Tommy Nelson; 32 pages; $14.99; Amazon

Though Halloween is a lot closer than Christmas, I'm more in the mood for the Yuletide season than I am for All Hallows Eve, which might explain why I'm once again reading another Christmas title.

What did I read this time?

Well, yesterday I read One Small Donkey: A Christmas Story by Dandi Daley Mackall and illustrated by Marta Alvarez Miguens. Published by Tommy Nelson (a division of Thomas Nelson Publishers), the book will be available to purchase on September 27th in either a hardcover or a board book for "little ones."

One Small Donkey: A Christmas Story centers on a small donkey (the donkey's name is never mentioned) who wants to be tall and brave like the horse he sees marching in the grass each and everyday.

Then one day his master, Joseph, calls for him. It seems Joseph and his pregnant wife, Mary, are planning a trip to Bethlehem and it's the small donkey's responsibility to help carry Mary across the land.

When Mary goes into labor, Joseph knocks on the doors of every home in the city, hoping to find shelter. However, nobody will take them in. Luckily, they do find a manger just in the nick of time. 

Abingdon Press; 200 pages; $14.99; Buy Link; Blog Tour

There's still 109 days till Christmas Day. However, I spent my morning reading a Christmas-themed book this morning while I sipped on a cup of coffee. (FYI - Today's my birthday!)

What the title of the book?

Well, the book is called God Bless Us Every One and it's written by Eva Marie Everson, which is basically a modern day spin on the Charles Dickens' classic "A Christmas Carol."

The novella centers on a twenty-seven-year old named Charlene "Charlie" Dixon who is fired just a few days before Thanksgiving as the the activities director at an all-girls school in Florida.

Yeah, it's a great way to start the holidays!

Charlie packs her bags and heads back home to Testament, North Carolina to spend the holidays with her grandmother, who she calls "Sis." Her mother abandoned her at a young age and her father has been in and out of a jail, so her grandmother had to raise her.

Product Description: 

Do you remember when... Santa asked Rudolph to guide his sleigh, Frosty magically came to life on Christmas Eve, and Kris Kringle became Santa Claus? Share the wonder and joy of The Original Christmas Classics with your children and grandchildren... creating new memories and holiday traditions that you'll cherish through the years.


Billy's Thoughts:

With only 8 days until Christmas day, you have absolutely no time to waste, so you better finish up your holiday shopping ASAP!

Finding the perfect present for each person in your family can be difficult as everyone has their own unique likes and dislikes. If you've been following my blog for the past few weeks, then you would've noticed the Holiday Gift Guide posts, where I feature books, movies and other stuff that would make a great gift. Sadly, I didn't have enough time to review every single thing I wanted to feature. Therefore, I've put together my "top 5" gift ideas to give any online gambler.


Yes, I know energy drinks have received a bad rap, but there's no harm in drinking a can once in awhile. For gambler and/or gamers, an energy drink can be crucial to keeping your mind on whatever game you are playing. There are many different brands out there, but I prefer the Monster Energy drinks as you can purchase them in 4 to 10 packs. There are a variety of different flavors as well as ones with that are low in sugar and carbs.

The Christmas Joy Ride
by Melody Carlson
Publisher: Revell
Pub. Date: September 1, 2015
ISBN: 978-0800719678
Pages: 176
Buy Link: Amazon

Review:

Yep, I'm trying to get through my Grinch-like mood by reading a few holiday-themed books this month. You might recall me reading The Christmas Cat last year. Well, the author, Melody Carlson, has published another book titled, The Christmas Joy Ride, which can be purchased at most bookstores.

The novella centers on an Miranda Fortner, who is currently unemployed and is now fearing that the bank will foreclose on her home. Her 85-year-old neighbor, Joy Jorgenson, has sold her own house and is moving to a assisted living place in Phoenix, so she can be near her sons. Miranda is shocked when she learns how Joy is going to get to there - she's going to drive her old RV, which is covered in Christmas decorations, 2,000 miles to Phenoix!

Joy has a mission to deliver gifts to six people that had each won a contest on her blog. There is no way that Miranda is going to let her drive across the country all by herself, so she packs her bags and joins Joy on the trip.

