HAPPY NOVEMBER!!!!
Christmas is still 54 days away, BUT now ’tis the season when I start craving cozy Christmas reads. (Okay – I crave them all year round but now’s when I can get away with talking about them LOL) There’s something about the magic of my favorite holiday that makes me want to curl up with a mug of hot chocolate and a deliciously Christmasy book – it can make even the creepiest suspense novel feel warm and cozy haha!
I had so much fun with this last year, so I decided to make it an annual thing 🙂 Beginning now and continuing through the end of the year, I’m going to spotlight several new/recent Christmasy releases. So… snuggle in, grab your fave hot beverage and comfiest blanket, turn on some Christmas tunes and start your bookish Christmas list! Oh… and did I mention there are GIVEAWAYS with EACH POST in this series??!! (Because authors are awesome!)
We’ve got an extra special treat today! All the Inspy Romance authors who wrote A Christmas to Remember are here to talk about their most memorable Christmases!
Laugh, cry, and fall in love as you savor these brand-new Christmas romances from some of your favorite authors. Pair with a peppermint chai, hot chocolate, or your favorite wintry flavors, then snuggle down in front of the fireplace with a quilt over your lap… and maybe a purring cat!
Eight authors have joined together in this Christian romance collection that will leave you celebrating the gift of Christmas.
Until I Met You by award-winning author Kimberly Rose Johnson
After a difficult breakup, Brandi Prescott is taking a hiatus from men and focusing on her career, the Lord, and getting to know herself. Everything is going according to plan until one fateful, rainy morning in Seattle when a passing car drenches her and everything changes.
The Cowboy’s Christmas Reunion by USA Today bestselling author Valerie Comer
The Cowboy Santa program is supposed to be a chance to help his neighbors. When Kade Delgado’s ex-fiancée, now a single mom, shows up on his list, neither of them are thrilled. Is there any hope for a second chance at love?
Hope for Christmas by Elizabeth Maddrey
When he arrived at the ranch, he wasn’t sure what he was looking for. She wasn’t looking for anything beyond stability for her son. Christmas might be a season of hope, but do they dare risk everything for love?
Can’t Live without You by Ginger Solomon
Clarissa Harding’s fiancé’s betrayal doesn’t hurt as much as learning her best friend, Sawyer Chasin, knew his brother’s secret and didn’t tell her. The marriage would have been fake, but her feelings for Sawyer aren’t.
Beautiful Heart of His by Lindi Peterson
Two wrongs don’t make a right has never been more true. Will Mason’s past wrongs push Scarlett away or help her fall in love with him?
Restoring Christmas by Julie Arduini
Filled with grief and regret, Holly Christmas returns to Geneseo Valley and the family business, The Christmas Mansion. Can Kevin Holt restore her love for the season and the memories she left behind?
The Cowgirl’s Christmas Gift by Publishers Weekly bestselling author Deb Kastner
Cowgirl Maisey Gray knows horses, not six-year-olds. But when her socially-awkward, VR glasses-wearing neighbor needs help creating the perfect Christmas for his nephews, it’s up to Maisey to make sure Cam and the boys have a Christmas they’ll never forget.
Falling for Grace by Janet W. Ferguson
Grace Logan needs a place to pick herself up now that her ex is marrying her former best friend. Grief drives Seth Gibbs to his family’s vacation home, and three years later, he has no plans to leave. Until Grace falls into his life.
What is your most memorable Christmas?
Ginger Solomon:
website | Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest | Amazon
I don’t remember how old I was… around eight, I guess. My brother, who is fourteen years older, teased me for weeks before Christmas, saying that he’d purchased me something with wheels, and then he’d tell me something else–I don’t remember all that he told me, but each detail made it impossible for me to guess what his gift was.
