Holiday Gifts of Love Blog Hop!!

It’s a Happy Holidays blog hop from your favorite Authors and Bloggers! While we know that everyone celebrates in different ways during this season, we wanted to show you guys how much we appreciate your support. So from Dec 14th to Dec 17th, all 200 or so of us will be blogging about the holidays and what they mean to us, and we want to hear what they  mean to you!

And while we do that, we are EACH doing a giveaway. Yep. There will be over 200 giveaways on each blog hosted by that Author or Blogger.

But that’s not all….

We have THREE grand prizes. You as a reader can go to EACH blog and comment with your email address and be entered to win. Yep, you can enter over 200 times!

Now what are those prizes?

1st Grand Prize: A Kindle Fire or Nook Tablet

2nd Grand Prize: A $200 Amazon or B&N Gift Card

3rd Grand Prize: A Swag Pack that contains paperbacks, ebooks, 50+ bookmarks, cover flats, magnets, pens, coffee cozies, and more! (U.S. giveaway only)

I’m also giving away a great prize right here on my blog:  a copy of my holiday historical romance, His Mistletoe Bride, and copy of my latest VK Sykes contemporary romance, Bigger Than Beckham, AND a $10 Amazon gift card.

Wow!  What’s not to love about this blog hop?!

So what do I love about my favorite holiday, Christmas?  A lot of things, but I really enjoy the beauty of the season that comes from all the wonderful decorations.  Nothing says Christmas to me like a big tree covered with glittering ornaments and twinkling lights.

When I was a kid, my family took great pride in having the biggest tree in the neighborhood.  My mother had boxes and boxes of glass ornaments – the real thing – that she carefully unpacked each year and helped us to hang on the tree.  To this day, decorating the tree is one of my favorite parts of the holidays.

And there’s nothing like a gorgeous wreath to make things festive, too!

So pretty!

What about you, folks?  Do you have any special decorations you put up to help you celebrate the holidays, whatever that holiday might be at this time of year?  One person who comments will win my giveaway of two books and a gift card, and you’ll also be entered to win the grand prizes, too!  Please be sure to include your email in your comment so you’ll be eligible for one of the grand prizes.

And once you’ve left a comment below, click on this link or the picture at the top of the blog and hop away to all the other great blogs in the Gifts of Love Holiday Blog Hop!  And for more info about my latest Regency-set historical romance, His Mistletoe Bride, please visit my books page to read an excerpt and the blurb.

Happy Holidays!

161 thoughts on “Holiday Gifts of Love Blog Hop!!”

  1. I have a Christmas wreath that I hang up in the archway inside. It’s made of scraps of ribbon. Hair ribbons from when my daughter was a little girl, beautiful ribbon from the gift a wonderful friend gave me etc, etc. It’s scrappy indeed & full of beautiful memories.

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  2. We have a real tree this year, and it is the first year I am married to my new husband and expecting our first child… big season for us 🙂

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  3. I have a Christmas decoration that my grandmother when she was pregnant with my daddy. It is a Christmas tree collage made on black velvet back ground and the ornaments are made from some old costume jewelry of my Great Grandma and it even has Christmas lights on it. I love it because it is a piece of my Great Grandma, Grandma and my daddy all in one.

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  4. I have a set of six tiny tin bells that go on my tree every year. My great grandmother gave them to my mom when she was a little girl, she in turn gave them to me, and I will give them to my daughter when she has her first Christmas tree away from home. They are chipped, worn, and have seen better days, but they have been on the Christmas tree every Christmas of my life. Unwrapping them every year and placing them on the tree reminds me of the strong women that have displayed them, and they are my most precious Christmas decorations.

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  5. We go all out for Christmas. I have 3 trees because I collect ornaments so I need places to put them. We do up the outside with lots of lights! Then I have garland on my staircase that has all the ornaments my 3 girls have ever received. I just love Christmas!

