Showing posts with label 25 Days of Christmas. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 25 Days of Christmas. Show all posts

Tuesday, December 25, 2012

25 Days of Christmas: MERRY CHRISTMAS!

"An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, 'Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.' Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, 'Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests." 
-Luke 2:9-14

MERRCHRISTMAS
EVERYONE!!!  

I hope your Christmas is full of love, laughter, and family! 

Wednesday, December 19, 2012

25 Days of Christmas: Christmas Picture Books

So today I read a few Christmas picture books I wanted to share.

When I Love You At Christmas
by
David Bedford
Illustrations by Tamsin Ainslie

As a child prepares for Christmas - smudging her nose with the cake mix, tangling the strings as she wraps the gifts, singing carols out of tune - a favourite toy watches on and reflects on how much it adores its beloved owner.

My Rating:
Cute story even cuter illustrations!

The Christmas Quiet Book
by
Deborah Underwood
Illustrations by Renata Liwska

The holidays are filled with joyful noise. But Christmas is sometimes wrapped in quiet: “Searching for presents quiet,” “Getting caught quiet,” and “Hoping for a snow day quiet.” Irresistibly cute, soft colored pencil illustrations of bunnies, bears, and more paint a magical holiday picture indeed.

My Rating:
This one didn't really feel like a complete story, rather just a list of quiet things.
The illustrations are really what brought it to life! 


Pete the Cat Saves Christmas
by
Eric Litwin
Illustrations by James Dean

In this rockin' new spin on the traditional tale "The Night Before Christmas," Pete the Cat proves that giving your all in the spirit of Christmas is the totally groovy thing to do.

My Rating:
I didn't think I was going to love this one as much as I did. Very fun book! 

Giveaway Winner!

Congratulations . . .

Kirsten W. 

You have won a paperback copy of City of Ashes Book #2 in The Mortal Instruments Series
Thanks to everyone who participated =)

Tuesday, December 18, 2012

25 Days of Christmas: Giveaway!

It's giveaway time! This time up for grabs is...

Synopsis:
If Naomi had picked tails, she would have won the coin toss. She wouldn’t have had to go back for the yearbook camera, and she wouldn’t have hit her head on the steps. She wouldn’t have woken up in an ambulance with amnesia. She certainly would have remembered her boyfriend, Ace. She might even have remembered why she fell in love with him in the first place. She would understand why her best friend, Will, keeps calling her “Chief.” She’d know about her mom’s new family. She’d know about her dad’s fiancée. She never would have met James, the boy with the questionable past and the even fuzzier future, who tells her he once wanted to kiss her. She wouldn’t have wanted to kiss him back.

But Naomi picked heads.



Saturday, December 15, 2012

Giveaway Winner!

Congratulations . . .

Angie from Pinkindle!!!

You have won a copy of Don't Breathe A Word by Holly Cupala!
Thanks to everyone who took part in the contest! 

25 Days of Christmas: Favorite Christmas Books

In the last few years I've gotten really into Christmas books. 
It all started with an author named Richard Paul Evans who writes the best Christmas books ever!
I read six of his Christmas novels one year (all the ones that were out at the time) he comes out with one every year and I make sure it's at the top of my list. 
Below are my top 5 Christmas books, I tried to include a few that weren't by him so that I wouldn't seem biased ;) 

1. Finding Noel by Richard Paul Evans

2. The List by Richard Paul Evans

3. The Christmas Shoes by Donna VanLiere 
(You can read my review of it HERE)

4. Promise Me by Richard Paul Evans

5. Finding Father Christmas by Robin Jones Gunn

Note: All of these books are adult not YA. I don't think Christmas books are really that popular in young adult and I could never find any. However, I did find some this year I hope to get to! 

Feel free to leave me any Christmas book suggestions below!! =)

Friday, December 14, 2012

25 Days of Christmas: Christmas Cartoons

I used to love both of these Christmas cartoons when I was younger, still do!
Go grab yourself some popcorn, maybe a cup of hot chocolate, kick back and enjoy =)


Thursday, December 13, 2012

25 Days of Christmas: Cookies for Santa

So yesterday my Sister spent about five hours baking cookies! 
Every Christmas she makes tons, and tons of chocolate mint cookies that she then gives out to friends and family. They are a bit more time consuming than most cookies but they are ooh so worth it!! 


