Happy Christmas Everybody,

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There are many categories of holiday purchases that we all make every year. It is a good idea to make your holiday budget comprehensive enough to include all the ways that you spend money on holiday preparations and Christmas related purchases. Here are a few ideas about how to set up your Christmas Budget.

Start early – ideally you should start in January for each holiday season. Many of us don’t think about Christmas that early. If you are like most of us, October is when we start to think about the winter holidays. If you do start early, you can take advantage of those after Christmas sales to make purchases of holiday stables like ornaments, gift-wrap, and party supplies.

Make sure you sock some holiday savings away each month throughout the year so that you can have a Christmas Spending account that won’t dig into your regular household account during the holidays. The last thing you want is to take money away from paying your monthly bills in order to buy presents.

You can open a Christmas Club account at most financial institutions including credit unions that you can designate an amount such as $25, or $50 to come out of your paycheck each month and deposited into this Christmas fund. You can even set up auto-transfer for each pay period.

Shop for Christmas year-round. There are many sales events that you can take advantage of throughout the year, saving you money.

Make up a master-shopping list for Christmas that includes each person you need to buy gifts for along with some gift ideas. Keep this in your wallet or purse all year, so that you can refer to it while passing sales items.

Don’t forget about the values you can find online. You can comparison-shop to discover what stores have the best deals. When actually making purchases online, don’t forget to take shipping into consideration when comparison-shopping for price.

Major stores will often have Internet discounts that are just for their online customers, so check Websites of stores that you frequent most often for these deals.

Save money by baking or making presents for relatives who may appreciate the extra thoughtfulness of these personal gifts.

There may be some people on your list who really do not need or want more “things”, but may be happy with the gift of time (running errands for them, or doing yard work, or household chores).

Keep a pocket notebook handy all year and jot down in it whenever someone mentions something they need, or something they see that they would like. When you notice sales events of these items you can then purchase them at a savings. This handy notebook will also assure you that you are indeed buying gifts that the recipients will truly enjoy getting.

Technorati Tags Christmas Holidays, Christmas Ideas

Love the southern flavor? Try serving Shrimp and Grits for Christmas dinner (serves two people). Double for 4.

You will need cooked grits (2 serving sizes)
Olive Oil (2 Tablespoons)
Diced Tasso Ham (1/2 cup)
Diced Leeks (2 Tablespoons)
Diced Onion (2 Tablespoons)
Diced Green Peppers (2 Tablespoons)
Large Shrimp (20 medium, peeled, de-veined, with tails on
White Wine (1 to 2 Tablespoons
Heavy Cream (1 cup)
Salt and Pepper to taste
Chopped Green Onion Tops

Instructions:
Cook grits according to package directions, then set aside and keep them warm.
Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat.
Add the tasso and saute until crisp
Add the diced vegetables and saute until the onions are translucent.
Add the shrimp and saute for an additional 30 to 45 seconds or until the shrimp are pink.
Remove everything from the pan and set aside.

Deglaze the pan with a little of the white wine.
Slowly add the cream and let reduce until thickened

Season with salt and pepper.

Divide the grits onto two plates.

Pour the sauce over the grits. Garnish with the onion tops. Add the shrimp mixture and enjoy!

Northerners, say “MMMMMMM my favorite Christmas Dinner Pot Roast!” It smells heavenly cooking and is oh so tender.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

You will need:

1 (4-pound) boneless Chuck pot roast (tied).

Salt and pepper to taste

2 tablespoons of Vegetable oil

1 finely chopped cup of onions

1 finely chopped cup of carrots

1 finely chopped cup of celery

2 bay leaves

2 teaspoons of thyme

4 cups of beef stock

4 tablespoons of all-purpose flour

4 tablespoons of butter, allowed to soften

First, pat the roast dry and season well with salt and pepper.

In a Dutch oven, heat the oil over medium heat until hot but not smoking.

Add the roast until all sides are brown. (this should take about 15 minutes)

Put the roast on a plate.

Pour out all but 1 tablespoon of oil from the Dutch oven.

Add onions, carrots, celery to the Dutch oven and cook over medium heat. Stir occassionally until golden.

