Beverly Barton
by
Livia Holton

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I'll answer the second part of the question first. No, I've never incorporated any of the holiday traditions I've come across in my research into my family's Christmas celebrations. I did read about a very special tradition recently that I may try this year--giving a donation to a charity as a gift for each child or grandchild and sharing information about this charity with the child. This seems like such a marvelous way to teach children the joy of giving.

Since my Christmas book has a heroine who doesn't believe in fairy tales or Santa Claus or happily-ever-after endings and I do, I wasn't able to mention any of our holiday traditions in JACK'S CHRISTMAS MISSION. However, I did stress that the holidays are a time for family togetherness, a season for hope and faith and a time to believe in the power of love. These are my sentiments about the holidays and about life every day of the year. I did mention making snow cream from freshly fallen snow in the book and this is a memory from my own childhood--yes, it does occasionally snow in Alabama--when my grandmother made snow cream. This is a tradition in our family that continues with my daughter, who makes snow cream for her little boy.

Beverly Barton- http://www.beverlybarton.com

Millie Criswell
by
Jennifer Russell

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I'm pretty traditional when it comes to Christmas. And like Gabe, the hero  in A Western Family Christmas, we always cut down our own Christmas tree. We now live in a house with very tall ceilings, so we tend to bring home the  really humongous trees now. Not much fun to decorate, but they sure are pretty.  And like Eve, I bake Christmas cookies during the holiday season. And I'm not nearly as grumpy about it. :)

Millie Criswell
(http://www.tlt.com/authors/mcriswell.htm  http://www.ivyauthors.com)

Shannon Donnelly
by
Wanda Augustine

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Since mistletoe is important in UNDER THE KISSING BOUGH, I do go into the tradition of a kissing bough. The tradition actually is that the man is supposed to pluck a berry from the mistletoe, and as long as the berry lasts, so do the kisses he can claim---that's the old way of it.  I guess inflation being what it is, kisses just don't go as far these days. 

I also included some traditional English Christmas games, such as Snapdragon, which I've printed on the back of the bookmarks that I'm giving away for this book. So there is a fair amount of Regency Christmas customs--most of which actually date back much further.

As to trying them out, well, I always like to keep a rather English Christmas, since my own grandmother came from Yorkshire. So there's usually the ancient decorations of pine and holly, and mince tarts to eat.

Shannon Donnelly

Christine Feehan
by
Amanda Killgore

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Christmas was always my favorite holiday. As a child growing up, we stayed up Christmas Eve, went to midnight mass and then to my grandmother’'s for a small gathering. As I had fourteen brothers and sisters, it wasn't all that small but very fun. When we returned home, we went to bed very excited but tired. We had a huge fireplace and all of our stockings were hung. The tree was floor to ceiling. When we woke the next morning, all the presents were there, wrapped and waiting!

I still carry on a similar tradition. We gather for a service late and wait up until after midnight. The children go to bed and the fun begins! We always have a wreath, calendar and candles leading up to Christmas, and the house is well decorated. I've collected ornaments all of my life and have wonderful memories in each of them. The house always smells like a Christmas tree, although to be honest, I do not use a real tree because I have problems knowing they were cut down. (Okay, I'm an environmentalist at heart.) We have apple/cinnamon candles, scents going all the time and sentimental Christmas music. I love all of it, even the commercial shopping. We also have a tradition of leaving a gift on a doorstep, Twelve days of Christmas, anonymously.

Christine Feehan (http://www.christine.feehan.com)

Lori Handeland
by
Jane Koss

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In AN OUTLAW FOR CHRISTMAS I researched holiday traditions in America of the 1800's. Though many of them are outdated, I can see current traditions that have evolved from them. And several of these traditions we follow in my own home, with modern variations.

For instance, the Christmas trees in the 1800's used candles for lights. Not the safest idea at any time, but the modern Christmas tree lights are what have evolved from the candles. In OUTLAW, a huge dinner was served on Christmas Day--with goose, ginger cookies and taffy to pull. We also have a large family dinner-- with turkey, Christmas cookies of every type and homemade candy. Ruth's mother loved the poem AN ACCOUNT OF A VISIT FROM ST. NICHOLAS-now known as THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS. I have read this poem to my children since they were very young. I also read them THE POLAR EXPRESS--a wonderful Christmas story that you should check out if you haven't read it. I cry every time! 

Lori Handeland (http://www.lorihandeland.com)

Sandra Hill
by
Barb Deane

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I am a sucker for Christmas and all the trimmings. Everything from  trimmings to special gifts to music to clothing. To that extent, my crazy bunch of Christmas Santas, with all their excesses, are true to my own life.  I start decorating the day after Thanksgiving, and the tree stays up as long as it will last.

Sandra Hill (http://www.sff.net/people/shill)

Kate Huntington
by
Debora Hosey

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In A ROGUE FOR CHRISTMAS, widowed Mrs. Whittaker and her five daughters and spouses, grandchildren and close friends share a simple feast on Christmas Eve. The menu is roasted goose, plum cake and oranges. It commemorates a long-ago meal provided by a generous stranger when the poverty-stricken widow had almost lost hope. Now, in happier times, she and her loved ones continue to celebrate Christmas Eve in this manner. It reminds them of who they are and where they've been. And it symbolizes hope in a beautiful way.

