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Because It's Christmas: The Christmas Basket / Merry Ex-Mas
Get cozy with this heartwarming story perfect for the holidays
Can Christmas bring the gift of a second chance?
The Christmas Basket by Debbie Macomber
Ten years ago, Noelle McDowell and Thomas Sutton fell secretly in love. Secretly because their mothers had been locked in a bitter feud for decades. But despite the animosity between Sarah McDowell and May Sutton, Noelle planned to elope with Thom. Until he jilted her.
This Christmas, two things happen when Noelle comes home to celebrate the holidays. The feuding mothers find themselves working together to fill Christmas baskets for charity. And Noelle and Thom discover they're still in love. Can family rivalries be set aside? Will Sarah's daughter have a second chance with Mary's son? Maybe she will…this Christmas!
Merry Ex-Mas by Sheila Roberts
Cass Wilkes has been looking forward to her daughter Danielle's Christmas wedding—until Dani announces that she wants her father, Cass's ex, to walk her down the aisle. Then her friend Charlene arrives at their weekly chick-flick night in shock. She's just seen the ghost of Christmas her ex-husband, Richard, who left a year ago when he ran off with the hostess from her restaurant. Now the hostess is history and he wants to kiss and make up. Hide the mistletoe!
And bring out the hot buttered rum, because the holidays aren't easy for Ella O'Brien either. Ella, newly divorced, is still sharing the house with her ex while they wait for the place to sell. The love is gone. Or is it?
Two delightful stories. Two writers known and loved for their Christmas novels!
Can Christmas bring the gift of a second chance?
The Christmas Basket by Debbie Macomber
Ten years ago, Noelle McDowell and Thomas Sutton fell secretly in love. Secretly because their mothers had been locked in a bitter feud for decades. But despite the animosity between Sarah McDowell and May Sutton, Noelle planned to elope with Thom. Until he jilted her.
This Christmas, two things happen when Noelle comes home to celebrate the holidays. The feuding mothers find themselves working together to fill Christmas baskets for charity. And Noelle and Thom discover they're still in love. Can family rivalries be set aside? Will Sarah's daughter have a second chance with Mary's son? Maybe she will…this Christmas!
Merry Ex-Mas by Sheila Roberts
Cass Wilkes has been looking forward to her daughter Danielle's Christmas wedding—until Dani announces that she wants her father, Cass's ex, to walk her down the aisle. Then her friend Charlene arrives at their weekly chick-flick night in shock. She's just seen the ghost of Christmas her ex-husband, Richard, who left a year ago when he ran off with the hostess from her restaurant. Now the hostess is history and he wants to kiss and make up. Hide the mistletoe!
And bring out the hot buttered rum, because the holidays aren't easy for Ella O'Brien either. Ella, newly divorced, is still sharing the house with her ex while they wait for the place to sell. The love is gone. Or is it?
Two delightful stories. Two writers known and loved for their Christmas novels!
464 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published September 27, 2016
254 people are currently reading
936 people want to read
About the author
Debbie Macomber
917 books20.7k followersDebbie Macomber is a #1 New York Times bestselling author and one of today’s most popular writers with more than 200 million copies of her books in print worldwide. In her novels, Macomber brings to life compelling relationships that embrace family and enduring friendships, uplifting her readers with stories of connection and hope. Macomber’s novels have spent over 1,000 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list. Fifteen of these novels hit the number one spot.
In 2023, Macomber’s all-new hardcover publication includes Must Love Flowers (July). In addition to fiction, Macomber has also published three bestselling cookbooks, three adult coloring books, numerous inspirational and nonfiction works, and two acclaimed children’s books.
Celebrated as “the official storyteller of Christmas”, Macomber’s annual Christmas books are beloved and six have been crafted into original Hallmark Channel movies. Macomber is also the author of the bestselling Cedar Cove Series which the Hallmark Channel chose as the basis for its first dramatic scripted television series. Debuting in 2013, Debbie Macomber’s Cedar Cove was a ratings favorite for three seasons.
She serves on the Guideposts National Advisory Cabinet, is a YFC National Ambassador, and is World Vision’s international spokesperson for their Knit for Kids charity initiative. A devoted grandmother, Debbie and Wayne live in Port Orchard, Washington, the town which inspired the Cedar Cove series.
In 2023, Macomber’s all-new hardcover publication includes Must Love Flowers (July). In addition to fiction, Macomber has also published three bestselling cookbooks, three adult coloring books, numerous inspirational and nonfiction works, and two acclaimed children’s books.
Celebrated as “the official storyteller of Christmas”, Macomber’s annual Christmas books are beloved and six have been crafted into original Hallmark Channel movies. Macomber is also the author of the bestselling Cedar Cove Series which the Hallmark Channel chose as the basis for its first dramatic scripted television series. Debuting in 2013, Debbie Macomber’s Cedar Cove was a ratings favorite for three seasons.
