Festive Feature: Kathy Bryson

Welcome to a very special Festive Feature on my blog, where every day up until Christmas some of my favourite authors will be sharing what they love most about the festive season, including their favourite films, food, music, presents, memories, books…Plus much more!

The author of today’s post is the lovely Kathy Bryson. Over to you Kathy…

Have A Merry Little Christmas!
I have to admit that when it comes to Christmas, I’m sometimes more like the Grinch than Santa Claus. You know that scene where the Grinch moans “Oh, the Noise! Noise! Noise!” while tartookas and gardookas spin around his head? That’s me in the mall.

So I’ve learned that for me anyway, Christmas is best in small doses. Christmas is full of wonderful things, but they can add up quickly. Taking them one at a time in just quick bites means I can not only enjoy them, but enjoy more of them!

Take holiday baking for example. I love sweets, but even I’m ready for vegetables by January. So instead of spending a day contributing to the calories and another day cleaning up the kitchen, I buy one quart of eggnog and turn it into 4 loaves of eggnog bread. I share with 2 friends and a neighbor and put my loaf in the freezer for the spring when I don’t have time to bake. Neat and tidy – even last year when my stove caught fire and I had to drive cross town with the wet loaves to borrow a friend’s oven.

Presents are another area where less is more. I love presents, of course. Who doesn’t? But remember that mall? Well, turns out there’s a catalog or website for every interest known to man and a few for women only. Now it’s a challenge to see how weird and unusual an item I can find, especially for my brothers, tech gurus one and all. The management trick though? Let the website ship and if I can’t find something by Thanksgiving, flowers or gift cards are always nice.

Thanksgiving is a good benchmark for holiday planning and preparation. The postal guy commends me for getting cards together. He just doesn’t know I skip anyone I missed after that weekend. I said no to decorations that can be seen from space from fear of ladders, so the neighbor who leads the charge laughed and recommended solar lights. My second cat put the kabosh on a tree inside, but we break out new catnip toys!

Keeping the holiday simple gives me flexibility. This year, now that I have a new stove, I’m going to experiment with flour alternative for a friend with gluten issues. In the end, Christmas is a lovely time for celebrating family and friends, the old year that’s just past and the new one to come. So do what renews you. If that means taking a break from the decorating and feasting, you can stop by my house for a nice, hot cuppa and help me watch my favorite movie!

…I might take you up on that Kathy!

A HUGE thanks to Kathy for contributing to my Festive Feature. ♥

Feeling Lucky Kathy Bryson knew she wanted to be a writer when she finished reading through her school and local children’s libraries. She spent 20 years honing her writing skills on marketing brochures, websites, and several unfinished manuscripts before going into teaching and finishing a book with all the stuff she enjoys most – from coffee to love to Shakespeare! Kathy lives in Florida where she caters to the whims of two spoiled cats and wonders what possessed her to put in 75 feet of flower beds.