Today’s Giveaway Includes:
- 2 Christmas ornaments
- Wildflowers from Winter by Katie Ganshert
- Submerged by Dani Pettrey
- Addison Blakely: Confessions of a PK by Betsy St. Amant
- Central Park Rendezvous by Kim Vogel Sawyer, Ronie Kendig, Dineen Miller, and MaryLu Tyndall
Before we get to Bethany and Robin, please allow me to explain the ornaments.
I took my little man (who is sadly becoming less and less little every day) to Target to help me pick out the ornaments for the giveaways.
Originally, we were going to purchase two. One for today’s giveaway, and one for the Merry Christmas grand prize giveaway.
Any of you who hang out with me on Twitter or Facebook should know that this son of mine is dinosaur obsessed. So is it any surprise at all, that when we happened upon a bin of dinosaur ornaments, these are what he chose?
He was one happy little man. Smiling from ear to ear.
Which got me thinking (dangerous, I know).
If our eldest is represented by the dinosaurs, why not represent our youngest too? In case you don’t know, we’re in the process of adopting from the Congo. I’m praying, praying, praying that next year, the Gansherts will be celebrating Christmas with our littlest in my arms.
So I decided to purchase four ornaments.
Two dinosaurs from Brogan. And two African animals from our Congolese pumpkin. Hence, the giraffe.
Now, let’s make our way to Peaks, shall we?
First, I asked Bethany, the main character of Wildflowers from Winter, if she has fond memories of a meaningful Christmas ornament or decoration. Here’s what she had to say:
This might sound weird, but the first thing that popped into my head was Grandpa Dan’s nativity set.
It was fresh out of the seventies and a particular shade of hideous, but man, my brother and I loved that thing.
It had a missing wise man and a few extra wooden sheep that obviously did not come with the rest of the set, making a total of seventeen pieces. Starting on December 8th, my brother and I would take turns placing one piece on the mantle each day.
Grandpa Dan would toss a coin and the winner not only got to choose the first piece, they got to add the final installment on Christmas Eve–baby Jesus.
I have no idea why, but of all the Christmases I can remember on the farm, that was always what I looked forward to the most. Grandpa Dan’s coin toss and that tiny, plastic baby Jesus in that tiny, plastic manger.
I asked Robin, the main character of Wishing on Willows, the same thing:
Hands down, the pickle! Please tell me I’m not the only person who couldn’t wait to find the pickle. Every Christmas Eve, after Mom and I went to sleep, Dad would hide the green, pickle-shaped ornament somewhere in our tree. The next morning, Mom and I would race downstairs and start looking. The first person to find it not only got to choose what Christmas movie we’d watch later that evening, they also got to choose what snack we’d have while watching it. Seeing as Mom loved popcorn and I loved M&Ms, our searches were highly competitive.
Anytime I see one of those ornaments, I can’t help but smile.
There you have it. Bethany and Robin’s favorite Christmas decorations.
To be entered to win today’s prizes, all you have to do is tell us about yours!
You will have until nine p.m. central time on Thursday to leave a comment. At which time, all names will be written on a scrap of paper and my husband will draw the winner from my lucky hat (I don’t really have a lucky hat, but I do have a hat). The winner will be announced on Friday.
To be entered to win the grand prize giveaway, you have to answer every question for the next four Wednesdays. To see the complete list of items included in the grand prize, please click on the link.
Your Turn: Tell us about a Christmas ornament or decoration in your house that is odd or has extra special meaning.
If you’d like to sample Wildflowers from Winter, you can read the first three chapters.
I just started a Christmas Time board on Pinterest, in case you’re interested!
Super Easy Christmas Craft:
You will need…
- styrofoam balls
- straight pins
- different color beads
- string or fish wire
Directions…
- Lace a bead through the straight pin and stick it in the ball
- Repeat with whatever patters and colors you would like until the styrofoam ball is covered
- Cut a small piece of string. Tie one end to a straight pin and the other end to another push pin. Stick both pins at the top of the ball and you have yourself a homemade ornament
Come celebrate the holidays in Peaks with Bethany and Robin every Wednesday until Christmas and tell us what the holiday means to you.
In a culture where malls are putting up Christmas decorations as early as October, the question begs to be asked: