I know, I know, it’s not quite Thanksgiving yet and I’m talking about Christmas. But do you remember last year? How about the year before? Picture it: Christmas is a week
away and you’re still gift shopping. Or how about the DAY BEFORE and you still haven’t found the new toy that Suzie or Tom just has to have. Then there are the relatives. You bounce from one house to the next in constant chaos. Someone isn’t getting their present because you were in such a rush you left it at home and you don’t have time to go back because you were suppose to bring the dessert and you forgot so you have to swing by the grocery store to pick up a bakery pie or cake or cookies. Christmas morning comes and your dreams of smiles and happy faces and a restful day turn into exhaustion from staying up all night trying to FIND all of the presents you purchased. The kids tear open the presents and then proceed to whine because it wasn’t exactly what they wanted. Your neat tears because once again Christmas has flown by and you haven’t spent any quality time with your kids and your husband because you’re always behind. And the traditions that you wanted to start with your family have once again fallen by the wayside because you were just ‘too busy’. It makes me want to cry just thinking about it, because I have been that mom year after year.
Well, no more. The best way to create peaceful, loving holidays is in the planning. The best way to do that is with a Holiday Planner.
You’ll need: a three ring binder, dividers, looseleaf notebook paper,pen,envelope,and a calender.Feel free to decorate your notebook however you want!
Devise a plan. Write down what makes the holiday special to you. Ask your husband and kids the same and write it down.
Start planning your kids Halloween costume now. That gives you plenty of time to look for what they want and not just whats left over the week before Halloween.
Make a list of all those that you need gifts for. Don’t forget teachers! If you want to make gifts for anyone write it down beside their name.
Now whip out the calender and write down all of the obligations that you know you have. Sports practice, dance practice, school functions, family parties, etc. When that is done I want you to pencil in gift shopping time, if you’re making gifts determine how long each will take and write in ‘appointments’ with yourself to work on them. Also look at what type of traditions you want to do and write them in.
Other sections in your planner should include: meal planning, recipes, budget, decorating, entertaining, and holiday cards. Others could be: cookie/baking recipes, craft instructions, websites, cleaning for company, music, stories, movies. You can have sections for Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year’s, or any other holidays you celebrate.
The holidays should be a time to celebrate and spend time with our families. If we plan ahead then things can go a lot smoother.
Monday, November 2, 2009
Friday, October 30, 2009
Planning to Tackle Black Friday
The thought of Black Friday brings strong emotions to many people. Some are filled with excitement and the thrill of a good deal, while others cringe in horror at the thought of rising at 3AM to fight a horde of people and possibly in up in a fight. For those that are brave enough to attempt Black Friday (and no it’s not really all that bad) here are a few tips to make things run smoother.
1) Check out the sales. You can look at www.bfads.net or others like it for an early glimpse of store sales. Some stores have the sales on their sites or you can wait and pick up a newspaper on Thanksgiving when all of the sales flyers are sent out.
2) Compare prices just like any other time. Determine which sales prices are the best.
3) Get a buddy. It’s always safer to travel in pairs, however, with this season being as tight as it is people may be a little meaner. Keep your cell phone handy and charged in case you and your buddy get separated.
4) Plan your strategy. Which stores open first? Which have a limited product only offer? What order are you going to visit the stores? Make a list of items and prices and what stores they are at.
***Special note for the “While supplies last”. Be prepared to be there first. I noticed a Walmart ad for a flat screen tv for only $398 on Black Friday. The ad audibly said “while supplies last” but the small print at the bottom it said “only 5 per store”. No joke 5 per store. So figure out if it’s worth your time and the stress if you’re not able to get one.
5) Don’t expect to be able to run in and run out. Even if you’re only purchasing one thing you may have to wait to check out. Have fun. Grab a cup of coffee. Expect long lines and a few cranky people. You’re all in the same boat so take a deep breath.
1) Check out the sales. You can look at www.bfads.net or others like it for an early glimpse of store sales. Some stores have the sales on their sites or you can wait and pick up a newspaper on Thanksgiving when all of the sales flyers are sent out.
2) Compare prices just like any other time. Determine which sales prices are the best.
3) Get a buddy. It’s always safer to travel in pairs, however, with this season being as tight as it is people may be a little meaner. Keep your cell phone handy and charged in case you and your buddy get separated.
4) Plan your strategy. Which stores open first? Which have a limited product only offer? What order are you going to visit the stores? Make a list of items and prices and what stores they are at.
***Special note for the “While supplies last”. Be prepared to be there first. I noticed a Walmart ad for a flat screen tv for only $398 on Black Friday. The ad audibly said “while supplies last” but the small print at the bottom it said “only 5 per store”. No joke 5 per store. So figure out if it’s worth your time and the stress if you’re not able to get one.
5) Don’t expect to be able to run in and run out. Even if you’re only purchasing one thing you may have to wait to check out. Have fun. Grab a cup of coffee. Expect long lines and a few cranky people. You’re all in the same boat so take a deep breath.
Monday, October 12, 2009
Do You Dress Up?
Halloween is a time of fun for both children and adults alike. We all like to dress up in costumes and attend great parties. The stores are flooded with children’s costumes, but unique adult Halloween costumes are a little harder to find unless you shop online. This article provides you with a few simple, but unique, adult Halloween costumes that you can easily make yourself.
Recycling Tub: Are you known for your love of recycling or, perhaps, the lack of recycling? Either way, this is a simple and fun costume that will be perfect for you. You will need to purchase a medium sized plastic container that is big enough to fit around your body. Then, you will need to cut a hole in the bottom of it, making sure it is big enough for your body to fit through. You can easily make suspenders by attaching rope to the container. Be sure that the top of the container rests between your belly button and chest. Next, decide what you are going to recycle such as empty plastic bottles, empty pop cans, or paper. Then fill the container about half way full with those items. You can even glue some of the items to your clothing to make the costume even more fun.
Black Cat with Litter Box: Simply dress in black, usually sweat pants and a sweat shirt work perfectly, then, you will need the ears and an attached tail which can usually be found at Target or Wal-Mart. The litter box is what really makes this costume complete. Find a regular plastic litter box and combine granola cereal and rolled oats together in it. Then, strategically place dabs of chocolate icing and softened chocolate candies throughout so you’ll have a special treat to offer your friends.
Scary Clown: The idea for this costume is to take the other guests by surprise. You want to look goofy and friendly from behind, but scary when face to face. So, you will need a pair of overalls, large shoes, a bright shirt, a wig and face paint. What makes this costume unique is the face paint. Face paint will allow you to create many scary looks such as a bloody eye socket, blood dripping from your mouth or the illusion of having a cracked skull. For the cracked skull, you can buy a plastic axe and position it in the clown wig to complete the look. The options are endless when you create your own look using face paint.
The fun thing about adult Halloween costumes is that the sky is the limit. You can find inspiration for a fun and unique costume just by looking at your surroundings. Think outside the box when looking for ideas, or if you need help, just search the web and you’ll find millions of them. The most important thing is to just have fun!
Recycling Tub: Are you known for your love of recycling or, perhaps, the lack of recycling? Either way, this is a simple and fun costume that will be perfect for you. You will need to purchase a medium sized plastic container that is big enough to fit around your body. Then, you will need to cut a hole in the bottom of it, making sure it is big enough for your body to fit through. You can easily make suspenders by attaching rope to the container. Be sure that the top of the container rests between your belly button and chest. Next, decide what you are going to recycle such as empty plastic bottles, empty pop cans, or paper. Then fill the container about half way full with those items. You can even glue some of the items to your clothing to make the costume even more fun.
Black Cat with Litter Box: Simply dress in black, usually sweat pants and a sweat shirt work perfectly, then, you will need the ears and an attached tail which can usually be found at Target or Wal-Mart. The litter box is what really makes this costume complete. Find a regular plastic litter box and combine granola cereal and rolled oats together in it. Then, strategically place dabs of chocolate icing and softened chocolate candies throughout so you’ll have a special treat to offer your friends.
