But if you know how, you can get a Christmas Bonus, of $400-$1,000 each month from the IRS!

I know it sounds unbelievable, but that is why I wrote this article, to let struggling middle class workers know this wonderful truth.

I am a Personal Financial Coach. I teach people how to solve their personal money problems. My partner, Winston, is a CPA with 25 years of doing taxes for individuals and small businesses.

We know that most middle class families are living pay check to pay check, are drowning in debt and have FICO scores that are silently sucking the life blood from them.

If this is you, we will show you how your life can be turned around in less than 1 month with a monthly injection of $400-$1,000 extra each month.

Using existing tax laws, you can have the IRS give you $400-$1,000 month to help you:

• Pay the high cost of gasoline!
• Pay your credit card bills every month!
• Pay for your child care expenses!
• Pay for your son’s $100/pair Air Jordans!
• Pay your monthly car note!
• Pay for your health insurance premiums!
• Pay for your son or daughter’s piano lessons!
• Pay for your trip to Disney World!
• Pay for your Thanksgiving turkey!

In short, you would have the benefits of a 2nd job without working, and with no taxes taken out!

The money will show up as a lump of cash your pay check, every month! In fact, the IRS says that your “pay raise” has to be reflected in your next pay cycle! If you are self employed, your income taxes will be slashed by 40-50%, allowing you to put the savings into your pocket right away.

Now that you understand what is possible, let’s look at what you have to do to get your Christmas Bonus every month. There is a requirement to qualify for this government program, a home based business.

Once you have a suitable home based business, which the IRS says is a business you are running with the intent to make a profit, Duh! And on which you spend at least 20 hours per month, you will be able to write off expenses related to your business.

That is where the next requirement comes in, that you have a competent tax advisor. They can show you what deductions you qualify for, how to implement them and how to document them.

We know it may seem a bit complicated, but if you want the benefits of a Christmas Bonus of $400-$1,000 per month, isn’t it worth it?

Copyright Bill Young, 2008. Get a Free, Special Report from Bill and Winston, “I got 20% More Take Home Pay 1 week After I Applied the Instant Pay Raise System!” Click here, NOW! http://TheInstantPayRaise.Com Bill can be reached for private consultations at 646-961-3818

Still, choosing Christmas cards is straight forward – or is it? I don’t have a problem choosing cards to send to my personal Christmas list. Even though I know that mine will end up on the wall or on the mantle piece with everyone else’s, I will be in the company of friends and relatives. But the Christmas Greeting that I send from our company, now that’s a different matter! I want that product to say something positive about us. I want that card to stand out above everyone else’s – and that’s what you want for your company. In order to achieve those objectives, why not move away from a standard card and go for a pop up Christmas greeting instead.

How about a pop-up Christmas gift box? The theme is very positive and association with this feeling has to be a plus factor in your plans for a Christmas promotion. The pop-up action brings with it surprise and fun – elements that are always associated with Christmas. The product makes a great little mailing pack. The very fact that they arrive on your customer’s desk in their own custom printed mailing envelope gives the mailer a gift feel, being chunky and “boxy”. Slide the contents out of the mailer and hey-presto – the Christmas gift box pops up right there in your hand! The mailing pack itself can be designed to look like a Christmas present rather than a card so it will be opened with anticipation. In all likelihood, the pop-up will be passed around your customer’s office, spreading the good word about your company and it will certainly stand out above all the standard Christmas cards scattered around your customer’s office.

These versatile promotional pop up boxes can be made to order or certain companies can offer different shapes and sizes of boxes to suit your Christmas promotion. Pop up cubes are often available in standard sizes as are some pop up cuboids. These are the best shapes to use for adaptation to the theme of Christmas Gift Boxes.

In order to lift your own promotion above the level of the competitions’ then you need to add a wow factor. Pop up promotional products do exactly that, adding high impact value as soon as the mailer is opened and then proving to be a very interactive product thereafter. What applies in every day promotional circumstances is even more important at Christmas time when the level of mail landing on your customer’s desk is dramatically increased.

Article by Paul Whitney.

Whitney Woods Ltd is a manufacturer of promotional marketing products designed using sophisticated cardboard engineering techniques. The company is a market leader in this field in the UK and publishes a range of over 50 products including suggestions for Christmas greetings which can be viewed at http://www.christmasmarketing.co.uk/promotional-christmas-greetings.html The author also publishes a blog which is updated on a daily basis and features useful advertising and marketing ideas http://www.whitneywoods.co.uk/blog/

When the little boy reached his destination, people already in the church turned to see the gift he had brought and, when they saw what it was, they laughed at him.

