This is the last stop on the Montana Mistletoe blog tour, a novella collection about four lifelong friends who made a pact when they were in college to be married by the time they were 28. Except the year has arrived, and there isn’t any romance in any of their lives.
If this is your first stop on our tour, welcome! If you’ve followed us through the tour we hope you’ve enjoyed it! Be sure to leave a comment on our official Montana Mistletoe blogspot for a chance to win great prizes! Details are at the end of this interview.
To end the tour, can you share some special Christmas traditions?
KIM: Something we’ve done since my oldest daughter was tiny is sing “Happy Birthday” to baby Jesus before we open our gifts. When we have our big get-together with my brother, his family, and my parents, my dad reads the Christmas story from the Bible. It gives me such a sense of family and stability–it’s a very special time to me.
DEBBY: Our Christmas tradition continues to evolve due to our lives constantly changing. However, we typically go to church on Christmas Eve then eat pizza while we open a few gifts before going to bed. The next morning, after a breakfast of muffins and fruit, we open more gifts and join grandparents for the rest of the day. However, our daughter Alison and her husband Jason moved out of the area, so we’re changing things this year.
LENA: Over the years, we’ve had many traditions. Now the thing my grandchildren always look forward to are my Sour Cream Turkey Enchiladas at Christmas. We always have a big turkey at Thanksgiving. I freeze the leftover meat to make these enchiladas. The year my grandson who is in the army couldn’t come home until January, I made an extra pan of them, so he could have them, too.
LISA: I love having traditions for the holiday season, from decorating the tree together, to cinnamon rolls on Christmas morning, to eggnog, to watching my kids open their stockings.
What about a favorite Christmas memory?
LENA: One year when our children were young, I planned all year what I was going to get James for Christmas. I saved a little bit each week so I could buy the power saw for him. This was going to be his year! I didn’t know that he had planned on this being my Christmas. When we married, I owned a lot of phonograph albums, but we didn’t have any way to play them. He saved his money and bought me a combination radio and phonograph player. We both planned to give to each other, and we both had a wonderful Christmas, almost like “The Gift of the Magi” short story.
DEBBY: Christmas is such a special time for my family, I have too many memories to pick a favorite. I love being surrounded by my husband, daughters, and other family members to celebrate the birth of Christ.
KIM: I’ve had many special Christmases, and choosing one is hard, but I’ll say 1986. A week before Christmas I gave birth to a baby…four weeks early! She was a tiny, beautiful, doll of a baby, and we named her Kaitlyn Joy in honor of the season. She came home on Christmas Eve, and just having her–healthy and beautiful–in her little seat beneath the tree was a joy beyond description
LISA: Each year my mother would buy me an ornament to hang on our tree. Now, even if we’re not together at Christmas, I still have a reminder of our times together.
Winners! Winners! Winners! This might be the last stop, but you still have time to win a FREE copy of the book and a $30 gift certificate to ChristianBooks.com! For more information, visit our official Montana, Mistletoe blog at http://montanamistletoe.blogspot.com before October 1st!
www.lenanelsondooley.com www.debbymayne.com
www.kimvogelsawyer.com www.lisaharriswrites.com
Blessings!
Beth