🎄Fabulously Festive Sunday Brunch with Jaffareadstoo ~ Jessica Redland

 

It's time to light the fire, twinkle the fairy lights and mull the wine

🎄Come and join us for a Fabulously Festive Sunday Brunch🎄

I am delighted to welcome author, Jessica Redland

 to our Fabulously Festive Brunch today

Merry Christmas, Jessica 🎅

Hi Jo, thank you so much for the invite. Delighted to be here.

🎄What festive food are you bringing to this Christmas Sunday brunch?

It would have to be my two favourite parts of a traditional Christmas dinner – crispy roast potatoes and pigs in blankets. Nom nom. I know they’re not very brunch-ish (is that a word?) but they make me think of Christmas

🎄What would you like to drink; we have buck’s fizz, mulled wine, egg nog, gingerbread latte or a cup of spiced tea?

I’d probably go for buck’s fizz. When I was still living at home (but old enough to drink), my parents would give us a buck’s fizz while opening the gifts so it reminds me of lovely family Christmases

🎄Where shall we eat our festive brunch, around the kitchen table, by the fire in the formal dining room, or outside on the patio?

I wish we could go outside but I live in the UK and it would be a tad chilly. Christmas dinner is one of the few meals always eaten at the table in our house so I’d go for that and I’m loving the idea of a real fire. I can smell the woodsmoke. Dreamy

🎄Shall we have festive music playing in the background? If so will you share with us a favourite piece of music or Christmas Carol.

Love a bit of Christmas music. You can’t go wrong with the Now That’s What I Call Christmas album. I love ‘The Fairytale of New York’ by The Pogues and Kirsty MacColl. Absolute classic. But you can’t go wrong with Mariah Carey’s ‘All I Want for Christmas Is You’ for a burst of happy Christmassy fabulousness

🎄Which of your literary heroes (dead or alive) are joining us for our festive Sunday Brunch today?

I’d have to go for the three women who I thank for my love of reading, all of whom are no longer with us – Enid Blyton, Catherine Cookson and Virginia Andrews. I am so grateful to them all and would love to let them know that and find out all about where such amazing ideas came from

🎄Which favourite Christmas book will you bring to Sunday Brunch?

I don’t have a favourite Christmas book that I read every year like some people. There are so many amazing Christmas releases each year so I’d bring my TBR pile with me and see if you have any specific recommendations from that

🎄Do you have any special Christmas Traditions?

We always watch a Christmas family film together on Christmas Eve and my daughter puts out her Christmas sack and the snacks/drinks for Santa and Rudolph. Last year was the first year she didn’t believe but that didn’t stop us doing that part. On Christmas morning, I always go downstairs first to make sure Santa has visited and to put on the fairy lights to create that lovely Christmas ambiance. We then have gift opening and hubby makes the Christmas dinner but I always prepare the pigs in blankets. So nothing massively special or different but we like it that way

🎄Are you tinsel or glitter?

Probably tinsel. I love glitter on things but can’t be doing with the mess of using it myself. I have stacks of tinsel and put it round picture frames rather than on the tree. I prefer beads on the tree. This is nothing to do with not liking tinsel on a tree and more to do with the huge amount of decorations I have. I am a bit obsessed with buying new decorations and tinsel takes up too much space where these could hang

🎄Are you real tree or artificial?

You can’t beat a real tree but we have always had an artificial one, mainly because we had cats (who’ve sadly crossed the rainbow bridge) and weren’t convinced a real one would survive! You can get such realistic-looking ones. We have a big one in the conservatory and a smaller one in the bay window in our dining room as that’s at the front of the house and I like to see a lit tree from outside

🎄Are you mince pie or yule log?

Definitely yule log. I don’t like mince pies, although I love pastry so I have been known to scoop the mince out and just eat the pastry. Drink may have been involved!

🎄Are you Christmas crackers or party poppers?

I love a Christmas cracker and always wear my party hat. When we were little, my parents sometimes bought a more expensive box of crackers which contained a mini pack of playing cards as one of the prizes. My older brother and I used to try to peer into the crackers to see which one contained the playing cards and try to nab that cracker for ourselves!

🎄After brunch shall we play party games, or collapse in front of the television with a huge box of chocolates?

Ooh, definitely the TV with a huge box of chocolates. It’s the law on Christmas day! Although I quite like a quiz board game so wouldn’t mind a round of that before we collapse with the chocolates, if you’re up for it

🎄What can you tell us about Christmas Wishes at the Chocolate Shop that won’t give too much away?

It’s the story of Charlee Chambers, a master chocolatier, who was raised by her grandparents after her mother abandoned her at birth. When her grandparents pass away, her boyfriend Ricky convinces her to move to his seaside hometown of Whitsborough Bay and follow in her grandfather’s footsteps by opening her own chocolate shop. Ricky’s a builder so should be a great help in getting the shop up and running for Christmas but he’s worse than useless and she has to call in Matt to sort out a plumbing disaster. It’s a tale of two Christmases, showing how much can change in a year as Charlee establishes her business and discovers what family really means.

Boldwood Books
2021

More about Jessica

I’m Jessica Redland and I live in Scarborough, North Yorkshire, with my husband, our almost 15-year-old daughter and a 5.5-year-old sprocker spaniel called Ella who still thinks she’s a puppy. I’ve nearly always worked in HR, specialising in recruitment and training, but fulfilled my dream of becoming a full-time author in summer 2020 thanks to my amazing publishers, Boldwood Books, who have completely changed my life.

I’m a stationery addict with a notepad obsession who loves chocolate (although it doesn’t love me), hedgehogs, 80s music, collectible teddy bears and lighthouses. Many of these feature in my stories!

Twitter @JessicaRedland

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Jessica, thanks for taking part in Fabulously Festive Sunday Brunch.

Thanks so much for hosting me. I’ve had a lovely time x

Follow us on Twitter @jaffareadstoo Fabulously Festive #SundayBrunchwithJaffareadstoo

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