Alternative Ways to Give Hugs to comply with COVID restrictions

How about an air hug? A virtual hug?

It just doesn’t cut it!

Everyone misses sitting around a cozy fire together, eating popcorn and watching holiday movies or singing Christmas carols. Forced to examine our family traditions and find new ways to express our love and gratitude for each other, I now often cozy up with my grandchildren via video call. The good news is we can still read books together.

As an author I am so privileged to team up with entrepreneurial businesses, trying to make the best of the pandemic like me. The Ripped Bodice Bookstore has adopted the philosophy, like many other retailers: if customers can’t come to us – we will come to them. They offer a holiday gift called A Romance a Month Club. If you have any avid romance readers among your loved ones you can send them a virtual hug in the form of 2 romance books and some treats every month for 6 months. I am proud to say my Journey of Cornelia Rose Series appears on the shelves in this fine story among all the other fine romances and historical romances kept in stock.

I loved sharing my joy at the magic of Christmas in my new book. Administrators and educators at schools are also devising creative ways for curriculum enrichment. I was recently asked to a local preschool for a frosty outdoor author visit. Good thing the subject of my visit is my new Christmas book Rudella, the Ordinary-Nosed Reindeer, so I can put on my downcoat and fluffy boots, ring some jingle bells and talk about the cold. I will probably look more like Rudella’s red-nosed older brother before I am done – but fighting the cold is a small price to pay for the joyful interaction. The excitement of the children was palpable. It felt like a new way to group hug!

So rather than complaining about what I no longer have, I am determined to focus on the love that still surrounds me.

I hope that everyone reading this finds that joy inside themselves too, and, during this holiday season, spreads it, and their alternative hugs, around the world.