A Christmas Horror Story
Directors: Grant Harvey, Steven Hoban, Brett Sullivan
Cast: William Shatner, George Buza, Rob Archer
Studio: RLJ Entertainment
Release Date: November 24, 2015
Retail: $27.97
ASIN: B013JA9SL4
Running Time: 107 minutes
Rating: Not Rated
Buy Link: Amazon

Review:

Arriving on DVD on Tuesday November 24th, is the horror holiday flick A Christmas Horror Story. Directed by Grant Harvey, Steven Hoban & Brett Sullivan, the film stars William Shatner, George Buza, Rob Archer. The single-disc DVD features Behind-The Scenes Of A Christmas Horror Story featurette.

If you've been following my blog lately, then you would know that I don't exactly have the Christmas spirit yet, so the last thing that I want to do is watch a Christmas movie. Nevertheless, for the some reason I've watched two holiday-themed movies over the last few days, which one of the two happens to be the horror anthology, A Christmas Horror Story.

The anthology features four different stories, which are all wrapped together with scenes with William Shatner as a radio DJ, where he's warning his listeners to avoid the mall as there is a someone wearing a Santa Claus suit has taken shoppers hostage.


The first story centers on three kids - Molly (played by Zoe De Grand Masion), Ben (played by Alex Ozerov) and Dylan (Shannon Kook) on a ghost hunt in a school basement, where two other teens were brutally murdered a year before on Christmas Eve. Unfortunately for them, the ghost stories are true and the kids might not make it through the night alive.


One of the first cops who investigated the Christmas Eve murders was Scott (played by Adrian Holmes). Now he has his own set of problems with his seven-year-old son, Will (played by Orion John). The boy has been acting weird ever since he went missing for a few minutes when Scott and his wife, Kim (played by Oluniké Adeliyi), went Christmas tree hunting in the woods. To find out, something else has replaced their son and they'll have to fight to survive the night.

Angels Sing
Director: Tim McCanlies
Cast: Harry Connick, Jr., Connie Britton, Lyle Lovett, Willie Nelson, Kris Kristofferson
Studio: LionsGate
Release Date: December 10, 2013
Retail: $14.98
ASIN: B00FKPHPW6
Running Time: 90
Rating: PG
Buy Link: Amazon

Review:

If you haven't noticed, the Hallmark channel has been playing Christmas movies nonstop all month and will continue into the New Year. On December 1st, Hallmark will repeat the 2013 holiday drama Angels Sing, which originally premiered on the channel in July 2014. Directed by Tim McCanlies, the film stars Harry Connick, Jr., Connie Britton (Nashville), Lyle Lovett, Willie Nelson and Kris Kristofferson. The film is now available on Blu-ray, DVD and Digital HD.

Based on the novel When Angels Sing by Turk Pipkin, Harry Connick, Jr. plays Michael Walker, who dreads the holidays each year, mostly due to a devastating event that happened during his childhood. While his father (played by Kirs Kristofferson) has been trying to spread the Christmas spirit to him over the years, it never works.

After Thanksgiving Day, Michael and his wife Susan (played by Connie Britton) begin looking for a new place to live, but they haven't had much luck. While driving, Michael suddenly comes across a "for sale" sign in the yard in front of a beautiful house. Though he knows the house has to be way out of his price range, he talks to the owner, Nick (played by Willie Nelson) and makes an offer for the place. To his surprise, Nick accepts the offer.


Shortly after moving into their new home, Michael, Susan and their son David (played by Chandler Canterbury) quickly realizes that this isn't a normally neighborhood as everyone living there goes a little overboard with Christmas. Griffin (played by Lyle Lovett) is the first to knock on their door with a welcoming gift - a box of decorations. Other neighbors greet the Walker family and all of them drop off decorations as well.

Keeping Christmas
by Dan Walsh
Publisher: Revell
Pub. Date: September 1st, 2015
ISBN: 978-0800721190
Pages: 224
Buy Link: Amazon

Review:

While my humbug attitude hasn't changed quite yet, I nevertheless made some time to read the holiday novel Keeping Christmas by Dan Walsh. Actually, I was a bit too tired to even read last night, but talked myself into reading at least the first chapter. I ended up reading about half of the novel before going sleep and I finished reading the rest this morning.

