It’s December! Time to don your mittens and scarves, bundle up in your big winter coat, and crunch through the snow in your boots. Right?
No? Well, that was what December meant for most of my life. I spent the majority of my years living in Illinois, with a decade in Pennsylvania thrown in there, where winter weather meant one thing … COLD! (Brrrrr….)
I was not then, nor am I now, a fan of cold weather. That’s one of the reasons that when I had the opportunity, I moved to the beach!! In coastal South Carolina, December weather is mild. It might hit 40 degrees in the morning, but it could rise to the 70s by noon. That sweatshirt that I put on in the morning, I can pull off to go on a bike ride or beach walk in the afternoon. Now, that’s my kind of winter!
Of course, the best thing about December, regardless of the weather, is Christmas. Beach dwellers still love Christmas – we just have slightly different decorations. Take a look at a few “Christmas at the beach” pictures … don’t they put you in the Christmas spirit?
I have published two Christmas stories – a short story and a novella. I invite you to download them and enjoy them as my Christmas gift to you!
The first one takes place in a true winter paradise, cold air, snow and all: New York City! What better place to soak in the holiday spirit, surrounded by department store window shopping, the Radio City Music Hall Christmas Show, the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree and ice skating? It’s my story, One Big Apple Christmas, Book 2 in my Big Apple Blessings series. Although it follows a character introduced in Book 1, it’s entirely standalone:
Tony White has soared to professional heights as an advertising executive at a major New York agency, but his love life is far from a success. Having been dumped by his girlfriend weeks before Christmas, Tony has little to look forward to in this season of good cheer.
His luck begins to change when he meets talented and ambitious Joss McGee, who is hoping to secure a position within the world-famous Radio City Music Hall Rockettes. She’s sacrificed nearly everything to pursue her goal, and romance is a complication she simply doesn’t have time for.
In the midst of his stressful world, Tony discovers that success can mean helping someone else achieve their goal. And as much as Joss wants to be a star, that pinnacle holds little meaning unless you have someone to share it with.
Click here to download to your favorite ereader!
My other Christmas story is the novella, Finding Love for the Matchmaker. It’s the finale (Book 5) of my Matchmaking Moms of Oceanview Church series. Ideally, you should read the series in order, so you see the full arc
of the matchmaking magic, but this book features a long-lost love who reappears as a surprise, as well as a Christmas wedding! Christmas on the beach takes on new meaning when it’s a Christmas “wedding” at the beach!
A team of mothers determined to covertly jumpstart the stalled love lives of their adult children.
The Matchmaking Moms have a wedding to plan! One of their couples is taking it all the way to the altar! Dahlia, Lily and Rose decide to invite the happy couples to a Christmas-themed wedding to reveal their secret efforts to all six. But is it possible that while the Matchmaking Moms were covertly arranging love for their children, they weren’t quite as covert as they thought? Did the matches turn the tables and find love for one of the matchmakers?
Harry takes a phone call one day that could change his life forever. Or possibly lead to a second heartache. Dahlia has already broken his heart once … could he risk giving it a second chance?
Click here to download to your favorite ereader!
So … how about you? What’s your favorite type of winter weather? What type of weather do you like to celebrate Christmas in? Do you love bundling up in warm clothes and making a fire? Or do you, like me, prefer warmth? What are your favorite winter season outdoor activities?
**Heartwarming, life-changing Christian fiction.** An award-winning author, Laurie is living her dream life at the beach, writing novels. Laurie writes beachy inspirational romance that takes place in the South Carolina Low Country. She retired from the big day job and now focuses on writing full time. Strolls on the sand, soaking up the sun and riding the waves can be considered the best kind of research.
I love sunny winter days with the cool wind blowing across my cheeks but not too strong to prevent my hairstyle from lasting all day. As a child I lived in Europe and I had white Christmas now where I live in December it’s summer comes December 21 so we have hot Christmas.
I like the idea of a cool wind, but not too cool!
I like the cold and snow. I love cuddling up under a blanket and reading! Thanks for the downloads!
I love the idea of cuddling under a blanket and reading, but I’d have to hike up my air conditioning to do that! And … you’re so welcome!
Thank you for the books!
I’m in the south west of England, so it never gets too cold – we get snow occasionally, but usually winter is just chilly and wet. I love clear cold winter days, frosty morning and clear skies making it cold and crisp, just the perfect weather for a winter walk then home to snuggle up with a hot chocolate!