I was so excited, because my love language is gifts (though I didn’t know that at the time), and I LOVE surprises (gift-wise). I don’t remember what else happened that long ago Christmas Day, but I remember my first ever gaming console—an Atari. He started something that I’ve never grown out of: playing video games. 😀
Elizabeth Maddrey:
website | Facebook | Instagram | BookBub | Amazon
It’s hard to choose my “most” memorable Christmas. I have a lot of delightful Christmas memories. The one that keeps sneaking up to the top, however, is Christmas 2007. See, in 2007, we were finally nearing the end of our twisty-turney journey toward parenthood. Twelve years of infertility were in the rear view mirror, and we were eagerly (and still with a bit of trepidation) awaiting the birth of a baby several states away whose mother was unable to parent and had chosen us to adopt. Living near my parents as well as my husband’s parents, you can probably imagine that everyone was over the moon. And that year I got to unwrap tiny footed sleepers, a car seat, and bottles that had been placed under the tree. Even with the what ifs and uncertainty that lingered at the back of my mind, I remember the unwavering joy of that Christmas when my husband and I got to celebrate the birth of not just one, but two babies who’d been sent as a gift.
Julie Arduini:
website | Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest | Amazon
Christmas is a season where I’m extra nostalgic, and many celebrations stand out. One that comes to mind is our first as newlyweds. His children were able to spend time with us, one of the few Christmases they were able to as they live in Wisconsin. I had to cover the phones at work and I was disappointed because I knew Tom and the kids were having fun and I couldn’t be there. Right before lunch I look up and see the three of them there. They drove 30 minutes to create Christmas memories with me at my workplace. Twenty-two years later, I still look forward to seeing them, now with families of their own.
Janet W. Ferguson:
website | Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest | Amazon
About five years ago, my husband, my teen kids, and I planned to go skiing for Christmas. Before the trip, my son tore his shoulder and knee playing football. We had already paid, so we continued as planned with him in his braces. On the plane up to Colorado, I began having chills, spiked a fever, and basically came down with the flu. I felt horrible, but went for my ski lesson and made one run on the slopes. My daughter and my husband had a blast skiing while my son and I binge watched a TV series. By the end of the week, I felt better, and we all walked around the town of Steamboat and had a nice dinner. Despite all the unplanned and unfortunate events, Colorado was beautiful and I’m glad we went. We really enjoyed it, and we sure won’t forget it!
Kimberly Rose Johnson:
website | Facebook | Twitter | BookBub | Amazon
Christmas at my house always means family. When I was a kid that sometimes involved traveling to my grandma’s house 1,000 miles away. My most memorable Christmas is one such year.
We were traveling to Southern California and had stopped at a rest stop early Christmas morning. My parents drove a Datsun Pickup and my sister and I were on beanbags in the back which had a canopy, carpet over a padded insert my dad had made, and a “boot” which connect the back with the cab of the pickup—this was the 70’s. My mom pulled out our Christmas stockings and handed them to us through the boot. I don’t recall what I received, but do remember how a couple of people gathered at the hood of our pickup to watch us open our stockings.
One woman in particular had such joy on her face as we discovered each new trinket. I recall asking my mom why she was watching. I don’t remember what she said, but looking back, I choose to believe she wanted to share in our childlike joy.
I don’t remember much about the rest of that trip, but I will never forget that morning in the rest stop opening our stockings. It was absolutely my most memorable Christmas.
Deb Kastner:
website | Facebook | Twitter | BookBub | Amazon
It’s hard to pick just one, but we started a new tradition with the grandkids a couple of years ago that has really come to mean something special to us. During Advent, each time one of them does something kind or generous that would make Baby Jesus happy, they are given a piece of straw to add to our nativity set. It’s lovely watching the children actively looking for ways to please the Lord. On Christmas eve, we all take a moment to admire how comfortable the Baby Jesus is in his manger, thanks to the kids’ kind hearts.
Lindi Peterson:
website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Amazon
My parents were divorced when I was eight. Money was always tight. We had everything we needed, but the wants were sparse. When I was 9 or 10 the ONLY thing I wanted for Christmas was white Go-Go boots. They had to have a heel and they had to lace up the front. I was obsessed with these boots. One day my mom had gone out and my two younger brothers and me were with a sitter when we decided to look for our Christmas presents. We dug around closets and such and eventually found a bag with stuff! Jackpot! And to my surprise those white Go-Go boots, just like I wanted, were in the bag of stuff.
