Day 1: Jean Joachim: 12 Authors of Christmas

CHRISTMAS MEMORIES

Christmas has always been about giving for me. Even as a little kid, I was into the “what to buy for Mom” mentality. Our local high school had a Christmas Fair every year. It was the time when an eight-year-old could fill her Christmas list with craft items and other gems available for sale for a low price.

With a few dollars from dad, I could buy an apron for mom, something for him and still have enough left over to get a record album for my brother. The excitement of being like one of the adults, with delightful secrets to keep for a week or two, I’d skip home, elated, to hide my treasures in my closet or under the bed until dawn on Christmas morning. I rise before the others, wrap my gifts and put them with the rest, feeling proud I stepped out of true childhood and did something meaningful, I thought, for my beloved family.

Wind the clock up to when my boys were children. I still had, and do to this day, the thrill of giving on Christmas. I’d start early when the boys were young, sitting down late at night with a glass of wine and the Lego catalog. I’d page through, turning down the corners of the Lego kits I most wanted for my kids. Then I’d go back over it again and again until I had whittled it down to what was best for them and what we could afford.

A trip to the remainder store brought either unexpected treasures or nothing at all. One year my best gift was found there. My younger son, Steve, just turned nine had had a beloved Packman frog that had died. He had adored Packy, his frog and was inconsolable for weeks. I remember turning the corner of an aisle and bam! There in front of me was a whole bin of stuffed “Packys”, frogs without the cute, smiling faces others probably wanted. These stuffed frogs had the dour look of a real frog, a real Packman frog. I scooped it up, elated to have found an almost-replacement that wouldn’t die. Stuffed Packy is still in our home, though Steve has just turned twenty-one.

This year I’m ready to give again. My first gifts are to my readers as I have two contemporary romance novellas gone permanently free on Amazon: Moonlight and Roses, a sweet and Now and Forever, Callie’s Story, a spicy romance.

I hope you enjoy giving as much as I do and have a joyous holiday season filled with love and laughter.

Visit my website to learn more about my books: http://www.jeanjoachimbooks.com

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.



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