Don’t panic, but the countdown has begun…it’s 83 days until Christmas! Somehow the crinkled autumn leaves seem to be slipping from the trees and the sneaky little month of October has rather crept up on us. And as winter extends its frosty hand, the panicked hearts of single girls across the country begin to beat a little faster…for there’s nothing worse than facing those dreaded festive parties alone. So, here at Romance HQ we’ve come up with our own Christmas bucket list to counter the winter blues…

Think of it as mulled wine for the soul, these are end of year resolutions to carpe the diem out of Christmas – to find that happy-ever-after by the 25^th December, or at least to live a winter of no regret!

#1 Be Spontaneous! The world is your pearly oyster, go on…snog a stranger, stay out all night and watch the sun rise, change your hair colour, whip out those heels even if you’re nipping across the road!

#2 Treat Yourself! You deserve it…buy something outrageously expensive and totally impractical, book a girly holiday for the New Year, forget about the calories – it’s Winter, you need that extra layer to keep warm. 

#3 Be Bold, Be Beautiful! It’s all about the ‘Bend and Snap’ Ladies – put yourself out there! Confess to that crush, go on a blind date, write a love letter, don’t wait for a guy to ask you out – ask him!

#4 Be the Hostess with the Mostess! Turn that dreaded Christmas cocktail party into something sensational, make that rhubarb gin you’ve been talking about for years, and make sure to glide about the room oozing elegance and charm. No one has to know that the ‘handmade’ canapés are from the shop round the corner.

#5 Get Inspired! Curl up with a black and white movie, reinvent the scenes from your favourite romance film (The Notebook rain scene, anyone?), pick up a book you’ve never read before! You never know, fiction could become reality.

#6 Surprise, Surprise! The best presents aren’t always the ones you buy yourself…surprise someone with something special, reach out to someone you haven’t seen in ages, smile at a stranger if you really want to…!

#7 Challenge Yourself! If signing up to a marathon is too extreme, then just make sure you conquer a challenge that scares you…click send on that Mills & Boon submission. And most importantly, take a chance on love – and look out for those moments that might not be on your bucket list, but could lead to a happy-ever-after by Christmas!

In A Princess by Christmas by Jennifer Faye (Romance, October 2014), a mistletoe kiss with a Prince certainly wasn’t on Reese Harding’s bucket list…! Prince Alexandro Castanovo arrived in snowy New York, intent on protecting his royal family from scandal. And when Reese Harding—down-to-earth and heart-stoppingly beautiful—finds room for him at her inn, it seems like the perfect twist of fate. Not long ago Reese’s world came crumbling down, shaking her foundations. But this enigmatic stranger intrigues her! She’s learned to be wary of secrets…but when she discovers Alex’s true identity might there be enough magic in the air to make this regular American girl a princess by Christmas…?

So let’s make sure that those hearts are racing to another beat as the festive period approaches. You only regret the things you don’t do, right? Carpe that diem and smell those roses!

Do tell us, what’s on your Christmas bucket list?

By The Mills & Boon team