She serves on the Guideposts National Advisory Cabinet, is a YFC National Ambassador, and is World Vision’s international spokesperson for their Knit for Kids charity initiative. A devoted grandmother, Debbie and Wayne live in Port Orchard, Washington, the town which inspired the Cedar Cove series.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 43 reviews
January 14, 2025
A bonus: 2 Christmas books in 1! Both were so good. Enjoyed The Christmas Baskets by Debbie Macomber, but liked the 2nd one, Merry Ex-mas, even more! First time I've read one by Sheila Roberts. It's part of a series, I'll definitely look for the other books!
January 5, 2019
Finished this a couple days ago, it was ok, love stories not really my thing, unless it is Virgil Rhodes as he is fighting for his life or someone else's and his latest girlfriend is there. :)
February 26, 2019
The Christmas Basket: I feel like Debbie Macomber tried too hard to make this a Christmas romance. Noelle and Thom had a teenage romance. Their fallout was pretty big as both thought the other left them standing when they planned on marrying. Come to find out, many years later, it was all an accident. Neither of them thought to talk this through at the time and instead avoided each other for the next several years. Noelle ran away from her problems, literally, by moving to Texas and hardly coming home to even see her family. How you hold that type of grudge for that long is ridiculous. They were children when this went on and neither of them ever felt to confront the other to find out what really happened.
When they finally do realize it was a simple mistake, their problems are in the past and they're madly in love all over again, blahh. Their mothers were best friends until an accident occurred. After that, they despise each other. One drunken night, they're back to being best friends. Lame.
Merry Ex-Mas: The title itself is terrible. The good news is that you can't disappointed by a book that you had no expectations for. For every chapter, it felt like a new character with irrelevant background information was being introduced. And of course each woman had an ex, you can imagine where this is heading. Charley's ex-husband comes looking to rekindle their marriage after he cheated on her. And of course, she dives right in. Up until she realizes what he's really after.
Then there's Ella and Jake. My goodness, the stupidity of this one. The fist time something goes wrong, Ella's "instincts" automatically point to Jake cheating. She even goes as far as hiring a private investigator. He catches a couple photos of Jake hugging another woman. That's all it took and their marriage was over. She divorced him, yet still lived with him. Then, she finds out the woman he was "cheating" on her with is a lesbian and not at all into men. Now, they're happily back in love.
Other than these two scenarios, I couldn't concentrate enough to understand anything else that was going on.
When they finally do realize it was a simple mistake, their problems are in the past and they're madly in love all over again, blahh. Their mothers were best friends until an accident occurred. After that, they despise each other. One drunken night, they're back to being best friends. Lame.
Merry Ex-Mas: The title itself is terrible. The good news is that you can't disappointed by a book that you had no expectations for. For every chapter, it felt like a new character with irrelevant background information was being introduced. And of course each woman had an ex, you can imagine where this is heading. Charley's ex-husband comes looking to rekindle their marriage after he cheated on her. And of course, she dives right in. Up until she realizes what he's really after.
Then there's Ella and Jake. My goodness, the stupidity of this one. The fist time something goes wrong, Ella's "instincts" automatically point to Jake cheating. She even goes as far as hiring a private investigator. He catches a couple photos of Jake hugging another woman. That's all it took and their marriage was over. She divorced him, yet still lived with him. Then, she finds out the woman he was "cheating" on her with is a lesbian and not at all into men. Now, they're happily back in love.
Other than these two scenarios, I couldn't concentrate enough to understand anything else that was going on.
November 18, 2016
What a great holiday read both of these stories were. I know that both Debbie Macomber and Sheila Roberts never let me down. I really hated to see these stories end. Well deserving of all five stars.
January 5, 2018
Because It's Christmas by Debbie Macomber and Shelia Roberts is a great 2-1 book. Two wonderfully written novellas combined for this Christmas season. Each story featured lessons to learn, forgiveness, and love. Of course the obstacles for these characters seemed like they were never going to happen...but then with these writers' talent, Christmas miracles may just come true.
The Christmas Basket by Debbie Macomber is about a feud between two mothers. Once best friends, now enemies. For years, they have antagonized each other over one simple mistake. It soon goes too far, creating a distance between their children who are in love with one another. It did remind me a bit of Romeo and Juliet but with a more positive telling than a deadly one. Here, the lesson of forgiveness, friendship, and rekindling love is open. I enjoyed the trouble between the mothers more than I did of the two love birds featured in this tale.
