Sandi Shilhanek | Is Christmas really Thursday?

Christmas is Thursday. Can you believe that? Are you ready? Is the tree decorated to perfection? The presents bought and wrapped in such a way that no one wants to unwrap the gorgeous packages, or if they do they go so slowly in an effort to save the packaging just to get crumpled in the attic later? Is the grocery shopping done, and the meal preparations begun?

If the above describes you in any way then I need an invitation to spend the day at your house! My house has no tree, and the only reason I have any sort of decoration up is because I just bought some new ones, and as I unpacked them to show my husband he strung them on the credenza and china cabinet. I also have no Christmas baking happening as I’m so not a cook, and therefore there will also be no lovely smells coming from the kitchen on Christmas morning.

So you may ask what have I done since I’ve so obviously done nothing? I entertained my friend Yvonne from England. We scoured the bookstores, had some great meals, and went to see ICE at the Gaylord Texan. Now she’s gone, and while I should pretend to be a good wife and mother and fuss over Christmas it’s not going to happen!

So, are you like me, and having a really laid back Christmas, or are you more like Martha Stewart or Rachel Ray and going full out? If you’re planning a big party can I come, because really are you going to notice one more if the crowd is that large anyway?

Wishing you and yours a very merry holiday season no matter what holiday you’ll be celebrating.

Diane Gaston | A Regency Christmas

As an author of Regency Historicals, I love to imagine myself in Regency England. At this time of year that means imagining a Regency Christmas.

The Regency (1810 – 1820) was the time period of the Napoleonic War, of literary greats such as Jane Austen and Lord Byron. Many familiar Christmas traditions--decorating Christmas trees, singing Silent Night, waiting for Santa Claus--did not emerge until the later Victorian times, but a Regency Christmas did have other traditions still celebrated today.

Regency families decorated their houses with holly and ivy and evergreens of fir and pine. Mistletoe was hung and the tradition of a gentleman and lady kissing beneath it would have been part of a Regency Christmas. With each kiss the gentleman plucked a berry from the mistletoe. When the berries were gone, so were the kisses.

Christmas was mainly a religious holiday during the Regency. Gifts were exchanged, church attended, and guests might be invited to Christmas dinner. At Christmas dinner a goose or turkey would be served. A Regency household would also serve a Christmas pudding that was made on Stir Up Sunday, the Sunday before Advent, and served on Christmas day. The pudding was a porridge of sugar, raisins, currants, prunes, and wine that was “stirred up” and boiled together in a pudding cloth.

Some of the traditions of the Regency holiday season had their origins in ancient winter celebrations. First-Footing customs of New Year’s Day may have originated in ancient Greece. In order to have good fortune all the year, an uninvited stranger--a dark man in some areas of the UK but the hair color could vary by region--should be the first to cross the threshold on New Years Day. He might carry symbolic gifts- salt (or a coin) for wealth; coal for warmth, a match for kindling, and bread for food. The householder might offer him food and drink. In some villages one tall, dark, and handsome fellow was selected to visit all the houses, receiving food and drink at each one.

Twelfth Night, the eve of the Epiphany, was even more of a time for revelry than Christmas day during the Regency. It was a time to drink wassail (ale or wine spiced with roasted apples and sugar) and play games. A bean was buried in a cake and whoever found it was designated the Lord of Misrule who presided over all the Twelfth Night festivities, which might include theatricals or singing, although many of our most popular Christmas Carols were translated from German later in Victorian times. When Twelfth Night is over, the house decorations are removed and the season is over.

In 2006 my Christmas novella, A Twelfth Night Tale, was released in the Harlequin Historical Christmas anthology, Mistletoe Kisses. Last year the same stories were released in the UK as A Regency Christmas. Read more about them on my website. Both books are available at used book sites online. I’ll also be blogging about the holiday on the Risky Regency Blog and The Wet Noodle Posse.

Do you have any questions about a Regency Christmas?

