Friday 14 December 2012

Holiday Gifts Of Love Blog Hop #HolidayHop #freebooks #winakindle


Welcome to my little corner of the Holiday Gifts Of Love Blog Hope where we are celebrating the season.
So from Dec 14th to Dec 17th, all 200 or so of us participating Authors and Bloggers will be blogging about the holidays.

Or rather Christmas, and what it means to us. Forgive me, but I'm in the UK, and it's Christmas!

*smiles*


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!

Please note that all the prices are International, apart from the Swag Pack, which is US only.

***

So, what does Christmas mean to me? A chance for life to slow down and us to just enjoy being together as a family. With my eldest now away at University, it will be lovely to have her home, and to have all my brood under the same roof, just us. Well, I say, just us, lol. There is eleven of us, so no 'just us' about it. But it's chaotic and fun, and utter madness at the crack of dawn when the little ones get up to see if Santa has been, and all hell breaks loose. A ton of wrapping paper and excited screeching later, they all settle down with their goodies and I get started on the Christmas dinner.

We may or may not go to church, depends on the weather, and how lazy we are, lol, and once the turkey is ready we all stuff ourselves until we can't move. Then watch the Christmas telly, and just chill. It's great fun and completely different to the Christmas traditions I remember growing up, but that's okay, because we have made our own traditions. 

I always get a bit teary at Christmas, because I miss my Gran. She made Christmas truly special, and as there were only Gran, me, and Dad, and then eventually my step mum, it was a very quiet, and dignified affair. A direct contrast to the boisterous mayhem that is Christmas at my house now, but I like to think she is looking down on us with a twinkle in her eye, perhaps remembering Christmas times when she was growing up. She had five brothers and three sisters and they all lived in a tiny two up and two down house, with the grand parents and great grandmother, so I reckon it was not dissimilar to our Christmas now, lol.

So this year, like every year, I will raise my glass of German beer and say a silent prayer to my gran in the midst of all the organized chaos, and count my blessings.

Before I go, let me share my two Christmas releases with you.


My story in that anthology is called Santa's Beard, and my heroine expects another lonely Christmas. What  she gets is something else entirely...

You can check out the details and read a hot excerpt HERE.

My other Christmas release is For The Love Of Mutt.


In this paranormal story both my hero and heroine are determined to make a difference this Christmas. What they didn't count on was falling in love.

For more details and to read an Excerpt click HERE.

****

Now, that shameless self-promo is over and done with, let me tell you about my giveaway. I am giving away two copies from my back list, which  you can check out HERE. Winners choice. 

Just tell me about one of your Christmas traditions, old or new, in the comments, and don't forget to leave your e-mail address.

Have a lovely festive season, however you celebrate it !


84 comments:

  1. I like the corset in the first cover. I do not have any Christmas traditions as I don't celebrate it, but I am following the hop and would love a chance to win something this time. delectably_sweet AT yahoo

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    1. Good luck in the hop, Tay :-)

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  2. 1 OF MY HOLI:DAY TRADITIONS IS DECORATING THE WIN:DOWS,THE TREE & THE ENTIRE FRONT ROOM AREA. AFTERWAR:DS THE CHILDREN & I WILL GO OUT SI:DE 2 ADMIRE THE HANDY WORK..I MUST SAY NOTHING IS MORE EXQUISITE & BEAUTIFUL THAN TAKING PICTURES OF THE HOLIDAY LIGHTS FROM OUT SIDE WHILE SNOW FLOWS DURING THE NIGHT N NEW ENGLAND..((sigh))! HAPPBEEEE HOLIDAY!
    redz041@yahoo.com

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    1. Sounds lovely,thanks for sharing :-)

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  3. My kids and I used to make cookies together when they still lived at home.

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  4. Our favorite tradition is decorating the tree. Most of our ornaments are keepsakes, and every one has a story which has to be told. Then hubby puts the angel on the top and we all listen to Christmas music and think about the ones who have gone on, and pray they are watching us to.

    Thanks!

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  5. We usually stay up on Christmas Eve and open presents then, then get up way late the next morning and have some of my mom's tamales :)

    Happy Holidays to all and thanks for being part of such an awesome Blog Hop!

    Evernight fan page liked :)

    Eva
    evitap67(at)gmail(dot)com

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    1. Sounds great, thanks for stopping by :-)

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  6. One Christmas Eve my daughters and I take turns read each page of the Polar Express together...

