these are the elements that make up memories. Years later, encountering any one of them can magically transport us back in time...
The Here Be Magic gang are sharing some of their favorite memories of holidays past, and invite you to share yours in the comments!
Plus, we've followed up with a list of holiday-themed stories written by some of our fantasy authors. Enjoy!
Plus, we've followed up with a list of holiday-themed stories written by some of our fantasy authors. Enjoy!
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"At our school, we'd have a Parents' Night first, and EVERYONE attended. There'd be awards and plays - ambitiously we attempted musicals like Andrew Lloyd Webber's "Joseph & the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0175790/).
"And there'd be Christmas carols. Singing with your friends, family and community is pure joy - even if it was mosquito repellent rather than snow that fell on us!" ~ Jenny Schwartz
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MAUREEN - "As a child, trying to sleep Christmas Eve was almost impossible. One year my mother caught my sister and I sitting by the tree in the middle of the night. She told us we could open one gift and then to go back to bed.
"After opening the gift I realized that presents weren't what excited me about Christmas. It was the magic of the night, and the season. A night where anything was possible." ~ Maureen L Bonatch
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DANI - "One of my best memories is putting up our big white Christmas tree with my daughters. It was all I could do to hold the girls back until mid-November! We'd spend the whole day decorating it, while eating way too many treats, and playing classic holiday movies in the background (hey, it's not Christmas until you've watched Chevy Chase gradually lose his mind in Christmas Vacation, and root for Ralphie in his quest to get a Red Rider BB rifle in A Christmas Story.)
"Many of the ornaments have memories of their own. The girls and I used to prowl yard sales all year long to glean vintage decorations, including a lot of wonderful old glass ones. Plus my girls frequently gifted me with everything from the Abominable Snowman to tiny Starbucks coffee cups to hang on the tree!
The gang's grown up and left home but I still have all the decorations and lovingly put up the whole kit and kaboodle every year. But I admit, I wait until December now." ~ Dani Harper
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LINDA - "When I was young, I used to creep into the living room in the middle of the night where the tree was located, and feel about for the toys. I hoped to find and recognize what Santa had brought me. Although I could feel something, I never knew what it was until the next morning. I did this for years. It only added to the mystic of Christmas." ~ Linda Mooney
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JODY - "Sometimes in your life, you realize when it’s happening that new memories and family traditions are in the act of being set. This Christmas when we put up our nice, artificial tree, our two new kittens basically proved to us why we aren’t going to be having a traditional tree in the future.
"My husband has been in the garage for a week, putting together a cat-safe holiday decoration, and nobody in our family will ever forget the day the kittens took out a whole tree!" ~ Jody Wallace
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CINDY - "One of my favorite Christmas presents came from my mother-in-law, back when my kids were little.
"One autumn, my husband and his father were both attending the same professional conference, so my mother-in-law and I went along, taking my two young boys to play in the pool, visit nearby museums, etc. In the hotel itself were a few small shops, including a gorgeous estate jewelry store. I fell in love with a vintage amber necklace, but at $100, it was out of the budget of two grad students with two young kids.
"Realizing how very much I loved the necklace, my husband juggled his budget and snuck down to the shop to buy the necklace. It was gone. Instead, he bought a jade pendant--much cheaper--that I had also liked. I loved the jade piece and was so touched that he'd even tried. I set the idea of an amber necklace aside for "some day".
"At Christmas, I had a small, flat box from my in-laws. Now presents with them were often very random--awesome one year, not so much the next. This one was awesome. My mother-in-law had bought me the amber necklace. It's still one of my very favorite pieces of jewelry." ~ Cindy Spencer Pape
"My favourite Christmas memory is singing carols together in a big group, especially The Twelve Days of Christmas. Everybody would be assigned one line to sing in turn. I liked to take Four Calling Birds so that I could sing more times." ~ Nicole Luiken
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PG - "One of my favorite Christmas memories has to do with cookies. My mother used to make several different types of cookies every Christmas, mostly I just remember the spritz cookies because those were my favorite. But one year, for some reason, she went into a baking frenzy and made a lot of cookies, all different types. It seemed like every day, my siblings and I would come home from school to find dozens of new cookies cooling on racks in the kitchen.
"Not exactly a Christmasy attitude, I realize, and I think I’d have been happy to share them with anyone who was equally smitten, but no one else seemed to share my passion. And I really resented the fact that they didn’t care, but they still ate them. I mean, it wasn’t like there weren’t hundreds of other cookies for them to enjoy!
"I waited all year for another shot at those cookies, but my mother never made them again. Like I said, I was the only one who really liked them. Also, they take hours to bake. But, oh, they’re so worth it!" ~ PG Forte
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HOLIDAY TITLES from the fantasy authors at Here Be Magic
JINGLE STARS
by Jenny Schwartz
Book 4 of 5 in Shamans & Shifters Space Opera
A starship plays Santa in this heartwarming holiday novella.
Ebook FREE till Dec 17 on Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B076PVMB3L/
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THE HOLIDAY SPIRIT
A Yuletide Paranormal Romance
by Dani Harper
Book 1 of the Haunted Holiday Series
"Absolutely one of the most memorable stories I've read."
"One of my top ten holiday romances ever."
Ebook or paperback on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/HOLIDAY-SPIRIT-Haunted-Holiday-Book-ebook/dp/B013Z0F31M
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New Release!
THE 13th GIFT OF CHRISTMAS
by Linda Mooney
The greatest joy is giving joy to others... Is Nika part of the Christmas magic, or a Christmas miracle?
Excerpt and Buy Links here:
http://lindamooney.com/13thGift.htm
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HOLIDAY ON ICE
by Jody Wallace
Tallwood Tall Tales Book 2
Travel Queen Survival Tip #23:
If you get stuck in an ice storm, find a hot guy to melt it!
Excerpt and Buy Links here:
http://jodywallace.com/books/holiday-on-ice/
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THIS WINTER HEART
by PG Forte
“a very unique tale with well-drawn characters and a fascinating world.”
"This Winter Heart was a unique and compelling story about the power of love and the miracle of life.”
Excerpt, Buy Links, and FREE short story here:
http://www.pgforte.com/WinterHearts.htm
Also available as part of the steampunk anthology, A Clockwork Christmas: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00DJLQ9VQ
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WHISPERS OF MAGIC
A Mistletoe Magic Story
by Cindy Spencer Pape
Hot! Hot! Hot! Whispers of Magic is an erotic romance, helped along by a trio of naughty elves.
Available on Kindle at: https://www.amazon.com/Whispers-Magic-Mistletoe-Story-ebook/dp/B01N9FUDB3/
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YOUR TURN: We'd love to hear your memories too! Leave us a comment with one of your favorites.
What a fabulous post - thanks for pulling it together, Dani. Sharing memories and happiness is definitely part of the season. Happy holidays, everyone!
ReplyDeleteThanks Jenny! I really enjoyed doing it. Hope you have an awesome holiday season. :)
DeleteOne of my favourite memories of Christmas is 1963 the north east of England was having a deep freeze that year our street had a few feet of snow and a teenage boy decided to make an igloo for all the little ones in the street, we all got together with our shovels to form blocks of snow and shaped them with our hands into blocks that froze over night, next day the kids had a ball playing in the igloo until a few weeks later when it started to melt, way better than the kids sitting in their rooms playing on tablets and phone
ReplyDeleteI love that! and as an Aussie the whole snow-for-Christmas thing is magical anyway.
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