A Christmassy guest post by Susan Buchanan

I'd like to give a huge welcome to the lovely chick lit author, Susan Buchanan. And now I'll pass you over to this awesome lady...

I’ve always been a huge fan of Christmas, so it wasn’t really a hardship for me to write about this time of year. I also have a December birthday, 16th, so it really is a great month for me. That, plus all the parties, presents and meeting up with friends, what more could you ask for?
I love giving presents and it’s quite nice to receive them, too! But I really love buying presents for people and I hate when it becomes just something else you have to tick off a list. For me, it’s much more personal. I might have had the idea since summer, well, for most people. My big sister is a nightmare to buy for.
Christmas is always different when there are no longer children in the family. I am the second eldest of four, and there’s quite a big gap between my little sister, little brother, and myself, so I remember the excitement on their faces on Christmas morning, sprinting down the stairs, after having been up already six times during the night to see if Santa had been. It was my job to prevent them from coming downstairs at one in the morning, when they deemed it was already time to get up, as my parents were still busy wrapping presents and putting them under the tree!
I’m lucky enough that my wee sister decided to have three kids, now 9, 7 and 3, and I have been in attendance at many a Christmas morning with them and shared their day. It was wonderful after twenty years to be able to spend time with a child opening their presents and revisit the chaos and hysteria that is Christmas morning in a family home!
For me, Christmas truly is magical. The kind of person who would normally ignore you on the street, or, worse, be rude to you, becomes pleasant for five days.
Lights, tinsel, fairy, star, angel.
And then there’s the food - mmm! Isn’t Christmas food amazing?! I don’t just mean the traditional turkey and Christmas pudding, but when you see the food catalogues for Christmas...yum! I always wonder why the shops can’t have them all year round!
I love Christmas trees and particularly adore Christmas baubles - I’ve collected mine from all over the world, and every year, I take an age to put the tree up, as I remember where I was when I bought them, what I was doing and who I was with.

My novel The Christmas Spirit encompasses all of these things, but it also covers what we forget; not everyone is heading for a good Christmas. The events of the year may not have been kind to them and thus Christmas is dreaded instead of looked forward to. How can that be changed?
Christmas this year will be extra special for me, as it will be my then nine-month-old baby girl’s first Christmas and I can’t wait
Merry Christmas everyone!
Amazon UK
Amazon USTwitter
Facebook
Blog