Scary Clown: The idea for this costume is to take the other guests by surprise. You want to look goofy and friendly from behind, but scary when face to face. So, you will need a pair of overalls, large shoes, a bright shirt, a wig and face paint. What makes this costume unique is the face paint. Face paint will allow you to create many scary looks such as a bloody eye socket, blood dripping from your mouth or the illusion of having a cracked skull. For the cracked skull, you can buy a plastic axe and position it in the clown wig to complete the look. The options are endless when you create your own look using face paint.
The fun thing about adult Halloween costumes is that the sky is the limit. You can find inspiration for a fun and unique costume just by looking at your surroundings. Think outside the box when looking for ideas, or if you need help, just search the web and you’ll find millions of them. The most important thing is to just have fun!
Monday, October 5, 2009
How to Plan a Halloween Party
Hosting your own Halloween party can be a lot of fun, but if you don’t take the necessary time to plan you are likely to find yourself unorganized and running around like the headless horseman. To help you avoid that fiasco, I have put together a few planning tips that will help you have a successful party.
Pick a Date: Before you can have any kind of party, you have to decide when you want to have it. I understand that the ideal time for a Halloween party is on Halloween, but more often then not Halloween falls on a weekday. So, to ensure a better turnout, you may want to have the party on a weekend.
Invite the Guests: Next, you need to decide who you want to attend your party and how you want to invite them. The most convenient method is to either call or send out an email. However, your guests may enjoy receiving a personal invitation in the mail. If you decide to go this route, there are a lot of sites online that provide creative ways to do this.
Theme: Do you want to have a theme for your party? For instance, do you want to have your guests all dress up from a particular era such as the early 1900s or possibly as a Harry Potter character? If you decide to have a themed party, you need to be sure to include this information on your invitations so no one feels left out.
Games and Prizes: Consider having a game or two for your guests to play at your party. One of the easiest Halloween games is a costume contest. All the guests have to do to participate is arrive wearing a costume. Again, the internet is full of fun party game ideas. While prizes are not required, they can make the games more fun and interesting. Some simple prizes include: candy bars, scratch off lottery tickets, and gift certificates.
Decorations: Decorations can be as expensive or inexpensive as you want to make them. So, before you begin your decoration shopping you will need to decide how much you want to spend on them. Your local department stores such as Target and Wal-Mart will carry a vast variety of Halloween decorations to choose from. However, there are also many bargains to be found at your local Dollar Store for much less.
Treats: What is a Halloween party without treats? More is always better when it comes to creativity and Halloween treats. Food is usually the biggest expense for a party host. To help offset that cost, consider asking your guests to each bring a treat to share. To encourage your guests to be creative, offer a prize for bringing the scariest treat. If you plan on providing the treats for your guests and need unique ideas, there are endless Halloween recipes to be found on the internet, in magazines and cookbooks.
With a little planning, a Halloween party can be a fun and exciting time for everyone. Including the host or hostess.
Pick a Date: Before you can have any kind of party, you have to decide when you want to have it. I understand that the ideal time for a Halloween party is on Halloween, but more often then not Halloween falls on a weekday. So, to ensure a better turnout, you may want to have the party on a weekend.
Invite the Guests: Next, you need to decide who you want to attend your party and how you want to invite them. The most convenient method is to either call or send out an email. However, your guests may enjoy receiving a personal invitation in the mail. If you decide to go this route, there are a lot of sites online that provide creative ways to do this.
Theme: Do you want to have a theme for your party? For instance, do you want to have your guests all dress up from a particular era such as the early 1900s or possibly as a Harry Potter character? If you decide to have a themed party, you need to be sure to include this information on your invitations so no one feels left out.
Games and Prizes: Consider having a game or two for your guests to play at your party. One of the easiest Halloween games is a costume contest. All the guests have to do to participate is arrive wearing a costume. Again, the internet is full of fun party game ideas. While prizes are not required, they can make the games more fun and interesting. Some simple prizes include: candy bars, scratch off lottery tickets, and gift certificates.
Decorations: Decorations can be as expensive or inexpensive as you want to make them. So, before you begin your decoration shopping you will need to decide how much you want to spend on them. Your local department stores such as Target and Wal-Mart will carry a vast variety of Halloween decorations to choose from. However, there are also many bargains to be found at your local Dollar Store for much less.
