have helped.

I know you've probably seen this recipe a lot over the years, but here it is again, because without Christmas Bark, it isn't Christmas in our house.

1     300 gram package of real semi-sweet chocolate chips
6     Peppermint candy canes (classic red, green & white are tastiest)

What you'll need:

1     Meat tenderizer (turned on its side)
       A good length of waxed paper
1     Child old enough not to bash a sibling on the head with said tenderizer
1     Baking tray

Preparation:

Toss chocolate into a microwave-safe bowl and melt on medium power 2 - 3 minutes depending - Hint: the chips will look glossy when done.

Unwrap Candy Canes and set them on a length of waxed paper. Fold the paper into a package and whack the canes with the side of the meat tenderizer to crush them. This is where a little supervision of the child comes in handy.

Stir candy into melted chocolate and spread evenly on more waxed paper on the tray. Freeze flat.

Here's the most important part: Tell your helper what a great kid they are, how much you needed their help and dab at your joyful eyes because, hey, new memories ... (if you read my post on the 15th of this month, you'll understand)

After sampling the chilled Christmas Bark, send it home with your helper!

From our house to yours: Merry Christmas!

Don't forget to enter our Monthly Giveaway - we're being extra generous this year. Check out our holiday books here: Holiday Book Page

What treat means Christmas to you and yours? What couldn't you give up?