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  6. Well when the kids were small we would bring them to see Santa and have their picture taken. It is much fun now that they are adults to look through all of the pictures. Thank you for a great contest!
    gatormaryd(at)yahoo(dot)com

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  7. My mom bought me a gorgeous star for on top of the tree after I mentioned to her how I wanted a star instead of an angel, like she always did. It is gold and frosted glass. LOVE it.

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  8. My sweetheart built me my dream house a few years ago. I have a big second story porch. I love to have lights and greenery wrapped aournd the railings.

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  9. I have several old ornaments from my Mamaw’s tree and our own tree from when I was a child. These are the ones I put on the tree myself so I can look at them whenever I want. On my front door I have a wreath that my youngest daughter made for me. Family memories!

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  10. I have a collection of Christmas music boxes that were collected over the years. Each one plays a different song and movement. I think my favorite looks like a tree, then when you open it up there is a small tree with a train circling it and children watching. Christmas is such a time of wonder.
    grandmabkr at yahoo dot com

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  11. My favorite things about Xmas are the smiles and anticipation my kids have especially on Xmas morning. I love decorating the house and my Xmas tree and disussing all the handmade ornaments that my children made when they were small. They ask me every year why I put them on the tree and I tell them they are my favorites because they made them. They aren’t all the prettiest but they are beautiful to me. Also, we hang 2 white doves on our tree in remembrance of the baby we lost and my brother who died at a young age. We then tell happy stories of remembrance of his life.

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  12. We have many special ornaments that go on our tree each year, from handmade to milestones. But my favorite one is a gold reindeer that is engraved with my baby brother’s name (r.i.p.),it hangs at the very top of our tree and is the last to go on every year.

    AnimeAngel1016(at)yahoo(dot)com

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  13. When I was little my parents started a tradition where we’d each get an ornament every single year from ‘St. Nick’. My mom continues this even today and now my nephew is part of it…its always fun to look at the ornaments and remember why we got a certain one each year.

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  14. well we have stockings that I cross stitched and a tree skit that I made. I don’t really think we actually have any traditions other then those specials little things.

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  15. I like to have a real tree, there’s something so heartwarming about sitting by it in the evening, with the lights all sparkling and the scent of evergreen!

    robindpdx(at)yahoo(dot)com

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  16. I have a pink sequined angel ornament that my Aunt gave to me when I was five. I thought it was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. It still is hung in a place of honor on my tree.

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  17. Sadly no but I’m the one to always set up the tree. If not then Christmas wouldn’t even be coming that year. Thought about not setting it up this year but didn’t have the nerve to. The snow made it hard to resist.

    kp_kazamei(at)yahoo(dot)com

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  18. nothing in particular, but alot of the ornaments for my tree hold meaning for me — a bunch were my mom & grandma’s & thus on the trees of my youth, others gifts from mom (she gave me a new one every year after I was “out of the house”) or friends & then there are the ones I purchased “for my dog” each year I had her and are now momentoes of the time I was lucky enough to have her.

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  19. My christmas decoration that has been on the tree for 4 generations now is and angle at the top. It will be given to my son on my death and hopefully be passed down.

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  20. I do have some decorations that I actually made when I was a little girl, but I have not really decorated much in the last few years. No kids, 2 dogs, & 2 cats so it just isn’t worth the trouble.
    manning_J2004 at yahoo dot com

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  21. We usually put up wreath every year. Some years we get a real tree too. 🙂 But I have to say that my favorite thing is to hang the wreath and see it on the door every day. And smell its scent whenever I have to unlock the door. 🙂

    dorthyn @ hotmail . com

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  22. We’re a little untraditional and have finally (just this year) put up our second tree with a Star Wars theme. I’m all about having our tree with all of the special family ornaments we’ve made and collected but we also wanted something that showed off our geek side as a family. 🙂

    Happy holidays VK!

    always.and.never AT gmail DOT com

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  23. Hi Vanessa, Just want you to know I’ve loved all your books. Thanks for this opportunity.
    I have ornaments from when my oldest (he’s 43) made them in school. But having had 7 kids and now Grandkids I alternate each year so eventually
    everyone’s ornaments make it to the tree. LOL But my main theme is Santa and Angels.
    Carol L.