The novel centers on Stan and Judith Winters, an older couple that are for first time dreading the holiday season. In the past, each and ever year they have the same routine of hosting Thanksgiving dinner for kids (Suzanne, Anna & Brandon), son-in-laws, a daughter-in-law and grandchildren. The girls would spend Thanksgiving afternoon flipping through Black Friday ads and Judith would go shopping with them the next day. Early in the morning, Stan would drag out the Christmas decorations for the kids to put up. Then he would go fishing with his good pal Barney, which they would later head to the Bass Pro Shop for some bargain shopping.

Sadly, all the kids have moved out of state and aren't coming for Thanksgiving or Christmas this year, letting Stan & Judith to consider leaving behind their holiday traditions.

Santa's Little Helper
Director: Gil Junger
Cast: Mike "The Miz" Mizanin, Paige, Annalynne McCord
Studio: 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment
Release Date: November 17, 2015
Retail: $22.98
ASIN: B015G6WN98
Running Time: 90 minutes
Rating: PG
Buy Link: Amazon

Review:

Now available on DVD from 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment is the holiday comedy Santa's Little Helper. Directed by Gil Junger, the film stars WWE superstars Mike "The Miz" Mizanin and Paige. Special features includes The "Ho Ho Ho," Introducing Paige and Holiday Cast & Crew.

Produced by WWE Studios, Santa's Little Helper centers on a businessman, Dax (played by Mike "The Miz" Mizanin), who is suddenly fired from his job. To make matters worse, his girlfriend leaves him, his car is repossessed and the bank is going foreclose on his home.

Luckily for Dax, his a guardian angel, well, actually it's just Santa Claus (played by Eric Keenleyside), has been keeping an eye out on Dax for awhile. Santa needs a second-in-command, which is called the Ho Ho Ho, at his North Pole operations and he believes that Dax is the best man for the job. Instead of sending himself to see if Dax is up for the challenge, Santa sends his top elf, Billie (played by Annalynne McCord) to recruit him.

Of course, Dax doesn't believe that Santa is real, but he really needs a job, so he agrees to participate in several embarrassing tests, which he barely passes. Unfortunately, the Ho Ho Ho position might not be his as the elf named Eleanor (played by Paige) wants the job and challenges to Dax to competition.

Doctor Who: Last Christmas
Director: Paul Wilmshurst
Starring: Peter Capaldi, Jenna Coleman, Nick Frost
Studio: BBC Home Entertainment
Release Date: February 17, 2015
Retail: $14.98
ASIN: B00QHND1BO
Running Time: 60 minutes
Rating: Not Rated
Buy Link: DVD, Blu-ray

Review:

Now available to own on DVD & Blu-ray from BBC Home Entertainment is Doctor Who: Last Christmas. Paul Wilmshurst directed this 60-minute 2014 Christmas Special that stars Peter Capaldi as the Twelfth, Jenna Coleman as his companion Clara Oswald and Nick Frost as Santa Claus. Bonus Features include Behind The Scenes featurette and a commentary.

Set on Christmas Eve, schoolteacher and frequent companion to Doctor, Clara, is woken up by a loud sound coming from the rooftop. She rushes up to roof to find a sleigh, magical reindeer, elves and Santa Claus. Then the TARDIS appears and once again the Doctor needs her help. And, of course, Clara, hops in the TARDIS to go on another adventure.

The Doctor and Clara arrive at the North Pole, where they encounter a troubled group of scientists as their fellow colleagues have been attacked by a Facehugger-like creature. The aliens puts the victims in a coma, While the victims are dreaming, the aliens slow devours their brains!

A Princess For Christmas
Starring: Katie McGarth, Sam Heughan, Roger Moore
Studio: LionsGate
Release Date: October 16, 2012
Retail: $14.98
ASIN: B008U1ANHG
Running Time: 90 minutes
Rating: Not Rated
Buy Link: Amazon

Review:

If you have been channel surfing this month, then you have probably noticed the overload of Christmas movies, especially on the Hallmark Channel. I tend to ignore these movies as they are normally extremely cheesy with bad acting. However, I found myself flipping through channels late one night a few weeks ago and stumbled upon a movie with what looked like an older Roger Moore in it. After a quick "Google" search, I learned that film was called A Princess For Christmas and it indeed had Roger Moore, aka James Bond, in it.