As the little boy determinedly marched up to the altar and laid the branches by the edge of the manger, an abundance of bright red flowers suddenly began to bloom.

Since that day, the Poinsettia is known worldwide as The Christmas Flower.

Perhaps this story is a fairy tale. Perhaps not. Who is to say?

It’s certainly true that the Poinsettia originated in the south of Mexico, wending its way to the United States of America in the admiring custody of one Joel Roberts Poinsett.

Poinsett (1779-1851), was born in Charleston South Carolina , and educated in Europe and the U.S., studying medicine, military strategy, and the law. He became a member of South Carolina’s House of Representatives and subsequently held many prominent political positions. He also spearheaded the founding of the Smithsonian Institution.

Fluency in Spanish (as well as French, Italian and German) resulted in Poinsett’s diplomatic appointment by President John Quincy Adams as the first United States Ambassador to Mexico (then called Minister of Mexico).

That was a tumultuous time in Mexico, and, to make matters even more difficult, Poinsett’s impossible task was to buy the Mexican land we know as Texas, for a million dollars. However, the Mexicans did not want to sell Texas and, in 1829, they invited the hapless Ambassador Poinsett to leave.

In 1828, shortly before his absence was requested, Poinsett, an avid amateur botanist, was visiting the Mexican state of Taxco where he first saw the plant that would eventually be named after him. He shipped samples to South Carolina, where they were called “Mexican Fire Plant.” The Aztecs had called the plant “Cuetlaxochitl,” and from the 14th-Century to the 16th, used the sap to control fevers. The leaves were also used to make dye. Montezuma, the last of the Aztec kings, was forced to have Poinsettias caravaned from the south into what now is Mexico City because the plant could not grow in such high altitudes.

Upon his return to the U.S., Poinsett shared the plant with friends and botanical gardens worldwide. Around 1836, scholar William Hickline Prescott, author of The History of the Conquest of Mexico, and after whom the town of Prescott Arizona is named, was given the honor of renaming the plant. It has been known Poinsettia ever since.

While these facts are interesting, there are those of us who prefer the apocryphal tale of a little boy and the miracle of The Christmas Flower.

A great gift might be a colorful kite … a ring, necklace, or bracelet that light up … a trampoline that lets you jump higher than ever … a set of drums … or a digital camera.

Most 12-year-olds like to learn new skills so a few months of lessons on the electric guitar or the piano might be a thrill.

In the meantime, though, let us look more closely at a few fun Christmas gifts to make your job of shopping easier.

Heelys – Heelys are athletic shoes with a wheel in the heel. Zip down the sidewalk along with your friends. You can run errands in half the time. And, if you have a paper route, your job becomes a cinch. To use Heelys, you need to wear a padded helmet, knee pads, elbow pads, and wrist guards.

Power Zoom Binoculars – Your favorite 12-year-old will be able to go bird watching, see the baseball game up close, and check out the sights on a car trip or on vacation. Some excellent binoculars are 10X30X60 power zoom with a ruby lens.

Inline Skates – To help that 12-year-old become a skating ace, get him or her inline trainer skates that convert to regular inline skates. Other equipment needed for inline skating include a padded helmet, knee pads, elbow pads, and wrist guards.

Pinball War Games – This standing game table rocks and rolls with flashing lights and dinging sounds. It has dual LCD scoring and drop pockets. This game switches from a game for two players to a game for one. Every member of the family will enjoy taking turns at this pinball game.

Name Scroll on a Painting – This unique gift will bring shouts of joy from your favorite 12-year-olds. The scroll features his or her first name and its meaning inscribed on a painting. Included is a history of the name and famous persons with that name. The painting is of flowers, a lion, a kitten, a dog, and a knight in armor. This treausred gift is ready for framing.

There we have it. These fun Christmas gifts to make a 12-year-old boy and girl happy may inspire you to think of yet more gifts. Not included here are hi-tech gadgets, a computer, software, an MP3 player, or games. We will cover those in a following article. Meanwhile – have a merry old Christmas.

A Fiber Optic Christmas tree has strands of pure glass or see through plastic tube surrounded by a reflective coating. Light can go into one end of the strand and for long distances through each strand to the end where it shines into the room.

The result is a spectacular light show of any color imaginable that change on a color wheel. The use of fiber optics for Christmas trees is a great idea in its inventive applications using this form of light display for many reasons.

An artificial fiber-optic Christmas tree can change your household Christmas decorating theme into a fabulously attractive display of twinkling lights that changes the shade from one color into a more dazzling array of other colors. In addition you can add a Fiber – Optic Christmas tree you can decorate the front of your home’s entrances with smaller LED Fiber-Optic Tree.

