Susan Meier's Blog - Posts Tagged "christmas"
The Start of Holiday Season
I have to admit that when I chose this topic, my editor and I had a good laugh. Why? Every year for the past few years, I've written a Christmas book. And as most of you know, books are written about eighteen months in advance, which means that for the past several Julys I've been writing about snow and sugar cookies, cocoa and evergreens, silver bells and candy canes.
So when the real holiday approaches, it usually takes me by surprise. It's one thing to write about baking cookies, quite another to actually have to bake them! Plus, I have a big family and we've got a tradition or two.
We start off with the Halloween Parade in the small town in which most of my family lives. Nieces and nephews dress up, trying to win prizes in the town's parade. Last year they won the overall group prize for their "Flintstones" costumes, complete with Flintmobile that my brother Brian made using PVC pipe!
Then comes Thanksgiving. Most of us have lunch at home (our turkeys!) and we meet at my mom's around four. Each family brings a salad or main dish AND a dessert. (Note the high ratio of desserts to actual food. LOL) Lots of us play poker. Some play darts in the family room. Everyone yaks at my poor mother! Picture eleven kids bringing home spouses and kids. That takes us close to fifty people right there. Add in nieces and nephews who have gotten married or bring girlfriends and boyfriends and that takes us over sixty. Add great grandchildren to that and we're fast approaching the need to rent a hall for our family celebrations.
Before we go home Thanksgiving evening, we put all of our names in a hat and pick the name of one person to buy a gift for. With so many people, none of us could hope to be able to afford (let alone be able to remember all the names) to buy a gift for everyone. So we all choose one name and have a $25 limit. Some of us have shamelessly gone over...but that's another blog post.
The day after Thanksgiving is "cookie making party". Every Black Friday, my mom invites her grandkids (and great grandkids) to her house to make iced sugar cookies for her "goodie tree" in the family room. We've discovered some real artistic talent in our kids...some of whom have even painted stain glass windows on the church cookies...and discovered that some of our kids should stay in school and never even give a passing thought to a career in art! LOL
It's this tradition that found its way into THE MAGIC OF A FAMILY CHRISTMAS, along with my mom's recipe for both the cookies and the icing.
The first of December we begin talking about cookie exchange. With so many people in our family, it's easy to set up a cookie exchange. Everyone has to put her name on the list to participate. When everyone is signed up, we all choose a "type" of cookie to bake. (I usually bake the peanut butter blossom cookies -- the ones with Hershey kisses...yum!) We make one dozen for everyone on the list -- usually around 15 dozen, but when you're making the same kind of cookie, that's not too difficult.
On "exchange" day, we give a dozen cookies to everyone on the list and get a dozen cookies from everyone on the list. And if you don't think this is fun, you've haven't experienced getting twelve or fifteen different kinds of cookies like caramel cups or lady locks or mini cheese cakes (all of which I can't bake myself!).
At this point, if you haven't done your shopping, you better! I'm one of those people who leaves shopping for last (hoping for good deals) and cleaning for even later than that. But this year, my sister Janette has made me new silk drapes, and we're reupholstering my dining room chairs. So cleaning has to start now! I'm not putting new drapes on dirty windows.
My son Spunky has been our decorator-in-chief for most of his life. Ever since he criticized my placement of lights on the front bushes and I said, "If you think you can do better, go ahead..." he's been the one who puts up lights and strings tinsel. Because, by dingy, he could do better! LOL
All of that is great fun, but, for me, getting ready for the holidays is about more than cookies and gifts, lights and tinsel. I always find myself misty-eyed at the Hallowee Parade, grateful for my gorgeous nieces and nephews and the wonderful sisters and nieces who care for them and make them such cute costumes.
That's a great way to slide into the season. Being thankful for family easily segues us into the Thanksgiving weeks, where we all look around and simply feel joy and gratitude for what we have.
Christmas weeks, as we prepare to celebrate the most wonderful holiday of the year, buying gifts for family and friends is an opportunity to tell those we love that we're glad they're in our lives. Which is why I usually go over the $25 limit for my "family" gift. I actually give a lot of thought to my gifts. I want the receipients to know how much I care about them. And if that costs a few bucks...so be it. LOL!
Walking into a warm church on a cold Christmas moring is like getting hug from God. The scent of ham and kolbassi that fills the air when we get home reminds me of how lucky we are not just to have food but to have family to celebrate with. The presents...well, they're just plain fun. And they remind me that sometimes life has to be about fun.
Sigh.