Originally titled, Christmas At Castlebury Hall, the film centers on a young woman, Jules Daly (played by Katie McGrath), who has been raising her nephew, Milo (played by Travis Turner), and her niece, Maddie (played by Leilah de Meza), ever since the death of her sister and brother-in-law. Jules has had a serious a bad luck with Milo getting caught stealing, the kids' nanny quitting and the little fact that Jules lost her job.

Suddenly, the butler of Duke Edwards, who happens to the be the kids' father's father, shows up at their doorsteps with invitation for them to visit Castlebury Hall. Jules declines the offer at first as she knows that the Duke had disowned the kids' father when he married her sister. She later changes her mind as she thinks it would be a good experience for Milo and Maddie.

Yep, the holiday shopping season officially began on Black Friday, giving shoppers less than four weeks to find the perfect gift for your family and friends before the 25th!

Find the best gift can be a bit challenging, especially when whoever you are buying for already has everything. There is good chance that almost everyone has at least one fisherman in their family. Tomorrow on Cyber Monday, Alaska's famous fishing lodge, Waterfalls Resort, will be having a “Gift Wrap a Fish" deal, which all guests will receive a free round trip airfare (a value up to $750)!

Waterfalls Resort is located near Ketchikan, which is a 90-minute flight away from Seattle. Originally, it was called the Waterfall Cannery that was established in 1912 and ran until the late 1960s. It was remodeled in 1983 as Waterfalls Resort.

Here are some fun facts about Waterfalls Resort:

• During the cannery years, the Waterfalls Resort location broke a world record for producing the most canned salmon in a single season.
• Waterfalls Resort is located on the west coast of Prince of Wales Island, which is by one of the most famous fishing locations -  SE Alaska’s Inside Passage.
• Waterfalls Resort has been operating as a private sport fishing lodge for over 30 years.
• The resort provides the best rods, reels, tackle, bait and all-weather gear.
• Guest can catch a wide variety of fish, including the king salmon (Chinook), Coho Salmon, halibut, ling cod, red snapper, black bass and rock fish.
• The resort has their own fish processing team, who cleans, trims, packs and freezes each guests' catch.

The “Gift Wrap a Fish” deal can be booked from December 1st thru December 31st. The free airline tickets can be paired with the Land Package for 2 or more nights at the exclusive price of $3,510 per person. Airline baggage fees, as well as Alaska State fishing licenses and gratuities, are not included in the package.

Arriving today on DVD from Adult Swim and Warner Bros. Home Entertainment is Robot Chicken: Christmas Specials, featuring all 6 Christmas Specials. Special features include commentaries, deleted scenes, deleted animatics and long-forgotten promos!

If you have ever been channel surfing late at night, then there is probably a chance that you came across an episode of Robot Chicken on Adult Swim. The series was created by Seth Green and Matthew Senreich. It premiered in 2005 and has become a ratings hit for the Cartoon Network. The premise of each episode (runs around 11-12 minutes each) follows a sketch-comedy format, where the series spoofs cartoons, movies and pop culture.

Since December 2005, Robot Chicken has aired six Christmas specials and each and every one is a parody of Christmas movies, specials and a little bit of everything else you can think of. Seth Green voices Santa Claus in the earlier specials while Seth Macfarlane takes over the role for the rest.


The six specials on the DVD are:

Power Rangers Megaforce: Robo Knight Before Christmas
Starring: Andrew M. Gray, John Mark Loudermilk, Azim Rizk
Studio: Lionsgate / Saban Brands
Release Date: November 18, 2014
Retail: $14.98
ASIN: B00N3N6F8C
Running Time: 68 minutes
Rating: Not Rated
Buy Link: Amazon

Review:

If you have been in the department stores this week, then you probably noticed all the holiday decorations, gifts and everything else associated with Christmas on the shelves. Of course the electronic departments has been stocked for the holidays too with several new and old movies on DVD and Blu-ray. This coming Tuesday, Lionsgate and Saban Brands will be releasing Power Rangers Megaforce: Robot Knight Before Christmas to DVD, which is the Megaforce Christmas Episode form 2013. The DVD also features two bonus episodes, Power Rangers Wild Force - "Team Carnival" and Power Rangers Jungle Fury - "The Spirit of Kindness."