LED Christmas Trees or as they are also called fiber optic Christmas Trees come straight to your door ready to plug in and enjoy. You an also order this type of tree pre decorated or add your own assortment of decorations to complete the look your personalized Fiber Optic Christmas Tree.

You can add garlands of flowers, ribbons, shells or candy to the mix and have an adorable good looking Christmas Tree. Or you may chose to leave the Tree as is, and concentrate on decorating other parts of the living room or get another tree for another room as well.

Fiber Optic Christmas Trees do not give out heat, only light so they are a must for fire safety. The LED lights provide a 200,000 lifetime span of hours of pure enjoyment of your special Fiber Optic Christmas display. That works out to about 20 Christmas years of life out of your one purchase so it is more economical and energy efficient than other types of Christmas Trees.

You can cover your tree with cotton strands to simulate snow, or decorated with glass ornaments as there is no heat given off therefore no fear of fire hazards. Today with young and modern customers just any old tree will not do for a Christmas holiday. If you pick up any old tree at any old store you will be setting for less and you will get less for your money as they quality is just not present.

A smart and wise investment is a LED fiber Optic Christmas Tree because they are very energy efficient using ten times less in energy that the average Christmas bulbs. Fiber optic Christmas Trees last up to 20 years and therefore are more economical than other trees.

This type of tree is also very safe since they produce no heat there is no danger of catching fire like a real tree can as it dries out in your living room.

The Fiber Optic Christmas tree is virtually indestructible and the bulbs are not inter-dependant – if one bulb burns out it does not affect the whole tree. Fiber optic Christmas Trees come in 4, 5 feet tall for apartments, bedrooms spare rooms, or condo apartments. The larger Christmas Trees range from 5 feet or up to 10 feet tall in green, white or frosted colors.

The most magnificent White Fiber Optic Tree I have seen is a Pre-Lit Artificial Tree, with L.E.D. circuit technology and has over 9,900 optic light tips for a dazzling display. The Fiber optic Tree with the easy set up in minutes, can be the most beautiful acquisition for any style of home.

There are no motors of fans or color wheels needed with this Christmas Tree and no need of halogen bulbs that require a fan to cool them off. The tree has reinforced branches for extra strength if you wished to add decorations and more ornaments.

In summary the benefits of a Fiber Optic Christmas Tree are many and the savings on energy are enormous as well. If your in the market for a new tree this year you should look at this type of tree and it will be the most spectacular Christmas decoration of your home.

Teri Salvador is a freelance article writer on many topics but with a site primarily on dog health issues that offers frequently updated articles on natural remedies, pet product reviews and current articles on pet foods. You will read it first on http://www.DogHealth1.com even before CNN gets around to covering the story.

Xmas is the time to create memories that can be cherished life long. Here we are with some of the memorable sayings for you to share it further and spread the cheery and jolly vibes all around. These handpicked Xmas sayings include statements by some of the great authors who are legends in the literary world. Their writings have created and overturned many traditions. See the magic when their expertise in using words comes at work to describe the celebrations. It is only after reading them, we get to know that the spirit of Xmas transcends mundane world and becomes ethereal.

Christmas Sayings

You might as well do your Christmas hinting early.” – Anon.

At Christmas I no more desire a rose
Than wish a snow in May’s newfangled mirth;
But life of each thing that in season grows.

- William Shakespeare Love’s Labour’s Lost

I have often thought, says Sir Roger, it happens very well that Xmas should fall in the Middle of winter.

- Joseph Addison

Christmas is the keeping-place for memories of our innocence. – Joan Mills

There is no ideal Christmas; only the one Christmas you decide to make as a reflection of your values, desires, affections, traditions.

Like snowflakes, my Xmas memories gather and dance – each beautiful, unique and too soon gone. – Deborah Whip

For a vast collection of sayings on different aspects of the festival see christmas-quotations.com

http://www.christmas-quotations.com

As early as the 16th century it was customary to play games at Christmas. Late medieval English law allowed servants and commoners to play games at Christmas that were forbidden the rest of the year. These games included tennis, dice, cards, billiard and others.

Christmas games enjoyed in the modern period were blindman’s bluff, feed the dove and hot cockles. In Hot Cockles each player in turn is blindfolded. The blindfolded player puts his hands behind his back, palms up. One of the other players hits the hands of the blindfolded player. The blindfolded player must guess which of the other players has hit him. If he does so correctly, he may penalize the player whom he “caught.” Those who preferred a greater mental test might retire to a game of chess, while the physically agile might challenge each other to tennis or skittles.

