A Gift that keeps on giving

 My Best Friend Ola gifted me this book for Christmas:

She says that The Louvre Heist inspired her purchase:

And inspired me to re-read Three Fates:

Couldn't wait for everyone to go to bed so I could spend time with Nora Roberts' most amazing characters ever created.

I hope you had a Glorious Christmas filled with Joy and Love!

Yours,

Teresa

Wishing you all: "Merry Christmas" 🎄... 🦌... 🌟... 🎁... 🕯️... 💝

 I wish you a Lovely Time Celebrating!

It's ok if you don't... you can always count on Nora to "have you"!

Yours,

Teresa

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The house was lovely. In the big bay window that faced the street was a

Christmas tree, cluttered and green in the daylight. 

At night it would glitter like magic.

Home for Christmas

Wonderlane, CC BY 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

“Do you have a tree in your room?”

“No.”

She gave him a wide-eyed look. “Well, where do you put your presents? It’s not Christmas without a tree, is it, Mom?”

Faith thought of the years Jason had grown up without one. She remembered how hard he’d tried to pretend it didn’t matter. “A tree’s only so that we can show other people it’s Christmas.”

Home for Christmas

🍪

Ho Ho Holidays

🍪

In memoriam

Vintage Ceramic Christmas 🎄

 

"You bought me that ugly little ceramic one."

"It's not ugly, it's tacky. That's entirely different."

Laura @ The MacGregor Brides

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skysail, CC BY-SA 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

These Nostalgic Vintage Ceramic Christmas Trees Just Came Back In Stock

 

Here's where you can find ceramic Christmas trees in different colors, sizes, styles, and price points.

Better Homes & Gardens

Outdoor Christmas Decorating

Natasha stood outside the front door as the snow fell. There were lights strung 

along the roof and around the posts. She wondered how

they would look when they were lighted. There was a full-size 

Santa on the door, his load of presents making him bend from the waist.

She remembered the witch that had stood there on Halloween.

Taming Natasha

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Make the outside of your home as ready for the holiday season as the inside with these outdoor Christmas decorating ideas.

Better Homes & Gardens

Easy Christmas Ornaments Kids Can Make

On the table there was a papier-mâché reindeer with only one ear. 

Compliments of Freddie's second-grade art class.

Taming Natasha

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Yogendra Joshi, CC BY 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

Kids can show holiday spirit with their own handmade ornaments.

Better Homes & Gardens

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"Look at that," Ethan murmured, sliding a hand over Seth's hair as the boy bristled. "It's a picture of the house."

"Looks good," Phillip angled it to get a better view of the clever pencil sketch of the two-story house on the bay.

"Really good."

"It's no big deal."

"I decide what's a big deal around here," Cam kept a hand on Seth's shoulder as he studied the sketch. Yes, it was clever. The boy had talent. But more, it meant home. To all of them.

"And this qualifies. This is a very big deal. Who's it for?"

The Quinn's Christmas

Three Men Are Watching Every Hallmark Channel Christmas Movie and It's Our New Favorite Thing

“I planned to watch a movie with dinner.”

“I like movies.”

“I was going to watch Steel Magnolias.”

He let out a long, long sigh. “I probably deserve that.”

The Witness

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Checklist app? Check. 

Tea? Check. 

Non-stop Christmas music? Check! 

You’ve got almost everything you need to make the most of this year’s killer lineup of Hallmark Channel holiday movies.

The only other thing your movie-watching marathon is missing is a podcast hosted by three ordinary men. (Yes, really.)

Brandon Gray, Daniel Pandolph, and Daniel Thompson are the voices behind Deck the Hallmark, the hit podcast. Together, they watch and then review all 37 of Hallmark’s original holiday movies.

“Just 3 dudes…watching Hallmark. What could go wrong?” the iTunes description reads.

Better Homes & Gardens

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“I guess you leave him there and go home and watch ESPN.”

He studied the drums. “Some people would complain it’s sexist to assume I watch ESPN. Maybe I’m a fan of Lifetime.”

She gave up.

The Search

Christmas Cookies Baking Guide

Baking helps put me in the mood for the holidays. 

There’s nothing like a little flour on your hands

 to start “Jingle Bells” ringing in your head. 

The tradition in my house goes this way: 

First put on an album of Christmas music. 

It isn’t possible to work over a hot oven without the proper setting. 

Gather your

ingredients...

Nora Roberts’s

Holiday Recipes

* Plain or Painted Holiday Cookies *

@Holiday Wishes

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Your one-stop shop for the best Christmas cookies, decorating ideas, and tips for storing, packaging and mailing Christmas cookies.

Taste of Home

Kids Totally Nailed Their Letter To Santa

Dear Santa,

We have been good.

Zeke wanted to put in very good, but Zack, the conscience, rejected the idea.

