The Mother of All Christmases

Milly Johnson

Nov 2018 · Sold by Simon and Schuster

About this ebook

From the Sunday Times bestselling author, The Mother of All Christmases is a gorgeous read full of love, life, laughter, a few tears - and crackers!

‘The feeling you get when you read a Milly Johnson book should be bottled and made available on the NHS’ Debbie Johnson

Eve Glace - co-owner of the theme park Winterworld - is having a baby and her due date is a perfectly timed 25th December. And she’s decided that she and her husband Jacques should renew their wedding vows with all the pomp that was missing the first time. But growing problems at Winterworld keep distracting them … 

Annie Pandoro and her husband Joe own a small Christmas cracker factory, and are well set up and happy together despite life never blessing them with a much-wanted child. But when Annie finds that the changes happening to her body aren’t typical of the menopause but pregnancy, her joy is uncontainable. 

Palma Collins has agreed to act as a surrogate, hoping the money will get her out of the gutter in which she finds herself. But when the couple she is helping split up, is she going to be left carrying a baby she never intended to keep?

Annie, Palma and Eve all meet at the ‘Christmas Pudding Club’, a new directive started by a forward-thinking young doctor to help mums-to-be mingle and share their pregnancy journeys. Will this group help each other to find love, contentment and peace as Christmas approaches?

'Full of love and laughter' Daily Express

'Full of characters you can identify with and an uplifting sense of warmth' Debbie Johnson 

‘Johnson is a bona fide commercial blockbuster author and her latest offering is a treat … a properly juicy novel' Grazia

‘Always rooted in the deep issues that shape and shake women’s lives … Sprinkled with festive cheer’ The Lady

'Brings love, life and laughter' Yours

'A festive-themed, big-hearted feast bursting with love, laughter, tears, a cast of characters that readers will love as much as their own best friends' Lancashire Post

'Every time you discover a new Milly book, it’s like finding a pot of gold' heat

Ratings and reviews

I love Milly Johnson books and really look forward to each one she writes as each one seems better than the one before, with this one no exception. This one was great as we also caught up from characters in previous books, although it can still be read as a standalone book. Eve & Jacques (from 'A Winter Flame' book) run Winterworld theme park and are rushed off their feet, wanting children but 'some day'. Then Eve starts feeling 'off' and really, really tired and finds out she is unexpectedly pregnant, which is a shock but they are both over the moon about. Annie & Joe run a Christmas cracker factory and have always wanted children, trying IVF multiple times, but it has never happened for them. So when Annie starts feeling ill and the symptoms don't go away everyone thinks she has something more serious wrong with her, never once thinking she may be pregnant, which she is, so it's a massive shock, but they are absolutely delighted! Palma started off trying to be a surrogate for a couple, who were arguing constantly, in order to get out of the downtrodden life she was in, with no family and no money, to try and better herself. The arrangement was sorted out by nasty piece of work Clint who seemed to think he owned her, even though they weren't together, apart from one slip on her part when they first met. But then the surrogate couple split up and Palma is left with a baby she doesn't (initally) want. The women all meet up at a group started by a doctor called The Christmas Pudding Club, to provide support from a couple of nurses and each other during their pregnancies. Palma's luck starts changing when she meets these ladies as she is offered a job by Annie, and she manages to move from her very grotty, quite dangerous area, into a better area and her own little place that she loves, and she meets a lovely guy. There are various little dramas going on with each character, but the ladies all support one another, especially when one of their group needs a lot of support - have a very large box of tissues ready - very, very sad part, but handled really well. Such a really lovely read, I absolutely loved (most of!) the characters. I think I'd know a Milly Johnson book even if it didn't have a cover, she has just such a wonderful warm, yet down to earth, way of writing that just draws the reader straight into the story. Absolutely wonderful read that I would highly recommend. Write quicker please Milly Johnson!

One of my all time favourite authors. Loved this book just as much as all of her other books. It was funny, heartwarming and the characters felt like they could easily be one of your own friends..... if only they were real 😉

I love Milly Johnson books, but I would like to forewarn pregnant women and those struggling with depression, sensitive to death issues, that one part of the story is heartwrenchingly sad, I cried bucketfuls of tears. Still, a very inspiring book, with a touch of Christmas magic, showing the power of true friendships and love.

About the author

Milly Johnson was born, raised and still lives in Barnsley, South Yorkshire. A Sunday Times bestseller, she is one of the Top 10 Female Fiction authors in the UK, and has sold millions of copies of her books sold across the world. The Happiest Ever After is her twenty-first novel. Milly’s writing highlights the importance of community spirit and the magic of kindness. Her books inspire and uplift but she packs a punch and never shies away from the hard realities of life and the complexities of relationships in her stories. Her books champion women, their strength and resilience, and celebrate love, friendship and the possibility and joy of second chances and renaissances. She writes stories about ordinary women and the extraordinary things that happen in their ordinary lives.