INGREDIENTS:
3/4 cup butter
1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons water
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
2 eggs
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
36 chocolate mint wafer candies (or they make bags of Andie's candies chips) 

DIRECTIONS:
1. In a large pan over low heat, cook butter, sugar and water until butter is melted. Add chocolate chips and stir until chocolate is completely melted. Pour into a large bowl and let stand 10 minutes to cool of slightly.

2. At high speed, beat in eggs, one at a time into chocolate mixture. Reduce speed to low and add dry ingredients, beating until blended. Chill dough about 1 hour.

3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F

4. Roll dough into balls and place on ungreased cookie sheet about 2 inches apart. Bake for 8 minutes. While cookies are baking unwrap mints and divide each in half. When cookies are brought out of the oven, put 1/2 mint (or a pinch of the chips) on top of each cookie. Let the mint sit for up to 5 minutes until melted, then spread the mint on top of cookie.

*Makes 18 servings (without a serving size this is pretty useless)  

Wednesday, December 12, 2012

25 Days of Christmas: Giveaway!

Who's ready for another giveaway?!?
Next up...

Synopsis:
Clary Fray just wishes that her life would go back to normal. But what's normal when you're a demon-slaying Shadowhunter, your mother is in a magically induced coma, and you can suddenly see Downworlders like werewolves, vampires, and faeries? If Clary left the world of the Shadowhunters behind, it would mean more time with her best friend, Simon, who's becoming more than a friend. But the Shadowhunting world isn't ready to let her go — especially her handsome, infuriating, newfound brother, Jace. And Clary's only chance to help her mother is to track down rogue Shadowhunter Valentine, who is probably insane, certainly evil — and also her father.

To complicate matters, someone in New York City is murdering Downworlder children. Is Valentine behind the killings — and if he is, what is he trying to do? When the second of the Mortal Instruments, the Soul-Sword, is stolen, the terrifying Inquisitor arrives to investigate and zooms right in on Jace. How can Clary stop Valentine if Jace is willing to betray everything he believes in to help their father?

In this breathtaking sequel to City of Bones, Cassandra Clare lures her readers back into the dark grip of New York City's Downworld, where love is never safe and power becomes the deadliest temptation.


Tuesday, December 11, 2012

25 Days of Christmas: A Boy Band Christmas

 While most girls left behind their "boy band phase" years ago I never left it. 
My ipod is loaded with music from One Direction, Big Time Rush, Backstreet Boys, etc., all the great boy bands of history ;) 

So for today I put together a list of my favorite Christmas songs by you guessed it. Boy bands!
Enjoy!



Anybody have any boy band Christmas song recommendations for me??

Saturday, December 8, 2012

25 Days of Christmas: Giveaway!

Christmas is a time of giving, and I want to give a book to you!
I recently cleaned out my bookshelves and have a small stack of books to giveaway throughout the 
25 Days of Christmas, so keep checking back.
 First up...

Synopsis:
Joy delamere is suffocating.

From asthma, from her parents, and from her boyfriend, Asher, who is smothering her from the inside out. She can take his cruel words, his tender words . . . until the night they go too far.

To escape, Joy sacrifices her suburban life to find the one who offered his help, a homeless boy called Creed. He introduces her to a world of fierce loyalty, to its rules of survival, and to love--a world she won't easily let go.

Set against the backdrop of the streets of Seattle, Holly Cupala's power-ful new novel explores the subtleties of abuse, the secrets we keep, and the ways to redemption. But above all, it is an unflinching story about the extraordinary lengths one girl will go to discover her own strength.



Friday, December 7, 2012

25 Days of Christmas: Favorite Christmas Movies

One of the things I love about December is that you never have to worry about having nothing to watch  because there is always at least one Christmas movie on, if not more. This is both wonderful and depending on which channel your watching, awful =P (there are some pretty cheesy movies out there) Anyways, I have a list of favorites that I absolutely must watch every. single. year. 
Here's my top 10:

1. Eloise at Christmastime

2. Christmas In Boston

3. The Christmas List

4. On The Second Day of Christmas

5. It's A Wonderful Life

6. Year Without A Santa Clause

7. How The Grinch Stole Christmas 

8. Jingle All The Way

9. A Boyfriend for Christmas

10. Annabelle's Wish


What are some of your favorite Christmas movies? I would love recommendations!