Place roast back into the Dutch oven. Add the bay leaves, thyme and enough beef stock to come 2/3rds of the way up.

Bring to a simmer, skim, cover tightly, and set in the lower third of a 350 degree preheated oven.

The liquid will need to remain at a simmer for 2 1/2 to 3 hours or until the beef is tender.

You will need to turn the roast over several times during the cooking time.

At the end of the time and when the roast is tender, carefully take the Dutch oven out of the oven with oven mitts.

Take the roast carefully out of the Dutch oven and place on a cutting board. Let it sit for 10 minutes. Cover it with aluminum foil during the 10 minutes. Make a gravy out of the liquid in the Dutch oven while you are waiting on the roast.

Slice the roast and serve with a salad and dinner rolls.

Merry Christmas for this short time,

Frank

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Christmas Cards:

Instead of spending a lot of money buying commercial Christmas cards in the store, how about having your kids make Christmas cards to send out to family and friends? Cards are easy to make and can be done using craft material you can find around your home or purchase inexpensively in a local craft store. Here are some card ideas to get you started:

Photo Christmas Cards: use photos you already have or take some specifically for the cards. These are great for grandparents, aunts and uncles because they love seeing updated pictures of the kids. Use card stock or construction paper for the card and cut out a rectangle, square, or circle in the middle of the front of the card. Lay a favorite photo of the kids on the inside over the cutout so that the photo shows through on the front of the card. Decorate the card with holiday stickers and crayon drawings from the kids and you have a winning card that anyone would treasure. Make sure you remember to place a poem or short holiday greeting on the inside of the card.Treat Cards:

Use cardstock or construction paper to make the card and then find some winter scenes from an old magazine. Paste or glue the scenes on the front of the card. On the inside of the card tape an envelope of hot chocolate drink mix, dry soup mix envelope or a tea bag to the inside of the card. Write a warm greeting and place some XXX000 and the child’s name.

Wreaths are special at Christmas time because they celebrate the circle of friendship. Make this season special around your home by decorating the doors with special holiday wreaths.

Wreaths:

Cereal Wreath

Take a white paper plate and have the kids paint with green non-toxic paint all around the outer edge of the plate (if no edge have them paint like an inch or two in). Once the plate is dry have them cut out the inner circle of the plate.

Have on hand colored cereal in different shapes. Glue the cereal pieces to the green part of the plate. Now attach a big red bow to the bottom of the plate and you have a beautiful handmade cereal wreath to display on one of your doors.

Card Wreath

Take a large piece of cardboard and draw a circle. Now cut out the circle and draw another circle in the middle so that you leave at least 6″ all around the outside of the circle. This is your wreath. Now go get all those old Christmas cards you have stashed away in the attic from last year, and the year before, and the year before that. Have the kids go through this pile of old Christmas cards and pick out their favorites. Line them up so they encircle the wreath side by side. You can overlap the cards for a great affect. Now glue the card backs to the wreath where you want them until the entire wreath is covered with Christmas cards. Attach a holiday bow and you have a fantastic wreath for your home.

What better way to remember what your child wants for Christmas then to make a Christmas Wish List Tablecloth? They are fun for the kids to make and very useful for Santa when it comes to making those special gifts appear.

Christmas Wish List Tablecloth:

Purchase a white plastic tablecloth at the store and make sure you have plenty of non-toxic markers on hand. Place the cloth on the table or floor and give the kids the markers. Tell them to draw pictures of what they want for Christmas or if they are older have them actually write out their list (in great detail), this should keep them busy for a while and you will end up with a Christmas craft you will treasure for years.
Frank

Technorati Tags Christmas Holidays, Christmas Ideas

Save money by contacting a travel agent well in advance of your departure date. The lowest-priced fares, hotel rooms and rental car fees can be obtained by securing them far in advance of the holiday season.

Pack light to save energy, time and money. You also should check with your particular airline as some will place special restrictions on carry-ons during the holiday season because of the higher demand for space.

Save on airline space by shipping your gifts instead of taking them with you. Allow at least two to three weeks for your package to arrive at your destination because both Federal Express and UPS are busy during the holidays.

