Share Your Joys With Christina Hollis!

 I invited Christina Hollis to share her joys with us for this upcoming festive season.

Christina Hollis writes Modern Romance for Harlequin Mills and Boon, which appears as Harlequin Presents/Extra in the US. Her current release, Weight of the Crown, is available from Amazon.com and http://www.millsandboon.co.uk/pages/searchres.htm

And on the web you can find Christina on all these places!

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With Christmas less than a week away, I hope you’re looking forward to the festive season. This is a lovely time of year, but too often worries about the weather and family arrangements (or the lack of them) can cast a shadow over everything. Time seems to whizz by so quickly these days. There’s so much pressure on everyone - whether it’s to buy more than we can afford, or to work harder for fear of missing out on promotion.  It’s a shame when life is so busy we don’t have time to enjoy the real meaning of Christmas. If you live in the Northern hemisphere, the image of feasting and light enlivening the shortest days and darkest nights is a very powerful one, whether or not you are a Christian.

            As part of my Big Blog Tour to promote my most recent Mills and Boon title,  Weight of the Crown, I asked for readers’ favourite hobbies and crafting websites. Co-incidentally, at around the same time I read a newspaper article which said people watch too much TV. That struck a real chord of recognition with me. I tend to slump down in front of the idiot lantern as soon as the last meal of the day has been cleared away. With a collection of good crafting ideas, I’ve got no excuse to do that any more, so I’ve cut my watching time down drastically. Thanks, blog commenters! This year I’ve made marmalade and lemon curd to give as gifts along with jars of honey from our generous bees. I’ve also bought myself an early Christmas present - a new sewing machine (it was either that or a replacement food mixer, but that luxury can wait for a while). When we first moved into this house, a long time ago now, I made all the curtains. Now they desperately need renewing, so that urgent job is going to keep me busy for the rest of the winter. I shall enjoy choosing new fabrics in what passes for the January sales, but until then I’ve been getting used to my new machine by making bits and bobs to give as Christmas presents. My little nephews are all getting bright red fleecy hats, so everyone will be able to see them coming! Time is getting short now, but I’m hoping to make a few simple fabric ornaments for the Christmas tree, as well. They’re easier to store than fragile baubles. After my hat-making exploits, I’ve got plenty of festive red scraps lying around, too.

            I’ve been so busy with writing projects this year I haven’t had a chance to grow our own Christmas dinner, as I usually do. We don’t even have any home produced eggs at the moment, as our last hen (who must have been the equivalent of a centenarian in human terms) passed away in the summer. Instead, all our food will be coming from the local farms and shop. I love cooking, and although it’s the ultimate thrill to manage everything myself from seed sowing to presentation, the next best thing is local food. Will you be sitting down to a traditional roast meal on Christmas Day, or something more unusual?

            Finally, if you’re going to be rushed off your feet for the next couple of weeks, spare a thought for my sister. For her, the fun never ends. Look what she had for Christmas recently - triplets!