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When I was a kid, we had a snowman advent calendar that hung in the kitchen. It was glued together out of felt pieces—it’s very possible that my mom made it. The head of it was a snowman, with a black hat, a carrot nose, etc. The long body had numbers with buttons tied in place. The bottom of the body was a pocket where you’d put all the buttons as you took them off day by day. (I searched this morning but I couldn’t find a picture of it. There was one that was similar, with a snowman in the center and the tied bits of string all around it.)
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On Christmas morning, all the buttons would be magically tied back in place and there would be a treat in the pocket—generally a candy cane or some other piece of candy.
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So I’ve always had a soft spot for advent calendars. I’ve looked at them over the years, but haven’t ever gotten one for myself.
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I did try to buy one for a friend one year. As he’s a whiskey snob, I bought him one that was supposed to have tiny bottles of whiskey for every day.
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The calendar turned out to be a scam. I had to claw my money back. It left a very bad taste in my mouth so I didn’t think about buying a new one for years.
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This year, one of the chocolate companies that I’m familiar with had an advent calendar. As it’s a reputable company, I knew that the calendar wouldn’t be a scam. (Labooko chocolates--https://www.zotterusa.com/product-category/labooko-pure-chocolate/)
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I debated getting it for myself for a really long time. Eventually, I asked a friend about it, and she graciously offered to get it for me.
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Honestly, it’s been an absolute DELIGHT this year. Every day has been a different mini-bar of chocolate. Some of them have been great. Others, yeah, not going to try that again. (The vegan white chocolate was particularly bad.)
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I anticipate that I’ll be getting myself holiday advent calendars on a regular basis from here on out.
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Another advent calendar that I’m REALLY enjoying this year is from my favorite bloggers, Tom and Lorenzo, who are fabulous and opinionated, darlings.
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They are fashion bloggers and they do amazing analysis of costumes and the red carpet.
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This year, they’re doing an “advent calendar” of dresses that have appeared in holiday movies over the years. You’ll find them all collected here.
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I always feel as though I’m learning SO MUCH through reading their posts. I’m not someone who can easily take apart something visual. Give me text and I can tease out all sorts of references, connotations, techniques and meanings. Movies? All I do is look at the pretty.
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So I love things like this. I feel as though I’m increasing my visual literacy.
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So what are YOU enjoying this holiday season? Any traditions that you’re following or building? Click reply and let me know!
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Daring starship captain? Check.
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Best friend/deadly assassin? Check.
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Aliens? Got a surprise...
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Rosey just wants to go home after all her adventures. She has racing ships to build! And she wants to find out more about the materials of the original alien wreck.
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However, there are others who want to stop not just her, but all of her friends.
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A momentary retreat may be the best way to survive.
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What she finds on that path changes everything.
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Alien Encounter—the third novel in the Live Alien Contact series—tests Rosey and the others: their endurance, their knowledge, their friendship, and their trust of one other as they meet the unknown.
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Be sure to read the rest of this finished series!
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Available from the KRP store December 10. Generally available Dec 21.
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To celebrate, we're putting the first four stories of The Science Officer on sale for only $5.99!
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The first four novellas of Blaze Ward's Science Officer series collected together for the first time!
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Javier lives quite happily on his long-range scout. Alone. Away from everyone, with his chickens, his fruit trees, and Suvi, an artificial intelligence who keeps him company and runs the ship.
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When space pirates attack Javier's ship, they get much more than they bargained for.
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Join Javier Aritza, a sarcastic and quirky hero, in the first four novellas of the Science Officer, a fast-paced, action-packed science fiction series.
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Included in Omnibus 1:
The Science Officer
The Mindfield
The Gilded Cage
The Pleasure Dome
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