Give a Priceless Holiday Gift to Yourself & Others

The holiday season is upon us and generally that means there’s at least one person, if not more, that you're challenged to find the perfect gift to give.  Then there are some that you may not want to give a gift to at all. 

The holidays also often mean a time of increased stress, too many obligations, too little time, and too much overindulging, which can lead to a month of frustration. 

Perhaps this holiday it’s time to look a little closer at the magic of the season. To think beyond material gifts and give something  priceless that can benefit ourselves as well as the beneficiary. 

 

Priceless Gifts to Give

What gift do you give to the person who has everything, or someone that you don't even know to make their holiday a little more joyful?

More Patience- Before you get frustrated with the line you must wait in, or the crowds, remember that we’re each dealing with our own stressors every day, not just during the holidays. 

Holidays just happen to be able to bring out the worst in some people, but give the benefit of the doubt and consider that there may be underlying reasons. This could be someone's first holiday season without a loved one, or perhaps someone is ill, or family is unable to be home due to finances or deployment. Don’t add to their frustration, or your own, by losing your patience.  

A Compliment or a Smile-  Just like negativity can spark a bad mood, smiles and being pleasant can be contagious. Give someone the gift of a compliment—it may be the only kind thing they hear today. 

Forgiveness- This gift has the power to allow you to find more joy in the holiday season and all year long. 

What to Return 

Resentment, Anger & Grudges – Often the things we want the least, that hurt us the most, are the hardest to let go. Don't continue to regift these painful emotions. These feelings only hurt ourselves and can destroy relationships. 

Don’t wait until it’s too late to return these so you can gain the gift of discovering peace. 

 

Give a Helping Hand

Write Reviews- You’re heard many times before how much authors value reviews, but it’s not just authors who benefit. We all do. Writing a review for any product benefits you, too. 

If you’re like me, you do much of your shopping online, or you at least do a little online research before you decide what to buy. Reviews for any product help make decisions on what’s a good gift, or one that wouldn’t meet your expectations. If we all take the time to review most of the products we buy, it can save us all time in choosing quality, appropriate gifts for our loved ones—and ourselves. 

Other Ways to Win a Gift for Yourself

It seems that when I start holiday shopping, that’s when I find things I want for myself, but I feel guilty because I should be buying for others. Here are a few contests that you can enter to try to win a guilt-free prize for yourself.

 

Hurry- this contest wraps up on December 5^th

 Your chance to win a Kindle Fire 7 Tablet- $25 worth of ebooks from Amazon (winner’s choice, up to 5 total books) - $20 Amazon gift card- $15 worth of ebooks from Amazon (winner’s choice, up to 3 total books)- $10 Amazon gift card  Enter Right Here

Make Your Month More Merry 

Enter Right Here for your Chance to win a kindle fire or echo dot

What's the Best Gift You Ever Got?

Author Bio: Maureen Bonatch grew up in small town Pennsylvania and her love of the four seasons—hockey, biking, sweat pants and hibernation—keeps her there. While immersed in writing or reading paranormal romance and fantasy, she survives on caffeine, wine, music, and laughter. A feisty Shih Tzu keeps her in line. Find Maureen on her website, Facebook& Twitter

Be the first to know about Maureen’s book sales and new releases by following her on BookBub, Amazonand/or signing up for her newsletter

A Magical Time for Romance & Reflection - Maureen Bonatch

by Maureen L. Bonatch 

As Valentine’s Day approaches, every store and commercial is emphasizing that it’s time for romance. Time to tell and/or show your loved one how much you care.

This time of year often turns our thoughts to love stories, and we may wonder how the story began.

How Hard Can it Be?

Many years ago, in the mind of a naïve writer, I picked up a pen (rather, put fingers to the keyboard) and wrote a romance novel. 

A contest and a deadline spurred me to chase my dream of writing. This started out as straight romance- with no paranormal elements involved- and kind of fell short on several accounts. (As I have reworked this manuscript, I discovered my love of paranormal and it helped bring the story to life.) However, I didn’t know that, I thought it was fabulous! 

Like the first time I tried to sew a teddy bear in junior high. I thought that hideous monstrosity (despite copious amounts of help from the Home Economics teacher) was perfect too, and promptly sent it off as a gift to my nephew who lived out of state. (In reflection, I must ponder whether his mother thought it might be some type of voodoo threat, rather than a gift sewed with love and poor skill.)

The frightful excuse for a stuffed “bear” came home to visit with my nephew years later. I looked on it with fresh eyes—no longer blinded by the delight of completing the project—and was horrified. I attempted to bribe my nephew so I could destroy the hideous stuffed entity my nephew told everyone his aunt made.

Facing the Music

So…I digress…I took my fabulous first story and entered the first 3 chapters in a contest—and I didn’t win. Then I paid to have a critique of the entire story—and received pages of notes back. 

To summarize-—one of the biggest problems with my story was my hero. In the eyes of the ‘romance world’, he was no hero. I thought he was funny and realistic. The critique implied that he was a bit of an asshole.

She didn’t say it quite like that. Instead, she worded it nicely, emphasizing that this was romance. Nobody wanted a man who had no viable income, appeared totally self-absorbed and dripped sarcasm to the point of rudeness. Apparently, women were not looking to escape reality with a man like my hero. He was not the man of fantasies—perhaps he was too much like the man already lying on many women’s couches.

Somebody for Everybody

My bear was nowhere near perfect, and needed a lot more work. Okay. Let’s be honest, nothing would’ve saved that stuffed miscreation. Nevertheless, my nephew loved it because I made it with love—poor sewing skills—but heartfelt intentions.

Same thing for my first manuscript, and for any real-life romance. Nobody is perfect, but if you love someone, you tend to overlook, or ignore the flaws most days and find the gem buried within the stones.

I continue to carve away at the first manuscript, (sprinkling in some paranormal and a much more loveable hero) because I love the story and I can’t rest until I bring it to the world. 

I hope you find a way to show your special valentine how much you care and stir the magic in your relationship.

Need Some Ideas for Valentine’s Day? I Have Some for You Right Here

Looking for a short sweet magical read? Forget Me Not—and all the Candy Hearts Romance stories are 40% off now at The Wild Rose Press to get you in the mood for love.

Maureen Bonatch dreamt of becoming a Solid Gold Dancer. When the show ended, she followed other paths. Surviving twins gave her confidence to belly dance, declare herself a tequila connoisseur and biker babe to her alpha hubby. She lives in small town Pennsylvania and her love of the four seasons—biking, sweat pants, hockey and hibernation—keeps her there. While immersed in paranormal romance and fantasy, she survives on caffeine, wine, music and laughter. A feisty Shih Tzu keeps her in line.

Check out her Amazon Author Page right here for all her Books

Find Maureen:

Writing on my Website

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