Lisa

Great story, Santa! So sweet. Loved the mistletoe as the Secret Santa gift! What a great idea to get your point across! lol

Wow, all I can say is wow. I agree with everyone! This was a wonderful, heartwarming story that had me wanting to smack Kara's mother upside her head for totally ignoring Chase, and then tearing up at the young boy's predicament. Dean was indeed an angel disguised as Santa's aide (read: elf). I would absolutely love to read more about these characters.

Wait, what? What just happened? At least I'm not the only one who's confused. lol Very interesting tale, but I'm still not sure what Arman's parents do. For that matter, Doc Treadwell also. lol Maybe I need to read more sci-fi...

I never heard of julebukking, so I Googled it. Of course I didn't have to since it was explained later on. It sounds a really fun time. I totally agree with Graeme about how you portrayed Lizzie. You did a terrific job with that, and I really felt for the whole family. It is wonderful how Jake and Sue banded together to help Jude, if only for one night. It must be so exhausting caring for a mentally (and physically) disabled relative. So Tanner...I'd love to believe he was real, but this has Ole Saint Nick written all over it. Santa had to give Jude a break, and he created Tanner and the Yule goat to help Jude along. Great story, Santa!

I actually think if Eric explained everything to Eustace he would be pretty forgiving. Eric would have to be totally honest with him though -- honest about his abuse and why he ran away from his hometown. So you're giving us snippets of information and flashbacks on Toby's life (I'm assuming it's Toby's pov that's in italics), and why would you do that if he was just a small, supporting character? I'm hoping when Toby finds out about Eric bailing on Eustace (and him), he'll set out to try to find him. I can hope, right? lol At least this time Eric has money. He needs to be very careful though where he stays and the people near him. There are thieves everywhere.

Oh noes!!!!!! You killed Santa, Santa!!!!!! Boo Hiss!!! Ok then...now that I got that out of my system - yeah, definitely NOT expecting THAT ending! lol Shit, all those poor little girls and boys waiting up for Santa, waiting for their presents. That guy was really f'd up. The shrink was right; they should have been able to see right through him when he lied about Santa not being real anymore. Wow, what a story! On another note, I was totally fascinated by all the gear and rations and whatnot the guy had. Santa, your attention to these details was amazing. So kudos to you for that. But hell, you just offed yourself. Not very nice, Santa.

I really need to go back and hit the 'Like' button for all the chapters I'm not reviewing. I must admit (I don't remember if it was in this chapter or the one before), when Eustace was explaining to Eric everything they STILL needed to do on the farm, I was about ready to pass out from exhaustion! Just from reading about all the things that still had to be done! What an exhausting job! Eric is proving to be very smart with figuring out what he needs to do to fix things. I'm glad he sees that not all people are like his asshole sperm donor. Eustace would never hit him just because he may have broken something, or just because he felt like it. That whole debacle (in the previous chapters or two), with Redhead beating up Eric over Maddie. What an ass that kid is! Obviously Maddie knew Red would be jealous, how could she not, considering Red thought Maddie and himself were together. I can see Eric being humiliated and embarrassed, but shit, he should have told Eustace what happened. How can he leave it at that when Eustace thinks HE was fighting and drinking it up? Well, he was drinking, but it's not like he was causing trouble because of it. I wonder what will happen once the Andersons from Andersonville finally find out what's going on with their "long lost relative"? lol You know sooner or later something will happen -- Eric can't hide out in Eustace's barn forever. Oh, and thank GOD he bought a toothbrush and toothpaste!!!!! It's funny because all I kept thinking ever since he left his hometown was omg, he hasn't brushed his teeth in forever!!! But where oh where does he go to the bathroom? lol

This was another one I had on repeat. These guys are soooo cute!!!! Not as cute as the 1D guys, but it's close.

So I spent a little over four hours (with all the traffic), driving up to New Hampshire to pick up my kid from UNH, and I had to rent a car (had to leave my car for my other kid), and the rental doesn't have XM set up (bad car!), or a navigation system, which I figured it wouldn't. The only way to use my phone's GPS on the Bluetooth was to disable the radio and use my music from my phone. Which would have been fine if the shuffle actually worked and didn't repeat the same songs every two songs! And if the song wouldn't repeat as soon as it was done. I had to manually do this all while I was driving. In the dark. Not fun. lol So, long story short (I'm sure you guys tuned out after the second sentence! ), I had this song on repeat for quite awhile; it's an awesome song to bop to in the car. lol Now I'm thinking I may have already posted this song! lol

Shit, shit, shit. You are making this soooo difficult, Santa, to pick a favorite!!!! Wow, this was good. I was riveted from the first line. I would have been pissed also, but flattered too. And of course Sayed is one sexy beast, so yeah. Excellent storytelling, Santa!