As you can probably guess, Robo Knight is the center of attention in Robo Knight Before Christmas. After seeing  the citizens of Angel Grove cutting down pine trees and putting up decorations for Christmas, Robo Knight goes on a search to find out what Christmas is really about.

"Robo Knight Before Christmas"

After seeking information from Noah (Blue Ranger), Robo Knight stumbles upon the toy donation. He is accidentally mistaken as a toy and is shipped off to a village in Africa. There, Robo Knight befriends the village's children and tells them stories of the Megaforce Power Ranger, while at the same time he finally learns what the true meaning of Christmas.

Northpole
Director: Douglas Barr
Starring: Tiffani Thessen, Josh Hopkins, Jill St. John, Bailee Madison, Robert Wagner
Studio: ARC Entertainment
Release Date: November 18, 2014
Retail: $20.99
ASIN: B00M2MTCAS
Running Time: 86 minutes
Rating: G
Buy Link: Amazon

Review:

If you have been channeling surfing this week, then you probably noticed a slew of Christmas movies on cable channels, especially on the Hallmark Channel. It seems there is at least one new holiday movie premiering ever week, including Northpole, which will make its debut on the Hallmark Channel this Saturday November 15, 2014 and it will land on DVD on November 18th. A sequel is already in the works for next year.

Directed by Douglas Barr (Secrets of the Mountain), the film centers on a young boy, Kevin (played by Charles Max) and his mother, Chelsea (played by Tiffani Thessen), whom have recently moved to to a small town. While his mother starts her new job as a journalist at the local newspaper office, Kevin struggles to meet friends at his new school. His life takes an unexpected turn when he finds a present in his bedroom - a red ham radio which he uses to communicate with a girl named Clementine (played by Bailee Madison).


It turns out that Clementine is actually an elf that works for Santa Claus (played by Robert Wagner) at the Northpole. She is on a mission to save Christmas and she needs Kevin's help to find out why the town's children aren't happy. When children aren't happy, it affects the Northern Lights which automatically effects the Northpole.

While the holiday shopping season use to officially start the day after Thanksgiving on Black Friday, many stores are staring their sales now, which gives shoppers more time to find the best deals at the best prices. Many of you will be lining up in the department stores on Thanksgiving night to buy TVs that are on sale, but in most cases the store will only have a few TVs in stock. The rest of you will be given a receipt for your purchase and you'll either have to wait until more TVs come in stock or you can get on the internet and place your order with an activation code, but you'll still have to wait in line online until it is your turn as everyone else in the country will be on there wanting to place their orders too.

It would be a lot easier if you would start your holiday shopping right now. You should think ahead and purchase all of those big ticket items now and avoid the crazy holiday rush.

Best Buy has a huge selections of televisions in their stores and on their website, including the LG OLED TV, which is priced at Best Buy’s everyday price of $3499.99 (save $500).

Quilted by Christmas
by Jodie Bailey
Publisher: Abingdon Press
Pub. Date: October 21, 2014
ISBN: 978-1426773617
Pages: 240
Buy Link: Amazon
Blog Tour: http://litfusegroup.com/author/jbailey

Review:

While seeing a quilt-themed book may turn off some readers, I have enjoyed reading the Quilts of Love series, which every new installment has a new plot and set of characters that are written by a different author. Quilted by Christmas by Jodie Bailey was released to bookstores last month. Typically, I'm not in the mood for Christmas in November, but I have found myself watching a couple holiday movies on the Hallmark Channel and I have read a couple of Xmas-themed books as well, so I went ahead and signed up to review this book.

Quilted by Christmas centers on Taryn McKenna, a young woman who has had a rocky life with the death of her parents and the breakup with her high school sweetheart, Justin Callahan, who left her to join the army. She promised that she would never trust her heart to anybody ever again. She is determined to finish her college degree and to be a successful teacher to middle graders. Then of course she is going to continue to look after Grandma Jemma.

