7 Days until Christmas!
Only ONE WEEK left until the drawing! Go back and comment on all the Countdown to Christmas posts you haven't commented on yet. Send your emails and post on your blogs. Get all those entries in!
Traci Hunter Abramson is the author six novels, including her most recent release, Lockdown (March 2009). Traci has two novels scheduled to be released next year- Crossfire in January 2010 and Backlash in September 2010.
Traci's books are available for purchase at Deseret Book.
Learn more about Traci on her website: www.tracihunterabramson.com and her blog: Traci Hunter Abramson, Author.
LDSWBR: Traci, what favorite holiday traditions do you and your family participate in every year? Will you be starting any new traditions this year?
TRACI: We start out the month with the kids debating who gets to put the ornament up on the advent calendar first and then we try to squeeze some time into our schedule on a family home evening night to put up the Christmas tree. My children's stockings are insanely large (thanks to my sometimes favorite sister) so when Santa arrives he typically fits all of his gifts into the kids' stockings. Of course we bake cookies for Santa, sugar cookies in the shapes of trees, candy canes and ornaments...and occasionally an Easter rabbit. My creative children ice them in red, blue and green followed by too many sprinkles. I typically sit by and hope for failures that I can dispose of properly.Years ago I baked date nut rolls as gifts for my neighbors. These same neighbors have all informed me that this tradition WILL continue whether I have time to bake them or not. According to them, the recipe that my stepmom handed down to me simply doesn't work the same in their kitchens. I have my suspicions that they aren't really complimenting my cooking, but rather buttering me up to ensure my contribution to their own holiday traditions. I have to admit, it really is cute to see my kids load the foil-wrapped concoctions into their red wagon and deliver them to everyone on the cul de sac.
For Christmas Eve, we always have a nice quiet meal of grand proportions like my mom used to make when I was a kid (basically a mini-Thanksgiving dinner). Following dinner, my husband reads us the Christmas story and then everyone opens one present to hold us off until the main event on Christmas morning. As for Christmas morning, the children have already been warned not to wake us up until after 7 AM. Translated, this means that at 6 AM my teenagers will send my five-year-old into my room to ask us what time it is. He still has the cuteness factor that protects him from all those dire consequences we warn the older kids about. The good news is that we always have plenty of leftovers from Christmas Eve dinner so I don't have to cook at all on Christmas Day.
LDSWBR: What books are on your Christmas wish list this year?
TRACI: Any! All! Okay, if I had to actually name specific titles, here are my top three:
Up From Slavery by Booker T. Washington: This is one of my favorite books, but I keep buying the economy version of it and then end up giving it away. My latest purchase seems to have disappeared again.
An unabridged dictionary...and no, I don't just want this because I'm an author. My family loves to play Boggle and my dictionary is seriously outdated. I'm hoping that a new dictionary might help me have an even chance against my husband and my sister (the same sister that gifted those insanely huge stockings to my children).
Surround Yourself with Greatness by Chad Lewis - What can I say? I love football.
LDSWBR: What books have you purchased/will you purchase as gifts for loved ones this year? (Unless sharing would ruin the surprise!)
TRACI: I actually bought multiple copies of one book for several of my friends and family but I'm afraid that information still falls into the "Top Secret" category.
LDSWBR: Thanks for taking the time to share with us, Traci. Have a great Christmas!
Luckily for Mom and Dad, our kids have been known to sleep until 9 AM on Christmas morning. However, my dad liked to drag us kids out of bed early, sometimes 5 or 6 AM (he was more excited than we were!). What time do your kids usually wake you up? What's the earliest they've tried to get you out of bed to open presents? If you don't have kids, how early were you up on Christmas morning as a child?
Don't forget to nominate your favorite 2009 books by LDS authors for Whitney Awards by December 31! Can't remember what you read? Visit the LDS Publisher blog for a list of books published by LDS authors in 2009.
***Countdown to Christmas Contest***
LDSWBR will hold a drawing on Christmas Day for a $25 eGift Card from Deseret Book, as well as a variety of books being offered by some of the LDS authors that will be featured on the blog. Simply post a thoughtful comment on the Countdown to Christmas author posts to enter. Here are the rules:
- LDSWBR reserves the right to decide what determines a "thoughtful" comment.
- Only one comment per person per "Countdown to Christmas" author post will be entered into the drawing. This allows the potential for 24 entries per person at the end of the contest. Feel free to comment more than once per post if you'd like, but only one comment will be accepted as an entry.
- Contest ends at 12:00 Midnight MST on December 24, 2009. Drawing winners will have until 12:00 Midnight MST on December 31, 2009 to claim their prize. After that time, another name will be drawn to receive the prize.
- Book prizes can only be shipped within the contiguous United States.
- Loyalty's Web by Joyce DiPastena
- Hidden Branch by G.G. Vandagriff
- Altared Plans by Rebecca Talley
- A Modest Proposal by Michele Ashman Bell (includes a bonus copy of Michele's Christmas booklet, A Candle in the Window)
- Her Good Name by Josi Kilpack
- MISSING by Ronda Gibb Hinrichsen
- Famous Family Nights by Anne Bradshaw
- Love Letters of Joseph and Emma (autographed copy) by Angela Eschler
- Family Home Evening Adventures by Rebecca Irvine
- Counting the Cost by Liz Adair
- Shudder by Jennie Hansen
- Mormon Mishaps & Mischief by D. N. Giles & C. L. Beck
- Dawn's Early Light by Laurie (L.C.) Lewis
- The Fairy Thorn (brand new release!) by Dorothy Keddington
- Torn Apart (signed copy) by Diony George
- Pursued: A Maggie McKenzie Mystery by Lynn Gardner
My sister and brothers had a slumber party on Christmas Eve in our room. I even wore jingle bells in my hair so my little brother would "hear" Santa. We waited until the neighbors behind us turned a light on in their house, then we attacked Mom and Dad.
ReplyDeleteIt sounds polite, but the neighbors woke up around 5 am.
You are probably so sick of me commenting by now, but I had to say how much I love Traci Hunter Abramson's books!:) Also, my kids are 4 and 2 with birthdays in the next month, and they would sleep until 9 if I let them. We usually wake them up around 8 on Christmas.:)
ReplyDeleteOn the contrary, Chantele. I look forward to your comments! Krista's, too :). The more comments, the merrier!
ReplyDeleteAs a kid I was a morning person and would always wake up early, usually at six. On Christmas morning we weren't allowed out of our rooms until Dad came to get us at around eight. I have one little boy, a five month old baby. He takes after me because he wakes up at six every morning, much to our dismay. By the way, I love listening to your blog. I found it when I was pregnant and had a lot more time on my hands. Now I can't keep up with all my podcasts. Keep up the good work.
ReplyDeleteI love her books they are so exciting. The thrill and adventure on every page.
ReplyDeleteWe usually wake around 630 AM. Well, DH and I. The kids sneak to the tree all through the wee hours to inspect presents.
ReplyDeleteI LOVE 'Up From Slavery'! Such an amazing book.