Now that Christmas is over....

Now that Christmas is over.... By Maree Anderson (for Writers Gone Wild)

Hi all,

For me, Christmas the year was kinda summed up like this: three days before Christmas Day, I got an email from some retailer with the heading EARLY BOXING DAY SALE STARTS TODAY!

Huh? WTF? I rubbed my eyes. But noooo, I wasn't reading it wrong. The hours I'd spent at the computer on copy edits hadn't bleared my eyes. Sure enough, their December 26th Boxing Day sale was starting early -- on December 22nd.

But rather than skip for joy and rush out to take advantage of the early sale, all I could think of was Good Flaming Grief. How about we just make it through Christmas Day first, huh?

As it happens, I did make it through Christmas Day. And -- unlike my rather frenetic Christmas Eve -- a very nice, laid-back, cruisy day it was, too. French champagne, croissants, and baked bean bacon hash for breakfast. Baked ham, gourmet potato salad and fancy green salad for lunch. Pavlova, chocolate brownie pie and ice-cream for dessert. Great company, great food, great wine... You can't get much better than that.

So now that Christmas is over, what I'd like to know is this:

What's the best Christmas present that you got this year?

Or even, what's the best Christmas present that someone else got this year? (You know, the one that you secretly wish you were given, because it's so freaking awesome, and you covet it!)

In the spirit of sharing, here were some of my personal faves: a couple of really great designer t-shirts, book vouchers, and THE most divine chocolates.

One gift that I covet, because they're so darned quirky that they're catapulted into the realms of ultra-coolness, is a bundle of sox that DH's sister sent him from China. It's not until you take your shoes off that these sox show their true colors -- literally! So even the most conservative of men (like my dad-in-law, who also got a bundle) can wear these fun little numbers to work without raising any eyebrows.










Then there was the tiny remote-controlled helicopter that DH's other sister sent him from Australia. Boy, did we have fun annoying the cat, and trying to land that little thing on the cake stand (once we'd eaten the pavlova, of course.) Why is it always the boys who get fun stuff like that for Christmas?

There were books galore, of course. Gardening books, cookbooks, and a wide range of fiction to suit all tastes. With an author in the family, no-one gets away without a gift of books for Christmas *VBG*

And father-in-law even got a live goat -- one of those give a goat to a village in Africa deals.

Looking forward to reading about your favorite Christmas gifts -- I can always do with some ideas for next year!

And don't forget that you've still got a couple of days to pop on over to the Red Hot Red Sage Authors blog, and leave a comment on one -- or all, if you're really keen! -- of the Rock Around December with Red Sage posts. Prize pack will be drawn on New Year's Eve.

In the meantime, wishing you all a Happy New Year!

Hugs,
Maree