I’ve always loved the festive season.

In fact, I’d go as far to say I’m rather obsessed with it!

From the twinkling fairy lights to Christmas trees sprinkled with snow, I think there’s something exciting, enchanting, and optimistic about the most wonderful time of the year.

And what better time of year to set your next feel-good romance than at Christmas?

Many readers love to lose themselves in a cozy, romantic read, set during the festive season, even though they have their own Christmas arrangements to make! This time of year lends itself so well to enhancing the chemistry and romance between your characters.

My festive romance, The Highland Lodge Getaway, was released two years ago by my publishers, the HarperCollins imprint One More Chapter. I had so much fun writing it and letting my Christmas imagination loose!

In my story, Lottie Grant is obsessed with Christmas and works in a festive shop that’s open all year round, Christmas Crackers. But when it closes and she has to deal with Blake Dempster, a moody but handsome hiking expert who arrives in her small Scottish town and threatens her yuletide spirit, Lottie becomes determined to change Blake’s cynical view of all things festive. 

So, how should you go about writing your own sparkling, dreamy Christmas romance? What are the magic ingredients for writing a Christmas novel?

Well, why not select some of your favorite, heartwarming Christmas music, eat a mince pie, and read my suggestions…

Winter Wonderland

To complement your characters’ brewing festive romance, place your story in a setting that embraces and enhances the magic of the season.

You don’t want a beach setting or a hot city if you want to capture the heart of Christmas, so use a location with pretty snow-drizzled woodland walks or a remote, snow-covered holiday resort in the hills.

Choose somewhere that can give you plenty of scope to describe the wintry weather—bare trees, mountains, snowmen, quaint towns laced with Christmas decorations.

This is a Christmas-themed romance, so ideally, you want to set your story in a location that has all the festive feels!

You want your setting to reflect the typical month of December, so fire up your creative juices with descriptions of snow, ice, and wintry skies.

Last Christmas, I read It Always Snows on Mistletoe Squareby Ali McNamara. The setting for this novel is a mysterious and magical old house, where nothing is quite what it seems. Ali’s depictions of the town square, blanketed with snow, and the traditional, old Christmas tree decorations—plus the meaning behind each one—was captivating.

On the Scent

It’s not just the story that your readers will pay attention to.

Capture the scent of Christmas by describing the zing of pine needles, the rich aroma of cranberry, or the smoky scent of festive candles.

Including such rich, vibrant descriptions in your romance will bring the sensation of Christmas to life for your readers, and they’ll be able to immediately identify and recognize them from their own festive experiences.

This will set the right tone for your holiday romance and bring even more escapism to your story.

Touchy Subject

The fell of pine cones, the prickle of Christmas tree branches, and the rustle of gift wrapping…imagine what all of these feel like in your book and introduce them into your tale.

Weave these sensory aspects into your story, and these descriptions will stir sentimentality and familiarity in your readers. They will think about their own personal experiences of the season and will be able to imagine and relate to them.

You want your reader to feel what your characters are feeling and experience all the sensations that Christmas brings.

The Christmas Invitation by Trisha Ashely encapsulates the meaning of the spirit of Christmas entangled with imagery of lost love. 

Illuminating

I love fairy lights and bringing imagery of them into your own festive tale can enhance the romance of your story.

Maybe your characters meet during the annual Christmas lights switch-on in their local town? 

Fairy lights are every bit a part of Christmas as Santa Claus, so you can go crazy with how you use imagery and color to bring your romance to life.

The sights of Christmas also include snow-draped pine trees, spiraling snowflakes, and glistening decorations. 

The Christmas Bookshop by Jenny Colgan contains the most stunning descriptions of Edinburgh in the festive season.

Make sure your book contains plenty of beautiful sights and imagery for the reader to behold!

For example, compare this first non-festive “romance” excerpt with the more festive one:

Drew sipped his coffee and tried to concentrate as Simone blathered on about herself. He couldn’t help but notice the scent of her lavender-scented shampoo or could it be the blossoming smell of attraction?

Now a little holiday cheer:

Drew was struggling to focus on what Simone was saying, over the jolly sound of Christmas jingles in the background and a loved-up couple exchanging gifts. They were crinkling the wrapping paper in the next booth.

See how just the subtle mention of even Christmas jingles and a couple swapping gifts with one another instantly makes the paragraph more festive and brings the reader into the Christmas season alongside your characters?

Music to Your Ears

Sounds and music are every bit as important in your festive romance as the trees and lights are.

The peel of church bells on Christmas Eve; the gorgeous, ringing voices of a choir; the tinkling sound of decorations—introduce these into your story and allow your characters to savor the sights and sounds of the season for themselves, as their fledgling romance ramps up.

Christmas is very much about carols and music, so listen to some of your favorites and draw inspiration from them as you write.

My favorite carol is “Silent Night.” It always gives me goosebumps! 

A Question of Taste

Christmas is also very much about delicious food, so make sure you describe this in your book, too.

Your protagonists can experience Christmas pudding, golden roast potatoes, and succulent turkey. Perhaps they meet over a romantic Christmas dinner? 

You can also describe the table decorations and flickering candles, like some red and white poinsettias. You want your readers to feel like they are there, beside your characters, experiencing the joy, color, and spectacle of Christmas, just as they are, and making memories they’ll treasure forever.

Again, consider how this angle can be applied in your story about Drew and Simone’s budding romance:

Drew ate some Christmas food while Simone closed the drapes.

What you could write instead is something like:

Drew savored the warm mince pie, while Simone glanced out at the dusting of snow and frost-laced trees as she closed the drapes. 

Again, just the mention of a mince pie, snow, and frosty trees instantly conjures up a warm festive feel. 

Memories and Traditions

Christmas is all about family traditions, and you can bring your own personal experiences to your book to give your characters more unique elements.

Perhaps your female protagonist’s family always watches the old black and white version of Scrooge on Christmas Eve with her family. Or your male protagonist always helps his grandmother bake gingerbread men on Boxing Day and has done so since he was a child.

Tap into your own wealth of past Christmases, and use these moments and memories to bring an added dimension to your story and illustrate what Christmas means to your characters.

In Conclusion

Writing a warm, feel-good, festive romance is great fun and allows you to put your imagination into overdrive, when it comes to ideas, utilizing all your senses and creating gorgeous descriptions.

You want your readers to pick up your book and feel as though they’ve been transported into the story, where they too can smell, see, hear, taste, and touch the magic of Christmas.

The holiday season should be a time for fun, family, and reflection, so make sure your characters are every bit as enthralled by Christmas as you are.

If you can create a story that’s magical and warm, with characters who are able to fully experience the joy, you’ve written an escapist Christmas romance that readers will be keen to pick up and read, in-between undertaking their Christmas shopping and decorating their own tree!

For example, let’s look at Simone and Drew again:

Drew and Simone kissed tenderly as the fairy lights danced on their Christmas tree and candle’s flicker shimmied in the shadows of the log fire. 

Again, simple, but descriptive, and effective at showing them happy and in love in a Christmas setting.

And what better time of year than Christmas to fall in love?

Have a wonderful festive season, a happy 2026 when it comes, and here’s to writing romance!

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Julie Shackman is a feel-good romance author from Scotland. Her next novel, Journey to the Scottish Highlands, is out in e-book, paperback and audio on January 29 from the HarperCollins imprint One More Chapter. Visit her website: julieshackman.co.uk. Connect with her on social media: X @G13Julie, Instagram @juliegeorginashackman, and Facebook @julie.shackman.