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Elizabeth Fais

Tag Archives: Christmas

Santa writes back! ~ Get a letter from the North Pole

03 Sunday Dec 2017

Posted by Elizabeth Fais in Holiday, Writing

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

Christmas, Elizabeth Fais, letters, merry and bright, Miracle on 34th Street, North Pole, North Pole cancellation, Santa Claus, snail mail, Writing

Yes, Virginia. There is a Santa Claus!

The United States Postal Service can help you prove it too. Santa can reply to your child’s letter from his workshop, complete with a North Pole postmark.

North Pole Postmark

How to get a North Pole postmark

You can make Santa and his workshop real for your child with a personal reply to their letter that includes a North Pole postmark. Here’s how.

  1. Write a letter to your child and sign it From Santa.
  2. Put the letter in an envelope and address it to your child.
  3. Add the return address SANTA, NORTH POLE.
  4. Affix a First Class stamp to the envelope.
  5. Place the complete envelope in a larger envelope with the appropriate postage (to cover the extra weight), and address to:
    North Pole Postmark
    Postmaster
    4141 Postmark Dr.
    Anchorage, AK 99530-9998

If you want to know how writing letters to Santa became a thing, you can read Alex Palmer’s A Brief History of Sending a Letter to Santa in Smithsonian Magazine.

Miracle on 34th Street


Grumpy Cat Helps #GiveFriskies to Cats in Need

02 Wednesday Dec 2015

Posted by Elizabeth Fais in Animals, Cats, Holiday, Inspiration

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

#GiveFriskies, Christmas, Colonel Meow, Elizabeth Fais, Friskies, Grumpy Cat, Hamilton the Hipster Cat, Hard to Be a Cat at Christmas, Holidays, If You Feed Me, MJ Wright, Nala Cat, Oskar the Blind Cat, Random Acts of Kindness, Tardar Sauce

Grumpy … with a Heart of Gold

Once again, Grumpy Cat (Tardar Sauce) has stepped up to help cats who are far less fortunate than herself.  She’s championing a cause with Friskies to give 150,000 (!!) meals to cats in need, now through December 25th. Here’s how it works:

Each time you use the hashtag #GiveFriskies on Twitter or Instagram Friskies will donate a meal to cats in need across the nation.

It’s hard to be a cat at Christmas and all cats deserve a good meal. A couple of years ago Grumpy Cat, Oskar the Blind Cat, Nala Cat, Colonel Meow, and Hamilton the Hipster Cat starred in the following video that helped to feed over 500,000 homeless cats.

Grumpy Cat at Christmas

Kindness Comes in Many Flavors

Grumpy Cat and I both have a soft spot in our hearts for cats that have been left to fend for themselves under harsh conditions. If you don’t use Twitter or Instagram, you can help homeless animals in your community in lots of other ways. Here’s a few small things you can do that are not “small” at all:

  • Donate a bag of cat/dog food to your local Humane Society or animal shelter.
  • Give those old towels you were about to throw away to your local animal shelter. They always need towels and other types of bedding material.
  • Shelters always need disinfectant cleaners, bleach, newspapers, and paper towels. Next time you’re at Costco, buy extra and donate some to your local shelter.
  • Donate your time. Shelters need volunteers in all capacities.
  • Best of all, open your heart and home to a homeless or rescue animal. They will return the love one hundred-fold.

MJ Wright did a post on The Missing Spirit of Christmas that caused me to reflect on what the holiday season really means. For me, it’s kindness and generosity—but not the commercial-consumption kind—giving from the heart with random acts of inspired kindness. At the end of the day, true joy comes from helping one another…animals included.

It’s Hard to Be a Cat at Christmas…


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Operation #OccupyTree

21 Sunday Dec 2014

Posted by Elizabeth Fais in Cats, Holiday Irreverence, Humor

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

#EndFelineFamine, #EndWetFoodHunger, #OccupyTree, @CatFoodBreath, @DisneylandCats, @RealGrumpyCat, cats, Christmas, Elizabeth Fais, Feline Famine, Grumpy Cat, Holidays, Humor, Tastefully Offensive

The Cat-agious Movement Sweeping the World!

Orange cat in Christmas treeYou thought your cats were just cute kitties–sweet and fluffy. Dumb animals that can’t grasp the concepts of an organized movement to reshape society. That they couldn’t instigate their own potent paradigm of social action based on contagious memes.

That there was no way they could comprehend the construct of a global revolution that evolved as a result of the Occupy Wall Street protest. That they weren’t paying attention.

Cat-agorically WRONG. You have no idea.

While protesters occupied Wall Street and you were glued to the TV, arguing with neighbors and Gray cat toppling over Christmas treecoworkers, and perhaps organizing an Occupy protest in your community…

A fatally feline hairball of increasingly sophisticated and dynamic change was purrr-posely set in motion.

Cats around the world were plotting their own protest to end hunger for felines around the world.

A collaboration of such magnitude that it would transform the existing social order for the benefit of all cat-kind. Forever. Stealth and cunning, they waited for the perfect cat-a-clysmic moment to pounce…

CatXmasTree1

The Brazen Brains Behind #OccupyTree

Evidence of the claw-dacious overthrow is flooding in. Grinch, move over! Cats everywhere are commandeering Christmas, demanding food and adequate shelter for everyone in their feline family around the globe.

“WHO is responsible for this ferocious feline movement?” authorities are asking.

  • Sources report that the cat-tankerous Twitter sensation @CatFoodBreath has shamelessly tweeted about #OccupyTree since 2011, and is thought to be the mastermind behind the entire movement.
  • Christmas Trees at the Happiest Place on Earth isn’t even safe. @DisneylandCats unabashedly tweets up their #OccupyTree victories throughout the Magic Kingdom.
  • And then there is Grumpy Cat. She’s used her fame to fan the flame of the feline revolt with her @RealGrumpyCat tweets to #EndWetFoodHunger.

