Beyond the Books ~ Christmas Traditions

Welcome to Beyond the Books. This post was inspired by Lexxie @Unconventional Bookviews' Up Close and (un)Conventional, who was inspired by Cuddlebuggery. It's meant to be a way for y'all to get to know me better on a personal level ~ Beyond the Books. ;)

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I don't know how it happened, but Christmas is almost here! With that in mind, I thought I'd share a few of my family's Christmas traditions with y'all. :)

• Every year, we buy a living Christmas tree to decorate. And then, once the ground has thawed enough we can dig, we plant it on our property. 
• When the kids have a moment to breathe from school responsibilities, we turn on Christmas music and decorate the tree and the house.
• Every night leading up to Christmas, we watch a holiday-themed movie as a family. This year, we added Gremlins to our collection.
• I make certain Christmas cookies and treats, but my kiddos spend a day in the kitchen making cutout cookies together. It's one of our favorite events - it's so much fun to listen to our kids laugh, talk, and have fun together making one of their favorite Christmas goodies.
• On Christmas Eve, we eat pizza for dinner. We used to make our own, but now we're lazy and get Papa Murphy's. After dinner, we go to Christmas Eve service at church. Once we're home from that, the kids put out cookies for Santa and go to bed while Hubs and I watch Christmas Vacation before bed.
• On Christmas morning, we wake up the kids (yes, they sleep in now) and they come see what Santa brought. Then we eat breakfast (I always make a casserole) before opening all the gifts from family.
• We eat ham loaf and homemade mac-n-cheese for Christmas dinner. :D

What about y'all? Do y'all have any special Christmas traditions?

**Blog Tour Review ~ Fairy Tale in New York ~ Nicky Wells**

Welcome to my stop on the blog tour for Nicky Wells' Fairy Tale in New York! My stop includes all the details on the book, and my review.

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Fairy Tale in New York
Release Date: November 10, 2014
Genre: Adult, Contemporary Romance
Source: I received a complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review
Rating: 4 Bookworms

Synopsis
New York. A restaurant near Park Avenue. It’s early evening, and dusk is falling. So is the snow. Jude and Carrie are only killing time while they wait for their flight to London. They don’t know yet that their life will never be the same.

When rock star Jude gets stranded in New York with his family on Christmas Eve, he has no idea that he is setting in motion a chain of events that will turn their Christmas into the most magical one yet…

No good deed goes unpunished, or so it seems to Jude and Carrie on the morning of the twenty-fourth of December. The previous day, they gave up their London-bound flights to someone in crisis. And now, a spectacular whiteout is grounding all planes, and Jude, Carrie, and baby Maya are stuck far from home.

Tired, hungry, and just a little panicked, Jude loads his family into a cab and returns to their hotel. But there’s no room at the inn, and not even a platinum credit card will make a difference. Snow is falling heavily, and the family is facing a very bleak night indeed.

How do you celebrate Christmas with no place to stay, no food, and no presents? Join Jude, Carrie, Maya and a cast of colourful characters in this fairy tale story of Yuletide in New York.

Fairy Tale in New York is now available in Kindle and paperback editions from all Amazon domains, including: Amazon UK | Amazon

****Stop press!! To celebrate the launch of Fairy Tale of New York, Nicky Wells is offering her previous Christmas novella, Spirits of Christmas, completely FREE on Kindle from 8 November until 12 November! And that’s not all! Fallen for Rock will be only £0.99/$0.99 from 10 November until 16 November. Go on, treat yourself!****

Fairy Tale in New York was a fairy tale - truly. It was sweet and magical...the perfect read to fill you with the holiday spirit!

I was thrilled to rejoin Jude and Carrie, whom I'd met in Spirits of Christmas, along with their baby, Maya. I'd been hoping Ms. Wells would continue their story and I'm thrilled she did.

When I first met Jude, he was learning the error of his ways. Now, just finishing a successful tour with his band, the Blood Roses, he and his girlfriend, Carrie, find themselves in New York waiting to go home for the holidays. Only while there, they find themselves in a position to offer a kind gesture to a stranger in need. It seems good fortune in that the stranger, a Mr. Whyte, has accommodations for them for the night. However, the next day, Christmas Eve, Mother Nature throws a monkey wrench into the plans with a snow storm that effectively shuts down New York.

What happens next, over the course, of two days, is heartwarming, fateful, and will renew your faith in humanity. The kindness and generosity shown to Jude, Carrie, and Maya, is endearing. And that Jude is humble enough to take it, and pay it forward, as it were, was lovely.

Fairy Tale in New York was such a charming read. It was uplifting and definitely put some holiday spirit in my soul.

Ultimate rock chick author Nicky Wells writes romance with rock stars—because there’s no better romantic hero than a golden-voiced bad boy with a secret soft heart and a magical stage presence!

Nicky’s books offer glitzy, glamorous romance with rock stars—imagine Bridget Jones ROCKS Notting Hill! If you’ve ever had a crush on any kind of celebrity, you’ll connect with Nicky’s heroes and their leading ladies.

Born in Germany, Nicky moved to the United Kingdom in 1993 and currently lives in Lincoln with her husband and their two boys. Nicky loves listening to rock music, dancing, and eating lobsters. When she’s not writing, she’s a wife, mother, occasional knitter, and regular contributor at Siren 107.3 FM with her own monthly show. Rock on!

Nicky’s books: Sophie’s Turn | Sophie’s Run | Sophie’s Encore | Spirits of Christmas | Fallen for Rock | Fairy Tale in New York

Join Nicky: Blog | Twitter | Facebook | Romantic Novelists’ Association | Sapphire Star Publishing | Amazon | Goodreads | Pinterest | Google+

Did you know? There’s a single out now by Nicky’s fictional rock band Tuscq come to life! “Love Me Better” is available for download from Amazon, iTunes and many other places.