All I Want for Christmas

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Florida Memory [No restrictions or Public domain], 

via Wikimedia Commons

Spare a thought for Santa. He gets millions of letters a year to trawl through, with the vast majority of them boring and formulaic along the lines of “Dear Santa can I have an X-Box for Christmas please.”

However from time to time there are little nuggets of genius or hilarity that must surely make the jolly old guy crack a smile. Kids are known for speaking their mind, and are especially forthright when it comes to making requests (or demands), so we here at Bored Panda have decided to make a list of the funniest, frankest and most bizarre Santa Letters kids have ever sent.

Bored Panda

How to Pick the Best Christmas Tree Ever

The simple pleasure of choosing a Christmas tree was enough to put the 

laughter back in her eyes.

“This one!” Shane exclaimed, stopping in front of a short-needle pine. 

“It's exactly right.”

“It doesn't look much different from the other five hundred trees we've looked at,” 

Vance grumbled, slicing the point of his shovel into the snow.

“That's because you don't have a connoisseur's eye,” she said condescendingly. 

He scooped up a handful of snow and rubbed it into her face. 

“Be that as it may,” Shane continued with remarkable aplomb, 

“this is the one. Dig,” she instructed, and stepping back, folded her arms.

First Impressions

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By Trevor Webb - Own work, CC BY 4.0, 

https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=65119685

Confused about how to choose the best Christmas tree for your family? The experts at Better Homes & Gardens can help! With these tips for choosing the optimal real Christmas tree and keeping it looking good for as long as possible, you'll have the best Christmas tree on the block.

Better Homes & Gardens

Appetizers Every Host Should Know

She took a sip of wine, then set the glass down to get a jar of olives out of the refrigerator. 

...

She transferred olives from bottle to a shallow dish. 

...

“This is my version of an appetizer, by the way.” She shoved the olives toward him.

The Search

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Forget mixing and mingling. A holiday snacks spread this good means everybody will be bellied up to the buffet. And with Christmas snack ideas like these, who can blame them? Cue the carols!

Taste of Home

25-Minute (or Less) Holiday Appetizers

Replant a festive tree

"I'd say we're ready for the tree. Let's go find one."

You want to drive into town now?.

"Of course not." Pandora was already pulling coats out of the hall closet.

"We'll go right out in the woods and dig one up."

"We?"

"Certainly. I hate it when people cut trees down and then toss them aside after the new year.

The woods are loaded with nice little pines. We'll dig one up, then replant it after the holidays."

A Will and a Way

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By Randi Hausken from Bærum, Norway - The Christmas tree, CC BY-SA 2.0, 

https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=29876120

By the time you purchase a tree, it has already been cut for weeks, or maybe even months. However, even a freshly cut tree has been separated from its roots and replanting a Christmas tree without roots simply isn’t possible. If you’re determined to plant your Christmas tree, purchase a tree with a healthy root ball that has been securely wrapped in burlap. This is an expensive alternative, but with proper care, the tree will beautify the landscape for many years.

Gardening Know How 

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“You know,” he said a few moments later, “it suddenly occurs to me that you‟re going to expect me to dig a hole

to put this thing in after Christmas.”

Shane sent him a guileless smile. “What a good idea. 

I know just the place too. You‟ll probably need a pick though. 

There are an awful lot of rocks.” 

Ignoring Vance‟s rude rejoinder, she waved over an attendant. 

With the roots carefully wrapped in burlap and the tree itself paid for—

by Shane over Vance‟s objection—they headed home.

First Impressions

Maintaining a sense of fun and wonder

“Still believe in magic, Faith?” 

She glanced up, and for the first time her smile was completely open, her eyes warm. 

“Yes, of course I do. Especially at Christmastime.”

Home for Christmas

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By Staff Sgt. Timothy Koster [Public domain], 
via Wikimedia Commons

“Maintaining a childlike excitement into adulthood is not only fun 
but it also contributes to the ability to enjoy life and be resilient.”

YAHOO!

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He rubbed his cheek over her hair, looked out at the colored lights gleaming on the houses below. 

“Did you hear something?” he murmured. 

“Mmm.” She held him close, smiled. “Sleigh bells.”

All I Want for Christmas

"Happy Christmas. To All of Us."

Christmas Day went by in a blur. 

She tried to imprint specific moments on her mind-Mason's sheer delight in the antique medical bag she'd found him, Harper and Austin squaring off over a foosball table. 

There was Lily's predictable fascination with boxes and wrapping rather than toys, and Hayley's joy in showing off a new pair of earrings. 

She loved seeing Logan sitting cross-legged on the floor, showing Stella's boys-his boys now-the child-sized tools inside the toolboxes he'd made them. 

She wanted to slow the clock down-just for this day, just this one day-but it sped by, from dawn and the excitement of opening gifts, to the candlelight and the lavish meal David prepared and served on her best china. 

