Posts Tagged ‘holiday information’
Ready for Christmas? Enjoy an Organized Holiday This Year
1. Keep a stack of directions TO your place for people who need to know how to get to your home or office. This prevents you from having to write them out every time you are asked. Type the directions and save them on your computer. This way you can email, fax, or mail them the directions. Make copies and keep them accessible. It is also helpful to keep directions FROM your place for future visits you need to make.
2. Rather than add to someone else’s clutter with a gift you are not sure they would like, give ‘consumable’ items for Christmas such as: special coffees or teas, cookies, or gift certificates.
3. Keep a Christmas idea file. Keep a folder and insert recipes, magazine clippings, gift ideas, and other ideas you might like to use for the holiday.
4. A COUNTDOWN is super effective for any event such as weddings, holidays, and parties. Start by creating a master to-do list of everything that needs to be done for your special event. Then, transfer a couple of to-dos onto each day preceding your event. Cross off items when finished!
5. AVOID shopping during busy times like the weekend and after-work. Shop online, by catalog, or in an area with several stores-in order to consolidate your shopping trips. Ask for gift-wrapping!
6. Spend your time on what you LOVE to do. If you love socializing, why waste your time cooking? Order from your favorite restaurant. If you hate decorating, hire an interior decorator or an art student. Exchange tasks with friends.
7. Pack your decorations away with care. Do not throw everything in a box. Take time to pack fragile items carefully. Store your decorations and lights in proper containers. Inventory what you have with a list and a list for what you need next year. LABEL all of your boxes!
Rebekah Slatkin is a professional organizer dedicated to getting people organized through hands-on decluttering sessions, teleconferencing, coaching, and her website http://www.best-organizing-products-superstore.com Visit http://www.best-organizing-products-superstore.com and subscribe to Organewz, her ezine dedicated to organized living and get organizing tips- free.
Create Warm Memories with Holiday Traditions
I remember just a handful of the Christmas presents I received as a child: My first Barbie doll with her skinny black sequined gown. My soft, pink Pat-a-Burp doll. The microscope I got in second grade.
But I have many, many memories of our holiday traditions. The lovely aromas of holiday ethnic food. Riding the South Shore train into Chicago to visit the “real” Santa. Using a paintbrush to decorate sugar cookies with colored frosting. Setting up our manger scene.
Traditions add so much joy to the holidays. Traditions give a child a sense of belonging and identity. They strengthen bonds across generations and live long in memory.
A family rich in traditions has a powerful antidote to commercialism. The more focused you are on pleasures that cost little or nothing, the more all the gifts tend to stay in their appropriate place.
Best of all, many traditions are perfectly suited to today’s busy families. Here are a few favorites:
SIMPLE PLEASURES
Light candles at dinnertime. If December mornings are dark where you live, light candles at breakfast, too.
Take an evening stroll or car ride to look at Christmas lights.
Serve warm chocolate with candy canes for stirring.
THE JOY OF GIVING
Let your kids in on the excitement of finding and wrapping gifts for those they love. Compliment them for being big enough to keep the surprise a secret.
As a family, decide on a charity and make a donation. Our favorite is Heifer International (www.heifer.org).
Take a plate of cookies or other holiday treats to a homeless shelter or to a police or fire station.
GRATITUDE
Give family members strips of paper in holiday colors. Let everyone write or draw something they’re thankful for on each strip. Link the strips into a chain and hang as a decoration.
Write thank-you cards to each other. Decide together when to open them.
CONNECTING GENERATIONS
Interview grandparents, aunts, and uncles about holiday traditions they remember from their childhood. Adopt any traditions that fit your family.
Ask relatives for holiday recipes that have been handed down in your family. Or, search the Internet for holiday recipes related to your ethnic origins.
NEW YEAR’S EVE
If your kids are little, it works fine to celebrate the new year at 9 PM instead of midnight!
Pull out photos and videos from the past year and share your memories.
Keep a box of inexpensive noisemakers and party hats that you can re-use each year. The kids will enjoy pulling out their old favorites.
NEW YEAR’S DAY
Decorate a box in which you’ll put photos, ticket stubs and other souveniers of the coming year. Talk about your hopes and wishes.
Let each family member put New Year’s resolutions into their own envelope. Author Mimi Doe (“Busy But Balanced”) has a tradition of sealing the envelopes with wax — a nice, magical touch.