Merry Ex-Mas by Shelia Roberts wasn't my favorite tale. It was more heartbreaking than the previous story. It was about broken relationships. Some were fixable while others were not. Even though some things couldn't be fixed the theme of counting one's blessings was huge. A mother is thankful for her kids even though she didn't have a love in life. Couples facing dilemmas and having to make decisions was believable. The way it was told felt real. It was more like real-life than a fictional tale with a happy ending. Sometimes, there just isn't a happy or sad ending but just a closure of finding a peace within yourself. That was what the ending was about...finding peace in the character's life. Former exes bring trouble to the women in this novella.
I received this copy from Harlequin. This, is my voluntary review.
The Christmas Basket by Debbie Macomber is about a feud between two mothers. Once best friends, now enemies. For years, they have antagonized each other over one simple mistake. It soon goes too far, creating a distance between their children who are in love with one another. It did remind me a bit of Romeo and Juliet but with a more positive telling than a deadly one. Here, the lesson of forgiveness, friendship, and rekindling love is open. I enjoyed the trouble between the mothers more than I did of the two love birds featured in this tale.
Merry Ex-Mas by Shelia Roberts wasn't my favorite tale. It was more heartbreaking than the previous story. It was about broken relationships. Some were fixable while others were not. Even though some things couldn't be fixed the theme of counting one's blessings was huge. A mother is thankful for her kids even though she didn't have a love in life. Couples facing dilemmas and having to make decisions was believable. The way it was told felt real. It was more like real-life than a fictional tale with a happy ending. Sometimes, there just isn't a happy or sad ending but just a closure of finding a peace within yourself. That was what the ending was about...finding peace in the character's life. Former exes bring trouble to the women in this novella.
I received this copy from Harlequin. This, is my voluntary review.
November 13, 2018
The Christmas Basket, a modern Romeo & Juliet with a happy ending, interested me through the end. Lots of chuckles. I thought the reason Noelle and Thom didn't follow through with their plans to elope when they were high school sweethearts rather silly--all due to a misunderstanding that they never discussed. They just went their own direction, but continued to pine for each other for years. Not realistic, but Ms. Macomber found a way to hang a plot on it.
The second story, Merry Ex-Mass by Sheila Roberts, contained a few bumps--like when Cass and her daughter are waiting on customers while discussing wedding plans and a customer looks in the bakery window and Cass tells her daughter to unlock the door so customers can enter. Big bump that pulled me right out of the story. Needed a good story editor.
The second story, Merry Ex-Mass by Sheila Roberts, contained a few bumps--like when Cass and her daughter are waiting on customers while discussing wedding plans and a customer looks in the bakery window and Cass tells her daughter to unlock the door so customers can enter. Big bump that pulled me right out of the story. Needed a good story editor.
June 3, 2020
I will probably never finish this book. I just couldn't get into it, and the characters were so insipid. They were written like their personalities and characteristics were purely for plot.
I used to own it, but I've since donated it to Goodwill.
My notes while reading:
"Uh. I want to dig my brain out of my head because wow these characters are all so dumb. The mothers are absolute kids. The husbands just turn a blind eye? Is this supposed to be comical? And noelle and Thom's whole conflict could have been resolved in 2 minutes when they were 18. This is absolute tragic that I am still reading this."
I used to own it, but I've since donated it to Goodwill.
My notes while reading:
"Uh. I want to dig my brain out of my head because wow these characters are all so dumb. The mothers are absolute kids. The husbands just turn a blind eye? Is this supposed to be comical? And noelle and Thom's whole conflict could have been resolved in 2 minutes when they were 18. This is absolute tragic that I am still reading this."
November 20, 2017
I realised fairly quickly that I had read the Debbie Macomber book before, but re-read and enjoyed it nonetheless.
The Sheila Roberts, I think I read fairly recently; recently enough that I didn't want to read it again, as I could remember most of the plotline (Well worth reading if you haven't already).
So I've marked it as read, even though strictly speaking I have only read one of the two books!
The Sheila Roberts, I think I read fairly recently; recently enough that I didn't want to read it again, as I could remember most of the plotline (Well worth reading if you haven't already).
So I've marked it as read, even though strictly speaking I have only read one of the two books!
January 10, 2020
This was a bonus, because it had 2 stories by 2 authors, published in one book. They filled my requirement for tales of Christmas-time romance. Both stories moved along quickly to happy endings. Reading these stories of conflict and drama that always turn out positive gives me a positive outlook for the new year. Let the good times roll!
January 1, 2021
Fun Christmas Week reading. I preferred the first story, The Christmas Basket. I loved the misunderstood rivalry between Mary and Sarah. Very comical.
The second story, Merry Ex-Mas had me confused with characters a few times, and just seemed to drag on. Ella's and Jack was the best story of all the characters.
The second story, Merry Ex-Mas had me confused with characters a few times, and just seemed to drag on. Ella's and Jack was the best story of all the characters.
March 30, 2024
First story was cute really loved it when the two mothers kept bickering, then when the scene in the mall with the throwing of stuff animals I just lost it 😂 but, unfortunately second one I had a hard time finishing it and just kept forcing myself to read to the point I ended up skimming it quickly...
