Season’s Greetings! But—what season is it? @LeslieBudewitz

LUCY BURDETTE: Today I'm pleased to welcome Leslie Budewitz, a blogmate from Mystery Lovers Kitchen and Sisters in Crime, and a well-known and admired writer in the cozy mystery world. Today she's talking Christmas...no, really! And her brand new book, AS THE CHRISTMAS COOKIE CRUMBLES. Welcome Leslie!

LESLIE BUDEWITZ: I’ve been thinking a lot about Christmas lately.

No, I am not one of those people—let’s call them women—who start planning for Christmas months ahead. Who beat the lines and take advantage of the toy sales in February, even if that means checking off their list long before the kids clamor for this year’s Cabbage Patch doll. (But you know those women. They’ll say they’ve saved time and money by ignoring the gift fads—or that they’ve saved themselves the time and money to indulge in the fadness if they want to.)

They are the women like my sister-in-law (and I love her dearly) who throws a cover over her tree in early January, hires a handyman to cart it down to her basement storage room, then calls him in late November to haul it up again. (“Nice tree,” Mr. Right says every year. “Looks familiar.” And yes, she swats him. He is her younger brother, after all.)

They are the women who bake their Christmas cookies in October, as soon as it’s cool enough to leave the oven on for hours at a time, and freeze them. They have their address books set up on a label-making program and write their cards the day after Thanksgiving, because they’ve already finished their shopping.

Some of them, heaven forbid, are like my across-the-hall dorm neighbor eons ago, who played the Carpenters’ Christmas album in May because she liked it. With the door open and the volume cranked up. (Unlike my high school pal whose temp job at a downtown bank included changing the cassettes for the music that played on the hour, and didn’t realize she’d accidentally grabbed a tape of holiday tunes, in mid summer, until the bank started getting calls.)

I’m more the Nordstrom’s type. The retailer famously refuses to decorate its windows for Christmas until after Thanksgiving, although they do set up holiday displays in-store and will happily help you check off your gift list any time of year. The only decorations out before December 1 at my house are the ones I forgot to put away and left out all year. (You’re laughing, but you’ve done it. You know you have.)

We often cut a tree in our own woods or on the neglected land across the road—we’re simply helping the anonymous owners maintain their property with selective pruning—and it doesn’t go up until the second weekend in December. That way, it’s nice and fresh for our holiday brunch and can safely stay up until Epiphany.

I rarely buy a gift before December first—the local merchants love seeing me during the Christmas Art walk because I’m not just browsing. I’m buying!

And I don’t dare bake or make other holiday treats too soon—I’d only have to make them over again if I wanted any for that magical time between Solstice and the New Year.

So it’s been—well, curious—to write a book set at Christmas in the spring, and a year later, plan its launch. Mr. Right did not mind off-season recipe testing one bit. I’ll confess to sitting in my office shivering with cold as the characters threw snow balls at each other only to realize that it was seventy degrees out and the mock orange was in bloom.

Thank goodness the village gift shop celebrates Christmas year-round in the basement. I got some great deals on holiday-themed cocktail napkins. (For the book launch party. They’ll be long gone by December.)

Although maybe I’m pushing this Christmas-in-spring thing a bit far. As I was trimming the holly plant in our woodland garden last weekend, “Deck the Halls” lodged itself firmly in my brain. (It’s in yours now? You’re welcome.)

But the antique mercury glass ornaments in the cocktail glasses on the sideboard? Some things are always in season.

What about you, friends? Do you plan for Christmas all year, or put it off as long as possible enjoy the season in season?


Leslie Budewitz lives and writes in NW Montana where, contrary to popular opinion, it is not cold and snowy all year long. As the Christmas Cookie Crumbles, the 5th Food Lovers’ Village mystery, will be out June 8 from Midnight Ink. Kirkus Reviews says of Cookie: "Budewitz's finely drawn characters, sharp ear for dialogue, and well-paced puzzle make Jewel Bay a destination for every cozy fan."