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  24. Christmas is my fav time of year the one decoration i always put out is a old porc. boy with his sheep . It was my grandmothers. I have always decorated my tree country theme. you may take the girl out of the country but never the country out of the girl =)

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  25. I have a wreath for the front door, but I also have a special one that I hang inside that holds all of my miniature ornaments. I used to add a new ornament each year, but now it’s full so I’ll either have to stop or start a new one.

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  26. I love Christmas. I have ornaments from when I was a child on my tree. I still have a felt Santa that my sister made in Brownies. It gets placed on the tree every year. Also have some handmade ornaments from my nephews who are now almost 30. Christmas is hard for me. My mom passed away 4 days after Christmas when I was two years old. My dad was a single parent raising 5 children ages 1, 2, 3, 4 and 12 – while trying to work. So life was not always easy but we made due. I think that is what is so important to me now. Helping others those not in my family to have a nice holiday. This year, we are purchasing gifts for a 13 year old boy who has not had a Christmas present in the last 4 years. THAT is what Christmas is about!!! Thank you for your Blog, books, FB posts. I enjoy them. Merry Christmas!!

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  27. Our tree gets fuller and fuller each year as we add to the kids & family made ornaments. We have a family passed down ceramic candy holder that only goes out every year. Even the youngest know never to take the last piece of candy. It’s for Grandma in heaven>
    modularmates(at)comcast(dot)net

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  28. I love Christmas! I have a ceramic nativity set that my sister painted that was our wedding present from her over twenty years ago.
    I also have oodles of Santas around the house.

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  29. I have a mini-tree with little ornaments that I bought with baby- sitting money when I was a kid to decorate my room. Now my kids set it up in addition to the big tree. They love having their own little tree.
    wilovebooks at gmail dot com

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  30. I’ve kept ornaments that my sons had made in school. And you know it’s christmas when I break them out.

    Raonaid at gmail dot com

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  31. I don’t have anything special here in my house just the Christmas tree 🙂
    thanks for the giveaway!
    by.evie at yahoo dot com dot br

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  32. I have my nativity scene that my mother gave me that my kids love to put up and we always put them up while watching Christmas movies…
    Special time with my family:)

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  33. Every year the children trim the tree. Their dad and I put it together and put on lights but they do the rest. Sometimes its a little lopsided. I love it.

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  34. I have all of the ornaments that my children have made and every year they all get to place their own ornaments on the tree and we talk about things that happend the year they were made. Those memories are wonderful to me. My oldest is leaving next year for the Navy and she asked me who would put her ornaments on the tree next year and we decieded that I would but we would do it with Skype so that even if she were not here in person she would still be able to share the memories.

    lanettedahill at wiatel.net

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    • LaNette, please thank your daughter for me for her service to our country! And that’s so awesome that you can use Skype to decorate together. My stepson lives in Japan and we’d be lost without Skype!

      Reply
  35. I don’t really have any specific holiday decorations that I do each year. I’ve only been on my own for the past couple of Christmases so I’m building up my collection as time goes on.

    squiggles87(At)aol(Dot)Com

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  36. We put out a Santa Village every year that I love! Thanks for the great giveaway! Sounds like two great reads!

    kacidesigns AT yahoo DOT com

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  37. When I put “Light-Up Rudolph” on my door, I know it’s Christmas. Thanks for the hop. Happy Holidays.

    Lasha
    mslasha at gmail dot com

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  38. I love the lights add a little snow add they just shine so pretty. The guys in the negborhood get compeative so its also kinda of funny to see them try to outdo the other.

    sdtigger(at)knology(dot)net

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  39. One of my favorite Christmas Romance Books is The Untamable Rogue by Annette Blair! The story is about Ashford Blackburne Fifth Earl and he has to get married and get his willing bride pregnant before Christmas or his grandfather won’t let him inherit his money. Ash truly needs to inherit the money because his late father squandered it all away and he is taking care of his mother. After getting stood up at the alter, again, Ash and his friends go to the local pub where the owner plays a drunken Ash in a card game…his consolation prize is the pubs daughter Larkin, who he wants to get ride of. Ash has to learn to forgive…Larkin has to learn how to trust…can two completely different people find love together. This is a cute, extremely funny, romantic story with a surprise Christmas ending!

