Special Traditions and Memories of the Holiday Part 2

Today I want to welcome an author friend Donna Simonetta to my blog with a fun holiday memory. I know you’ll enjoy her story. You’ll find links to her books and information about Donna following her story.

Nekkid Santa

I have to begin with a confession…I’m a Christmas nut! I love everything about the season; I have to force myself to wait until the Friday after Thanksgiving to listen to Christmas music and read holiday-themed romance novels.
My husband and I always spend Christmas with my mom and two sisters. We travel up to their house by train, which I LOVE, and it always kicks the holiday off in a festive manner. Once we get to her house, my childhood home, we have a lot of beloved long-standing holiday traditions.
But today I want to tell you about a newer one that we’ve embraced within the past several years. My husband’s sister always sends Christmas socks and little gifts to all of us at my mom’s house. One year, she sent the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever seen––just because he was so funny. It was an air-freshener cover, which looked like Santa. Well…sort of…you see, to fit over an air freshener (if you had one, which we did not!), he had no legs or lower body. And the only article of clothing on the little doll was his Santa hat. Aside from it, he was nekkid as nekkid could be. When my sister, Judy, came home from work that day, she picked him up, turned him around as she studied him. Finally she said in amazement, “Santy’s naked!” And Nekkid Santy was born.
That year, my husband, my other sister, Mary, and I took Nekkid Santy with us as we ran our Christmas Eve errands. At each stop, we’d take a picture of him. At the seafood store, the guys were so taken with Nekkid, they even posed him with a giant prawn.
Now, we bring Nekkid on the train with us every year, and of course, take pictures. We live in Baltimore, and a couple of years ago, while waiting for our train, we saw John Waters at the station. Unfortunately, I didn’t realize it was him, until he’d passed us, because a picture of Nekkid with the quirky filmmaker would have been a coup! Coming home one year, we treated ourselves to First Class seats, the attendant in our car really embraced the whole Nekkid thing, and brought a bunch of small bourbon bottles to our table, to take pictures of Nekkid Santy kicking back on December 26th.
Actually, Nekkid’s adventures are not limited to Christmas. Oh no, far from it! He even has his own FaceBook page: https://www.facebook.com/nekkid.santy, and I suspect he has more followers than my author page does! Judy brought him on a beach trip to the Gulf Coast of Florida, and Nekkid was the only (sort of) male on their girls trip. Based on the pictures, he had a blast! Also, my sister-in-law, who brought Nekkid into our lives, has brought him to the Oregon coast and North Carolina’s Outer Banks. Evidently, Santa liked to escape from the North Pole to warmer climes when he’s off duty.
Wherever you find yourself this holiday season, be it on the road or cozy at home, I hope you’re having as much fun as Nekkid Santy is! Although, hopefully, you’re wearing more clothes than he is. Ho! Ho! Ho!

Donna’s Bio: My career has been a winding road. I worked in the business world for years, got my MLS and worked in a school library, and am now living my dream as an author. I love to read and write contemporary and fantasy romance. I live in Maryland, with my husband, who is my real-life romance hero. We both enjoy traveling to visit our far-flung family and friends, and spending time on the beach with an umbrella drink and a good book.

https://www.facebook.com/donnasimonettaauthor

https://twitter.com/donna_simonetta

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/15422407.Donna_Simonetta

https://www.amazon.com/Donna-Simonetta/e/B06X415TWW/

https://www.bookbub.com/authors/donna-simonetta