Tag: Holidays

Essays

Writing (and reading) through the holiday chaos: finding focus when life gets loud

Mandy Webster

The holidays are supposed to be a time of joy and connection, but for many of us, they also bring a whirlwind of obligations: family gatherings, travel, shopping, cooking, and endless to-do lists. Amid the chaos, finding time to write, read, or simply pause can feel impossible. Yet even during the busiest season of the year, it’s possible to carve out moments for creativity and reflection—if you approach it with intention and compassion.

Amid the holiday bustle, it’s important to carve out a moment for yourself to write and reflect—even when life around you is loud.
  • Set smaller, achievable goals: When life is hectic, long writing sessions or ambitious reading lists can feel overwhelming. Break your projects into smaller, manageable chunks. Write for twenty minutes in the morning, read a chapter before bed, or jot down ideas in a notebook while sipping your coffee. Small, consistent efforts often add up more than you realize—and they keep your creative momentum alive.
Continue reading “Writing (and reading) through the holiday chaos: finding focus when life gets loud” →
Halloween, Holidays, NaNoWriMo

Happy Smashing Pumpkins Day! (Oh yeah, and NaNoWriMO!)

Mandy Webster

Pretty pumkins, pre carving
These are the pumpkins we will be smashing today. Of course, they have since been gutted and carved, their rotting faces now caved in.

A few years ago, my sons and I started a new family tradition that they look forward to almost as much as Trick-or-Treating. We like to call it Smashing Pumpkins Day.

This day falls on November 1st, the day after Halloween, when the boys officially gain permission to take our now-rotting jack o’ lanterns out to the marsh behind our apartment complex and smash them to BITS! They love it.

What could be more fun than smashing pumpkins? Of course, if you smash someone else’s pumpkins, you’re a jerk. But there’s no harm in smashing your own pumpkins once their poor faces have sunken in. So today, as soon as my kids get home from school, they will gather up our jack o’ lanterns first thing and drag them out to the marsh. Each year, the boys come up with new and creative ways to pulverize their pumpkins. Let’s just say, we like to get our money’s worth. Continue reading “Happy Smashing Pumpkins Day! (Oh yeah, and NaNoWriMO!)” →

Holidays, Random Rants

Valentine’s Day tips

Mandy Webster

Children's Valentine, 1940–1950
Image via Wikipedia

Dear men,

It really is the thought that counts. As long as you show her that you think she’s worth thinking of, no matter what you do, it will be plenty.

Unless, of course, you’re one of those men Continue reading “Valentine’s Day tips” →

Halloween, Holidays, Poetry by Mandy Webster

Hiding from the Creeps

Mandy Webster

This semester, I’ve been taking a course on writing poetry for children and young adults. I’ve never really thought of myself as much of a poet, but I thought it would be good to push myself out of my comfort zone and give it a shot.

Ghost

As it turns out, I’ve learned quite a bit about language and words that will probably help me in my other writing. I would recommend at least one poetry class for every aspiring author, poet or non.

And as long as I have to write a poem every week, I thought it might be fun to share my poems with you. So here’s a Halloween poem for you, inspired by my childhood fear of catching a glimpse of my own reflection in the window at night: Continue reading “Hiding from the Creeps” →