You know, sometimes when I contemplate the holidays, I think it's too bad we can't have these warm, wonderful feelings all year long.
susan meier
SINGLE DAD'S CHRISTMAS MIRACLE
So when the real holiday approaches, it usually takes me by surprise. It's one thing to write about baking cookies, quite another to actually have to bake them! Plus, I have a big family and we've got a tradition or two.
We start off with the Halloween Parade in the small town in which most of my family lives. Nieces and nephews dress up, trying to win prizes in the town's parade. Last year they won the overall group prize for their "Flintstones" costumes, complete with Flintmobile that my brother Brian made using PVC pipe!
Then comes Thanksgiving. Most of us have lunch at home (our turkeys!) and we meet at my mom's around four. Each family brings a salad or main dish AND a dessert. (Note the high ratio of desserts to actual food. LOL) Lots of us play poker. Some play darts in the family room. Everyone yaks at my poor mother! Picture eleven kids bringing home spouses and kids. That takes us close to fifty people right there. Add in nieces and nephews who have gotten married or bring girlfriends and boyfriends and that takes us over sixty. Add great grandchildren to that and we're fast approaching the need to rent a hall for our family celebrations.
Before we go home Thanksgiving evening, we put all of our names in a hat and pick the name of one person to buy a gift for. With so many people, none of us could hope to be able to afford (let alone be able to remember all the names) to buy a gift for everyone. So we all choose one name and have a $25 limit. Some of us have shamelessly gone over...but that's another blog post.
The day after Thanksgiving is "cookie making party". Every Black Friday, my mom invites her grandkids (and great grandkids) to her house to make iced sugar cookies for her "goodie tree" in the family room. We've discovered some real artistic talent in our kids...some of whom have even painted stain glass windows on the church cookies...and discovered that some of our kids should stay in school and never even give a passing thought to a career in art! LOL
It's this tradition that found its way into THE MAGIC OF A FAMILY CHRISTMAS, along with my mom's recipe for both the cookies and the icing.
The first of December we begin talking about cookie exchange. With so many people in our family, it's easy to set up a cookie exchange. Everyone has to put her name on the list to participate. When everyone is signed up, we all choose a "type" of cookie to bake. (I usually bake the peanut butter blossom cookies -- the ones with Hershey kisses...yum!) We make one dozen for everyone on the list -- usually around 15 dozen, but when you're making the same kind of cookie, that's not too difficult.
On "exchange" day, we give a dozen cookies to everyone on the list and get a dozen cookies from everyone on the list. And if you don't think this is fun, you've haven't experienced getting twelve or fifteen different kinds of cookies like caramel cups or lady locks or mini cheese cakes (all of which I can't bake myself!).
At this point, if you haven't done your shopping, you better! I'm one of those people who leaves shopping for last (hoping for good deals) and cleaning for even later than that. But this year, my sister Janette has made me new silk drapes, and we're reupholstering my dining room chairs. So cleaning has to start now! I'm not putting new drapes on dirty windows.
My son Spunky has been our decorator-in-chief for most of his life. Ever since he criticized my placement of lights on the front bushes and I said, "If you think you can do better, go ahead..." he's been the one who puts up lights and strings tinsel. Because, by dingy, he could do better! LOL
All of that is great fun, but, for me, getting ready for the holidays is about more than cookies and gifts, lights and tinsel. I always find myself misty-eyed at the Hallowee Parade, grateful for my gorgeous nieces and nephews and the wonderful sisters and nieces who care for them and make them such cute costumes.
That's a great way to slide into the season. Being thankful for family easily segues us into the Thanksgiving weeks, where we all look around and simply feel joy and gratitude for what we have.
Christmas weeks, as we prepare to celebrate the most wonderful holiday of the year, buying gifts for family and friends is an opportunity to tell those we love that we're glad they're in our lives. Which is why I usually go over the $25 limit for my "family" gift. I actually give a lot of thought to my gifts. I want the receipients to know how much I care about them. And if that costs a few bucks...so be it. LOL!
Walking into a warm church on a cold Christmas moring is like getting hug from God. The scent of ham and kolbassi that fills the air when we get home reminds me of how lucky we are not just to have food but to have family to celebrate with. The presents...well, they're just plain fun. And they remind me that sometimes life has to be about fun.
Sigh.
You know, sometimes when I contemplate the holidays, I think it's too bad we can't have these warm, wonderful feelings all year long.
susan meier
SINGLE DAD'S CHRISTMAS MIRACLE
Cat Casting for THE MAGIC OF A FAMILY CHRISTMAS
A cat, Creamsickle, plays a leading role in bringing the hero and heroine together in THE MAGIC OF A FAMILY CHRISTMAS. This isn't an accident. My cat Sophia has done some remarkable things. She can cheer up anyone. She keeps the rodent population to a minimum in our little section of town. She meows if I yell...even if I'm "yelling" to call someone to dinner. Which has turned me into a much quieter person. But she doesn't get along with our other cat Fat Fluff.