The English also enjoyed playing cards and gambling at Christmas time, especially with dice. During the reign of the Tudor kings, working people may have found greater pleasure in these games than the well-to-do, since they were prohibited by law from playing games except at Christmas time. In the sixteenth and 17th centuries the Puritans condemned those who celebrated Christmas by playing games and gambling.

In Victorian England parlor games remained popular Christmas entertainments throughout the 19th century. Victorians favored such games as Snapdragon, Forfeits, Hoop and Hide (Hide and Seek), charades, Blind Man’s Bluff, Queen of Sheba (a variation on Blind Man’s Bluff), and Hunt the Slipper. In Snapdragon players gathered around a bowl of currants covered with spirits. A lighted match was dropped into the bowl, setting fire to the alcohol. Players challenged one another to grab a flaming currant out of the bowl and pop it into their mouths, thus extinguishing the flames. A bit of light verse describes the fearful delights of this game:

Here he comes with flaming bowl,
Don’t he mean to take his toll,
Snip! Snap! Dragon!
Take care you don’t take too much,
Be not greedy in your clutch,
Snip! Snap! Dragon!
With his blue and lapping tongue
Many of you will be stung,
Snip! Snap! Dragon!
For he snaps at all that comes
Snatching at his feast of plums,
Snip! Snap! Dragon!
But Old Christmas makes him come,
Though he looks so fee! fa! fum!
Snip! Snap! Dragon!
Don’t ‘ee fear him, be but bold-
Out he goes, his flames are cold,
Snip! Snap! Dragon!

Players heightened the effect of the glowing, blue flames by extinguishing all other lights in the room except that cast by the burning bowl.

In Hunt the Slipper players formed a circle around one person. They held their hands behind their backs and passed a slipper around the outside of the circle. The person in the center of the circle had to guess who was in possession of the slipper at any given moment.

A number of other English Christmas games have now disappeared so completely that only their picturesque names remain behind. Folklorists cannot now say how they were played. These forgotten games include Shoeing the Wild Mare, Steal the White Loaf, Post and Pair, Feed the Dove, Puss-in-the-Corner, and The Parson Has Lost His Cloak. Before a Christmas party broke up for the evening, the sleepy guests might play one last, quaintly named game called Yawning for a Cheshire Cheese. The players sat in a circle and yawned at one another. Whoever produced the longest, most open-mouthed, and loudest yawn won a Cheshire cheese.

Christmas Games are also played in other Countries. Some traditional Christmas games are for children. In many nations Advent calendars amuse children with a kind of counting game in the weeks before Christmas. Children in Mexico often play games with pinitas at holiday season parties. In Iran youngsters play egg-tapping games at Christmas time. Most Christmas games, however, involve adults and younger people. In a number of different countries sporting matches, games of chance, or fortune-telling games are associated with one or more days of the Christmas season.

In past times Swedes used to play games with Christmas gifts, which they call Julklapp, on December 24. On St. Stephen’s Day both Swedes and Norwegians used to race horses (see Norway, Christmas in). Ethiopians celebrate Christmas Day by playing ganna, a sport that resembles hockey (see Ethiopia, Christmas in). In the United States, many people enjoy watching football bowl games on New Year’s Day. In Lithuania people entertain themselves on Christmas Eve with fortune-telling games.

Some popular Christmas games we enjoy today are Yankee Swap, Elephant Gift Exchange, cookie exchanges, caroling and others. There’s no doubt that Christmas party games still play a big part in making the season special and memorable.

One of the most famous destinations for Christmas vacation is United States of America. Some of the most advance cities in USA are New York, Los Angeles, and San Francisco, offering excellent and discount shopping opportunities to their visitors. Las Vegas, the gambler’s paradise has many discount Las Vegas hotels, which are offering wonderful discounts and promises for a rocking Christmas night.

Discount Las Vegas hotels has lot of surprises in its kitty, you just need to go and enjoy your stay in these discount hotels. On the other side, city like Miami or Bahamas has their own charm to celebrate Christmas and New Year. Texas, Disney Land and California are other best option for wonderful Christmas vacation. The European countries like Italy France, England, Switzerland, and Spain are also the greatest destinations to spend your holidays and Christmas vacation.

Almost every big hotel chains are also offering discounts hotel packages on the evening of Christmas. The big hotel chains like Hilton hotels, Hyatt Residency, Holiday Inn, Fairfield Inn, and ITC Hotels etc are offering high quality accommodation at much discounted rates. One of the biggest hotel chains, the Hilton Hotels has planned stunning party nights on the Christmas evening.

