Christmas
is starting to be a distant memory but thankfully some of it gets to stay with
us a few weeks longer. The tree is always put away on January 6th
(although ours literally came down on Christmas Day when the old tree collapsed
- but that’s another story!), and of course there are the presents.
It
was getting a really simple present this Christmas gone that reminded me of
just how inexpensive life’s great pleasures can be.
I‘d
been in a bookshop the week before and randomly picked up the new Bridget Jones
novel. I own both the movies on DVD and have seen them many, many times and I
think, somewhere, I might even have the soundtrack on CD. But I admit… I’d
never read the books. I think it’s because I missed them when they first came
out and sometimes reading a book after watching the movie just doesn’t work.
But I’d heard good things about the new story in spite of the – you know – the terrible thing that happens – so I was
intrigued. I read the first few pages in the store and knew that this year, buying
me a Christmas present was going to be dead easy for the kids. The only thing I
wanted was to read that book.
Come
Christmas Day, there it was under the tree -
“Bridget Jones - Mad About the Boy.”
Naturally,
the day was spent reading - in between the
cooking. And nibbling on liquorice allsorts
and scorched almonds. It rolled over to
the next day when I was jokingly informed the only thing I’d done had been lie
on the couch. That was indeed my plan, and actually may not have been far from
the truth because at some time on Boxing Day, I’d not only finished the book,
but the allsorts and the scorched almonds. (And I have to say – I LOVED the book!!)
I
took a photo of it to Tweet and thought, you know, it’s a perfect gift - confectionary and a can’t-put-down book. It is
indeed a very simple pleasure - and books are so much nicer when you get to
unwrap them, don’t you think?
So
I got to thinking about other simple presents I’ve loved. There was a book about
the staff at a library who adopted a cat they called Dewey. A cheap (I know it
was cheap because my son told me the price, it was so amazing) china mug with a
lid so I can have a coffee at my desk at work – I use it every day and people still compliment
it. And of course, one can never go wrong with favourite chocolates and lollies.
So
please share. What simple or cheap gifts have you received in the past that have
brought you a lot of joy? Birthday, Christmas – maybe, given we’re romance
readers here, even a Valentine’s Day gift?
Joanne
Hill is the author of four romance e-books including a short story anthology
“Love The Commute,” which is currently free on most e book sites. Other titles
include “Blue Creek Bachelor,” “Daniel’s Bride,” and “Falling for Jack”. A
former president of Romance Writers of New Zealand, Joanne is a librarian for a
research centre. Although she gets to write about local and family history, help
people track down their ancestors, and read old newspapers and magazines - all
in the name of research! - she still prefers to read and write novels set in
the present. Joanne lives in Auckland, New Zealand. Visit her on the web at www.joannehill.com