We've figured out why. She believes she's a member of the family and Fluffy is just the cat. The pet.
It all goes back to the day we got Sophie. A few weeks before we'd had to put Fluffy's brother Basil to sleep. I couldn't seem to get over his loss. He was a wonderful, huge black cat who loved to hide in poinsettias. So it was awful.
My niece Kelli just happened to be driving home from Pittsburgh one Saturday and they found poor Sophie on the road beside a stretch of woods. She was so tiny she fit in the palm of Kelli's hand. She was also covered in dead leaves, and sneezing. A new mom, Kelli couldn't leave the poor kitten, so she brought her home and my sister suggested they call me since I had just lost a cat.
I went to Helen's house to see Sophia and it was not love at first sight. She was filthy. She was angry. And she didn't seem to want pity! LOL But she needed me. So we took her home and my husband (ace that he is with cats) tried to give her a shower. Get that picture in your head. There's my well muscled, tough guy husband holding a squirming, screaming fist-full of kitten under the shower head. He ended up wetter than she did.
Fluff wanted nothing to do with her. First, Basil was his brother. Second, she had a virus (which we didn't know until the next day when we took her to the vet). Third, she was a feisty little brat.
She was also so tiny I had to feed her milk from the tip of my finger. Then because she was so small and so scared, I cuddled her. I used my chin like a mama cat would use her tongue to bathe and sooth a kitten. And I guess somewhere along the way Sophie decided I was her mom.
After that, we presume she looked around, realized Fluff was a pet -- but the rest of us were family -- and she was being treated like one of us...so she must be one of us.
We named her Sophia Maria Lolita Conchita Chequita Banana...so much of a longer name than Fat Fluff that we also figure that helped fortify her theory that she was family. So now she seriously treats Fluff like the family pet, while she's one of us.
And her greatest love is to sit on my desk, watching the little characters appear to the computer screen while I write. She absolutely, positively has a say in things around here!
With such an odd cat like Sophia, you would think she inspired Creamsickle in THE MAGIC OF A FAMILY CHRISTMAS, but it was actually Fat Fluff!
Creamsickle is quiet, but loving. He wasn't really happy when the new foster kid moved in. But when he realized how in need of love and affection Harry Martin was, he stepped up...just like Fluff did when Sophia arrived. He didn't even protest when Harry bought the bell collar for around his neck. In fact, he sort of liked it. And he also agreed with Harry that Wendy Winston, Harry's new guardian, needed more love in her life. Not just from wonderful Harry, but from a mate. So he didn't mind one iota being involved in Harry's plot to get Wendy Winston and Cullen Barrington together before Christmas.
Add a candy factory and a sexy, but grumpy, hero to the mix and you have quite a story! LOL THE MAGIC OF A FAMILY CHRISTMAS was one of the most fun stories I've ever written. I actually read it when my author copies arrived! LOL. Not only did it put me in a Christmas mood, but also I liked being with those characters. I liked being in that candy factory. I loved the small town, with the tinsel and silver bells, ice storms and fluffy white snow banks. I loved Wendy and I loved Cullen. Because they were both such wonderful people. Both had hearts big enough to open when Harry needed love.
Yeah, Wendy and Cullen really deserved a happy ending. They really deserved each other. But it took some conniving on Harry's part, a little bit of magic on Creamsickle's, and lots of cocoa and popcorn by the fireplace!
It's a special book about special people and I was thrilled to be the one to get to write it!
susan
THE MAGIC OF A FAMILY CHRISTMAS
We've figured out why. She believes she's a member of the family and Fluffy is just the cat. The pet.
It all goes back to the day we got Sophie. A few weeks before we'd had to put Fluffy's brother Basil to sleep. I couldn't seem to get over his loss. He was a wonderful, huge black cat who loved to hide in poinsettias. So it was awful.
My niece Kelli just happened to be driving home from Pittsburgh one Saturday and they found poor Sophie on the road beside a stretch of woods. She was so tiny she fit in the palm of Kelli's hand. She was also covered in dead leaves, and sneezing. A new mom, Kelli couldn't leave the poor kitten, so she brought her home and my sister suggested they call me since I had just lost a cat.
I went to Helen's house to see Sophia and it was not love at first sight. She was filthy. She was angry. And she didn't seem to want pity! LOL But she needed me. So we took her home and my husband (ace that he is with cats) tried to give her a shower. Get that picture in your head. There's my well muscled, tough guy husband holding a squirming, screaming fist-full of kitten under the shower head. He ended up wetter than she did.
