Lorraine Heath: Holiday Harmony

My Christmas cards went into the mail today. I bought a lovely large silk poinsettia. I’ll attend a few holiday parties—my RWA chapter’s, one with friends, one with my bookclub—and that, my friends, will probably be the extent of Christmas at our house, at least in December.

When my boys were little, we spent a lot of time on the road during Christmas. My parents were five hours away so we’d pop south to visit them for a night and then we’d drive three hours east to visit my husband’s parents. Then it was a six-hour drive home. I have to confess that as much as I enjoyed visiting with our families, I also welcomed the two years when it snowed over Christmas because the boys got to sleep in their beds and Santa visited at our house. There wasn’t the stress of driving roads, usually in the cold and rain, filled with traffic as others tried to join family elsewhere.

It was just us—snug in our home.

So when my boys started getting serious about their girlfriends, I encouraged them to spend the holiday with her family. Drive to one destination, relax, enjoy the holiday. We’ll have our “Christmas” sometime in January.

And we’ve done that for five years now. Hubby and I started a tradition of going out to a very nice restaurant on Christmas Eve. Christmas day we catch a movie, then come home and prepare a small turkey dinner. It’s relaxed, it’s enjoyable, and I don’t have to worry about my boys being on the road.

I usually put up a tree but this year we’ll be meeting later than usual—in February—so I’m thinking the tree probably won’t go up. Or maybe it will. I haven’t decided.

I know the holidays can be difficult for those who don’t have family near or friends to visit. I think this is where creating other traditions for ourselves can be helpful, can give us something special to look forward to. After our turkey dinner, I’ll watch a few Christmas movies—Love Actually, It’s a Wonderful Life, How the Grinch Stole Christmas.

Then I’ll probably curl up with a good book. What book would you recommend for holiday reading?

Lorraine has a Christmas novella, Deck the Halls with Love, that came out last Christmas. It’s a story of second chances. 

Lorraine will give away a copy of her Christmas novella and her latest novel, ONCE MORE, MY DARLING ROGUE, to one lucky poster.  Leave a comment for a chance to win!

Happy Holidays!

*** Lorraine's winner is Carol L! Please email totebag@authorsoundrelations.com with your mailing details!***

My Favorite Christmas Movies - Sarah Morgan

My first seasonal story for Harlequin Presents, The Twelve Nights of Christmas, is in stores now so to celebrate all things Christmassy I’m talking about festive movies that make me smile.

Here, in no particular order, are my favourites.

While You Were Sleeping – I know I’m not alone in loving this film. Sandra Bullock plays Lucy, a lonely ticket collector who rescues a man when he’s pushed onto the train tracks on Christmas Eve and ends up pretending to be his fiancée. It has humour, warmth, gorgeous family scenes, tears and best of all Bill Pullman as sexy Jack. And lots of snow.

It’s a Wonderful Life – an angel shows a despairing businessman what a difference he has made to other people’s lives. No Christmas would be complete without at least one showing of Frank Capra’s classic, which was nominated by the American Film Institute as one of the 100 top American films ever made.

Love Actually – eight stories in one film, some of which work for me and some that don’t (I cannot believe that Laura Linney would let the divine Rodrigo Santoro slip through her fingers), but it always puts me in a Christmas mood. I love the scene where Colin Firth stumbles his way through a Portuguese lesson so that he can tell the girl her he loves her.

Home Alone 3 – I can hear everyone shrieking ‘what? She cannot be serious’ but yes, I am serious. I love this film. It might be because I first watched it when my youngest son and I were ill at the same time one Christmas. We curled up together feeling sorry for ourselves and had a surprisingly happy time. I love the little boy (Alex D Linz, same actor who played the little boy in One Fine Day with George Clooney and Michelle Pfeiffer) and the film as painful as every Home Alone film is supposed to be. And there’s snow.

Die Hard – yes, I know it’s a weird choice but it is a Christmas movie. Sort of. It has snow and Christmas carols and the incredible, inestimable Alan Rickman.

A Christmas Carol – I love the Dickens story in almost any version.

The Family Man – Nicholas Cage as a driven, workaholic investment banker who gets to see what his life might have been had he taken a different path. He goes to bed on Christmas Eve and wakes up in the life he would have had if he’d chosen to marry his girlfriend instead of putting his career first. Tea Leonie is gorgeous as his ‘wife’, the kids and the slobbering dog are sweet and yes – there’s snow.

What’s your favourite Christmas movie?

Sarah
http://www.sarahmorgan.com/