Four Paws in Favor of Ending Feline Famine

As I’m sure you’ve realized, this post is pure parody. However, feline famine is very real. In the spirit of the holidays, here’s what you can bring much-needed comfort to a few furry forgotten souls:

  • Buy extra cat food next time you’re at the store, and drop it off at your local animal shelter.
  • If there is someone in your community who cares for feral cats, buy extra cat food and give it to them. Your donation is a tremendous benefit to the caregiver as well as the cats under their care.
  • Donate to a local animal rescue organization. The animal shelter in your area can provide you with a list of rescue organizations and how to get in touch with them.

As Charles Chaplin once said:

Who feeds a hungry animal feeds his own soul



“The Santa Drag” ~ This Santa has a secret only true love can reveal!

28 Friday Nov 2014

Posted by Elizabeth Fais in Fiction, Rom-Com, Romance

≈ 5 Comments

Tags

Christmas, Fiction, Holiday, Liv Rancourt, Romance, Romantic Comedy, Santa, Short Story, The Santa Drag

This season the biggest surprise isn’t under the tree…

The Santa Drag coverMackenzie’s an out-of-work actress who takes a job as a shopping mall Santa to pay the rent. She fools everyone with her Santa drag, until the day Joe McBride walks into the mall. Joseph Timothy McBride – the real-life, got a soap opera gig and you saw him in Scream II actor. The only guy she ever really loved.

Can Mack stay in character, or is it time to strip off the red coat and peel off the beard for good?

The Santa Drag is a 6,000 word short story about a Santa with a secret, stressed out parents in the mall, and one very handsome actor.

Black Friday FREEBIE! ~ Nov. 28-30

Don’t miss out on this delicious holiday treat! From 11/28 – 11/30/14, The Santa Drag is FREE from Amazon [Kindle Edition]!

Reviewers have called this story charming and funny. Want a quick holiday pick-me-up? Get it here with one-click: The Santa Drag.

The Santa Drag is available exclusively from Amazon [Kindle Edition]. After November 30th, you can buy it here.

Read an Excerpt:

A kid in my lap threatened to throw up, taking my full attention for several moments, and when I looked up again it was Joe’s turn. Maya gave him a way-too-friendly smile, which he returned with his standard, ‘yep, I’m handsome,’ grin. His kids stood behind him. The boy clearly thought he was too old for all this nonsense, and his sister was trapped in between the excitement of seeing Santa and her brother’s ennui.

“Come on, guys,” Joe said, tugging the boy forward with an arm around the shoulders. I paid strict attention to the kids. I did not want to look at his face or see the dimple in his chin.  He turned around to say something to Maya. I really didn’t want to look at his ass.

“Uncle Joe, this is so stupid,” the boy said. Uncle Joe. I almost jumped out of my chair. They must be his sister Kelly’s kids.

“Get over there, Saxton. We’re taking pictures for your mother’s Christmas present. Mabyn, you too.” Joe pushed his nephew in my direction. Saxton and Mabyn? Wow, Kelly must be seriously into her Irish heritage. Or something.

Saxton was dressed in a red and green striped soccer jersey and jeans, his longish brown hair slicked back behind his ears. Mabyn wore a green sweater and jeans, with her hair pulled back in a thick red braid. Joe had jeans on, too. I tried really hard not to notice how well they fit across his thighs.

“Uncle Joe, will you get us some ice cream after this?” Mabyn asked.

“If you smile pretty for the camera.”  Joe gave her a shadow of the grin that I remembered. She gave him a pretty decent grin in return, though her big front teeth overlapped and there was a gap where one eye tooth should have been. Braces must be coming soon.

“She wishes she could smile pretty,” Saxton sneered. Mabyn smacked him on the arm. “Ow, she hit me. She should get in trouble.”

I would have hit him harder.

With Joe standing so close, it was hard to remember that I was supposed to be Santa. I gave a half-assed “Ho-ho-ho,” which sounded strangled, even to me. He glanced over at me, and I accidentally met his eyes. I looked away immediately, but not before I saw the flash. Not recognition, exactly, but interest. I could feel him watching me. “Ho-ho-ho.” It came out heartier this time. I was so not going to give myself away.

Meet Liv:

I write romance: m/f, m/m, and v/h, where the h is for human and the v is for vampire…or sometimes demon. I write funny. I don’t write angst. When I’m not writing I take care of tiny premature babies or teenagers, depending on whether I’m at home or at work. My husband is a soul of patience, my dog is the cutest thing evah(!), and we’re up to three ferrets.

I can be found on-line at all hours of the day and night:

  • My website & blog: livrancourt.com
  • Facebook: liv.rancourt
  • Twitter: @LivRancourt

Stop by. We’ll have fun!


Another Muppet Silly Christmas

24 Tuesday Dec 2013

Posted by Elizabeth Fais in Holiday Irreverence, Humor, Muppets

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

A Christmas Carol, A Muppet Christmas Carol, Carol of the Bells, Christmas, Dickens, Elizabeth Fais, Muppets, Ringing of the Bells

I’m reposting this because it’s just not Christmas without the Muppets!

Carol Bells Ringing with Silliness

XMAS_MuppetBellsIt just isn’t Happy Holidays without a little Muppet zaniness.

If you’ve seen “The Muppet Christmas Carol” you know what I mean! If you haven’t, check out the trailer below. You’re in for a laugh-out-loud treat.

Here’s the Muppettized rendition of Carol of the Bells.


So NOT Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol”


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