Fluff wanted nothing to do with her. First, Basil was his brother. Second, she had a virus (which we didn't know until the next day when we took her to the vet). Third, she was a feisty little brat.
She was also so tiny I had to feed her milk from the tip of my finger. Then because she was so small and so scared, I cuddled her. I used my chin like a mama cat would use her tongue to bathe and sooth a kitten. And I guess somewhere along the way Sophie decided I was her mom.
After that, we presume she looked around, realized Fluff was a pet -- but the rest of us were family -- and she was being treated like one of us...so she must be one of us.
We named her Sophia Maria Lolita Conchita Chequita Banana...so much of a longer name than Fat Fluff that we also figure that helped fortify her theory that she was family. So now she seriously treats Fluff like the family pet, while she's one of us.
And her greatest love is to sit on my desk, watching the little characters appear to the computer screen while I write. She absolutely, positively has a say in things around here!
With such an odd cat like Sophia, you would think she inspired Creamsickle in THE MAGIC OF A FAMILY CHRISTMAS, but it was actually Fat Fluff!
Creamsickle is quiet, but loving. He wasn't really happy when the new foster kid moved in. But when he realized how in need of love and affection Harry Martin was, he stepped up...just like Fluff did when Sophia arrived. He didn't even protest when Harry bought the bell collar for around his neck. In fact, he sort of liked it. And he also agreed with Harry that Wendy Winston, Harry's new guardian, needed more love in her life. Not just from wonderful Harry, but from a mate. So he didn't mind one iota being involved in Harry's plot to get Wendy Winston and Cullen Barrington together before Christmas.
Add a candy factory and a sexy, but grumpy, hero to the mix and you have quite a story! LOL THE MAGIC OF A FAMILY CHRISTMAS was one of the most fun stories I've ever written. I actually read it when my author copies arrived! LOL. Not only did it put me in a Christmas mood, but also I liked being with those characters. I liked being in that candy factory. I loved the small town, with the tinsel and silver bells, ice storms and fluffy white snow banks. I loved Wendy and I loved Cullen. Because they were both such wonderful people. Both had hearts big enough to open when Harry needed love.
Yeah, Wendy and Cullen really deserved a happy ending. They really deserved each other. But it took some conniving on Harry's part, a little bit of magic on Creamsickle's, and lots of cocoa and popcorn by the fireplace!
It's a special book about special people and I was thrilled to be the one to get to write it!
susan
THE MAGIC OF A FAMILY CHRISTMAS
2 new books this month
I'm happy to announce that I have two titles this month. A Christmas story THE TWELVE DATES OF CHRISTMAS and a sexy story CHASING THE RUNAWAY BRIDE.
Each is wonderful in its own way. :) THE TWELVE DATES OF CHRISTMAS is a fun story about a hero who is mourning the loss of his child so he wants a date for his Christmas parties so his friends believe he's moving on. Eloise Vaughn needs help finding a permanent job, so they strike a deal.
Set against the backdrop of Christmas in New York City (is there a more lovely place at Christmas?), my hero and heroine don't just learn to count their blessings. They fall in love. But is it real, lasting permanent love? And if it is, are they ready for it?
CHASING THE RUNAWAY BRIDE is just fun. The hero and heroine are enemies. Children on opposite ends of a feud started by their parents. Hoping to end the feud, the hero's grandfather leaves his grocery store to them, with the provision that they must work at the store for a year and it must earn a profit. Otherwise, it becomes a parking lot. :)
CHASING THE RUNAWAY BRIDE is the story of two people who find themselves incredibly attracted to the person they are supposed to hate. LOL Add to that that the heroine is a runaway bride and the hero is a cowboy and you have lots of fun.
It's fun. It's fast. It's sexy.
So this month I have something for everyone! Check me out at Amazon, B&N, etc.
susan meier
Each is wonderful in its own way. :) THE TWELVE DATES OF CHRISTMAS is a fun story about a hero who is mourning the loss of his child so he wants a date for his Christmas parties so his friends believe he's moving on. Eloise Vaughn needs help finding a permanent job, so they strike a deal.
Set against the backdrop of Christmas in New York City (is there a more lovely place at Christmas?), my hero and heroine don't just learn to count their blessings. They fall in love. But is it real, lasting permanent love? And if it is, are they ready for it?