But it wasn’t Christmas yet. We had to wait for what seemed like an eternity! And Christmas morning when we gathered around the tree to open our presents, I found I was disappointed. Don’t get me wrong, I wore and loved those boots until they fell apart I think, but I hated knowing that I wasn’t going to be surprised. Ever since then, I love being surprised. My husband can tell me not to look on the top shelf of his closet in the brown bag that holds a blue box and I won’t. I don’t ever want to know what my gifts are.
While this isn’t the most happy memory, it has shaped my life. And ending on a happy note, we had Christmas at my Grandma and Grandpa’s every year. All the family gathered and that still is one of the best memories ever. All the Christmas days with family.
Valerie Comer:
website | Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest | Amazon
It’s so hard to pick only one memorable Christmas, but I have to go with the year our son was not quite three. We had a VHS tape (remember those?!?!) called The First Christmas (Superbook) that the kids requested often. I peeked into the living room to see our son sitting at the coffee table with the stuffed-fabric nativity set, having the characters act out the Christmas story as the video played in front of him. Watching him made my mommy-heart so full! Now the little granddaughters play with the same nativity set every Christmas. How time flies.
Janet W. Ferguson is giving away a $5 Starbucks gift card and some fun Christmas socks to one of my readers! (US only) This giveaway is subject to Reading Is My SuperPower’s giveaway policies which can be found here. Enter via the Rafflecopter form below.
What about you? What’s your most memorable Christmas?
My most memorable Christmas was when I received a Ginny doll,clothes and some furniture.
Marilyn
My mom had that doll, and I got her when I was about ten years old and I loved her.
I remember those dolls!
Oh sweet memories!
In my early teens I got a 10 speed bike. I didn’t witness it, but my father put the bike together himself and “test drove” it around the grocery store parking lot that was near his office. Just thinking about my 40-some year old, 5’6” father riding a girl’s bike around the parking lot makes me laugh.
Ha! I bet that was funny!
Carrie,
Thank you so much for sharing our memories and information on A Christmas to Remember. Wishing you and your readers a blessed holiday season!
My Mom was diagnosed w/ cancer when she was 50–I had my 3rd baby in October 1980, and my Mom was in the hospice wing of a hospital in St. Paul, MN…One of my siblings asked if we could sing on the hospice wing, and the nurses gladly said yes–we had Mom’s dog w/ us, my 2 month old baby, my sister’s 2 yr old, my sister in law’s puppet (which wore size 2 clothes!) We would sing 2 Christmas carols, then the puppet would come out & want to sing…we interacted w/ the patients…Then a nurse from another wing asked if we’d sing on her wing–sure! People enjoyed touching the baby; touching the dog; interacting w/ the toddler…they we walked into a room where the wife was signing to her husband; one of my sister’s is an interpreter and interpreted our songs, & puppet. Later that wife went to the head nurse and asked where they had found such a talented group. She explained that our Mom was in the hospice wing… Mom held on until December 28, when our last sibling finally arrived, and our paternal grandparents arrived; she died later that day.
I am sorry for the loss of your mother but glad you turned those last days into a beautiful memory, ministering to others.
What a precious, precious story. Such a blessing though bittersweet. Thank you for sharing.
Hugs,
Thanks so much for featuring A Christmas to Remember! And I hope readers enjoy all the stories, too.
Hmm. Every Christmas is a memorable one for so many different reasons.
True!
My most memorable Christmas was when we had only been married for one week. My husband had hand-tooled me a leather cover for my Bible. Loved this collection and need to leave a review for it soon.
Oh how sweet, Becky! I love it!
Every Christmas is a memorable one! Thanks for the giveaway!
You’re welcome!
My most memorable Christmas was in 1995. We were expecting our first child when my oldest brother died in an accident. We flew across the country on Dec. 9 to join the rest of my family to plan his funeral, which drew out almost 900 attendees. My husband and I flew back to PA on Dec 15 and our daughter was born on Dec 18. It was a difficult Christmas for us – not just my brother dying but then trying to be excited at the same time for our baby and attempting to “celebrate” Christmas far away from our families.
Arletta, That’s hard. So sorry. Sometimes life throws us those hard surprises.
