Today I’m joining Rhonda Parrish’s Giftmas blog tour! (You remember Rhonda? Editor of Fae, Scarecrow, Corvidae, Equus, Mrs. Claus, the alphabet anthologies, and more?) For ten days or so, fourteen writers will share seasonal thoughts to raise money for the Edmonton (Alberta) Food Bank.
Oh, and prizes. We’ll also share prizes. Because giving is a part of Giftmas.
Last year we raised over $500, so please, join us this year? All donations go directly to charity, nothing passes through grubby writer hands — and Americans get extra value, since donations are in Canadian dollars! ;-)
This year’s Giftmas theme is Shining a Light.
Last night, a bevy of cousins (an assortment of relatives, really, but more cousins of various flavors than anything else) descended upon my house. In less than two hours, including that all-important Christmas ritual of eating together, they transformed my home from a bland, messy house to a warm holiday retreat.
I love my house, and I love Christmas decor, but I hate putting it up alone. (Yes, I’m happily married, but my husband works away much of the time.) So I invite people to do it for me in exchange for dinner come over.
It can be intimidating: Several are talented decorators, one professionally and award-winning, and they keep their houses better than I do. (My house looks like I just survived a series of conferences and conventions, NaNoWriMo, and a quick succession of live events. I have an entire extra table full of stuff I pulled from my desk and shelves to sort and haven’t done yet. I had to clear the dining table of book and dinosaur t-shirts and wheel about six cases of books into my bedroom just to make room for my guests.) It’s showing off my complete disorganization. So why do it?
Because it’s Christmas, and there are more important things than judging someone’s stacks of still-not-done accounting, or worrying about your stacks being judged.
So we got together around a crackling fire, and I tried a new recipe which actually worked (balsamic-peach-rosemary chicken), and we literally shone lights (I didn’t have enough working strands but they shared), and we had a great Christmas kickoff.
I’ve written elsewhere on the tour about the more critical parts of Christmas and the Christmas spirit, so for today, I’ll just say that I’m glad to celebrate with family.
Follow the tour to read about where I’m donating, about how I think we can all make a difference every single day even when we feel powerless, and much more from other authors.
And please remember to donate for the tour cause (every Canadian dollar supplies three meals, American dollars even more, plus you get cool stuff just for donating!), and then to enter the raffle for fabulous prizes: books, stickers, cards, critiques, a Tuckerization by me, art!
Thanks for reading!
