Today I have things other than writing, publishing and book promotion on my mind. We\u2019re hosting our family Christmas gathering here this morning with a ham brunch and there is much to do and think about before our 23 guests arrive. <\/p>\n
Among our guests will be my ninety-year-old mother and my six-week old great granddaughter and will include my three daughters and all of my grandchildren and their spouses and significant others. We have cut way back on our gift-giving since the grown grandchildren are all struggling to make their way in the world and money is an issue for some of them. Among them are a full-time mom and her husband who owns a construction company; an airplane builder; an electricians\u2019 apprentice; a hostess in a fine-dining restaurant and a hopeful nursing student. One grandson just landed a new job in the world of technology\u2014his wife is an executive with a local bank.<\/p>\n
Instead of exchanging gifts, we now each bring one $10 gift for a drawing. If we get it on sale and pay $10 for a $30 gift, all the better. Everyone goes home with something. Gifts to one another are not allowed. However, some of us cheat. We engage in under-the-table gift giving. The more established family members\u2014those over 50\u2014all manage to have special little gifts for each family. And everyone brings goodies for the little ones. This year, we\u2019re having an auction. We\u2019re auctioning off my deceased aunt\u2019s paintings. We thought it might be an interesting way to find homes for her artwork and have fun doing so<\/p>\n
It will be quite a crowd of people spilling into my living room. I hope the commotion doesn\u2019t upset the resident cats too much.<\/p>\n
What does my family Christmas gathering have to do with writing, publishing and book promotion? It depends on how you look at it. I can see several potential article ideas within the four paragraphs above. Here\u2019s what I mean:<\/p>\n
1: Recipes and tips for serving twenty-plus guests in an ordinary home environment.
\n2: Family holiday traditions; how and why they morph over time.
\n3: A study of family traditions and how they benefit families.
\n4: How to keep pets safe and comfortable when entertaining.
\n5: A comparison of the type of jobs young adults are accepting now as compared to ten, twenty and thirty years ago.
\n6: Why are we staying single longer?
\n7: A tips sheet of potential family traditions.<\/p>\n
Some of you will be able to come up with many more article (or even book) ideas based on this theme. But, in the meantime, I\u2019m going to go experience a wonderful family Christmas party. While I\u2019m partying, you can be ordering my books, signing up for one of my online courses for freelance writers and authors, or preparing your manuscript for me to edit. My bookstore is open 24\/7.<\/p>\n
http:\/\/www.matilijapress.com<\/a> Today I have things other than writing, publishing and book promotion on my mind. We\u2019re hosting our family Christmas gathering here this morning with a ham brunch and there is much to do and think about before our 23 guests arrive. Among our guests will be my ninety-year-old mother and my six-week old great granddaughter […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[13],"tags":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t
\n http:\/\/www.patriciafry.com<\/a> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"