Before she knew it, the house was quiet once more. 

She wandered down to take a last look at the tree, to sit alone in the parlor with her coffee and her memories of the day, and all the Christmases before. 

Surprised when she heard footsteps, she looked over and saw her sons. 

"I thought you'd all gone over to Harper's." 

"We were waiting for you to come down," Harper told her. 

"Come down?" 

"You always come down Christmas night, after everyone's gone to bed."

Black Rose

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Christmas can seem so loud with activity and busyness that often times, we aren't really enjoying it.  It can be such an amazing time of the year, if we just allowed ourselves time to be quiet and simply enjoy the season with family.

JOY IN THE HOME

It’s time to unwrap the Christmas image

She would go away, she decided, and forced herself to move. She would pack a bag, toss it in the car and drive until she felt like stopping. She’d take a couple of days. Hell, she’d take a week. She couldn’t bear to stay here alone through the holidays. For the next ten minutes, she tossed things into a suitcase without any plan or sense of order. Now that the decision was made, she only wanted to move quickly. She closed the lid on the suitcase, carried it into the living room and started for her coat.

The knock on her door had her clenching her teeth. If one more well-meaning neighbor stopped by to wish her Merry Christmas and invite her to dinner, she was going to scream.

All I Want for Christmas

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Y

ou may not notice it, but at this time of year there is a question that runs around like a headless turkey: “How many people are you having over for Christmas lunch?” Those of us who do not want to be judged for the lack of dinner plates around the festive table, usually answer: “Oh, we’re having a quiet one.”

GUARDIAN

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"I'm just on my way home to pick up my bags. I wish you'd change your mind and come with me. You know you're welcome." She lifted a brow. "And I know Grandpa has been nagging you for weeks to come up for the holidays."

"I appreciate it, but I can't. Besides, I'm not a family-gathering type. Christmas is for kids and families."

She shook her head. "You didn't even put up a tree."

"You bought me that ugly little ceramic one."

"It's not ugly, it's tacky. That's entirely different." She wanted so much to ask him again, to find the right words to persuade him to spend Christmas with her, to be part of her life. But she'd resolved to make do and accept what she had. "I'll miss you."

"You'll be surrounded by people." He smiled a little as he stood up. "Hordes of MacGregors, even the thought of which unnerves me. You won't have time to miss me."

"I'll miss you anyway." She kissed him lightly. She pulled a brightly wrapped box out of her pocket, handed it to him.

"What's this?"

"A present. It's traditional. I want you to open it Christmas morning."

"Look, I don't have—"

"Royce, say thank-you."

Though he was as miserable as he'd been in his life, he made his lips curve. "Thank you."

"Now say Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas, Slim."

"I'll see you in a few days." She hurried out, telling herself it was the sentiment of the season that misted her eyes.

Laura

@The MacGregor Brides

Favorite thing about the holiday: "I love knowing what's coming."

Christmas Eve was the most beautiful day in the year as far as Natasha was concerned. It was a time to celebrate life and love and family.

The house was quiet when she came in. She was drawn to the tree and the light. She sent an angel spinning on one branch, then turned to study the room.

On the table there was a papier-mâché reindeer with only one ear. Compliments of Freddie's second-grade art class. Beside it stood a pudgy snowman holding a lantern. An exquisite porcelain crèche was displayed on the mantel. Beneath it hung four stockings. A fire crackled in the grate.

Taming Natasha

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I Lived Like I Was in a Hallmark Christmas Movie for a Week

Feelings and Quotes

 In the front window, the grand tree showered light within and without. 

Beneath it, presents were heaped in shiny mountains. 

Between the  songs, there were stories, and through both there was laughter. 

But oddly, Aidan felt there was something yet missing.

Christmas at Ardmore

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As they flew over the cliffs in a night that had turned brilliant, Aidan felt the last piece slide into place. 

"There now, it's perfect, isn't it?"

He took Jude's hand, brought it to his lips. 

"Happy Christmas. To all of us."

Christmas at Ardmore

Letters to Santa From Kids

Dear Santa, 

We have been good. 

Zeke wanted to put in very good, but Zack, the conscience, rejected the idea. 

All I Want for Christmas

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By Archives New Zealand from New Zealand - Letter to Santa, CC BY-SA 2.0, 
https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=51248704

Every year, kids all over the world write letters to Santa Claus wishing him a Merry Christmas, listing their holiday gift wishes, and well, asking and telling him things that only hilarious kids could think of. From commenting on his appearance to ratting out their parents who say they "can't have a dog," these letters to Saint Nick are going to make you laugh out loud.

MSN

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You have lots of time to find the mom and make the biks so you can enjoi the hollidays. Thank you. Love, Zeke and Zack.

All I want for Christmas