(c) 2004 Norma Schmidt, Coach, LLC
Norma Schmidt, Coach, LLC, specializes in helping working mothers create balance. She offers workshops, teleclasses and individual and group coaching. Her free e-mail newsletter, “The Balance Point,” is published bi-weekly. Visit http://www.NormaSchmidt.com
Valentines Day Flowers
Flowers & Valentine’s Day go hand in hand. Your Valentine will be so thrilled to receive a beautiful flower arrangement! Of course, Roses are known for their association with love. They are available in many colors and can create quite an impressive presentation. For a really impressive gift, send a 2 or 3 dozen arrangement, WOW! Looking for something a little different than the standard red roses? Consider “Black Magics!” With their dark red velvet like petals, Black Magics express elegance, class and true beauty. Perfect for your Special Valentine!
If you want to send flowers, but are seeking something a little different than roses, florists can provide many options. You may choose to send a mixed arrangement containing a variety of flowers. You may choose a tall vase of all Calla Lilies or Tulips. You may also decide to send a flower basket or blooming plant.
Men like flowers too! Consider an elegant vase of all white flowers for the special man in your life. Men have also been known to favor vibrant floral colors, blues, reds, yellows. Even the manliest of men appreciate the beauty of flowers.
Your local florist can also provide Gourmet Gift Baskets for Valentine’s Day delivery. What a treat to receive a beautiful basket full of delicious chocolates, coffees, snacks, etc. Gift Baskets can also contain bubble baths, lotions, candles. Ask your local florist for specific contents available for gift baskets.
Don’t forget that you can also add “Special Touches” to your arrangement. Plush Animals and Mylar/Latex Balloons are popular additions to a floral arrangement or gift basket.
Your local florist can add a personalized message to your gift. Flowers are the ultimate expression of love, and your message can tell your Valentine exactly how you feel about them!
For best selection and timely delivery call ahead of time for your Valentine Order. Most florists will suggest calling at least a week before.
Remember, Don’t pay an order taker to process your order. Call the florist that will be designing & delivering your floral order. No Middleman, No Processing Fees! You will get a better value, meaning your Valentine will get a beautiful arrangement!
Tenley McDonald- Former Florist- Now Co-Owner of http://www.flowerpowernetwork.com (Online Directory of Real Local Florists) Ms. McDonald has over 14 years experience in ~Consumer Relations/Marketing ~Customer Service Management ~Floral Design. Please email the Author directly for reprint permission of this article.
30th Birthday Gift Ideas
Choosing a birthday gift for a friend about to turn thirty years old can be a challenging task. You want to honor the special day with a unique gift, but not necessarily draw attention to their age. After all, thirty is the pivotal year of life when we transition from young adults to full-fledged grownups. Make your loved one feel their best on their big day by choosing a gift that focuses on the beginning of his or her life, not the number of years that have passed.
If you want to give a truly personal gift, you cannot go wrong with a birthstone– a gift idea that dates back to Biblical times. Birthstones and zodiac stones are great gifts that hold deep significance and will be treasured for years. When making your purchase, be sure to keep in mind the type and size of jewelry the person wears most often, as well as whether she prefers gold or silver. This way, you can embed her birthstone, for instance a pearl for a June birthday, in a setting that will be adored. Birthstones are also stunning when mounted in watches, brooches, and hairpins for those who rarely wear rings or necklaces. If you are shopping for a man, he may prefer a pocket watch or specialty ink pen imbedded with his birthstone to jewelry. Following, is a list of birthstones:
- January — Garnet
- February — Light Purple Amethyst
- March — Blue/Green Aquamarine
- April — Diamond
- May — Emerald
- June — Pearl
- July — Ruby
- August — Light Green Peridot
- September — Blue Sapphire
- October — Multi-Color Opal
- November — Golden Topaz
- December — Turquoise or Blue Zircon
Some people have a special interest or belief in their astrological information. If this is the case with your friend, consider giving him or her a physical symbol of the zodiac and of your love with a zodiac stone gift, sometimes called Astral Stones. As with the birthstone tradition, a gemstone is assigned to each of the twelve zodiac signs. If your friend is a Cancer, for instance, he or she will cherish an emerald and its professed abilities to increase courage and health. When presenting a zodiac stone gift, include a description of the gem’s astrological significance and origins. Following is a list of zodiac stones:
- Aquarius — Garnet
- Pisces — Amethyst, Aquamarine
- Aries — Bloodstone
- Taurus — Sapphire
- Gemini — Agate, Alexandrite
- Cancer — Emerald
- Leo — Onyx, Peridot
- Virgo — Carnelian
- Libra — Opal
- Scorpio — Beryl
- Sagittarius — Topaz
- Capricorn — Ruby
Whether you purchase a birthstone or a zodiac gemstone, you’ll honor your friend’s thirtieth birthday in a distinctive, personal, and memorable way.
