-All Done with Dashing Pamela Dowd. Maggie is tired of traditional Christmas dinner where she does most of the work. She stages a sit-in.
- No Holly, No Ivy Wanda Luttrell - Loraine will have her first Christmas alone her grown children are away. A quiet Christmas. She spends some time with her Jewish neighbor, went caroling with a group from the Senior Center and got to know Ted, the new associate pastor, went to the midnight Christmas eve service. On Christmas day she went to Mr. Feroz market to get milk for her kitty, knowing the Muslim man wouldnt close for Christmas, helped Ted deliver food to a hungry family, helped Mr Feroz when his shop was attacked in a hate crime and then his home was attacked.
- O Little Town of Progress Wanda Luttrell. Mary Martha was old, a widow, had lived in her stern mother-in-laws house for years after m-i-l and husband had both died, and hadnt felt it was enough hers to make any changes. Now she is selling the dining room furniture. Charlie and her husband Rick are expecting their first baby. They go to Mary Marthas to look at the table.
-My True Love Gave to Me Christine Lynxwiler Penny is ready to go all out for Christmas as usual, but husband Phillip borrowed a friends RV and plans a month-long trip until after New Year, so that he can get to know his kids who are growing away from him - wants to rediscover family and God. Penny resentfully agrees to go. The two kids go unwillingly. I liked the story, and what they did, but I did not like her continual complaining and bad attitude until almost the end.
Enjoyaable light reading. Four short novells, two mothers and two widows at Christmas time. Easily read when you don't have a lot of time around the holidays.