Wednesday Writer's Spotlight: Favorite Holiday Traditions

With the holiday season coming quickly upon us, we thought we would ask our Inkspell authors to share their favorite holiday traditions and why they mean so much to them. Learn more about the fabulous authors behind Inkspell's hottest books! 

Naya Nikki:
As a Hindu, this time of year is extremely special because for us it is Diwali and our New Year. For those who do not know what Diwali is, it is the festival of light and the whole family gets together to eat lots of food, give everyone their best wishes for the year, exchange gifts for the younger ones and of course listen to the story of the Ramayan. Diwali is the Hindu's version of Christmas. 
As a family we get together, the whole of my Dad's side..so that is about 80 people and counting...That's 3 generations all getting together with their relevant spouses and kids eating a lot of food. It is the one day out of the year we all get to see each other. what with everyone's busy schedule and family politics I love that we have this tradition of putting it all to one side and getting together.  As an immediate family on Diwali day my parents, myself and my grandparents all eat dinner together, it is the one time of year the five of us sit at a table and eat together as a family. My mum and grandma cook all our favourite foods and slightly like thanksgiving we go around saying what we have been grateful for over the past year and what we look forward to happening in the coming year.

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Rita Arens:
My side of our family celebrates Christmas in Iowa. My late grandparents had a silver tree holder that is a music box that rotates. Every year my cousin and his wife get a small tree and we all bring ornaments that remind us of each other and those relatives who have passed. It's called the Memory Tree. My sister came up with the idea and it's my favorite part of Christmas. The grandparents in THE OBVIOUS GAME are a key source of comfort and inspiration to Diana, much as mine were to me. I lived next door to my paternal grandparents growing up, and they were like second parents to me.

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Kacey Vanderkarr:
My favorite holiday tradition comes Christmas morning. It's not the presents or Santa Claus, and it's definitely not the snow. It's breakfast at my parent's house. After living on my own for nine years, I most look forward to my mom's biscuits and gravy and sitting around the table with my family. As we get older it seems we grow farther and farther apart, so it's important to me to spend that hour catching up and pretending I still live at home and that it's a daily occurrence. It's easy to take things for granted until you no longer have them. I'd give up the gifts and I'd gladly forget the snow, if I can just sit around the table and eat breakfast with the people I care for most.

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Aubrie Dionne:
We always celebrated Christmas on Christmas Eve because I don't think my parents like getting up early if they don't have to, and they wanted to take pictures with all of us dressed up nice, not in our PJ's. So, my dad used to take me and my sister out looking for Santa Claus. We'd leave a plate of cookies behind, then walk around the neighborhood looking up at the sky. He'd say, "Wait a sec. I think I saw him." Me and my sister would both look eagerly! 

When we got home, my mom would say, "Awww. You're too late. You just missed him. Santa visited while you were gone." Presents would be scattered all over the floor, and we'd forget we missed seeing him as we dove in! To this day, even though all of my siblings are grown up, my parents still celebrate Christmas on Christmas Eve. I love it. It's turned into an all day event, and then we can all sleep in for Christmas morning while everyone else wakes up early to get their gifts! 

We at Inkspell hope that your holiday traditions bring you joy and peace. We'd love to hear about your holidays as well. Just leave us a comment! :)

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