About The Author
Siwarin Eampun – Jewelry Designer at www.ninecarat.com
Taking Back Christmas
John Grisham wrote a book called SKIPPING CHRISTMAS. Amazon.com reports: “John Grisham turns a satirical eye on the overblown ritual of the festive holiday season, and the result is Skipping Christmas, a modest but funny novel about the tyranny of December 25….”
My friend Dessa Byrd Reed, author of the poetry books THE BUTTERFLY TOUCH and SEVEN BRIDGES, prefers nontraditional holidays. She wrote in THE DESERT WOMAN that as a widow she often spends time with friends over the holidays, take trips, or simply goes out to eat on Christmas (not necessarily turkey). It’s easy to see why, especially if you grew up with traditional Christmas expectations of warmth, family, and usually, expressions of faith. Christmas is under attack in this country. I think it was my high school AP Government class that asked us about cases involving removing Nativity scenes from public places. At the risk of revealing my ripe old age of 32, that was in 1990.
First we had the trend of saying Xmas for Christmas. Then Christmas sales started way back before Halloween. Now, the holiday season is more about parties, overeating and drinking, and commercialism than expressing spirituality, in particular and especially the Christian faith.
The secularists don’t much like church, whether because of parents who used religion as an excuse for too-strict disciplines (or hatred and prejudice), drug trips in the ’60s, or fanaticism (never mind that Christ welcomed everyone). This secularist attitude got wonderful treatment in a recent episode of “Jack & Bobby” co-created by Brad Meltzer, bestselling author and a friend.
When we try to kick Christ out of a holiday named for Him, our society has a problem.
What’s been the result of using the euphemism “holiday” and banning the Nativity? Congress may not be making any law about the free expression of religion, but the elite brain trust is acting like the Church of England kicking out the Puritans. What’s the result? Clashes over religion. Holiday depression. Loneliness around the holidays, especially in nursing homes. Suicide.
What’s lost among the way? The spirit of giving. Warmth and compassion. Communion with family, friends and neighbors. And yes, that pesky expression of faith the secularists on the far left moan about. Ever notice that when it comes to their free expression of faith or lack thereof, they scream “racism” or “[fill in the blank] phobia” whenever Bill O’Reilly or anyone for that matter dares to pray or remind them that there is a God beyond their ideology? They accuse Christians of proselytizing but don’t hesitate to lecture on what is and what is not offensive today. President George Bush is mocked for his faith, and Senator John Kerry, a Roman Catholic, seems to have his usual difficulty sticking to a point on thorny social issues. No wonder the conventional wisdom was always not to discuss religion and politics, and for whatever God’s sake, don’t mix the two (even though it happens time and again), and let’s just all get along and sing carols at Christmas.
It seems that people are rebelling. The success of “Passion of the Christ,” the Da Vinci Code and the Left Behind Series, as well as “Joan of Arcadia,” “7th Heaven,” and “Touched by an Angel” indicates a movement in popular culture.
Instead of skipping Christmas, let’s take back Christmas in our homes and families. Unless your family members and friends are Orthodox Jews or Muslims, you can celebrate Christmas with them.
After all, Judaism and Islam recognize Jesus Christ as a prophet. Every religion celebrates the spirit of giving, from Kabbalah to Hinduism. We all agree we have too much stuff, too much food (as our overweight society proves), too much alcohol, too little kindness, patience and respect. We all want connection, love, belonging, and a place in the manger.
Top ten tips for taking back Christmas:
1) Make homemade gifts. Skip the malls. You don’t have to be Martha Stewart to give something from the heart.
2) Invite friends or relatives to dinner instead of trying to give expensive gifts that no one uses anyway.
3) Don’t roll your eyes when someone says, “Peace on earth, goodwill toward men.” And for Goddess’ sake, don’t use the “men” part to launch an anti-male rant.