Make sure that before you leave on your holiday trip, your home, plants, and pets are secure and well cared for. Pet sitters will often times care for the plants and home as well, so they are a good investment and will give you peace of mind.

Don’t forget to have someone collect the mail and newspapers so that it won’t look like no one is home at your house. You should have your lights set on timers so that they come on at different times. Check to be sure that you locked all windows and doors and turned off the oven and stove before leaving. Do NOT leave any message on your answering machine or voicemail that indicates you are leaving for a trip.

Avoid peak travel days at the airport like the day before or the day after a holiday. Book your flight two days before a holiday. Try to book a non-stop flight if possible.

If you have an early flight, consider sleeping over at an airport hotel the night before and taking an airport shuttle right from the hotel to the airport the next day.

If traveling by car always have the car serviced by a certified mechanic. Make sure they check the fluid levels, brakes, tire pressures, and any other car part that needs regular maintenance. Bring along jumper cables, extra fluids, maps, first aid kit, flashlights, blankets, water, snacks, flares, ice scraper, chains for the tires and also a cell phone.

Traveling with kids by car or air means bringing snacks and something to keep them busy like games, toys or music. If they will be sleeping during the trip bring blankets and pillows.

Good planning is essential for a safe and happy holiday trip so take the time to plan.

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There are many holiday traditions including Christmas dinner, sending Christmas cards, visiting Santa, baking Christmas cookies and making homemade Christmas candies. Homes are decorated inside and out with colorful lights and holiday decorations. People usually try to spread goodwill, compassion and peace during the Christmas holiday season.

Some countries celebrate on Christmas Eve, other on both Christmas Eve and Christmas day, while other countries celebrate Boxing Day on December 26th. One church, the Armenian Apostolic Church celebrates Christmas on January 6th. Eastern Orthodox churches celebrate Christmas on January 7th. The date is just a tradition and is not considered to be Jesus’ actual birth date.

The word “Christmas” actually comes from two words: Christ’s mass. Many of the seasons decorations lead back to Christ’s birth such as Nativity managers, star ornaments and the giving of gifts.

Christmas day during the Middle ages was more of a festival. King William I of England chose Christmas Day to be crowned king in 800.

During the Reformation, Protestants condemned the celebration of Christmas as mere trappings, while Catholics promoted the festival as a religious event.

Colonial America saw the Puritans disapproving of the trappings of the Christmas celebration and it was outlawed in Boston in 1659 to 1681. However Christian residents of Virginia and New York celebrated the holiday.

Charles Dickens’ book “A Christmas Carol”, published in 1843 did much to revive the holiday that was to instill goodwill and compassion. Washington Irving also wrote short stories about Christmas and the “Twas the Night Before Christmas Poem by Clement Clarke.

There was great controversy in the 20th century over the nature of Christmas (was it a religious holiday or was it a secular holiday). The issue was brought to trial several times to decide because of the view that a federal holiday was a violation of separation of church and state. On December 6th, 1999, the verdict for Ganulin vs. United States declared that “the establishment of Christmas Day as “a legal public holiday does not violate the Establishment Clause because it has a secular purpose.” This decision was later upheld on December 19, 2000 by the U.S. Supreme Court. Many christians believe the holiday has become too secular and it is common to hear cries of “getting back to the true meaning of Christmas” around the holidays.

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There have been recent “congressional efforts to impose mandatory safety-testing standards”, according to the September 12, CBS News article. You would wonder why safety-testing standards or at least better quality control measures have not already been a part of operating protocol? After all, when you are outsourcing work, and your name goes on the product would you not want to know that you are in control of the quality of the product? Seems like basic business common sense to control your product, when it is being outsourced to another country.

Mattel promised to strengthen their toy testing and if you go to their site:

www.mattel.com/safety/us/ you will see the following 3-stage safety check of paint used in their toys:

1. All paint must be tested before it is used on our toys. No exceptions.
2. We have significantly increased testing and unannounced inspections at every stage of production.
3. We are testing every production run of finished toys to ensure compliance before they reach you.