CHASING THE RUNAWAY BRIDE is just fun. The hero and heroine are enemies. Children on opposite ends of a feud started by their parents. Hoping to end the feud, the hero's grandfather leaves his grocery store to them, with the provision that they must work at the store for a year and it must earn a profit. Otherwise, it becomes a parking lot. :)
CHASING THE RUNAWAY BRIDE is the story of two people who find themselves incredibly attracted to the person they are supposed to hate. LOL Add to that that the heroine is a runaway bride and the hero is a cowboy and you have lots of fun.
It's fun. It's fast. It's sexy.
So this month I have something for everyone! Check me out at Amazon, B&N, etc.
susan meier
Blessed
'm one of those people who has been inordinately blessed. And before you sigh heavily and click off this screen, know that my oldest child has epilepsy and he is totally disabled. My life is not a walk in the park. Not by a long shot.
But some days I wonder if that isn't part of being blessed. I don't drive through the wealthy neighborhoods in our city wishing I could live there. I don't want a better car. I would like to have a ceiling in my office, but that's scheduled for this summer.
I don't long for these things because seeing what my son goes through on a daily basis makes me realize how lucky I am. I can work. I can drive. I'm not dependent on others for simple things like a trip to the mall so I can shop for Christmas.
Because I struggled through the beginning years of my career, I respect the struggles of all other writers. That makes it easy for me to be glad when I see others advance, even when they advance beyond me. I know how hard most of us work to get here. I respect that. I honor it. :)
Because my husband and I were broke or two pay checks away from bankruptcy through most of our marriage, I know how lucky I am to have cash for gifts and lunch (and margaritas) at Chili's.
Because I've been out of shape, I truly understand the blessing of being fit...healthy. (Special thanks to my trainer who got me here.)
Sometimes struggles turn us in a new direction, a direction we might not have chosen had our pins not been knocked out from under us.
Sometimes struggles, the absolute worst thing happening, keep us from making big mistakes or wrong choices.
Sometimes struggles knock us down and keep us there until we open our eyes and see that even in our toughest times we are still blessed.
And sometimes struggles really are just part of life. Our job. You weren't put here to look pretty and float through. As wife, mom, writer, worker, sister, friend...there are things you're supposed to do. Roles you fill. Sometimes the tasks and sacrifices required aren't easy.But they are our responsibility. They're part of the starry-eyed vows we took when we married, the promises we made when we first held our squirming babies in our eager arms.
True, they test us but they also groom us and make us strong.
Because in the end, I want to be honest, healthy, compassionate, caring and strong. And if it takes a little tour through Struggleville to get there, then I'm okay with that. :)
So this year, when you do your end-of-the-year assessment, don't scrutinize and criticize your struggles as failures...look at them as stepping stones to the "real" best life you're supposed to have.
Merry, Merry Christmas...next week. :)
susan meier
But some days I wonder if that isn't part of being blessed. I don't drive through the wealthy neighborhoods in our city wishing I could live there. I don't want a better car. I would like to have a ceiling in my office, but that's scheduled for this summer.
I don't long for these things because seeing what my son goes through on a daily basis makes me realize how lucky I am. I can work. I can drive. I'm not dependent on others for simple things like a trip to the mall so I can shop for Christmas.
Because I struggled through the beginning years of my career, I respect the struggles of all other writers. That makes it easy for me to be glad when I see others advance, even when they advance beyond me. I know how hard most of us work to get here. I respect that. I honor it. :)
Because my husband and I were broke or two pay checks away from bankruptcy through most of our marriage, I know how lucky I am to have cash for gifts and lunch (and margaritas) at Chili's.
Because I've been out of shape, I truly understand the blessing of being fit...healthy. (Special thanks to my trainer who got me here.)
Sometimes struggles turn us in a new direction, a direction we might not have chosen had our pins not been knocked out from under us.
Sometimes struggles, the absolute worst thing happening, keep us from making big mistakes or wrong choices.
Sometimes struggles knock us down and keep us there until we open our eyes and see that even in our toughest times we are still blessed.
And sometimes struggles really are just part of life. Our job. You weren't put here to look pretty and float through. As wife, mom, writer, worker, sister, friend...there are things you're supposed to do. Roles you fill. Sometimes the tasks and sacrifices required aren't easy.But they are our responsibility. They're part of the starry-eyed vows we took when we married, the promises we made when we first held our squirming babies in our eager arms.
True, they test us but they also groom us and make us strong.
Because in the end, I want to be honest, healthy, compassionate, caring and strong. And if it takes a little tour through Struggleville to get there, then I'm okay with that. :)
So this year, when you do your end-of-the-year assessment, don't scrutinize and criticize your struggles as failures...look at them as stepping stones to the "real" best life you're supposed to have.
Merry, Merry Christmas...next week. :)
susan meier
