My Most Wonderful Time of the Year

By Heather Long

I can't believe it's already that time of year, of course it seems to come earlier and earlier with every new retail season. Once upon a time someone asked me what was my favorite holiday of the year and I would have to say it was Christmas. or at least the Christmas season.

We have several holiday traditions. Among these traditions, no buying anything for yourself after November 1. This can be a real pain in the ass, particularly for those who have problems with impulse shopping. Not that I resemble this remark. Much.

When I was growing up, we always put the tree out the day after Thanksgiving. No Christmas decorations were allowed until Thanksgiving was over. While I still honor this tradition most of the time, I always found it strange that my parents did when they did not celebrate Thanksgiving.

In 2000, my daughter was born on November 30. I decided rather arbitrarily at the time that we would no longer automatically put up the tree the day after Thanksgiving because I wanted my daughter's birthday to not be so tightly associated with Christmas. In large part because I had several friends his birthday fell on or around Christmas Day.

My daughter liked this idea for a while, but now she prefers to put the decorations up on or around Thanksgiving. Most years we split the difference and do it the day after. This year, we’re actually doing at the day before. And although we are putting them up the day before Thanksgiving and decorating the tree, we will not turn on the decorations or the Christmas lights until late Thanksgiving night or the day after.

Why the difference this year? Because my daughter's birthday falls the day after Black Friday. Which brings us to another holiday tradition—Black Friday. Not my favorite day of the year. Why might you ask? I think it's because I'm not a shopper and I don't like big crowds. Of course that's exactly what my daughter wants for her birthday—to go Black Friday shopping.

Still, the beauty of the holidays is spending time together and if that means braving the crowds or putting up decorations early or taking an angel off the angel tree to buy a present for a child in need or as I'm doing this year with my holiday Marines and trying to donate a large sum to Toys for Tots, and that's exactly what we'll do.

Love is the ultimate form of loyalty, or so I read in a beautiful line in Heart of Obsidian by Nalini Singh. It is the ultimate form of loyalty and puts the needs of the beloved above oneself. And I think at the core of all the holidays at this time of year we should always put the needs of those we love and those who are beloved above ourselves.

There is no greater gift than the joy in the eyes of another. I truly believe this. In 2000, I received the best Christmas present ever. My daughter was just three weeks old and all the presents under the tree, and all the decorations, and all the events, and all of the trappings—none filled me with joy more than she did. Every year on Christmas I am reminded of that simple joy. So whether I ask for presents or even want presents the only present that matters to me is spending Christmas with her.

May your Christmas be full of joy and may you spend it with someone that you love and may you enjoy all of the bounty of this holiday season whether it is the miracles of Hanukkah the joy of giving thanks on Thanksgiving, surviving the longest night of the year and celebrating the return of the light with Yule, or sitting up and setting up for Santa visit—may it be merry and bright!

Marine Under the Mistletoe Recipe (Cracker Crack)

 By Heather Long

   No, it’s not a recipe for how to get a Marine under the mistletoe precisely, however, at one point in the book Rowan is baking cracker crack for the coven feast. And since this is one of my favorite dessert treats to make every holiday season, I thought I would share a little joy of the season with you and the recipe for your very own cracker crack. 

   I warn you, there is a reason I call this crack J 

Ingredients: 

1 package saltine crackers

1 cup brown sugar

2 bars of unsalted butter

2 cups of semi-sweet chocolate chips

Step 1

Line cookie pan with tin foil and preheat oven to 350 degrees i

Step 2

Spread package of saltine crackers out on foil i

Step 3

Mix brown sugar and butter together in sauce pan, bring to a boil. Boil for 3.5 minutes, stirring frequently i

Step 4

Pour butter/sugar mixture over crackers on foil, spread evenly. Bake in oven for 10-12 minutes i

Step 5

Sprinkle 2 cups of chocolate chips evenly over top of whole pan. Put back into oven until chocolate is almost melted (~2 minutes) i

Step 6

Spread chocolate evenly with a spatula. Refrigerate overnight. Break into pieces and enjoy i

Enjoy Marine Under the Mistletoe with cracker crack this holiday season!

The mission of the U. S. Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots Program is to collect new, unwrapped toys during October, November, and December each year and distribute those toys as Christmas gifts to less fortunate children in the community in which the campaign is conducted. The primary goal of Toys for Tots is to deliver, through a new toy at Christmas, a message of hope to these youngsters that will assist them in becoming responsible, productive, patriotic citizens.

This holiday collection of the Always a Marine series is dedicated to Toys for Tots and the men and women of the United States Marine Corps Reserve who dedicate their time, their efforts, and their funds to delivering this message of hope. A portion of the proceeds from each of these books will be donated to Toys for Tots to continue that mission. Semper Fi.

http://www.toysfortots.org

Marine Under the Mistletoe

He used to believe in magic… 
Kaiden Nelson looked like every other Marine, only most of his guys didn’t grow up in a family of nudists, celebrating the wheel of the year and the lunar cycles. His buddies wouldn’t name him a witch, either. But after more than a decade at war, Kaiden isn’t sure he can—or even wants to lay claim to that calling anymore. He’s got too much blood on his hands and he’s tired…tired of war, tired of fighting. Some days…he’s tired of living. When he’s sent on leave for the holidays, he’s unsure if he can ever really go home again. 

She’s a candle in the night… 
Rowan Harper lives in two worlds, the mundane where she handles tech issues for a major corporation and the pagan where she celebrates the sabbats and esbats with her coven. Like so many in the region, she keeps her beliefs private. It makes life more bearable from others who would judge, and she likes nothing better than the great sabbat retreats the coven takes to the sprawling Lake House. It’s a time where she sheds the shackles of everyday life and embraces the divine. 

The wheel turns…
When Kaiden turns up at the coven Yule, his Circle of family and friends are eager to welcome him. He feels unworthy of the open warmth and shies away to the darkness, but Rowan refuses to leave him in the shadows. Can the inexorable pull of one woman help him face down his demons as they hold vigil against the longest night of the year?