Blessings and hugs,
Janet
I think every Christmas is special for us, especially now when our two boys have to come home from whatever career they are busy with, and try to “make” it home in time for Christmas. A few years ago, we had to pick up our one son at the airport (in a different town), and, instead of the plane coming in on time at 11 PM, we had to wait in the airport till 3 AM, when it finally arrived, because of a snow storm delay! We were glad he arrived safely, albeit late! Needless to say, we all enjoyed many nice moments together during that Christmas with the whole family, especially grateful to the Lord for giving us that time together. Last Christmas, while our family of four were together, we had a chance to spend some time with other relatives. And, during that evening, what made it extra memorable and filled with emotion, was I had the opportunity to share two original songs on my Paraguayan harp, which meant a lot to me, particularly because I saw how God used those moments to touch hearts, reminding us anew to keep trusting the Lord to answer prayer, because we’d experienced how He had definitely answered. . . Thanks so much for the opportunity to share this memory, plus enter an exciting giveaway! Would really like to win a print copy!
This is wonderful! That’s amazing about the harp and your songs! Thank you for sharing 🙂
I try to make every Christmas memorable for me and my family.
That’s wonderful, Catherine! I should work harder at that!
I was raised as a Jehovah’s Witness and they don’t celebrate any holidays. When I was 33 I left. When I was 34 I decorated like crazy and my husband’s family came to help me celebrate. And this was my most memorable Christmas.
That was quite a change! Decorating can be fun with the family!
I have so many wonderful Christmas memories, but the Christmas of 1978 when my daughter Noelle was born would have to be my very favorite. My mother-in-law kept insisting all morning I open gift after gift. I finally told her unless you want to deliver this baby, I have to go to the hospital and out the door we went. Forty years this year and she’s still the best gift ever, along with my other two children!
Oh how sweet! So she has a Christmas birthday?
Yes! Dec 25, 1978. I had named her Andrea Nicole. The pediatrician came in to check on her and thought I said Andrea Noelle. I really liked it, and being Christmas day the official paper work had not been sent out so I changed it.
A memorable Christmas was when I was 8 years old. The snow was falling heavily, the lights were bright and the shining stars were beautiful. I received pj’s and a housecoat and loved them and wore them many years since winter lasts forever where I lived. We told stories, and our family was together.
Sounds like a wonderful white Christmas!
I don’t really have one memorable Christmas, they are all memorable in their own way. 🙂
That’s great, Julie! Hope this Christmas is good for you!
So fun! I am not nearly as organized about it this year though! Hopefully, I’ll get it together before December. Look at you not procrastinating.
Carrie’s on the ball! I procrastinate about many things, LOL~
My most memorable Christmas’ were when my parents were alive and we would gather at their house for a big dinner, visiting with family and exchanging gifts. Now we do it at my daughter’s house.
“What is your most memorable Christmas?” Well, I once got sugar decors in my Christmas stocking when I was a kid–weird little round sugar pellets like you put on cakes!
Nothing like candy on the holidays!
My most memorable Christmas from when I was a child was 1988. My family didn’t have a lot of extra money and the thing I wanted most was the Holiday Barbie. So, my mom hand-made a dress just like hers and it was perfect! It looked exactly like Holiday Barbie’s dress and it meant so much to me that my mom would take the time to sew it for me! I REALLY wish I still had that dress!
Oh how sweet! That’s amazing that she could sew it for you~
One of my most memorable is getting a Barbie Dream House for Christmas.
I loved Barbie!
Christmas 1993 my husband dressed up as Santa. He passed out gifts, and then the final gift he got down on one knee and proposed to me. I was really surprised. All the Christmas traditions with our two daughters and the rest of the family also make me very happy.
Hi Angie! That is such a sweet story!! Thanks for sharing! It sounds like it would make a great ending for a novel!!
My most memorable Christmas has been from my childhood in Guyana. I remember my sisters and I decorating the house and my mom cooking. We would listen to Jim Reeves and Johnny Mathis.
That does sound like a great memory!
Most memorable….the ones when we gathered together as a family! No matter where…
There’s nothing like family time!
When my family flew in from another state to visit and it was a Christmas to remember.
That’s so nice when you get to be together!