I  would like to add a blanket Spoiler alert for this thread - in order to allow for free flowing discussions, we will be exploring all parts of the book, most likely giving away the entire story line.  Please do not read this thread if you wish to read the book without any preconceived notions.

Which of the three stories did you like best - Heather's story, Faith's story or Emily's? Why?


Near the end of the book there were three scenes that were pretty much just ran past. When Ray's mother gets to the Condo, When Heather shows up at the Condo and How Heather and Ben came to attend Christmas dinner together.  Had these scenes been written out, the book would have been much longer and maybe not as light. Would you have liked to have seen them fully developed in the story or did you like how Macomber wrote it?

This book focused a lot on traditions and what we associate with the holidays. What are your favorite holiday traditions? Would you like to
visit Leavenworth or is that not your cup of tea?


This book was very different from the other 3 books we have read. The subject was much lighter. Compare and Contrast this style to what we have previously read.


Based on this story, would you read more of Debbie Macomber's books or is she now an author you are not interested in? Why?
 

I can't say this story inspired me to read more Macomber. I thought it on the dull side and the characters and set up didn't appeal to me, particularly the mother-daughter relationship.  I hate the whole clinging mother thing and the fact that she was essentially rewarded for her inappropriate behavior by her daughter's guilt didn't sit well with me.

I would say I liked Heather's story best, if I liked any of them. It was cliched, as they all were, but Elijah wasn't completely awful, making him slightly less one-dimensional than the other characters. :-\ I didn't miss seeing her reunion with Ben. Bland meets bland.

The oddest thing about the book for me was that since Emily and Charles were introduced first, they seemed to have the most presence in the book and it was weird that they were never actually together. Faith and Ray just seemed like cardboard cut-outs. I got no real sense of attraction or romance from any of the couples.

I thought it odd that the term "dwarves" was used. The book was written in 1991. I thought that was not a polite term by the 80's, at the latest. Though reading up on it on the web, it seems somewhat ambiguous. Now I'm reminding myself of that scene in "30 Rock" in which Jack's girlfriend calls herself "Puerto Rican" and he worries that it sounds racist. ;-)

I thought it was a sweet story but underdeveloped. 

I am a person who doesn't like surprises so I would never have spent money on a plane ticket without checking first.  Seems silly, especially on Emily's part since it was obvious that her daughter had other plans.

I guess I liked Faith's story the best, although Emily's story seemed the most developed - the dinners, the walks, etc.  Makes it more believeable.  I didn't like Heather's story at all.  None of it was developed or believable or realistic.

I love christmas time so it was cool to read about the town of Leavenworth.  I was entranced by that part of the book than any other part.  Sounds like somewhere that I definitely want to visit.  :)

I still want to read Macomber's other books, but I hope they are more developed than this one was.