    Angelheart618@gmail.com

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  40. No special decorations though this year is the first year we put a wreath on the door. And we have a smaller tree because we moved to a much smaller house.

    vampiremistress2010(at)gmail(dot)com

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  41. Every year we try to add at least one new special ornament to our tree. We have ornaments from when my adult girls were little.

    dbrown3400 at yahoo dot com

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  42. I love Christmas, one year for Christmas we made a lot of ornaments for our HUGE tree. It was mostly decorated with home made ornaments. We still have most of them.

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  43. Hi Vanessa, I have a very homey tree every year. With ornaments spanning from the first christmas when I was married (19) and being poor students, I got a branch from a trimmed tree in a Safeway parking lot and stuck it in a clay pot and made ornments with cardboard and aluminum foil and anything glittery I could find :)… I still have some of those and my kids handmade at school ornaments and other collected things from 35 years.

    Merry Christmas!

    maryjooller at yahoo dot com

    Reply
  44. At this time of the year the main celebration where i live is the Winter Solstice festival which falls on Dec 21st this year due to it being a leap year. The tradition is to make a special dish called “tangyuan” which is colorful balls of dough in a syrup but otherwise we don’t put up any special decorations

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  45. My mom has a mini Christmas tree that she decorates to match the big one in the living room and its not officially Christmas until she puts on her Christmas music.

    adria(.)rose_03(at)yahoo(.)com

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  46. I love the homemade ornaments some by brothers and sister made when we were younger and the new ones by my nieces and nephews Thanks for the great giveaway and Merry Christmas

    crystaley73 at yahoo dot com

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  47. We rarely buy new decorations to the Christmas tree. We have decorations that were even from my grandmother and from my childhood. It’s good to see them on the tree every year!
    Merry Christmas to you! Thank you for the giveaway!

    verusbognar (at) gmail (dot) com

    Reply
  48. Merry Christmas and may your new year be filled with books. I have a collection of nativity scenes. My favorite is a pair of hands cradling the nativity scene.
    flip at ida dot net

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  49. Wow, thanks for the Christmas giveaway love! I have a small collection of Christopher Radko ornaments that my mother bought for me one year. I love them!

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  50. I really love taking my children around looking at all the lights. Their faces light up, they have their little cameras and are so excited. My daughter this year go so excited about Christmas, she was skipping around singing about Santa coming. She wanted to put the tree up right away and all the decorations. I explained we had to make a space for the tree and such and promised to do the next day while she was at school so we could put up the tree that night (which I did). I guess it was not soon enough because she went making decorations and hanging them all over the house. It was so precious and beautiful!! She had such enthusiasm she got us all into it.

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  51. Decorating the tree the day after thanksgiving is one of my favorite holiday traditions. I also love watching the Santa Clause with Tim Allen every year. It puts me in a holiday mood

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  52. Do you have any special decorations you put up to help you celebrate the holidays, whatever that holiday might be at this time of year?

    Yes, sort of… I have to “puppy” proof the one tree cause my 90lb BoxerDane likes to carefully crawl under the tree to go to sleep but isn’t so docile when waking up (she has this habit of toppling the tree over)… So to answer it quickly I have taken to the silk flowers and ribbons as the safe way to decorate which gives the tree a Victorian Feel
    Happy Holidays
    BeckeyWhiteATgmailDOTcom

    Reply
  53. Happy Happy Holidays! Thanks for the great giveaway!
    Christmas is not my big decorating holiday. I a simple wreath and tree indoors. Halloween is when I go to town! Our yard is like a haunted house scene!
    grapeapril75(AT)gmail.com

