A Summer Christmas

I am truly grateful for the opportunity to receive ARCs, especially since the last two I have received are both Christmas stories—hooray! As a Hallmark movie enthusiast, I am definitely excited to spread the Christmas cheer beyond the end of the year, although I do think that selling Christmas merchandise months in advance seems to dilute the spirit of it. Instead, I appreciate that I can immerse myself in wintry worlds filled with charm and coziness any time of the year (not that I have to imagine too hard, living in Canada).

Since I am embarking on some Christmas books, it made me wonder about some of the things that seem to have widespread appeal. Here are a few of my thoughts below, in no particular order:

• One thing that I appreciate about (most) Christmas stories is that they can often be in the form of novellas, where it's a shorter way to get a story in without the length of a full novel.
• Family seems to be a more prominent theme with contemporary Christmas stories, which is refreshing when they are sometimes absent in other contemporary books (e.g. the main characters make all of their own decisions without the presence or input of loved ones).
• There is just something about the trope of being snowed in together. Bad weather and roads can certainly lead to that in real life, but I feel there are usually other options available for cities prone to snowstorms and blizzards—unless you're in a remote area, of course.
• Small towns sure host a lot of Christmas events, and amazingly even events on Christmas Eve when I presume most people are with families instead of strangers. Maybe this is where strangers turn into family?!
• It appears that we all have an inner child and love to indulge in the child-like activities of our Christmas youth. Whether it's snowball fights, hot chocolate tastings, or ornament making, every Christmas book hints at something we can reminisce about, doling out immense amounts of nostalgia and childhood wonder.
  
• Having time off somehow seems to be essential to every romantic story line. If someone has to work, this can be a huge deterrent to the plot. Time together can be snuck in during lunch or dinner, but love won't progress as quickly. Therefore, Christmas = not working.

I've come to the conclusion that everyone longs for a typical—but sanitized —Canadian winter, where things are just so much easier when you don't have to deal with back injuries from shovelling snow or falling on ice, cars that don't start because of the extreme windchill, and humongous clothing that hides your shape, even if it's round. In essence, Christmas books are like the Christmases that are staged in Vancouver for Hallmark movies: incredibly beautiful to look at but without any of the complications arising from coldness, dampness, or dreariness (in the case of Vancouver winters) 😄 If that's the case, no wonder Christmas books and movies are so popular!