Thursday, December 6, 2012

25 Days of Christmas: Playlist-Christmas in Diverse City

If your looking for a fresh new twist on some Christmas classics along with some originals than you should check out TobyMac.
His christmas album  Christmas in Diverse City is GREAT!

Sunday, December 2, 2012

25 Days of Christmas: Christmas Flash Mobs

 I can't even put my love of flash mobs into words! They are just pure awesomeness!! Whether they be dancing or singing I just love 'em. So today I thought I would share with you some of the coolest Christmas flash mobs I've seen. 



I wish my school was this cool =)

Saturday, December 1, 2012

25 Days of Christmas: December Releases!


Here are a few books releasing this month that will surely make it onto my Christmas list! 


Coming December 1st . . .


The Lies That Bind (Liar Society #2)
by 
Lisa & Laura Roecker

Just when Kate Lowry thought she had life at elite private school Pemberly Brown figured out, she cracks open a fortune cookie to find a message from her best friend Grace--who's supposed to be dead.

Another Sister Gone

A classmate has gone missing, and Kate soon realizes that the disappearance is tied to the secret societies that rule her private school. Her best friend died for their secrets, and there's no way she'll let them get away with it twice. It's up to quirky outsider Kate to get some answers, but in a school where every answer leads to more questions and nothing's as it seems, who can she trust?



Coming December 4th . . .


Never Let You Go
by
Emma Carlson Berne

A love triangle goes horribly wrong in this dark, romantic suspense-thriller from the author of Still Waters. Megan never meant to hurt her best friend, Anna. She made a mistake, and she’s spent all year trying to regain Anna’s trust. So when Anna invites her to spend the summer on her uncle’s farm, Megan is excited…and relieved. The past is finally behind them.

On the farm, Anna quickly falls for Jordan, a rugged summer-hand. Megan and Jordan have their own spark, but Megan’s betrayed Anna once before and she’s not about to do it again.

Still, the more time that Megan and Jordan spend together, the harder it is to deny their chemistry. But Anna doesn’t like to be ignored—and she doesn’t forgive and forget. What started out as the perfect summer is about to take a very dark turn...


The Almost Truth
by
Eileen Cook

From the author of Unraveling Isobel and The Education of Hailey Kendrick, a smart, romantic novel about a teenage con artist who might be in over her head. Sadie can’t wait to get away from her backwards small town, her delusional mom, her jailbird dad, and the tiny trailer where she was raised…even though leaving those things behind also means leaving Brendan. Sadie wants a better life, and she has been working steadily toward it, one con at a time.

But when Sadie’s mother wipes out Sadie’s savings, her escape plan is suddenly gone. She needs to come up with a lot of cash—and fast—or she’ll be stuck in this town forever. 

With Brendan’s help, she devises a plan—the ultimate con—to get the money. But the more lies Sadie spins, the more she starts falling for her own hoax…and perhaps for the wrong boy. Sadie wanted to change her life, but she wasn't prepared to have it flipped upside down by her own deception. With her future at stake and her heart on the line, suddenly it seems like she has a lot more than just money to lose...

Coming December 11th . . . 


Falling Kingdoms
by
Morgan Rhodes

In a land where magic has been forgotten but peace has reigned for centuries, a deadly unrest is simmering. Three kingdoms grapple for power—brutally transforming their subjects’ lives in the process. Amidst betrayals, bargains, and battles, four young people find their fates forever intertwined:

Cleo: A princess raised in luxury must embark on a rough and treacherous journey into enemy territory in search of a magic long thought extinct.

Jonas: Enraged at injustice, a rebel lashes out against the forces of oppression that have kept his country impoverished—and finds himself the leader of a people’s revolution centuries in the making.

Lucia: A girl adopted at birth into a royal family discovers the truth about her past—and the supernatural legacy she is destined to wield.

Magnus: Bred for aggression and trained to conquer, a firstborn son begins to realize that the heart can be more lethal than the sword...

The only outcome that’s certain is that kingdoms will fall. Who will emerge triumphant when all they know has collapsed?

Are any of these on your Christmas wish list?