I love that song, reminds me of my Nanna and just fills my heart with Christmas joy. I think I’ve mentioned it before, actually. Anyway, today in church we were focusing on Mary and my vicar made a wonderful point and it got me thinking. So, I’ve done what any author would do, I’ve written a short story about it!

I know this might seem unexpected but I am nothing if I’m not eclectic!

Merry Christmas, folks. :)

One of the best things about Christmas meals isn’t edible at all, it’s the crackers you pull before you start to eat. I think the Christmas cracker is a fairly British thing, but it is something we could never have a festive meal without. The cracker is essentially a rolled up tube of paper with things inside and tied at both ends. They generally have a BANG! inside them so when you pull they make a cracking noise – hence the name.

Inside you’ll find a paper hat, a little novelty toy and a joke. The novelties are usually fairly naff, like the fortune telling fish or a spinning top or the ever hilarious false moustache. The hats are paper and often too big or two small but you have to wear them through the whole meal, it’s the law, honest. The best bit is the joke. It’s awful, really awful but that’s all part of the fun.

Here’s the first awful joke I ever learnt

What do a bald man and a greyhound have in common?
They both make a little hair (hare) go a long way! ;)

Welcome RJ, I’ll turn my blog over to you now…

Christmas Magic.

My son believes in Father Christmas. That isn’t such an odd thing really; both he and my daughter were led to believe that a man filled with magic would leave the most awesome gifts for them under the tree. Just as my parents had done for my sister and me. A visit to Father Christmas, or Santa, in his grotto, in Selfridges down Oxford Street in London, or even at the local school Christmas fair was imperative. It meant receiving a small parcel of pens or a small penny-doll, wrapped by the great man himself as a taster to what was coming on the big day. Carrots on the hearth, a bottle of beer, water for Rudolph, everything would be just right for my sister and me to sit well into the dark, sometimes as late as midnight, waiting to hear the reindeer on the roof. This is the second year that Matthew believes in Father Christmas, and we have a grotto to visit and letters to be written. He is also promising to be very good just in case Santa is watching.

My boy loves Thomas the Tank Engine. That isn’t really all that odd either. A lot of small boys, and girls, love the Thomas figures. It is a proven fact that their wide eyes and open expression-filled faces are easy for little kids to relate to. The less-than-good engines (there are no real truly evil Thomas characters) always lose out on the good things. The slightly-flawed-but-good engines battle on bravely and end up on top. They also offer places in the exalted circle for the less-than-good engines that might otherwise miss out. This is another year when we have to visit a toy shop and buy yet more Thomas. Matthew is promising to be very good so he can have the very Thomas engine that he wants. A gold and blue one that I need to track down.

My baby boy eats olives. Now that is kind of odd. For an English kid to like the salty goodness of olives is really mostly weird. Olives are not part of the English staple diet as they may be elsewhere in Europe. He particularly likes to eat entire jars of them in one sitting. He has ten on them on a plate each night before bed; they have to be pitted as he isn’t a great fan of the stones. If we run out of olives then the terrible two’s hit like a freight train, tantrums like you wouldn’t believe. As a result, we always have olives. This Christmas we are visiting Costco, where you can buy huge catering size jars of olives that we can store in our garage. God help us if we were snowed in with no way of buying olives. Matthew promises us on a daily basis that he will be good if he can have his ten olives.

My little boy actually isn’t really so little. He is actually nearly 12.

He has autism.

Last year was the first year he believed in the nebulous concept that is Father Christmas. When he went into the Shopping Centre grotto, with his face hidden by his hands so no one could look at him, I just stood outside the grotto and I cried. Surrounded by kids of four and five, with their bemused parents staring at me, I literally cried for ten years of having no thoughts of a magic Santa popping into my little boys head.

Christmas is magic and now Matthew has some of that inside him, that excitement and that anticipation. For me this Christmas, visiting the grotto with him will be the most awesome gift of all.

Thank you so much for your touching post, RJ!

To find out more about RJ Scott visit her website and check out some of her hot books!

That’s cookies to those across the pond! I’m bringing you a Blissemas Present today in the form of theses deliciously moreish chocolatey treats. Recipe Courtesty of Nigella Lawson.

Mine are covered in icing sugar as I’m saving my festive Sprinkles for nearer the time. There is also only 2 on the photo because we ate the other 11 of them. They are very chocolately, very crumbly and really, really moreish.

I cooked 25 in total and froze 2 bags of 7 cookies. To freeze simply follow the instructions to bake the biscuits then when they’re cooled put them in a freezer bag and seal it (or a freezer safe tub) and keep them in there up to 3 months. Defrost them then ice and eat. I’m planning to take some out for a party on the 18th December and some more for Christmas day, for those who don’t like Christmas pudding.

If you’re a food fan or you know someone who is I can thoroughly recommend Nigella Christmas to you. It’s filled with glorious recipes and none of them are very challenging. I love my copy!

So, today, let me know your very favourite festive biscuit/cookie recipe! And remember each comment enters you into the Blissemas Contest to win 15 different prizes!

Hi all, I’m the guest blogger over at Romancing the Book today, so pop on over and see what I consider to be my Christmas Essentials! If you comment over on that blog you could win a copy of Christmas Spirit Warms the Heart.

I do get *really* generous during the festive season! So are you ready for Christmas yet? Do you have all your presents bought? I’ve got most of mine, but still have a couple of small gifts to pick up. I also have several things left to make -I’m doing alot of making my own presents this year. I enjoy doing it and feel a great sense of accomplishment when I give someone something that I took time and effort over, it’s even better if they really love it! Later in the season of Blissemas I’ll share some of my homemade gifts with you!

So yes, are you prepared for the festive season or have you not even thought about it yet?

Remember if you comment you are in with a change of winning one or more of 15 prizes that I’m generously giving away this Blissemas. Check This blog for details.