    Happy Holidays
    BeckeyWhiteATgmailDOTcom

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  7. One of the traditions we have is that we go to my grandmother's house and we cook with her and I love making her chocolate chip cookies.

    mythic021@gmail.com

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  8. When my children were little, we hid all the "Santa" gifts til Christmas eve. The kids would help me put out cookies & a glass of milk for Santa and carrots for his reindeer. Once they were asleep, we brought out "Santa's" gifts to put under the tree. Presents from Mom & Dad were always wrapped and "Santa's" left unwrapped.

    gayle2b74@gmail.com

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    Replies
    1. What a lovely idea, Gayle :-)

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  9. thanks for the great blog and wonderful giveaway

    parisfan_ca@yahoo.com

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  10. One of my favorite Christmas Romance Books is The Untamable Rogue by Annette Blair! The story is about Ashford Blackburne Fifth Earl and he has to get married and get his willing bride pregnant before Christmas or his grandfather won’t let him inherit his money. Ash truly needs to inherit the money because his late father squandered it all away and he is taking care of his mother. After getting stood up at the alter, again, Ash and his friends go to the local pub where the owner plays a drunken Ash in a card game…his consolation prize is the pubs daughter Larkin, who he wants to get ride of. Ash has to learn to forgive…Larkin has to learn how to trust…can two completely different people find love together. This is a cute, extremely funny, romantic story with a surprise Christmas ending!

    Angelheart618@gmail.com

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    1. I might have to look that up. I like the sound of this one :-)

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  11. Thank you for sharing what Christmas means to you!
    In our home we all wait until everyone is away before we open presents together then play monopoly in our pj's for most of the day. This year will be a little different since some have spouses or live away...we'll see how it all plays out. The most important thing is that we'll all spend some of the day together!
    ivegotmail8889(at)yahoo(dot)com

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    1. Yes, time together is truly precious:-)

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  12. Just the usual gift giving tradition. Same old same old. :)

    Thanks for the wonderful giveaway :)

    Rachel Ramos
    rachelanniramos@yahoo.com

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  13. My favorite traditions are decorating, baking, & spending time with the family :)
    Thanks for the awesome giveaway!
    cassandrahicks1989@yahoo.com

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    1. Sounds lovely, thanks for stopping by Cassandra :-)

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  14. Thanks so much for participating in the hop! Happy holidays!

    squiggles87(At)aol(dot)com

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    1. Lovely to have you here. Have a great Christmas :-)

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  15. I miss Christmas's with my Grandma too that was one thing I looked forward to the most. Happy Holidays!

    Dawna N.

    vampiremistress2010(at)gmail(dot)com

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    Replies
    1. Yes, they have way about them, huh. Have a great Christmas:-)

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  16. We get new pjs on Christmas Eve, the funnier the better.

    ocanana@gmail.com

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  17. I bake cookies and one night we go and see all the lights and decorations and then come home and have Hot Chocolate and cookies. Thanks for the giveaway
    Merry Christmas

    crystaley73 at yahoo dot com

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  18. One of my family's tradition is eating dessert after midnight mass on Christmas.
    bituin76 at hotmail dot com

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    Replies
    1. Love it! Sounds a great tradition to me :-)

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  19. On Christmas Eve we order in pizza for dinner. After dinner we get to open one gift each. The other gifts are opened after church on Christmas morning.

    marypres(AT)gmail(DOT)com

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    Replies
    1. Pizza, huh, now that's different. :-)

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  20. Merry Christmas to you! Thank you for the giveaway!
    verusbognar (at) gmail (dot) com

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  21. My grandmother always made christmas special. You can always tell when ti was that time. She always started the end of october, hording presents in her bedroom. And she always seemed to know what to get people. After her death it just didn't seem Christmas.