Christmas is one of the best festivals for everybody to celebrate and visit top destinations to spend their holidays along with their family. Christmas is one of the biggest opportunities to get away from your all engagements and routine life. These vacations give you a chance to spend some quality time with your beloved or family. So get up, plan a wonderful vacation, start packaging you bags and be ready to rock in your favorite city anywhere in the world.

There are many types of vintage Christmas ornaments that are can be found online or at your local antique store. You could probably easily find some at flea markets or even thrift stores, as well. For the best prices, the best time to buy vintage ornaments is during the off-season. As soon as Thanksgiving rolls around, prices tend to start rising, especially for online auctions. But if you see something you like, it pays to bid now or look for a Buy It Now opportunity. Often, an ornament that is fetching high bid prices in traditional auctions can really skyrocket, but if you take a look at Ebay Express you can frequently find a duplicate of the more popular sorts of Christmas ornaments for much less money.

The two most collectible time periods for ornaments tends to be the Victorian period and the mid-century modern stuff. Ornaments made between the 1940s and 1960s by the Shiny Brite company are particularly collectible.

You’ll find a variety of vintage Christmas collectibles so don’t limit yourself to the traditional glass balls. You can find Victorian Christmas decorations, beads, tinsel, and artificial Christmas trees and wreaths. One of the most collectible Christmas decorations is the artificial Christmas tree. The Space Age era aluminum Christmas trees are particularly popular, but many collectors also enjoy the feather trees that were popular with the Victorians. There are also Christmas lanterns and candles from companies like Gurley.

If you want to make collecting vintage ornaments an annual tradition, one way to begin is to start with the Christmas tree. For the first year’s purchase you could start with an aluminum Christmas tree and color wheel. Then each successive year, buy some ornaments to decorate it, or consider a vintage tree topper. Once the tree is fully outfitted with ornament, then it’s time to consider the rest of the house. Vintage bubble lights make an attractive adornment, or some stockings for the fireplace. The Victorians liked to dress their dinner table with ornate mantels that run the length of the table.

Your family and guests surely will be amazed and captivated when they see and feel the nostalgia to be brought about by the variety of different vintage decorations you’ve put together and it will make your holiday environment both whimsical and unique.

Most people looking for vintage holiday decorations are probably searching for vintage Christmas ornaments, but don’t forget the vintage Christmas lights that can also be added to your decor — whether on the Christmas tree itself or decorating other parts of the house.

Emma Martin loves vintage collectibles, especially Halloween and Christmas decorations. You can visit her website at: http://www.retroholiday.com/

Plan a tree decorating party.

Firstly, you will have to decide if you are going to use a live tree or an artificial one. Live trees are popular – reserve one well in advance to make sure that you are not disappointed.

Now plan the tree decorating party. Set the tree up in a spacious spot – where there is place for everyone to gather around the tree and there is space to put the gifts under the tree. Cover the container that holds the tree with green paper. Purposely leave your tree naked, and invite your friends, family and especially the children to dress it up for you.

Make a list of what you need to decorate the tree:

• Ornaments
• Tinsel
• Glowing strings of lights
• Art materials to make ornaments
  • Card board
  • Glue sticks
  • Glitter
  • Magic markers
  • Yarn
  • Cotton balls
  • Popcorn to pop (Try to get colored microwave pop corn)
  • Construction paper
  • Large needles with a large eye
• Bake gingerbread men, stars and hearts
• Cookie icing and sweets
• Prepare stencils of hearts, stars, snowflakes and snowmen

On the day:

Lay out your collection of ornaments and lights, as well as art materials.

Gather the older children and let them pop the corn. Pop enough corn to make pop corn strings and for eating. Eating pop corn while decorating adds some fun.

Ask for volunteers to make pop corn strings by threading pop corn onto long sections of yarn.

Instruct the younger children how to make star, heart, snowflake and snowmen decorations. Demonstrate the use of a stencil. Cut out the different shapes. Cover the shapes with shiny paper or paint and decorate them with glitter and magic markers. Everything goes — even the hideous ones will be funny. Write the names of all the guests on a heart or star decoration.

Make a few bowls with cake icing, each a different color. Put the different sweets into small bowls. Gather the youngsters in the kitchen and have a gingerbread man decorating demonstration. Leave the rest to them to decorate.

Once all the decorations have been made gather everyone around the tree and decorate. Don’t forget to put the fairy on top!

Lastly, switch on the tree lights.

Now your tree is ready for gifts to be placed underneath.