Making Our Own Magic

Every year, my husband’s family visits for the Independence Day long weekend. We’ve had as many as 40 guests staying in our house and local hotels, although this year it will be quieter—only 20 guests, all told.

That doesn’t stop my husband from making a little magic for our friends and family in our backyard. We set a theme, and try to build the weekend festivities around that theme. Last year’s theme was American Cryptozoology. We had Bigfoot footprints in our backyard. My boys built a huge Piasa Bird and flew him from a cable strung tree-to-tree.

This year’s theme is the Wild West. We’re expecting a bank robbery from the Dalton Gang of Kansas. Our guests just might find some treasure in the mine my husband has built in the backyard. We’ll cap off the weekend with a visit to the Old West Festival in Greensburg, OH.

Is it a lot of work to host an event like this for a few dozen of your closest family and friends? It sure is. I think of all of the Regency romances I’ve read in which our heroes attend week-long (or longer) house parties. In my opinion, the real heroes in those tales are the wives and housekeepers who plan the events and keep them moving.

If you’re not panning for gold this holiday, may I recommend a few good regencies from a few great authors? Find a hammock, some shade, and some lemonade and make some magic for yourself:

Goddess of the Hunt by Tessa Dare

His at Night by Sherry Thomas

Bedding Lord Need by Sally MacKenzie

Silent in the Sanctuary by Deanna Raybourn (note: Book 2 in the Lady Julia Grey series. Seriously—read them all. They’re fabulous!)

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