Then the unthinkable happens - Grandma Jemma has a heart attack! With her health declining fast, Grandma Jemma is going to teach Taryn how to sew an Irish Chain quilt, a tradition that has been in their family for years. The quilt will be for Taryn's cousin Rachel as a wedding present.

Where Treetops Glisten
by Tricia Goyer, Cara Putman and Sarah Sundin
Publisher: WaterBrook Press
Pub. Date: September 16, 2014
ISBN: 978-1601426482
Pages: 368
Buy Link: http://ow.ly/BwVP9
Blog Tour: http://litfusegroup.com/author/glisten

Review:

October won't arrive until tomorrow, but publishers are already releasing holiday titles. Now don't get me wrong, I do like reading a good Christmas story, but this time a year I'm more in the mood to read a R.L. Stine or Stephen King title. Being a blogger, I don't have any control over what books are available to review. After I already reviewed one holiday title this year, I was going to take a break until November, but once I saw Tricia Goyer, Cara Putman and Sarah Sundin were the authors of the new anthology, Where Treetops Glisten, I had to review it.

The anthology centers on the Turner family, whom are living in Lafayette, Indiana during the WWII. Cara Putman pens the first story, titled White Christmas, where college student Abigail Turner is still mourning the death of boyfriend. She has no plans on ever finding love again that is until she meets Jackson, a man that needs her help.

I'll Be Home For Christmas is written by Sarah Sundin and centers on Abigail's brother Pete, a fighter pilot returning home to try to put the war behind him. His faith seems to be a lost that is until he meets a young girl and his mother, a woman he once bullied when they were young.

It seems like you can't go into a department store without seeing some kind of merchandise, from band-aids to candy bars (Yes, I saw them at Walmart), for A&E's hit series Duck Dynasty. The Robertson clan just released their Christmas album last week and today LIONSGATE is releasing Duck Dynasty: I’m Dreaming of a Redneck Christmas on DVD.

I’m Dreaming of a Redneck Christmas is actually the season finale from the second season that aired on December 5, 2012. In the double-length episode, the Louisiana's bearded camouflaged millionaires celebrate the holiday season.

Every year, Willie gets out of playing Santa Clause at the local church, but his luck has ran out this year. Of course every Santa needs a helper and this is where Uncle Si comes in as Willie's elf assistant, who doesn't exactly brings Santa's bag full of toys, and instead Uncle Si brings a garbage bag full of office supplies.

From left to right: Willie Robertson (left), Si Robertson (center) and Korie Robertson (right) in Lionsgate Home Entertainment's DUCK DYNASTY: I'M DREAMING OF A REDNECK CHRISTMAS. Photo by Zach Dilgard

Inspector Gadget Saves Christmas
Director: Chuck Patton
Voice Cast: Don Adams, Frank Welker, Maurice LaMarche, Erica Horn
Studio: DHX Media Distribution Limited
Release Date: October 29, 2013
Retail: $12.95 
ASIN: B00DT55OSG
Running Time: 30mins.
Rating: Not Rated

Review:

Cartoons ruled television sets in the 1980s and thanks to DVDs; these classic animations are being released for a whole new generation of fans. Inspector Gadget made its debut in 1983 (when I was a two-year-old) and ended in 1986. Inspector Gadget would return in 1992 in a 30-minute Christmas Special on CBS. Now this loveable special, Inspector Gadget Saves Christmas, is available to own on DVD for the entire family to enjoy.

Doctor Claw is up to his old tricks, but this time he is causing mayhem on the North Pole when he released a mind-control device that brainwashes the elves into capturing Santa Claus. He orders the elves to make defective toys, so the whole world will hate Santa. Typically, his evil plans are stopped by Inspector Gadget, but this time he is a step ahead by sending his MAD agents to destroy Gadget.

Gadget has the Christmas spirit and is getting ready for the big holiday day, which he doesn't have a clue that MAD agents were sent after him, but he somehow slips through their clutches. While visiting the mall, Chief Quimby sends Gadget on a mission to stop Doctor Claw from kidnapping Santa.

Gadget, along with Penny and Brain, arrive at the North Pole, where everything looks normal, at least it does in the eyes of Inspector Gadget. He doesn't even recognize his own nemesis, Doctor Claws, wearing a Santa disguise. Of course Penny and Brain automatically notices who is in the Santa getup.