    Raonaid at gmail dot com

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    1. I hear you! Thanks for sharing :-)

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  22. My family tradition that I started with my daughters is that we take turns reading the Polar Express together.
    Happy Holidays
    BeckeyWhiteATgmailDOTcom

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  23. Our family gather for the Christmas meal on Christmas eve. Then in the evening it's time for the presents, and if we have kids around, what we now have, Santa visits us. The kids sing something to him and he gives the presents. in Finland, where i live, the christmas eve is the big day in this way. Then the celebrations continue the following two days, with lots of food and so on.
    tessa(dot)bamberg(at)kolumbus(dot)fi

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  24. ON CHRISTMAS EVE I LIKE TO WATCH A CHRISTMAS MOVIE OR TWO THEN MAYBE IF NOT TO TIRED I WILL READ A CHRISTMAS STORY ANGELWOLFMYSTIC@YAHOO.COM

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    1. Perfect time of year too do it :-)

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  25. Happy Happy Holidays! Thanks for the great giveaway!
    My fav thing about the holidays are the awesome sparkly lights! We drive around on Christmas Eve and see them all while singing along with carols on the radio! A tradition my grandpa started!
    grapeapril75(AT)gmail.com

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    1. Oh yes we do that too. Love all the lights!

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  26. Thanks for the great hop.
    magic5905 at embarqmail dot com

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    1. Thanks for stopping on by :-)

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  27. Thanks, and good luck :-)

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  28. We get new jammies on Christmas eve and then in the morning the kids can open stockings but no presents until everyone is up,the better the stockings the moe=re parents get to sleep in..lol
    peach_hugs@yahoo.com

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  29. When it gets dark, we turn off the TV, turn on some Christmas music and open some of the gifts. Then, on Christmas morning, we open the rest of the gifts and the ginormous stockings. Had to swap out the large knitted, stretchy stockings for smaller, non-stretchy ones. They were costing a fortune to fill!
    thank you for the chance to win some goodies! Merry Christmas.
    Gail
    djgandyfan@gmail.com

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    1. Lol, re the stockings. Sounds like you have a great time :-)

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  30. Every Christmas Eve we go out to dinner and come home to watch the movie Elf.
    Thanks for the chance and Happy Holidays!
    sqwalker2@hotmail.com

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  31. we decorate the tree the day after thanksgiving the kids love to decorate as do i
    kaholgate at ymail dot com

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    Replies
    1. It's one of my kids' highlights too, the tree decorating :-)

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  32. My Christmas is much like yours. We used to gather at my Mamaw's house, but with a large family, now we all gather at my house. My kids are grown with families of their own, except for the youngest who is also at college. I miss Mamaw, but love having my family around me. Thanks and Merry Christmas to you and your family!
    smoofrog@gmail.com

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    1. Thanks for stopping by and have a great Christmas :-)

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  33. We always have a big dinner and open presents. Thanks for the chance to win!
    natasha_donohoo_8 at hotmail dot com

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  34. Hello, thanks for the giveaway! We always open presents on Christmas Eve, and then open the stockings on Christmas Day (since we all wake up at different times). :)

    skizzles_22_hju@yahoo.com

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  35. My entire family get together every year at the night of the 24th, we spend the night and morning together. It's been a tradition forever and there are those extended family that we only see once a year. (about 70 people really)

    Oh, I just bought "For the love of Mutt" I coudn't resist it. :)

    Happy Holidays!
    morebooksthanlivros@gmail.com

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    1. Squuee, oh thank you. Hope you enjoy it :-)And your Christmas tradition sounds awesome!

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  36. We have a quite day at home:)
    Happy Holidays!
    ajcraig77@comcast.net

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  37. What an awesome hop!! And a fantastic giveaway! Thank you!! Happy holidays to you all! Best wishes and many blessings!
    shadowluvs2read(at)gmail(dot)com

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  38. My favorite tradition is baking cookies with my kids, we spend about a week, make over 150 dozen. There is lots of laughs, and we share memories, we talk about those people that made a difference in our life that year. Then the kids make them cookie trays. We deliver them on Christmas Eve day with a thank you.

    Merry Christmas !
    ~Kym
    flwrs4ever(at)yahoo(dot)com

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    1. Oh, that sounds wonderful :-)

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  39. We make popcorn garland for the tree.

    Morganlafey86(at)aol(dot)com

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  40. My favorite thing about this season is cookies; I love making and eating them. Everyone is so willing to share.
    planterofhope at aol dot com

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  41. Our Christmas tradition is decorating the tree together & listening to Christmas music while we do it. Thank you for the giveaway!

    JessieL62(at)comcast(dot)net

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  42. Thank you everyone who commented. I hope you all have a fantastic Christmas!

    My two winners chosen by random.org are Kimberley Holgate and JessieL17.

    Congratulations!

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