My Favourite Thing About Christmas - Fairy Lights by Belinda Jones
It’s been a while since I had a really Christmassy-Christmas. I live 5,000 miles from home and a world away from crackers and mince pies and pom-pom hats. It never snows here. My big pair of faux-fur-lined boots are boxed in storage because it’s still flip-flop weather in winter. Which of course is nothing to complain about and there are many things to love about a Californian Christmas – like my first December 25th in the blazing sunshine when I drove to Santa Monica Beach for the day, stopped into a coffee shop and found Al Pacino having a cappuccino with his Dad. (So of course I now say ‘I spent Christmas with Al Pacino!’) It’s just hard to really get into the festive spirit without mittens and roaring fires and family gatherings! At least it is by day. By night it’s a different story…
That’s when all the fairylights come on. In my apartment building there’s every kind of winking bulb on display – rainbow sparkles, clusters of glittering white snowflakes, long strands of electric blue, pulsing like dripping icicles… On neighbouring doorsteps lights are bound around forms shaped like Santa and his reindeer, there’s even an array of far-from-home snowmen! I love walking the dog after dark now because it feels like I’m exploring a magical wonderland and I get filled with kiddy glee – the world seems like a less scary place and all things seems possible…
It’s not really practical to send big squishy presents across the Atlantic (although I did just discover a company called Pyjamagram offering ‘matching pyjamas for all the family – including the dog!’ They even have a print called Christmas Lights with rib-knit cuffs! So cosy!) so instead I ask people what they want me to wish for for them, to have happen in the upcoming year…
I know one friend wants to have her own little shop selling scented candles and designer tea-towels while another wants to discover her spiritual side in India. (My personal travel wish is to see the polar bears making their shaggy-pawed pilgrimage across the frozen tundra in Manitoba!) And then all I have to do is find the biggest Christmas tree with the brightest tangle of lights and a shimmering fairy at the top to make all those Christmas wishes come true!
I’ll make a wish for you too – just close your eyes and think of what your heart most desires for 2015 and beam it across to me!
Belinda’s snow-spangled novel WINTER WONDERLAND (set during the magical Quebec Winter Carnival) is now available on Apple iTunes for just £1.99, which will also nudge the price down on Amazon etc!
!! Festive Giveaway Time !!
We also have two free copies of the paperback edition (worth £6.99) to give away
Enter Here:
And there’s more! Belinda wants to bring you some sunshine this Christmas by making you a gift of SUNLOUNGER 2 – BEACH READ BLISS - a jet set chick lit anthology featuring sun-kissed stories from Molly Johnson, Alexandra Potter, Jo Carnegie, CL Taylor and 40 more fabulous names in Women’s Fiction! From now until December 15th you can download the ebook from Amazon completely for FREE! Enjoy!
Discover more at www.sunloungerstories.com
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