Monday, December 17, 2018

How to Enjoy the Holiday Season by Christine Rains

Please welcome one of my long time blogging friends and chase away those shopping and entertaining blues.


PREPPING FOR THE HOLIDAYS

Thanks so much to Susan for having me on her blog today. It’s that exciting time of year with lots of holiday events with family and friends. Even more exciting for me because I finished my shopping last month and don’t have to deal with the insanity of crowded stores!

For some people, they don’t get a chance to do their shopping until the last minute. My sympathies to you. All that noise, the rude people, crazy parking lots, the stress of finding what you need. The best way to deal with getting ready for the fun part of the holidays is to have a book with you all the time. As a voracious reader, I carry my Kindle with me everywhere. Waiting in line, I read. Waiting for a parking spot to open up, I read. There are also audiobooks if you want your hands free. Wrapping, cleaning, baking. You can get through a lot of books this month!


As an author, I lose writing time with the running around and visiting. While some writers love their little notebooks, I have an app on my cell phone where I can jot down ideas, or, if you’re really quick at typing, you can compose a poem or work on your current story. (It’s a free app called Writer Plus!) I usually retire early in the evenings when we have visitors, so I squeeze in a bit of writing time as I’m sitting in bed. If you’re an early bird, getting up before everyone else and putting on the coffee works as you’re sneaking in some words.

Enjoy yourself this holiday season. Savor the time spent with good friends and family, and give yourself the gift of not missing out on writing or a good book. You’ll be happier and that joy will carry through to everything else.

Of Gods and Sorrow (Of Blood and Sorrow, Book #2)
Stopping the undead will seem like child's play when the Cult of Ammut comes calling.

Even after losing most of her adopted family, Erin Driscol continues to console clients at Putzkammer & Sons Funeral Home. Keeping the funeral business working smoothly is no longer the walk in the graveyard it used to be. Grieving demons are fighting in the halls. Eyeballs are showing up in teapots. And a so-called psychic and member of the Cult of Ammut claims Erin's boss Cort is a god. All Erin wants is a friend to lean on and a sense of normalcy. But as the cult kills people and repeatedly attacks the funeral home, she must stand strong or lose Cort to the Lake of Fire.


Author bio: Christine Rains is a writer, blogger, and geek mom. She decorated for the holidays way too early this year, but it did make everyone smile. She’s a jolly member of Untethered Realms and S.C.I.F.I. She has two novels and several novellas and short stories published.



Did you get your shopping done early like Christine? Do you always carry a book with you? How do you squeeze in come writing time over the busy season?

34 comments:

Pat Hatt said...

Shopping and wrapping all done since November, so good here. Have to enjoy the time indeed.

nashvillecats2 said...

Very organised I must say. Well done a wonderful post Susan.

Yvonne.

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

There are always ways to squeeze in reading and writing.
And yes, finished all my shopping last month, most of it online.
Merry Christmas!

Christine Rains said...

Thanks so much for having me here today, Susan! :)

Christine Rains said...

High five for getting it all done early!

Christine Rains said...

I try to keep organized or I'd go a little bonkers!

Christine Rains said...

That's awesome, Alex! It really does help reduce stress getting it all done early. Plus then you can spend time watching more December movies. ;)

Madeline Mora-Summonte said...

I pretty much always have a notebook and a pen or the Notes part of my phone handy when I'm out and about. Ideas can strike anywhere! :)

Finished my shopping awhile ago, but still have some wrapping to do....

Stephen Tremp said...

We're doing the after Christmas shopping deals this year. So technically we're celebrating on December 26th.

Christine Rains said...

Ideas can strike us anywhere!

Christine Rains said...

That's a smart way of doing it. :) Enjoy!

L. Diane Wolfe said...

I always have a notebook and my iPad with me if I need to jot anything down.

My shopping is done. I actually started back in March.

Juneta key said...

Merry Christmas. I'll have to check out that app.

Susan Kane said...

In line, I usually strike up a conversation with those near me. BAbies always grab me, turn me into gr-ma goo. Screaming kids I can distract. Old people like me.

Tonja Drecker said...

I always carry a note book and pen with me. I had most of my shopping done in November, leaving only a few small things here and there. Definitely want to avoid the shopper jumble!

Cherie Reich said...

I need to use my phone and other devices more to get in more reading and writing time. Great tips, Christine!

messymimi said...

As an avid reader, i try to always have something to read with me. How great that those of you who write have an app now, you can turn out more great stuff for the likes of me!

Susan Gourley/Kelley said...

Thank you, Christine, for being my guest and bringing the spirit of the season to my blog. Enjoy that precious boy of yours.

Kate Lynch said...

Lovely blog. Thanks for sharing with us.

Christine Rains said...

You're an even better far-planner than I am! :)

Christine Rains said...

Happy holidays, Juneta!

Christine Rains said...

You have much more fun in lines than I do. :)

Christine Rains said...

It's fantastic to see many writers do carry notebooks with them. :)

Christine Rains said...

Thank you, Cherie!

Christine Rains said...

I always appreciate my favorite authors working everywhere too. :)

Christine Rains said...

I most certainly will. Happy Christmas to you and yours!

Christine Rains said...

Thank you for dropping by, Kate. :)

Patricia Stoltey said...

One of the joys of getting older is the ability to declare no travel over the holidays, no guests for the holidays, and no gifts except for the grandkids. And because of the cat and dog, we don't have a tree. All this adds up to a no-stress holiday of relaxing as we watch football, play games like Boggle and Scrabble, and read (lots of reading). That may sound a little Grinch-like to some, but enjoying family during non-holiday visits is so much more rewarding for us.

Christine Rains said...

Not Grinchy at all! It sounds wonderful. We stay home and don't travel too. It cuts down on a lot of stress. We sleep in and do fun things with friends around town. :)

Loni Townsend said...

I do a lot of my shopping online just because I get so anxious when I'm in a crowd!

Heather R. Holden said...

Great guest post, Christine! That's awesome how you got all your shopping done early. I try to avoid crowds as much as I can this time of year, too...LOL. And I couldn't agree more about audiobooks. I listen to both those and podcasts regularly--such a great way to squeeze in some reading while getting other work done!

Christine Rains said...

I love having Amazon Prime and being able to ship for free with how much shopping I do there!

Christine Rains said...

Avoiding crowds is key to staying sane! I don't even want to imagine what it's going to be like out this weekend. I'm just going to stay in and read. :)

Daniel Coper said...

Great post. Articles that have meaningful and insightful comments are more enjoyable, at least to me. It’s interesting to read what other people thought and how it relates to them or their clients, as their perspective could possibly help you in the future.

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