Christmas movies: I have a type
My partner and I love Christmas movies. Most years, we start watching them the day after Thanksgiving and continue each day until December 25th. The first one we watch is usually Christmas Vacation. The last one is usually A Christmas Story. And in between, well, anything goes: Christmas comedy. Christmas horror. Christmas romance. Christmas classic. Christmas heartfelt.
This year, I’ve been paying more than the usual attention to what I enjoy the most. With the exception of Love Hard (I adore Jimmy Cho) and maybe Trading Christmas (Faith Ford won my heart), I’m not a huge fan of Christmas romance or rom-coms. I might be tired of the tropes. Or maybe nothing about them matches my experience, observations, or fantasies.
Christmas horror is an interesting genre. Most of them are campy and funny. Some are truly frightening. I could do without gore, but I like them. My favorites are Violent Night, Krampus, and A Christmas Horror Story (featuring Bill Shatner!).
I may have too many favorite comedies to list. A Christmas Vacation is a must watch every year. It’s on its way to being a classic. Office Christmas Party with Jason Bateman is hilarious. (I just watched that yesterday!) Bad Santa with my soon-to-be exhusband Billy Bob Thornton. The Santa Clause series.
I have finally figured out that my favorite Christmas genre is ‘heartfelt”. Christmas Chronicles 1 and 2 with sexy santa Kurt Russell. Red One with the Rock and J.K.Simmons. It’s a Wonderful Life with the inimitable Jimmy Stewart. A Bishop’s Wife with Cary Grant. The Holdovers with Paul Giamatti. These are the movies that make my heart sing and my soul long for something I have yet to identify.
Although, I can’t forget Die Hard. It’s in a category all by itself. Rock on, Bruce Willis.
My Mom’s Favorite Holiday Cookie
Full disclosure: This is a picture I found on DepositPhotos. I haven’t made them yet this year because there is far too much going on to bake. But I plan to. In the meantime, you can enjoy them.. They are so yummy!
You might think that lemon is not a flavor of the holidays, but you wouldn’t dare say it to my mom. She loved the flavor of lemons and she loved these cookies. She called them snowballs. I’m happy to share the recipe with you.
Ingredients
8 oz cream cheese, softened
1⁄4cup butter, softened
1 package lemon cake mix
1⁄4teaspoon vanilla
1 egg
Pre-heat oven to 375.
Let’s Make Cookies!
Combine cream cheese and butter. (You can do it by hand but using a mixer makes it creamier.)
Mix in 1/2 of the cake mix, the egg and the vanilla until smooth. (Make sure your mixer is on low if you’re using one.)
Stir in the rest of the cake mix.
Drop dough by teaspoon onto a cookie sheet.
Bake 8-10 minutes.
While still warm, dust liberally with powdered sugar.
Holiday Magic
One of the thing that’s magical about the holidays to me is how quickly time flies. I think the days go by so fast is because, well, as you get older, each year is a smaller percentage of your life. Think about it. When you are five years old, a year is a whole fifth of your life. When you’re 20, it’s 1/20th. When you’re 40, it’s 1/40th…and so on.
Specifically, I think the time goes by quickly because we are also busy. No matter what job I’ve held, it has gotten crazier starting in November. That maybe because I’ve always provided services to people in one capacity or another and holidays are hard for many of us—even more so when you’re vulnerable or disenfranchised in some way.
I’ve always found that reading helps me to slow down. Catch my breath and relax. Does it work that way for you, too?
Here are some books that I hope help you to slow down time and take care of yourself so you can enjoy the season. Just click on the pictures.
N.N.Light’s Book Heaven Holiday Gift Guide
Love is love.
Fantasy Romance
Festive Food!
When I was young, my family had the same meal for Christmas that we had for Thanksgiving: Turkey, dressing, potato salad, macaroni salad, cranberry sauce, green beans, collard greens, candied sweet potatoes, macaroni and cheese. If we were having a ton of people over, my mom might also cook a glazed ham. For New Years, she’d make a lasagna and black-eyed peas and rice with greens and cornbread, a traditional southern meal that is supposed to usher in good luck.
Today, Christmas celebrations are much simpler. We make a small charcuterie board and appetizers: pigs in a blanket, brie en croute, tiny quiches. We munch on them from Christmas eve through Christmas night. We get a little fancier for New Years because it’s my partner’s birthday. This year—Crab legs! I can’t wait.
What do you eat for the holidays? Do you have any food traditions?
Just in time for the holidays!
Join us for a holiday book fair featuring LGBTQ+ fiction. Find your favorite authors and discover some new ones!
Risk or Treat
Halloween is becoming a cultural hornet’s nest and should be retired.
Yeah, I said it. But let me explain.
At this point, most people know the origins of Halloween. Briefly (and insofar as I understand) it originated with the ancient festival of Samhain. Celtic peoples believed that ghosts returned to earth on October 31. Folks would light bonfires and wear costumes to ward them off.
Over the years, it morphed into the celebration we have today. Children dress up as whatever they want, trick or treat for candy, and carve pumpkins (among other rituals). Adults do the same, except substitute parties for trick or treating.
Sounds great, right? But it isn’t.
Along with little ones excited to get a jack o’lantern filled with candy, the streets Halloween night are filled with teenagers and young adults, carrying pillow cases to collect treats. Many of all ages don’t even bother to dress up. My observation and experience is that it changes the tenor of the evening, and not for the better. Across the country, crime spikes on Halloween. Numerous sources have reported this, such as the NY Post and Eyewitness News. A quick google search of “Halloween violence” will give you pages of articles documenting shootings, property damage, robberies, and hate crimes. For these reasons, many parents are unwilling to allow their children to go trick or treating. Trunk or treating and other adaptations have emerged.