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 1, 2017
There are two stories in this read, Christmas Basket by Debbie Macomber was wonderful I gave it five stars. Second story was Merry EX-MAS by Sheila Roberts, not very good I gave it 2 stars I am being generous.
May 14, 2018
I enjoyed the Macomber story, but the Roberts one was tripe.
What a dumb portrayal of women. Geez, who would REALLY let their ex and his bimbo stay at her house? Why would another even consider letting a cheating scum back into her bed? ugh
What a dumb portrayal of women. Geez, who would REALLY let their ex and his bimbo stay at her house? Why would another even consider letting a cheating scum back into her bed? ugh
June 9, 2017
Great read. Two stories, liked the second one better.
June 9, 2017
2 excellent stories
September 4, 2018
Predictable as Debbie Macomber's books are normally. I still enjoy the light reading for vacation.
December 9, 2018
Just - No
February 17, 2020
Debbie Macomber story was great. The story Merry Ex-Mas had too many characters and you couldn't keep up one chapter to the next.
October 4, 2020
Two stories - 2016 - 2002 - 2012 - Have It - Read It
January 11, 2021
Loved the first story. Sheila's not as much.
October 5, 2021
Meh. Sentimental and cheesy. Not too impressed.
November 2, 2021
I had previously read one of the two stories which I didn't realize before I pulled this book off the shelf to read. Still, a fun Christmas story.
December 13, 2021
Very cute.
January 3, 2024
Christmas
Fun stories. The book by Sheila Robert’s has a community feel while the one by Debbie Macomber has more family related details.
Fun stories. The book by Sheila Robert’s has a community feel while the one by Debbie Macomber has more family related details.
August 16, 2024
I couldn’t bear to finish this book, the narrator was a whiner. I can’t believe this was released with this poor of narration that it would ruin the book
November 9, 2024
Like a Hallmark movie but on book format!
January 10, 2018
Both books are fun, heart-warming romances
The Christmas Basket is a story of girl and boy in love, but their mothers have been on bad terms for the last twenty years. Debbie Macomber writes to keep your attention to see what will happen next with intrigue, humor, and surprises. I love her characters. This is such a delightful story.
Merry Ex-Mas has many subplots going on with many exe's (some good and some not so good). It is interesting and fun trying to figure out who to believe. It is difficult to put the book down. I am sure that you will enjoy reading these two stories as much as I have. Happy reading!!
The Christmas Basket is a story of girl and boy in love, but their mothers have been on bad terms for the last twenty years. Debbie Macomber writes to keep your attention to see what will happen next with intrigue, humor, and surprises. I love her characters. This is such a delightful story.
Merry Ex-Mas has many subplots going on with many exe's (some good and some not so good). It is interesting and fun trying to figure out who to believe. It is difficult to put the book down. I am sure that you will enjoy reading these two stories as much as I have. Happy reading!!
February 26, 2017
I read Merry Xmas someplace else, so really only read half a book. But as with all Macomber's stories, worth the read
December 23, 2016
This was a huge disappointment. I was looking forward to a couple of nice holiday romance stories, and instead I got stupidity and negativity.
The Christmas Basket by Debbie Macomber was about a couple whose mothers hate each other. The two "kids" were a couple in high school and loved each other, but when they were going to run away together, one of them let the other down and has held a grudge for years. When they think about getting back together--finally--they let their mothers' animosity dictate what they do. I mean, they're in their late twenties but still worry about what their mothers think. Sheesh.
Merry Ex-Mas was the biggest problem. It was totally negative with several women who were unhappy and unpleasant, with bad attitudes towards their exes. I can see why you'd be grudging towards your ex, but these women totally jumped to conclusions, refused to even be civil, and just acted...well...bitchy. I haven't read anything in the Icicle Falls series, but now I'm totally reconsidering if this is the type of character offered by Roberts in this series. Definitely did NOT put me in the holiday mood.
The Christmas Basket by Debbie Macomber was about a couple whose mothers hate each other. The two "kids" were a couple in high school and loved each other, but when they were going to run away together, one of them let the other down and has held a grudge for years. When they think about getting back together--finally--they let their mothers' animosity dictate what they do. I mean, they're in their late twenties but still worry about what their mothers think. Sheesh.
Merry Ex-Mas was the biggest problem. It was totally negative with several women who were unhappy and unpleasant, with bad attitudes towards their exes. I can see why you'd be grudging towards your ex, but these women totally jumped to conclusions, refused to even be civil, and just acted...well...bitchy. I haven't read anything in the Icicle Falls series, but now I'm totally reconsidering if this is the type of character offered by Roberts in this series. Definitely did NOT put me in the holiday mood.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 43 reviews