Treats: What is a Halloween party without treats? More is always better when it comes to creativity and Halloween treats. Food is usually the biggest expense for a party host. To help offset that cost, consider asking your guests to each bring a treat to share. To encourage your guests to be creative, offer a prize for bringing the scariest treat. If you plan on providing the treats for your guests and need unique ideas, there are endless Halloween recipes to be found on the internet, in magazines and cookbooks.
With a little planning, a Halloween party can be a fun and exciting time for everyone. Including the host or hostess.
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Great Kids Costumes Without the Big Price Tag
Fall is fast approaching and that means the holidays are about to begin. The kickoff event for the 3-month marathon is Halloween. With the state of the economy today, many families are looking for ways to cut back costs during Halloween so they will be able to afford the financial burden that Christmas brings. Everyone knows that at Halloween it’s all about having a great costume! Below are several ways to help your family save money on your children’s costumes this year.
Shop Online: The internet is booming with bargains just waiting to be found. A person is almost guaranteed to find something at Amazon.com or Ebay.com, but there are many more sites that offer considerable discounts for Halloween costumes. The only downside is that your child cannot try on the costume before you purchase it and you may have to pay shipping. Depending on the price of the costume with shipping, it still may be a bargain when compared to the prices of the costumes at your local stores.
Have a Halloween Costume Swap: Chances are you know plenty of other families with children who would love to save some money this Halloween. Call them up and offer to have a costume swap. Pick a place, date and time that is agreeable with everyone and then bring all of your family’s old costumes with you. Your children will get excited when they see all the costumes they have to choose from. This is a win-win situation for everyone as the children have a “new” costume to wear and parents have successfully saved money on a costume and gotten rid of an old one all at the same time!
Make a Costume: Are you a creative person? If so, then consider making your children’s costume this year. Even if you don’t know how to sew, there are many costumes that can be made without the use of a thread and needle. Once again, the internet is a wonderful place to search for costume making ideas. Here's one website I ran across that provides a lot of ideas for kids Halloween costumes.There is no better way to get your children excited about making a costume then by letting them help. It is a wonderful way to spend quality time with your children, and very fulfilling when you see them showing off their costumes and proudly telling their friends that they made them.
Mix & Match Old Costumes: Clean out your closets and bring all of the old costumes in the middle of the living room floor. Let your children use their imagination by mixing and matching pieces of the old costumes together to create new costumes. This is another wonderful way to spend quality time with your children while saving money and recycling your old costumes at the same time.
Check out the Thrift Stores: Thrift stores are a great place to find used costumes. After Halloween, a lot of people don’t want to bother with storing their old costumes so they bring them to their local thrift store just to be rid of them. You can also find other clothing and materials at thrift stores that can be used to create unique costumes for your children.
Remember, most kids don't care where their costume comes from as long as it's what they want to dress up as. It's all about the make-believe and the excitement of pretending to be someone else.
Shop Online: The internet is booming with bargains just waiting to be found. A person is almost guaranteed to find something at Amazon.com or Ebay.com, but there are many more sites that offer considerable discounts for Halloween costumes. The only downside is that your child cannot try on the costume before you purchase it and you may have to pay shipping. Depending on the price of the costume with shipping, it still may be a bargain when compared to the prices of the costumes at your local stores.
Have a Halloween Costume Swap: Chances are you know plenty of other families with children who would love to save some money this Halloween. Call them up and offer to have a costume swap. Pick a place, date and time that is agreeable with everyone and then bring all of your family’s old costumes with you. Your children will get excited when they see all the costumes they have to choose from. This is a win-win situation for everyone as the children have a “new” costume to wear and parents have successfully saved money on a costume and gotten rid of an old one all at the same time!
Make a Costume: Are you a creative person? If so, then consider making your children’s costume this year. Even if you don’t know how to sew, there are many costumes that can be made without the use of a thread and needle. Once again, the internet is a wonderful place to search for costume making ideas. Here's one website I ran across that provides a lot of ideas for kids Halloween costumes.There is no better way to get your children excited about making a costume then by letting them help. It is a wonderful way to spend quality time with your children, and very fulfilling when you see them showing off their costumes and proudly telling their friends that they made them.