Trunk or treating is where adults are invited to decorate the trunks of their cars Halloween style. Kids walk from car to car collecting candy. Shopping malls have gotten in on it as (in my opinion) a marketing activity where kids, accompanied by parents, go from store to store collecting candy.
Don’t get me wrong. The IDEA of Halloween is wonderful. It is supposed to be exciting and visually entertaining. You can’t beat the vibrant colors and characters and, of course, the candy. And the movies. More importantly, I have many fond memories of taking my nieces and nephews out and then coming home to sort out candy, drinking hot chocolate. Oh, the giggles.
But would I take them out today? No. Not on a bet. This formerly meaningful night has deteriorated into a tense, crime riddled candy grab. Might there be an unintended and unfortunate lesson in taking that risk? Does the potential (but diminished) fun outweigh the risk?
I don’t think so. I also don’t think there would be momentum to discontinue Halloween unless something horrific happens. I hope it doesn’t. I hope everything I’ve said is wrong.
Be safe.
The Meaning of Christmas Cards
Christmas cards are among the things I like most about the Christmas season. There was a time we received nearly 100 cards each year. It was the one time I could look forward to hearing from far flung family members, old school friends, and people who shared my work or other interests. As a bonus many would be accompanied by newsletters, photos, or other extras. It was how we stayed connected to people in our lives whom we seldom saw.
These days I am disappointed at the number of cards that we find in our mailbox. There are many reasons, I know. People died, people moved and lost touch, and people’s lives changed. We have added new ones but somehow our world still feels smaller.
I think cards have become more important as covid has changed so many things that normally make up our behavior. We don’t shop at stores in person, so I really miss all the bright decorations. We don’t attend holiday parties. Our only contact with our neighbors is a wave from the driveway and appreciating their holiday decorations from afar. There is little in my day- to -day life that sets this time apart from any other.
I hope that cards and newsletters make a comeback. They take more effort than some people are willing to put in, but a card with a personal note says that you mean something to someone. And I, for one, consider each and every card a gift from a friend.
Do you send holiday cards?
A Time of Reflection and Thanks
People often confuse Memorial Day with Veterans Day, or assume they have the same meaning. They don’t.
Veterans day was originally called Armistice Day, established in 1919 by President Wilson. It was designed to celebrate the end of “The Great War”, World War I and mark the beginning of peace, good will, and understanding among nations. It later became a legal holiday (1938).
In 1954, after World War II (reportedly the biggest mobilization of service people) , and the Korean War the 83rd Congress amended the Act of 1938, changing Armistice Day to Veterans Day, with the intent to honor veterans of all wars.
Memorial Day is older. It began in 1868 when Maj. Gen. John A. Logan (of the Grand Army of the Republic) declared that Decoration Day would honor those fallen in the Civil War by decorating their graves with flowers. After WW I, it was broadened to include all those who died in American wars. In 1971, Congress declared it a national holiday.
Veteran’s Day honors all who served and sacrificed. Memorial Day honors those who made the ultimate sacrifice.
For many of us, Memorial Day marks the beginning of the summer season. We celebrate this beginning with picnics and barbecues and trips to the pool or beach. But during our fun, we cannot forget to honor those who died for our freedom and safety. As the saying goes, without them, there would likely be no us.
*Information retrieved from va.gov
Oh, Look! Presents!
From time to time I have the opportunity to point my readers and followers to a few new authors and a few new books. In honor of the holidays, I have a slew of them!
Click on the pictures and ENJOY!
The books here represent a variety of genres.
Gifts of the (Covid-19) Season
For most of my adulthood, I’ve had a vision of the holidays. Picture this: Sitting in front of a fireplace, looking out of a large (well-insulated) picture window as it snows. On the coffee table is a bowl of popcorn, my mug of hot chocolate (overloaded with marshmallows), and my book. My partner and I spend days on end reading, snuggled with each other, our dogs, and our favorite comfy throws.
What’s your holiday fantasy?
We’ve gotten close in some years, but the days have always been so hectic. As odd as it sounds, this year we’re going to finally do it. The odd and fragile year has give us the gift of time. The gifts of a slower pace and opportunity to focus on our true priorities. Health, happiness, serenity, and love. Oh—and there’s a snow storm coming.
We’re taking advantage of these gifts. I wish you the same.
All Creatures Can Celebrate Valentine’s Day!
Valentine’s Day is a day created for lovers. You might think it would be a romance writer’s favorite holiday. Candy, flowers, and wine sales are booming.
But humans aren’t the only creatures that can celebrate. What about the paranormal community? What are they supposed to do? Vampires never drink—Well, at least not wine. And candy is iffy. Toffee and jellied fruits, or gummies and other confections could create tooth and other dental problems in several species.
I bet paranormal creatures have their own traditions when it comes to Valentine’s Day. I imagine it would look like this:
Vampires—Blood in a heart shaped bag might make a nice gift.
Shifters could enjoy a picnic (steak sandwiches?) and a moonlight run.
Dragons—Ah, gold jewelry would do the trick.
Witches may appreciate a beautiful journal for spell books.
Incubi—These feast on lust and other emotions, so perhaps a weekend at a honeymoon hotel would be exquisite.
In my story Indigo Dreams, you get a peek at how one wraith spent his Valentine’s Day. Sign up for my VIP Reader email list here and get your free copy!