The US Consumer Product Safety Commission is responsible for protecting the public from unreasonable risks of serious injury or death from more than 15,000 types of consumer products, including toys. Consumers can report incidents of dangerous products by calling the CPSC hotline at 800-638-2772 or by using the Website to contact them: www.cpsc.gov/talk.html

Consumer reports is one way that we can find ourselves taking some responsibility to protect others. When faced with a defective product, we have two choices: we can throw it away and forget about it, or we can contact the manufacturer or the CPSC to report the dangerous situation. Reporting, gives us the power to make changes for the better.

In the case of the Gymboree, Pirate Sword recall, there were 11 reported incidents that triggered the 6,000-product recall. It is up to the company to listen to those who make the reports and to issue voluntary recalls of the product to ensure public safety.

It takes a combination of governmental regulation and standard safety control, and companies who value public safety over company profits that are willing to enforce product quality testing before reaching the consumer; in order to reduce the number of hazardous products reaching the public.

Germany is credited with the traditional Christmas Tree celebration of decorating trees and bringing them into their homes. It is believed that Martin Luther, the 16th century Protestant reformer was the first to add lighted candles to the tree. He wanted to recapture the sparkling stars on a dark night and how the stars illuminated his walk home, so he brought a tree into his home and placed it in the center of the room. He then wired the tree branches with lighted candles.

By 1890, Christmas ornaments were arriving in America from Germany and the Christmas tree became popular in the U.S. In the early 20th century most Americans were using homemade ornaments on their trees. While Europeans liked their trees to be small, Americans liked their trees to reach from floor to ceiling. Popular homemade ornaments included popcorn strings decorated by being dyed bright colors and laced with berries and nuts. Electricity changed the tree to include electric lights and trees began to glow in town squares and in homes all across America, making the Christmas Tree, a American tradition.

Many cities claim to be the first city to have a Christmas tree in America including: Windsor Locks, a city in Connecticut. They claim that a Hessian soldier put up a Christmas tree in 1777 while he was imprisoned at the Noden-Reed House, making it the first Christmas tree in New England.

Easton, Pennsylvania also claims that German settlers put up a Christmas tree in 1816. There is a diary entry made by Matthew Zahm, of Lancaster Pennsylvania, which says a Christmas tree was put up in 1832.

A German immigrant living in Boston, Charles Follen, claimed the custom itself of decorating the Christmas tree. Another German immigrant from Wooster, Ohio is said to have made popular the practice of decorating the Christmas tree by cutting down spruce trees from a wooded area by his town, and having a tinsmith construct a star, he placed the tree in his house, decorating it with paper ornaments and candy canes. He was recognized by the National Confectioners’ Association as being the first to put candy canes on a Christmas tree. Those first candy canes were all white though and had no red stripes.

The Christmas tree today is a very important part of the celebration of Christmas. The tree symbolizes life.

There are a few things to keep in mind when traveling by air with kids in tow. The first is that airline food is tasteless, plain and unappealing to most adults and certainly kids will find it equally disgusting. You can bring plastic containers or baggies filled with your child’s favorite treats and meals such as fruits, veggie sticks, toddler finger foods, cheerios and such that will appeal to their young taste buds and keep them happily munching. Remember to bring along wipes to clean sticky fingers.

Unlike a car ride, where you can pull off at rest stops, a plane is a long endless ride for youngsters. To help pass the time you can pack in your carryon baggage some simple toys to amuse them. Pack crayons and coloring books, stuffed animals, dolls and action figures. You can also bring along Music CDs with headphones.
 

Flight discomforts: 

Babies will need a pacifier or bottle to suck on during times when the cabin pressure is likely to bother them like during takeoff and touchdown.

If possible schedule the flight during naptimes or bedtime so that your child will be less disturbed by these minor discomforts.
 

Plan ahead 

Check with your airline to see what carry – on baggage is appropriate for youngsters. Ask if it is all right to bring a booster seat so that your child can see out the window (ask for a window seat for your child over five).

Arrive at least an hour early for domestic flights and two hours early for international flights.

Be flexible when it comes to flights as changing departure days be even so much as one day might give you a cheaper rate or an emptier plane (who likes a crowded flight).

 If flying internationally check for passport requirements and vaccination requirements. This Website has useful passport information:

 travel.state.gov/passport/passport_1738.html

Security wait times may slow you down so check before you leave home to find out if your flight has any wait times established. You can check wait times at:

waittime.tsa.dhs.gov/index.html

You may have better flights using surburban airports than big city airports because they are less congested.

