Our local Christmas Light Up Festival is an annual event that attracts thousands of people in our area. The air is filled with the aroma of hot chocolate and fresh cookies. Street vendors are everywhere. Chestnuts roast on an open fire, choirs sing, bands play, and of course, Santa Claus makes an appearance. Fireworks fill the night sky with bursts of sparkles and light. It's a terrific event put on by a small town, and all the locals enjoy this extraordinary family Christmas celebration. Sadly, there was no Light Up Festival this year because of the pandemic. I am hopeful that it will be on again next year so I can dance a bit, sing a bit and take a few more photographs.

Above is an original photograph I took at the Light Up Festival a couple of years ago. It's incredible what can be achieved with filters to create a custom photo. On the left is the original. On the right is the original through the negative filter. Enjoy.

That's it for now. Have yourself the best day. I'll speak to you again tomorrow.

TJCorman

As promised, here is the story of how my book club usually celebrates Christmas together.

I feel lucky to be part of the book club I'm in. I became a member fourteen years ago when my neighbour invited me to join her book club. I had only just moved into the neighbourhood and felt a bit shy about joining, so I begged off and said maybe I would join later. I was settling into my new house. My husband and I were renovating, working full time, and I was wary of joining a group of women I hardly knew.

A whole year went by before I took them up on their offer. The group's main organizer lived across the street from me, and I felt I knew her well enough by now. She is very friendly and inclusive. She and her husband host a happy hour in their yard every day after work, so after many visits in the sun and glasses of wine in my belly, I felt I knew them quite well. I asked if there was still room for one more person in her book club, and she accommodated my request.

You have to get the whole picture here. One woman was a friend from work, but the rest of us were neighbours. And, we saw one another almost every day for happy hour. It was a group of six women who liked each other and lived right beside one another (except for the friend from work).

Back then, celebrating Christmas was simple. We each made a dish, and we had a potluck dinner. Our husbands came because they knew one another too. We could drink as much as we liked because we only had to walk across the street to go home (except for the friend from work!). We would exchange presents with one another – one for each person in the group. So you gave five gifts and received five gifts. It was great fun.

Over time, the faces within the group changed. One of our members was killed in a car accident – a heartbreaking day for all of us. One member wasn't into it anymore, so she dropped out – no judgement on our part. A new woman moved into the neighbourhood, so we invited her to join us. My husband and I moved a few miles down the road, but we kept our friendship with this group of beautiful people. The friend from work moved to a whole different town but remained in the group. It's that good.

The book club Christmas celebration began to evolve also. One year, we graduated from a house party to a fancy restaurant. We loved the concept. We got all dolled up in our finery, drove miles and spent bags of money. We exchanged gifts in the usual way, but it didn't feel the same. It wasn't a "down-home" affair like it was when we were literally at home across the street from one another. We didn't get to visit whoever was at the other end of the table. We had to drink responsibly because of the driving part. All in all, it just wasn't the same. So, we went back to the standard house party. Fun. Nothing but fun!

Time ticked on. We were all getting older and working full time. We were tired and didn't feel like cooking, hosting a house party, cleaning up beforehand, cleaning up afterward – all that good stuff. So we put our heads together and decided to splurge and have our party catered. This was a fine idea and a delightful extravagance. We loved the catered food. It was fantastic to have someone bring food to your house, hot and ready to eat! That went over really well, but there was still travelling involved because we didn't all live in the neighbourhood anymore. There's that drinking and driving problem again - we do not drink and drive.

By the time the next Christmas party came around, we had decided that we would rent the penthouse suite at a local hotel (note that in my novel, Ginny's love interest, Mike, lives in the penthouse suite at Jessie's hotel). Add a couple more hotel rooms, and we had ourselves a party we could all enjoy. We all stayed overnight and partied the night away. We brought food for breakfast and snacks, but we decided to have our party catered. This party was the best of all. No one had to drive, cook, or clean. It was perfection.

To summarize, this is what we do...stay in a hotel, have the party catered in our room, and exchange gifts (the men are even in on the action now). Basically, we eat and drink until we can't anymore, then we go to bed down the hall. Of course, we cannot get together this Christmas, and we are all missing one another. I keep looking forward to how much fun it will be when the pandemic is over, and we can celebrate together again.

That’s it for now. Have yourself the best day. I’ll speak to you again tomorrow.

TJCorman

Book Club Give-Away Challenge
​Today I’m starting a celebration of the Twelve Days of Christmas. Over the next twelve days, I will be posting beautiful original photographs, funny GIFs, jokes, and heartwarming stories. To kick off this event, I’m starting with a challenge to book clubs. ​

​I will send four paperback copies of my novel To You, From Me to the book club that tells me the best Christmas story. Here's what you have to do to qualify:

1. Have a minimum of four members in your book club (please tell me your names – DM me or email me if you feel safer doing so).
2. Follow me on Instagram and friend me on Facebook (T.J. Corman).
3. Like and share this page.
4. Summarize what you do with your book club to celebrate Christmas. Include a picture of you and your book club friends if you wish.
5. Submit your entry by midnight, December 24.

Respond below in "comments" to tell me your story, or go to www.tjcorman@shaw.ca with your email.

Follow my blog to read about how my personal book club celebrates together.​

Limited play within Canada. Not affiliated with Instagram or Facebook.

​That's it for now. Have yourself the best day. I'll speak to you again tomorrow.

TJCorman