What is your favorite Christmas tradition?

Diane Gaston
www.dianegaston.com/

Lisa Plumley | Christmas Confessions

To me, the holidays have always meant family and friends, togetherness and good cheer, peppermint mochas and gingerbread cookies. But increasingly, the Christmas season can also mean traffic and crowded stores, stress and anxiety, heartburn and credit-card bills. Now more than ever, we're feeling the pinch. Our wallets are lighter. Our worries are many. But our hearts are still full.

And that gives me hope.

At the risk of sounding like a character from a Hallmark Channel TV movie, I believe it's possible to have a fantastic time at Christmas...even without miles of blinking LED lights, candy canes, and a huge pile of gifts under the tree. Because those things are all extras. They're just accessories. They're optional. You don't really need decorations or gifts or goodies at all.

A freaky idea? Not really. Because what matters right now is being with the people you care about--and all the extraneous Christmas stuff can actually be a distraction from that.

Think about it. Have you ever plowed through the mall, searching for exactly the right gift for someone special, only to come home exhausted...and snap at that special someone? (Oops.) Have you ever gotten so obsessed with pulling off a Martha Stewart-worthy tree-trimming that you sneaked one of your less show-worthy (but sentimental) ornaments to a hidden location in the back? (Guilty.)

Have you ever dragged yourself to a "Black Friday" sale at 4 AM, stayed up past midnight to assemble a new bicycle or pretend you were Santa, slaved over a fancy holiday feast with all the trimmings...then fallen asleep with your face in a basket of dinner rolls because you were too tired to keep going? (Umm...yes, mm-hmmm, and whoops.)

I've done a few of those things and more. Believe me, I'm not proud of it. But, like the heroine of my new book, Home for the Holidays, I've learned my lessons and I've moved on. I've discovered that there's a way out of the Christmas insanity! For me, it starts with lowering my expectations. It continues with making myself do less instead of more. It ends with me doing my best to stay, Zenlike, in the moment as it happens. Because while we're busy creating the picture-perfect holiday, sometimes the real substance of Christmas slips right by us. And nobody feels jolly about that.

So this year I'm scaling back, ramping down, and taking a few deep breaths. I'm planning to savor this Christmas--even the chipped, flawed, and otherwise imperfect parts of it. (Hey, that's how you snag the broken cookies. Bonus!) I hope you'll join me! Please tell me how you deal with Christmas craziness--how you find the joy in the everyday moments, even when you're trying to track down the last quart of eggnog within fifty miles for your holiday party and being blasted with "Last Christmas" by Wham! for the 2,497th time. Let's share!

Lisa Plumley
http://www.lisaplumley.com/
lisaplumley.wordpress.com

Sandi Shilhanek | Holiday Wish List Reading

Sandi and Candy Havens Reading on Sandi's Kindle
Originally uploaded by freshfiction

Just because I told you I feel like I’m in a reading slump doesn’t mean I don’t eagerly check Amazon each week to see what titles have been released for my Kindle. My wish list is growing by leaps and bounds, and unless I suddenly decide to not only play the lottery but also win it will most likely continue to grow.

So, as I scan this list I think to myself which book are you most looking forward to? Well, that’s easy the ones I’m really looking forward to are the upcoming Virgin River books by Robyn Carr. However, I’m sure you’re most tired of me being all fan girlish over Ms. Carr, so it’s time to see whom else is on the list and who else has me totally excited to be reading again.

As it turns out I have two wish lists. One is my I want these titles that are released list, and one is my I want these titles that are upcoming list. From my released list title I am most anxious to own Silver Bells an anthology, Home for the Holiday by Lisa Plumley, and a McKettrick Christmas by Linda Lael Miller.

So it appears that I’m quite anxious to help myself into the holiday spirit by getting lost in some good reads. What is on your wish list? Are you like me and have a list of released titles, and a list of upcoming titles? What makes you move a book from the wish list to the TBR pile?