I hit the 'Like' button, Emi, but it's only because it'll boost your rep. This was a very sad piece you wrote. I am so sorry you feel this way, but as Nick and Tim said, there is always hope. Hope for a better future, hope for love, hope for everything. Don't ever lose hope.

This was a heartwarming story, Santa. I absolutely loved the description of the parade and the two Christmas trees -- the one at Dan's house and the one in the center of the square. So nice that Dan's mom FINALLY accepted what her son was telling her all those years!

Ah! This was funny! I could use a few elves myself! lol

Omg, I have tears of joy running down my face, Santa! What a beautiful ending to a story that had such a heartbreaking beginning. I agree with Tim; Wally got off way too easy - although I do hope the frozen 'stake' through his heart hurt like hell! Awesome story, Santa! Terrific job!

I have been captivated by your story, Parker. I'm trying to catch up slowly but surely! After the horror poor Stephan/Eric had endured in the last chapter (or was it the chapter before?), it's such a pleasant surprise that he came upon this older man offering to hire him. I really hope Eric's judgment with this guy is much better than that last loser, Green Hat or whatever Eric was calling him. What a nasty pedo! At least now he's had a good meal and a place to stay (even though the farmer doesn't know that it's in his barn!). Great chapter, Parker!

I am so slow!! I had to read the last two lines like three times before I realized Josh was Isaac's husband! Did I mention I'm slow? Terrific story, Secret Santa!! I loved it, what an awesome ending. I got all teary-eyed when Isaac was at the door to see Ruth (and her husband). Just beautiful!

What a sweet ending to a sad story. Of course it's so sad Phillips' grandfather passed away, and his parents died in a car accident, but with Father Christopher's prayers and blessing, the grandfather was able to go in peace, without guilt. And now his grandson won't be alone in the world; he'll have Father Christopher.

What a sweet story, Secret Santa! Ailen knew his order was set in their ways, and he didn't agree with them. It's wonderful that Seamus' order welcomed Ailen in with open arms. And Seamus was finally able to show Ailen how much he loved him, and vice-versa.

I can understand Jack's point of not wanting to burden Eugene with his illness, but as Andrew said, Jack never gave Eugene a choice of being with him while he fights his illness. As Tim said in his review, nine years is an awfully long time to be pining over someone. But what's past is past, they have their future now, and I hope it's a good one. Great story, Secret Santa!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TALON!!!!! Hope you're having a great day!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LIT!!!!! I hope you're having a great day! Dammit, Drew, why didn't I get one of these hunks for my b-day????? Lol, j/k...not!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JOHN!!!!! Hope you're having a great day!

I was surprised David told his father: "...only don't tell mother..." instead of: "...only don't tell Tommy's mom..." lol But...yay for Dad for coming through and being a dad David can count on! And double yay for Grampa if he's the one who helped his son along! I did crack up when David thought: 'My father can text?' lol David didn't meditate today. Not good. As I said in an earlier review, I think meditating is helping him stay sane. Can't believe he finally cracked and spoke to Tommy's mother. Good for him for defending his friends, and he was nice and calm about it and didn't fly off the handle. But he's still not thinking clearly about the whole Kathy debacle. He needs to end it with her, not make her his official girlfriend! And kissing her like that in class? Sending all the wrong messages to her. Plus, we can't even trust her! Hopefully Doc Keating will help David see what's really in front of him. I mean, he made so much progress the day before, confessing to Ginny what he feels about Twoey, and now he's doing a complete 360 and heading back to Kathy. Oh, Skinny! I keep forgetting to mention this: I'm always hungry when I finish reading one of your chapters! Especially the one when Ginny made that chicken dish. I need to go back and copy the recipe! lol

Will ya stop making me cry, Gary? Jeez, I should buy stock in Kleenex! Another wonderful story, Gary. To be honest, I wasn't going to read it because it had 'alternate earth' in the tag line, and I don't usually read stories like that. But...I saw that YOU wrote it and I had to give it a shot. And boy, am I glad I did! You had me sitting at the edge of my seat waiting to see what would happen next with the narrator. I really didn't understand he was on the brink of death until the very end when he 'came back' to the hospital room...followed the light back to the hospital room. I sort of thought David was the one who was gone. Congrats, Gary, for writing a terrific story for your first antho!

Wow, Cole, that was creepy! Especially watching the oh-so-innocent commercial for The Embers! lol Along with the rest of your reviewers, I too thought Mr. Stevens had amnesia. The ghost thing really tripped me up. When he was finally able to watch the whole thing unravel before his eyes, then, and only then, could he escape 'the in between' and meet up with Dom. You painted a very gruesome picture, Cole! Excellent job!