Holiday Traditions

Tis the season for mothers to run themselves ragged getting ready for the big day. There’s shopping and baking and parties and decorating, the trimming of the tree and cooking and wrapping and the absolutely essential but last minute addition to the Christmas list.

There’s the coffee cake that has become an important part of Christmas morning and the breakfast soufflé that no one loves but we’ve had it for so many years it’s not Christmas without it.

Christmas morning will arrive and we’ll open presents and eat the same breakfast we eat every year. My husband and I will pick up wrapping paper and grumble about the mess.

Then – and only then – will I indulge in my favorite Christmas day tradition. I’ll admire the tree with its bright lights then curl up on the living room couch with a mystery from Santa. That’s right. Each year Santa brings me a book. One year it was Mrs. Jeffries and the Feast of St. Stephen by Emily Brightwell. Another year Deanna Raybourn’s Silent in the Sanctuary made an appearance in my stocking. Amazing how Santa figures out exactly what I want to read! Amazing how the kiddos have figured out that their tired mother needs a few hours with a book before she can face Christmas dinner.

So this year, when the madness has ended and I displace the dog and curl up on the couch with a collection of nutcrackers looking over my shoulder, what holiday-themed mystery should I read? Any tips for Santa?

I wish you all a holiday season filled with joy, fellowship and wonderful books!




Julie Mulhern always wanted to be a writer. She spent her childhood creating pen names and dreaming of exotic, mysterious, romantic places. To that end, she went to Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Virginia (because, when you’re from the Midwest, the South is both exotic and romantic). There she earned degrees in politics and French. She even spent a year living in Paris. But the Midwest beckoned and she returned home. Now she lives with her husband, two daughters and a dastardly dog (see above). It might not be exotic or mysterious but it is romantic. Visit her at www.juliemulhern.com. Her first mystery The Deep End is available for pre-order.