You Are Viewing All I Want For Christmas

To get in the mood for the now-upon-us Christmas season, we thought we would bring you something a bit fun from some of our favourite chick lit authors. We asked lots of authors what THEY want for Christmas and here’s what they said… welcome to our third and final part!

Ali McNamara -

What Would I Like for Christmas?

Dear Santa,

This year I have been a very good girl (well apart from the incident with my children’s Easter Eggs… but they didn’t miss them, too much chocolate is bad for their teeth anyway. Oh and my husband didn’t need to know the exact price of that handbag now did he? He doesn’t have high blood pressure, but he may have developed it if I’d told him the real price…)

Anyway this year I would like…

(Yes I know these things are the same as in previous years.)

*Smaller thighs

* Not to gain pounds from simply looking at a bar of chocolate

*The scales to remain under that weight for more than a day.

New request

To find out From Notting Hill with Love Actually is going to be made into a big budget Hollywood Movie. You must squeeze down some film producer’s chimneys on your travels; couldn’t you just pop one of my books in their stockings? Pretty please…

Adele Parks -

“All I’d like for Christmas is a surprise. I’m a control freak and like most women organise every aspect of Christmas from paper chains to turkey buying! I can tell you exactly how the entire Christmas period is going to pan out from pantomime visits to party poppers. I’m even asked by my family to buy my own gifts (they give me the cash). I know this has come about because I have definite views on how things should be done and because I obsess about being an A* Christmas Fairy but somewhere I have to admit this sort of defeats the point of it all. Christmas should be about relaxing, treats and surprises! If one person surprises me I’ll be thrilled. If they don’t, then I suppose I can only blame years of control-freakishness!”

Clodagh Murphy -

“Let’s face it, Christmas gift-giving has become a bit dreary. We ask each other what we want. We give each other wish lists and hints. It’s not unusual for women to buy their own presents for retail-challenged partners to present them with on Christmas morning. Yes, it makes Christmas shopping a lot easier, and I’m sure it’s very practical and sensible. But I can’t help feeling it’s all gone a bit far and is sucking all the magic out of Christmas.

So what I would really like for Christmas is a surprise. Surprises, of course, can go either way. I’m not talking about the kind of surprise that bloke in The Godfather gets when he finds a horse’s head in his bed – the kind of gift where you have to give an Oscar-worthy performance when you unwrap it and pretend those are tears of joy as you blub over a novelty hat or a truly heinous jumper.

I’m thinking more of the kind of surprise you’d get if George Clooney turned up at your door with a bunch of roses and a bottle of champagne, and told you he had a plane standing by to waft you off to… hang on, where was I?

Yes, I’m talking about a wonderful, delightful surprise – a gift so ‘you’ that it couldn’t be relabelled and given to your great-aunt Nora in a present emergency. Even better if it’s something completely frivolous or luxurious that I wouldn’t have bought for myself – a beautiful piece of art; a state-of-the-art laptop; a pair of really cool but very expensive boots; a trip to New York … there’s plenty of scope.

And okay, I know I’ve hinted about the George Clooney thing, but if someone wants to arrange that, it’ll be fine by me. I’ll even pretend to be surprised.”

Nina Bell -

“I always hand OH the Brora catalogue with the right cashmere cardie marked + Hotel Chocolat chocs, Diptyque Cedar candle + books + plants”

To get in the mood for the now-upon-us Christmas season, we thought we would bring you something a bit fun from some of our favourite chick lit authors. We asked lots of authors what THEY want for Christmas and here’s what they said…

Milly Johnson -

If you’d have asked me the question ‘what would I like for Christmas’ a couple of months ago, it would have been a very different answer to the one I’m going to give you now.

On my Santa list were 46” legs, a straight nose, Simon-Cowell-white teeth, a night out with George Clooney (or rather a ‘night in’) and a limitless Coutt’s bank account. Obviously those were just for Santa’s eyes, because he’s magic and can deliver. On the list for the family to choose from were some Guerlain perfume, Thortons chocs, Caramel Baileys, a stash of bubble bath and as many handbags as people cared to give me. No one buys bubble bath because its considered ‘too boring a present’ but please – family – it’s really what I want and this girl can never have enough of it. Don’t try and waver from the norm.

And that’s the clue to my list this year – ‘the norm’. Because, a few weeks ago my mum was rushed to hospital with a blood clot on her brain. And we thought we’d lost her. Can you fight back from something like that at 78 years old? Before I stamped on them, unbidden thoughts came to me of struggling through Christmas for the sake of the kids with one empty – and unfillable place – at the dinner table. Christmas would have been something to get over and done with, I wouldn’t have taken any joy in it. But, hey, she did fight back and she’s fit and fab again and gearing up to criticise me for not putting my sprouts on in early July, like she used to.

So, if you’re reading this Santa, just give me a normal bog-standard, no change, no surprises Christmas. Forget George and ultra-violet gnashers, just give me turkey and bubble bath and rubbish crackers and watching ‘A Wonderful Life’ under a big blanket with my boys and no empty spaces at my dinner table. You really couldn’t give me any more of a magical Christmas than that.

Mandy Baggot -

1. An agent - preferably one with Facebook friends containing employees of all the large publishing houses in the UK and/or the US.

2. Simon Baker (Patrick Jane from The Mentalist) naked and gift wrapped.

3. The 60 Minute Makeover team to come and give me a brand new bedroom. We’re talking peeling magnolia paint and rattan units here. Although it would have to involve animal print and not a hint of tartan or teal.

There are more but we’ll stop at three!!

Veronica Henry -

Some really snuggly ‘loungewear’ from hush-uk.com - perfect for writing in but makes you feel less like a slob. And a bicyle as I’ve just discovered the Tarka Trail near us - stunning but flat! And some Laura Mercier creme brulee bubble bath. That’s it!

Talli Roland -

All I want for Christmas this year is a karaoke machine. It would fit perfectly in the corner of my office, nestled up against my desk. I’m not a singer – in fact, my husband not-so-subtly turns up the music when I start to croon – but in the daytime silence of my flat, I’ve no one to scare but me. And quite possibly my neighbours.

Not only could I hone my Bon Jovi repertoire (‘Livin’ on a Prayer’ is my old stand-by), but singing would be a great release for any pent-up frustration when the writing’s not going according to plan. Imagine belting out ‘November Rain’ or anything by Muse when you need to just let out the angst. And when things are going well, what better way to celebrate than to break into song? A little Lionel Ritchie or Kool and the Gang (I grew up in the eighties, can you tell?) and the good times would be rolling.

I’ve been a very good girl this year (wine consumption aside). So Santa, please bring me a karaoke machine. I promise not to sing until you’re safely out of earshot. Deal?

More coming tomorrow, thanks to all who have participated!