Ship packages instead of using baggage to avoid overweight fees and long check-in lines. You can try using Greyhound’s PackageXpress

shipgreyhound.com

You may also want to check out Virtual Bellhop at:
virtualbellhop.com

Security agents may open wrapped Christmas gifts so do not wrap presents until you get to your destination. 

If you are bringing food aboard make sure they are in see-through containers, or factory-sealed food.

During 2006 Southwest and US Airways had the best ON TIME records so part of keeping the stress level down during the holidays is to book your flight with the right airlines for your destination. Usually expect more holiday delays than any other time of the year because of the increased amount of air travelers.

The word advent means “arrival” and the calendar is a good way for families to count down the days until the big celebration day arrives. There are many ways to make an advent calendar each having its own special way of rewarding little ones for their patience. 

There are many printable templates that you can find online to guide you in your calendar design. You can make an advent wreath made with handprints, or make an advent jar or tree.

Advent Wreath – Good Deed handprints

Supplies you will need: 

Construction Paper

Glue

Markers, crayons or paint

Paper Plate

Pencil

What to do: 

Step #1 – Make a wreath out of the paper plate by cutting out the center of the plate.

Step #2 – Have your child put a hand on a green piece of construction paper and trace his entire hand and fingers with a pencil. 

Step #3 – Cut out the hand and then use it to trace 23 more on green construction paper so you have 24 hands alltogether.

Step #4 – Now with a dark colored marker write a good deed on each handprint. (if young children will be participating make sure the deeds are within their ability to complete). 

Step #5 – Starting on December 1st., pick one cut-out hand for the entire family to do that day. Example: the good deed is to say something nice about someone else. Each family member needs to do this at least once that day.

At the end of the day a family member will glue the handprint onto the wreath 

When all 24 handprints are on the wreath you will have something to be proud of and a beautiful decoration for your home.

Advent Jar – (Special Blessings) 

Supplies you will need:

Large Jar (glass or plastic)

Christmas themed stickers or other decorations 

Construction Paper

Markers or Crayons

Use 24 themed stickers or other holiday small decorations, or you can have your little ones make some of their own decorations. You can do a combination of these suggestions too. Just make sure that you end up with 24 all together.

What to do:

Step #1 – Take a black marker and write a one-word blessing on each decoration. You an go round-robin with family members (the ones old enough) for blessing suggestions. You can also add one person’s name on each decoration. 

Step #2 – Place all 24 decoration inside of the jar.

Step #3 – On December 1st a lucky family member gets to draw a decoration out of the jar and glue it to the outside of the jar. What ever one word blessing is written on the paper is what family members will be giving thanks for that day. If you chose to write a person’s name on the decoration, than each family member should think good thoughts about that person all day. 

Step #4 – On Christmas eve the jar will be empty but the outside will be decorated with blessings and family members will be rewarded for their good thoughts when someone fills the empty jar with yummy holiday treats.

Advent Christmas Tree

Supplies you will need:

Felt – green
Felt – Assortment of brightly colored 
Tracing Paper
Self-adhesive Velcro Circles

What you need to do:

Step #1 – Draw a Christmas Tree on thin tracing paper or use a pattern from the internet or a book you might find on Christmas crafts.

Step #2 – Pin the tracing paper onto the felt (green), and cut out the shape of the tree.

Step #3 – Cut out ornament shapes out of the brightly colored felt (freehand or use a pattern from the internet or a Christmas craft book). You will need 24 ornaments.

Step #4 – Stick the prickly half of the Velcro circles all over the tree where you will be placing the ornaments.

Step #5 – Now, stick the other half of each Velcro circle on each of the ornaments.

Step #6 – Starting with December 1, you “hang” an ornament on your advent tree by sticking an ornament onto the tree where you placed the prickly parts of the Velcro circles. Hang one ornament each day. They will all be hung by Christmas Eve and you will have a beautifully decorated felt advent tree.

If you do not have the needed supplies you can use construction paper for the tree and ornaments and attach the ornaments to the tree with glue or tape.