This is a direct reference to the Christmas Eve meal we have in my own family. My grandfather, who was born in Poland and orphaned at a very young age, lived in a series of foster homes until he was 13. In those days, a foster child was nothing but an unpaid field hand. He slept in the barn and huddled with the cows to keep warm. But when he was 13, his elder sister and her husband who had immigrated to America managed to save enough money to bring her little brother to this country. I often think of that lonely boy sleeping in a barn. Every Christmas, my grandfather and his sister shared a simple meal of cold ham, Polish sausage, homemade noodles sliced paper thin, and pie and Christmas cookies for dessert. When Grandpa had his own family, he, his wife, his six children and their many grandchildren continued the tradition. We looked forward to this meal all year, because in a loving way it reminded us of who we are and where we've been. Even now, my own parents have a similar Christmas Eve meal that we share as a family.

Kathy Chwedyk/Kate Huntington

Karen Kingsbury
by
Shelby Bagby

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In the foreword of A Treasury of Christmas Miracles, I mention my tradition of finding a quiet place to savor the season, all that has led up to it and all that will follow it in the New Year ahead. I see Christmas as a time of reflection, a time to count my blessings and take stock of another twelve months gone by. And a time to dream about the days ahead. The ornaments on our tree are for the most part photo ornaments. They remind us of what we hold most dear, the presents we cannot wrap. And they help set the stage for my time of remembrance.

I hope that helps...blessings on your day...in Christ. 

Karen Kingsbury

Brenda Novak
by
Tracy Farnsworth

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I find that personal things about me, my family, and my friends constantly filter into my books, but I didn't grow up with a lot of holiday traditions. Other than everyone getting together and having a great time, and gorging on our family favorites like Cheesecake, Pineapple Cake, Pecan Pies, Cheesy Fruit Salad, Hot Crab Dip, Hot Cracker Dip, homemade rolls, and more, we didn't do anything special. It was more the theme of Christmas--hope, charity, love and new beginnings--that I incorporated into WE SAW MOMMY KISSING SANTA CLAUS.

Brenda Novak (http://www.brendanovak.com)

Carly Phillips
by
Thea Candee

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Oh I think I've got a unique answer! I'm Jewish. My knowledge of the holidays, other than Hanukkah, came from my close friends and research! When I got offered this anthology, I was so excited and grateful to be writing for St. Martins and to share the book with such talented authors, but I was also thrilled because though I don't celebrate Christmas, it's such a happy time of year! And the happiness and joy really does come from the decorations and expressions of children. So I was more than happy to participate in writing this story and learn along the way.

After I chuckled and told people the Jewish girl's writing a Christmas story, I spoke to good friends who do celebrate, and I also looked online for information. And, of course, as a writer, I dug into my imagination! I wrote about a Christmas tree in the tavern/restaurant where my hero in NAUGHTY OR NICE?, Max Corbin, lives. Customers from the tavern contribute Christmas ornaments to the tree, and it's a truly homemade tree, making everyone feel welcome. My hero supplies the tree each year to his best friend who owns the place. And my heroine, Toni Larson, who didn't have a happy childhood, is drawn to the tree and to the sexy man who makes sure the tree welcomes people every year.

Then of course, there's the Mistletoe tradition, but you'll have to read the story to learn more about how my hero and heroine make their own tradition beneath the mistletoe!

Carly Phillips (http://www.carlyphillips.com)

Janet Spaeth
by
Jacki Franklin

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There are some of our own family traditions that I use in "The Candy Cane Calaboose." I absolutely MUST watch "It's a Wonderful Life" and the Snoopy Christmas special, preferably with a bowl of hot buttered popcorn and a  mug of cocoa or warm cider.

But the greatest tradition is, of course, the celebration of The Birth. On Christmas Eve, we go to church for a candlelight service. The service in "The Candy Cane Calaboose" is drawn from the Christmas Eve service of  my own church. The words "I am the light of the world" with the faces of my loved ones illuminated by the light of all those candles...that's Christmas.

 Janet Spaeth

Vicki Lewis Thompson
by
Lilly Kinman

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The focal point of Christmas at our house is the tree, which is always real and trimmed with the old-fashioned, electricity-guzzling, multi-colored lights of old, and ornaments we've collected over the years. No theme trees or single-color trees for us! That's how my parents did it, and my grandparents, and . . . you get the idea.

Consequently we have ornaments on our tree that used to hang on my parents' tree when I was a kid. In THE NIGHTS BEFORE CHRISTMAS, Suzanne brings Greg an ornament for his tree, and he realizes that this means that he'll have a reminder of her forever, because he has the same tradition in his family. Her simple gesture raises the stakes in a relationship that is already sizzling with tension!

Vicki Lewis Thompson

Alice Wootson
by
Lora McDonald

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No my family didn't do anything unusual; just the same boring traditions. I guess I did touch on the role of having the same menu every year when Sheila's father mentioned not messing with a recipe. I once casually mentioned that I was thinking about not having turkey for Christmas. I thought my 3 teen-aged sons would have fits. One son even mentioned that he looked forward to the turkey leftovers every year. Needless to say, we had turkey and have had it every year since.

I didn't research any new traditions. Home for Christmas didn't focus on Christmas itself. I don't want to give away a crucial part, but as I said, no traditions as such came out.

Alice Wootson