Mix & Match Old Costumes: Clean out your closets and bring all of the old costumes in the middle of the living room floor. Let your children use their imagination by mixing and matching pieces of the old costumes together to create new costumes. This is another wonderful way to spend quality time with your children while saving money and recycling your old costumes at the same time.
Check out the Thrift Stores: Thrift stores are a great place to find used costumes. After Halloween, a lot of people don’t want to bother with storing their old costumes so they bring them to their local thrift store just to be rid of them. You can also find other clothing and materials at thrift stores that can be used to create unique costumes for your children.
Remember, most kids don't care where their costume comes from as long as it's what they want to dress up as. It's all about the make-believe and the excitement of pretending to be someone else.
Saturday, September 26, 2009
Top 10 Halloween Costumes of 2009
1)Hannah Montana – The part time pop star is again the top pick for costumes for girls.
2)Wolverine – The marvel hero takes the second highest spot for costume picks this year after the success of the film this summer.
3)Snake Eyes – With the new G I Joe movie so popular this summer, the silent ninja takes the third spot on the list for children and adults.
4)Dorothy – The Girl from Kansas still has a high spot on the top costumes that we will see this year.
5)Yoda – The pint size Jedi hero is on the top of the list again this year with his Jedi reflexes we might just see him here for a few more years to come.
6)Princess Leia- Another Classic Star Wars hero making an appearance this Halloween.
7)Padme/ Amadala – Star Wars hero making another appearance for the second year running.
8)Harry Potter – With the new movie out in theaters this summer, the interest in the magical boy has taken hold for another Halloween season.
9)Bumblebee – This transformers hero is back for another year of Halloween fun and the costume looks great too.
10)Batgirl – Classic costume for girls that want to be like the bat and have fun on Halloween.
2)Wolverine – The marvel hero takes the second highest spot for costume picks this year after the success of the film this summer.
3)Snake Eyes – With the new G I Joe movie so popular this summer, the silent ninja takes the third spot on the list for children and adults.
4)Dorothy – The Girl from Kansas still has a high spot on the top costumes that we will see this year.
5)Yoda – The pint size Jedi hero is on the top of the list again this year with his Jedi reflexes we might just see him here for a few more years to come.
6)Princess Leia- Another Classic Star Wars hero making an appearance this Halloween.
7)Padme/ Amadala – Star Wars hero making another appearance for the second year running.
8)Harry Potter – With the new movie out in theaters this summer, the interest in the magical boy has taken hold for another Halloween season.
9)Bumblebee – This transformers hero is back for another year of Halloween fun and the costume looks great too.
10)Batgirl – Classic costume for girls that want to be like the bat and have fun on Halloween.
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Origins of Halloween--Part 1
Halloween can be traced back 2000 years ago to the ancient Celtic celebration of Samhain pronounced sow-in. The Celts lived in what is now known as Ireland, the United Kingdom and northern France. They celebrated their new year on November 1. This date was chosen because it marked the end of summer along with the end of harvest time. November also marked the beginning of winter. Cold, dark winter months were associated with death.
Celts believed that the night before the new year, October 31st, created a time in which the spirit world was open to our world. This day was celebrated with Samhain. They believed that the ghosts would return to earth for possibilities of creating havoc and mischief. Celts believed that during this merging of worlds, Druid priests could predict the future.
Celebration rituals: Celts extinguished their fires in the hearths of their homes and built huge, ceremonious bonfires. These were used to burn crops and animals as sacrifices to their gods. They dressed in costumes that consisted of animal skins and heads. Part of the fun was trying to predict other people's futures. After the celebration was over, the Celts re-lit the fires in their hearths from the bonfire in order to protect themselves from the coming winter.
Friday, September 4, 2009
Welcome to the celebration area!
This is the place to learn all about different holidays. Find out about obscure holidays, learn more abut those you already celebrate and find neat ways to create holiday traditions that your family will talk about for years to come.
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