Holiday Gifts of Love Blog Hop

When It's Christmas Time in Texas... Anyone know that George Strait song? It's one of my favorites.

For many in the U.S., Christmastime means snow, roaring fireplaces, snuggling up under a blanket and drinking hot chocolate. Once in a while (like every 20 years or so), it's that way for us, too. But it's much more likely that we'll be in short sleeves with the windows open and the fans on. We had a short cold snap yesterday that dropped night time temps into the 20's, but we're already back up into the 50's and supposed to be near 70 by the weekend.

So how do you get into the Christmas spirit without the cold and snow? Well, we decorate, wrap packages, and play Christmas music. I also start making Christmas candy the week before Christmas. Since it's the only time of year I make these particular treats, it helps get us in the mood. Reality doesn't really set in, though, until the kids arrive.

Some years it's just the child who lives a few hours away, along with our two grandsons. Other years, the Harvard daughter comes home, and once in a blue moon (also the title of one of my books), the California boys come home. One year, we spent Christmas by ourselves. That wasn't much fun.

It's the kids that make Christmas the joyful time that it is. Especially the young ones. They get so excited about the tree, the lights, the presents--seeing everything through their eyes makes everything beautiful. I miss the days of big family gatherings, with lots of kids tearing into presents that might not have been expensive but were loved anyway. I miss the days of brothers and sisters, inlaws and outlaws, aunts and uncles, grandparents and friends gathered around a table groaning under the weight of food and desserts. But with families scattered far and wide, with busy lives and strained wallets, travelling a couple of thousands miles with two or three kids in tow just isn't practical.

In my latest release, The Christmas Wish, Merry Peterson is far from home and facing her first Christmas alone. Then she falls right into Santa's lap and he asks her what she wants for Christmas. Jason Wells might not be the real Santa, but he plays one for charity and he makes it his goal to make Merry's Christmas wish come true.

Check out The Christmas Wish on Amazon and all major retailers for just $1.99. http://amzn.com/B00AFBLUNA

For the blog hop, I'm giving away a copy of The Christmas Wish and a $10 Amazon gift card. You must comment to be entered, and you must post your email address in your comment. This prize is open to readers everywhere, but unfortunately the Grand Prizes are limited to U.S. readers due to shipping costs. 

What about you? What's your wish this Christmas? What do you miss most about Christmases past?

It's a Happy Holiday from your favorite Authors and Bloggers. While we know everyone celebrates a different way, we wanted to make sure that you guys knew how much we treasure you all. So from Dec 14th to Dec 17th, all 200 or so of us will be blogging about the holidays and what they mean to us. We may talk about our favorite holiday traditions, recipes, gifts, reads, heroes, and so much more. We want to hear about what you do for the holidays, what you read, and who you'll spend it with. We hope to see you here and happy hopping!

And while we do that, we are EACH doing a giveaway. Yep. There will be over 200 giveaways on each blog hosted by that Author or Blogger.

But that's not all....

We have THREE grand prizes. You as a reader can go to EACH blog and comment with your email address and be entered to win. Yep, you can enter over 200 times!

Now what are those prizes?

1st Grand Prize: A Kindle Fire or Nook Tablet

2nd Grand Prize: A $200 Amazon or B&N Gift Card

3rd Grand Prize: A Swag Pack that contains paperbacks, ebooks, 50+ bookmarks, cover flats, magnets, pens, coffee cozies, and more!