    Reply
  54. my mom is just a nut about her xmas tree each year, she has certain balls that go on each year and has certain spots were they are to be and the icicles have to go on one at a time..but i do say we have the prettiest tree in the world when it’s all done and everyone loves it…we also have a wooden santa my dad made at work that goes on the fireplace each year and has never been missed …thanks

    Reply
  55. we have a special advent calendar that my husband made for the kids it takes up the whole wall it has a compartment for them to open and have a special suprize each day
    kaholgate at ymail dot com

    Reply
  56. I have snowmen and one particular one is stuffed with lights it is actually a tealight snowman but he is so cute and about 14inches tall I have had him since hubby and i got married and for the past 9 years he has always been part of our decorations.

    j.m.platt83@gmail.com

    Reply
  57. Hi Vanessa!! Happy Holidays!

    I love decorating the tree too. I have some very strange ornaments (snails, guinea pigs with Santa hats, hedgehogs, raccoons, etc.) that I always have to put on the tree. My family has always liked unconventional decorations, so I’m continuing the tradition!

    Thanks for participating in the hop! Your books look great! 🙂

    dana@danadelamar.com

    Reply
  58. I have a collection of Santa’s that I put out and I have my father’s collection of cardinals that I put on the tree.
    sallans d at yahoo dot com

    Reply
  59. I have boxes of decorations and I let all six of my kids decorate the tree. My teenager’s friend said, “I like your tree because it’s homey and not like the display trees at the store.” I’m not sure how to take that, but I love how there are three ornaments on one branch, or how the tree is completely bare on one side:) It’s different every year!

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  60. It’s the tree and music that draw me. Christmas music plays in the background as I take the tree out of the box and start to assemble. I remember all the trees in my past that I helped decorate with my siblings. When I was a kid we put tinsel on the tree and big colored lights that were hot when you touched them. My oldest sister insisted we make sure that the ends were evenly matched so it just looked right. My mind wanders through the years while I pull the various ornaments out and drape on the tree. I wish that I didn’t put up my tree alone, but each of my children have their own and all my siblings live in another state. Yes, Christmas trees and music make the holiday for me.

    Reply
  61. Oh, I let my kids decorate our house and our tree. So, we have several decorations they make and some they have bought themselves.
    The special moment is to get the angel at the top of the tree.
    After the holidays, not every decoration is still there, because the cats love to play on the tree.

    Happy Holidays!
    morebooksthanlivros@gmail.com

    Reply
  62. My parents died about 13 years ago and sometime recently my oldest sister (11 of us) found a bag that had old Christmas ornaments that we used to have on our tree growing up. Oh the memories of Christmas’ past – and Oh how I would give anything to have my parents back. With so many kids in our family – there was so much commotion on Christmas – and such a mess – and to top it off my mom and dad did 12 days of Christmas for many years. I love this time of year but I miss our big family gatherings with my parents.

    Merry Christmas!
    mcwhit77@aol.com

    Reply
  63. What an awesome hop!! And a fantastic giveaway! Thank you!! Happy holidays to you all! Best wishes and many blessings!
    shadowluvs2read(at)gmail(dot)com

    Reply
  64. We have a nativity set that my MIL mother brought over from Ireland when she came in 1920 as an indentured servant. It is lovely and the children take turns every year placing the pieces in.
    planterofhope at aol dot com

    Reply
  65. I really enjoy the holiday season. I enjoy the smells, the food and lights. Oh and the music too. Not much into baking anymore. But I do enjoy tasting, ask my scales.
    Tee Hee. Thanks for being part of the Holiday Blog Hop. Great blog.
    roya-clan@sbcglobal.net

    Reply
  66. I have a snowflake themed tree, with white lights..everything has snowflakes, I even found a garland. SOme of my favorite ornaments are ones my Gpa bought me his last Christmas alive.

    I enjoyed the post, and love your books !

    Merry Christmas !
    ~Kym
    flwrs4ever(at)yahoo(dot)com

    Reply
  67. The same tree that was my mom’s. Thanks for the blog hop giveaway 😀
    Happy Holidays, Big Hugs
    Missie Jones
    missie25524 @netzero .com

    Reply

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