Oh that sounds absolutely marvelous! I’m hoping in the next year or two, my husband and I can do some traveling to England. And yes, any chance to enjoy a cup of hot chocolate makes it worth it!
In my part of Canada (southeastern BC) we sometimes get a brown Christmas, but never a green one! It’s too cold for that. White Christmases are best because snow is so much brighter and cleaner than frozen mud and dead grass.
My favorite winter weather… hmm, there are two kinds. Brilliantly cold, clear days when the sky is amazing and blue and the sun glistens off the snow so brightly it hurts my eyes. Ah. We had that a couple of days ago, and I loved my walk, though it froze my nose!
My other favorite winter weather is a little warmer (but still cold) with snow falling all around, soft and hushed and expectant. Good day to be cozied up inside with a kitty, a quilt, a fireplace, a mugga something hot, and a good book.
Well, the way you describe it makes it sound nice and cozy! I just keep remembering when I lived in Illinois (where the wind whips over the prairie), I’d park my car in my employer’s huge parking lot and walk a brisk fifteen minutes in negative-zero degree temperatures, to arrive to the office building and my nose … would be … stuck together … with ice! BLAH!!!
Hi Laurie,
Thanks for your post and the free books! I don’t mind a little bit of snow, but I prefer warmer weather.
Take care and have a Merry Christmas!
You are so welcome Janet! I hope you enjoy the holiday stories!
I’m a native Floridian. There have been Christmas’s where we’ve been able to go to the beach and be warm (which might happen again this year, since our high’s are in the low 80’s, which beats the 90’s!!), and we’ve had cold Christmas’s, too, where you didn’t want to be on the beach. I prefer colder Christmas’s, and I have yet to see snow, which I’d love to see once!!
Oh my gosh! When I told my Illinois friends I was moving to South Carolina, many of them said, “You’re going to miss the snow!” I assured them I’d experienced enough snow in my lifetime. But you’re right — I’m glad I’ve had that in the past. Last winter we had a snow here! It was just enough to cover the grass, and it only lasted the morning and then it melted. But it was sort of exciting, especially for those who had never experienced it!
Other than 11 years in Southern CA decades ago, I have lived every winter of my life in the cold and snow. Typically the best weather to put me in the Christmas mood is snow and lots of it, but I now have a chronic medical condition that is exacerbated by the cold. I just retired in September and am now spending my first winter as a “snowbird” in south Texas! It’s about 75 today. Works for me!
Thank you for the downloads! I can’t wait to read them. I’m sure they’ll put me in a Christmas mood :)
Yeah, our bodies don’t often tolerate the cold well. I have a condition where the tips of my fingers go colorless and numb in the cold, even if I’m wearing gloves. I have to come inside and massage them vigorously to get the circulation back!
You’re welcome! I hope the books jumpstart your holiday spirit!
I’m from Kentucky but lived 16 years in South Florida. I then moved back to Kentucky and do not like the cold. I like snow as long as I don’t have to get out. When my husband and I retire, we will be moving somewhere warm all year.
I fully support that idea!! 🤣
Thank you for the free downloads. I would like to see it get cold enough to snow before Christmas and stay until just after Christmas. Then it can warm up some. I don’t like really cold weather anymore. My favorite wintertime activity now that I have retired is to watch the cold snowy weather from inside the house.
Merry Christmas!
I agree that there’s a special beauty in a white Christmas. I’ll wish for you a white, but not too long, and cold but not too cold … Christmas! 🎄
any kind
😄🎄
I am not a fan of the cold, ice and snow unless I can be inside curled up under a blanket. My husband is a big snow fan. I have always lived in Ohio so I do not know what it would be like to have a warm Christmas. It certainly looks interesting. I am not sure if it would be better. It is just different. Thank you for the two downloads. God bless you.
You’re so welcome Debra. I hope you enjoy the stories as well as your entire Christmas season.
My weather should be comparable with the Illinois one, I guess – parallel 45 here. In the latest years, due to the global warming, it was a little milder, more rain than snow (but then it remembered to snow heavily late February or March!)
I have a bear’s brain – when cold, it shuts down and wants to hibernate until warmer. I wish there was not only political asylum, but meteorological asylum too. I would as for asylum somewhere in Bahamas or Seychelles from November till March…
I like the idea of meteorological asylum! Let’s institute that! Merry Christmas.