As you read this, I’m probably three sheets to the wind on hot cocoa and readying myself for a very fun, family-filled holiday.

Whether you’re visiting from near or far, in summer or winter, with a candy cane or without, I’m wishing you a very happy holiday and extending a warm, heartfelt merry Christmas to you and yours.

I’ll be back soon with my end-of-the-year “best of” reading list — always a personal favorite! — and new book reviews! After, you know, I’ve actually read some books. My mind has been everywhere but on novels recently, but I’m hoping that will change soon. I’ll give you the latest on wedding plans and photos from the holiday, too.

Santa hugs and cookies to all, and to all a good night!

For all of you stats junkies — you know who you are! — we’ve added some holiday cheer to your WordPress.com Stats Page. In addition to the number of views your site receives, you can now keep tabs on how many unique visitors come to your site, all on a single, easy-to-read chart.

A visitor is a unique user or browser/device that views one or more posts or pages on your site. When your friend checks out your site from her laptop and then again from her phone, that’s two visits.  If she clicks on four different posts, that’s four views.

At a glance, you can now get a feel for how these numbers relate:

Hover over a day, week, or month in the chart to see how many views and unique visitors you had. To make this data even more useful, we do the math for you &…

Happy Theme Thursday! It’s a great day to share our two newest free themes, both designed especially for your writing (and reading) pleasure.

First off, we have Book Lite, a beautiful theme designed by Chandra Maharzan.

With a bold custom header, stylized type, and elegantly simple design inspired by old-fashioned typopgraphy, it’s perfect for writing and is certain to inspire some of your best work. Read more about Book Lite on the Theme Showcase, or activate it on your site under Appearance → Themes

Next up, we’ve got Misty Lake, our refresh of a familiar classic, Misty Look.

Misty Lake’s mellow color scheme and secondary elements on the page that slightly fade into the…mist provide a tranquil space for your readers to relax and enjoy your words and photos. Learn more about Misty Lake on the Theme Showcase, or go ahead and activate…