Christmas, the season where anything can happen…

Synopsis

Everyone deserves a Christmas treat…

The annual Wheaton gingerbread exhibit (a model village made of gingerbread) and grotto has been an important part of the sleepy Cotswold hamlet’s Christmas celebrations for decades.

For years the gingerbread exhibition drew visitors from across the region and each year the model town grew more elaborate and ambitious but recently, interest has been dwindling. The gingerbread grotto needs to be rehomed or close forever.

Sixty-four-year-old Margi, the event’s founder, has had enough of village life (and its total lack of eligible men) and is planning to sell up and head to Birmingham to live closer to her niece.

She has lost her spark and her Christmas spirit and decides this will be her last gingerbread village, but despairs when she finds her only support is her old friend, Izzy, her niece Lucy from Birmingham, and Fern, the shy young farmer’s daughter. Oh, and Patrick, the gorgeous, reliable school caretaker.

As if this wasn’t enough, Lucy is determined to get her out dating again and persuades her to try some online dating apps but Margi’s had her heart broken too many times and wonders if she has just missed her chance.

Can they save the Gingerbread Grotto and can Margi get her old spark and her Christmas spirit back?

A cosy, totally feelgood seasonal read that will have you smiling. The perfect read to snuggle up and have you feeling festive! Fans of Jenny Colgan and Trisha Ashley will love this book.

My review

Sixty – four – year – old Margi has been organising the annual Wheaton gingerbread exhibit. It has become a real tradition around Christmas.
But this year, Margi has lost her spark and as the exhibit only keeps on growing but the amount of volunteers are decreasing. So Margi decides that this year’s exhibit will be the last one.
For sure it doesn’t help that Margi is lonely but has also had her heart broken once too much, even if her niece Lucy, from Birmingham, is trying to persuade Margi to date some more. And why not, with the help of dating apps?
Will Margi be able to find her spark back? Or is this definitely the last gingerbread exhibit? And will this Christmas bring Margi some love too?

I started reading this book with very good intentions as I know what delightful books this author can write. But for some reasons I cannot explain myself, in those first chapters, I just couldn’t find my mojo…
Yet as an Italian, I am known for my stubbornness, and I refused to give up on this book. And glad that I was that I didn’t! Because suddenly, out of the blue, I was completely enthralled by this book!

Margi has started a wonderful tradition, that I did not only admire, but also made me feel very very hungry! ☺️
I could see where her passion for the gingerbread village came from, but I could also understand why she had had enough of it this year.
It saddened me to see how initially she had to fight to keep the tradition alive, as nobody Wheaton seemed to care about Margi’s efforts.
Yet I found it also heart – warming to see how Margi still could rely on some hard-core volunteers, like her friend Izzy, her niece Lucy, latest addition and farmer’s daughter Fern and most important, school caretaker Patrick.

As Margi is sixty – four, I could comprehend why she was thinking about stopping with the grotto after this year. I saw it somehow as a general feeling that Margi had, as why just bother with anything, as there is no one to appreciate her or all her efforts, not only concerning the grotto.
She has had so many disappointments lately, and the grotto and its struggles are just the last straw. She is also taking herself down, for no reason. Yes, the men in her life haven’t been acting like they should, but that doesn’t mean that the blame is on her. Yet she has still so many doubts about herself, or about the intentions of the person who would be so perfect for her.

But slowly, on such a heart – warming level, she starts to see that people still do care, and are read to offer a helping hand.
I found it so sweet to see how more and more people got invested in making the grotto a real success, and how even the youngsters are using their ‘power’ and knowledge to make this grotto the most amazing one.

This was truly a beautiful story about self – discovering, second chances, but also about friendship and community.
There is always a moment in our lives where we are doubting about the choices we have made and which choices we should make next, or even where we are doubting ourselves. But it’s only with the love, kindness, help and appreciation of those around us we realize that life does come with ups and downs, but that doesn’t define us at all.

We are enough, we are worthy, what we do is appreciated and it’s never too late to find love.
And is there a better time to realize that than the Christmas season?

So while it was a rough start, in the end it was worth of keep on reading, as even if the main character may be older than I am, it made me realize that in fact, no matter of the past or our doubts, it’s always the right time to love and feel loved, by friends, family, new acquaintances, the community and even a new (or old) love interest.