4) Whatever your faith, speak up and say that Christian-bashing (or bashing of any kind) offends you, especially around the Christmas season.
5) Get together with friends and family and make care packages for homeless shelters,nursing homes, etc. Make that your gift to each other.
6) Call those friends or relatives you usually avoid talking to. Hearing about your old college roommate’s third marriage might not thrill you, especially since you can’t get a word in edgewise, but it’s a good way to give of your time, something we all feel we don’t have enough of but make for friends anyway.
7) If you’re just dying to cook that turkey dinner but your parents or mother-in-law insist on doing it THEIR way, give in. This is not a “me me me” time.
Rent or watch “A Charlie Brown Christmas.” Linus’ recitation of the Bible and the gang’s rendition of “Hark the Herald Angels Sing” could make even Scrooge smile. And even Lucy van Pelt admits, “Charlie Brown is a blockhead, but he did get a nice tree.”
9) Take quiet time to think, meditate, and yes, pray. Consider it the mental vacation to Tahiti you can’t take because the family has camped out at your house.
10) Appreciate your children’s gifts, especially the homemade macaroni ornaments. The first gift of Christmas was a child.
We’ve taken back our streets. We’ve taken back the night. Let’s all take back Christmas, and we won’t have to skip it. But if you do feel like skipping Christmas to restore your faith, do it. The gift of one less stressed grumpy person around the holidays is priceless.
Kristin Johnson is co-author of Christmas Cookies Are For Giving: Stories, Recipes and Tips for Making Heartwarming Gifts (ISBN: 0-9723473-9-9). A downloadablemedia kit is available at our Web site, www.christmascookiesareforgiving.com, or e-mail the publisher (info@tyrpublishing.com) to receive a printed media kit and sample copy of the book. More articles available at http://www.bakingchristmascookies.com
Tips For Less Holiday Stress
Holiday Stress? Some Tips For Having Less
We all dream of having wonderful holidays. We start each day full of the spirit of the season. We look at the lovely fresh fallen snow, and marvel at the beauty of the world. But lets face it – life can be stressful. By the time we get the kids up, dressed, and fed, referee a few morning scuffles, find lost homework, binkies, and keys, field a few phone calls, dig out the car, make our way through morning traffic, and try to get some Christmas shopping done at the local Target, the good feeling is… well, gone. The joy and magic of the season can easily be overshadowed by obligations, responsibilities, credit card spending gone mad, and, of course, relatives. If any of this is sounding familiar, you might be asking yourself – How could we end the madness? Well, here are some tips to make the season a little jollier – or at least less cranky.
* Adjust your outlook: Your perspective is the looking glass through which you see the world. It is central to how you experience emotions, situations, and life in general. By shifting your perspective you can, in effect, change you experience. This is your life – put a positive spin on things – what have you got to loose but the blues!
* Simplify your life: Get organized, try to cut down on clutter, and prioritize your tasks. Many dreaded obligations are self-imposed. Remember you really don’t have to do everything.
* Practice extreme self care: Make time to do what you love – take in a movie, go to a museum, curl up with a book or take a long hot bubble bath. Pamper yourself! This is your life – enjoy it! Don’t worry – the dishes aren’t going to pack up and leave town. Get plenty of sleep – exhaustion is a main factor in stress – and don’t over indulge. Enjoy all the holiday goodies, but do so in moderation. Add some moderate exercise and you’ll be healthier and have more energy.
* Be thankful for the little things: Practice loving the simple things in life; playing games with your children, taking a walk on a snowy winter morning, or cuddling with your honey after everyone’s in bed. When we open our hearts to happiness, we often find that it’s all around us.
* Make peace with flexibility: Celebrate you successes and let the rest slide. Learn to go with the flow. Take a breath, relax. Don’t sweat the small stuff.
* Embrace the spirit of the holidays: Greet each day with the holiday spirit and fill your life with kindness, compassion, gratefulness and love.
Yes, there will still be hectic moments and stressful events, but you control the extent to which you respond to them. Open yourself to the possibility that the holidays can be joyous, and you might just find yourself whistling along with some of those Christmas carols.
Deborah Martin is a mother, writer, life coach, and co-founder of The Woman Project. She lives in the Chicago suburbs with her partner & son.
About The Author
Deborah Martin is a mother, writer, life coach, and co-founder of The Woman Project. She lives in the Chicago suburbs with her partner & son.
