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While we usually tend to focus on games to keep the kiddies entertained, adults can have their games too!

Santa Beard
Adults may find this game fun if they don’t mind getting a bit gooey for a short time! Divide up into 2 teams and get some Vaseline and a bowl of cotton ball for each team. Each team member will put some Vaseline on their chins, and then each team member will run up and dip their chins in the bowl of cotton balls and run back so the next member can have a turn. You’ll want to get as many cotton balls to stick to your chin as possible. The first team to have all members with a beard wins the game! You should be sure and get some pictures and it will make for good laughs in holidays to come! Of course you’ll also want to have some towels and warm water to remove the Vaseline.

Scavenger Hunt
A scavenger hunt was always a fun game as a kid, but just because you’re an adult doesn’t mean you can’t still have one! This scavenger hunt will be for items all related to Christmas since it is that time of year. Divide up into teams of 4 will work best, then give them the list of items they need to gather.

You can contain the search to items that can be found in your home or you can make it even more fun and let them run all over town trying to find the items on the list. You should be creative when coming up with the items and include things such as a picture at a particular location, or a certain type of Christmas box. It’s a great way for everyone to work together and have some fun in the process!

Shopping for Dad always seems pretty easy. He always seems to like whatever you give him. Why not make it special and really give him something to smile about this holiday season?

One suggestion for a gift for Dad might be the traditional tools. A man can never have enough tools for projects around the house. By giving him his favorite tool, one could achieve several things. First, he gets a smile on his face. Second, your home projects might actually get done. Finally, he has a toy of his own.

Another gift idea would be electronics. These would range from MP3 Players/IPODs to GPSs and TVs. They are all great ideas. MP3 Players/IPODs can be taken everywhere and can plug into his car or treadmill. He will enjoy his music while he is either driving or running. Maybe even watch a game or movie on his IPOD. Of course the game would look even better on a brand new television. There are plenty of options between LCD, Plasma and Projection TV. Don’t forget the GPS. Men, especially Dad, will not want to ask for directions this holiday season. Save him the trouble with a new GPS system. This way everyone gets where they need to go safely and on time.

Moms are always expected to look nice for the holidays. Men are starting to take their personal hygiene seriously. There are plenty of products out there to help Dad look and feel his best. These can range from new electric shavers, to nose trimmers, to fog-free mirror in the shower, and maybe even a massage toy to help Dad relax after a long day. All these would contribute to Dad looking and feeling better during the holidays. Dad may even want his favorite cologne or hair product. Surprisingly more and more men are starting to really take an interest in how they look and smell. I am sure moms appreciate this.

Sports, many argue, are the man’s domain at home. Why not spoil Dad this holiday season with tickets to go and see his favorite team play? Another suggestion could be sports memorabilia. Does Dad have a favorite team or player? Maybe get him a poster, jersey, signed card or ball. Maybe Dad doesn’t watch sports, maybe he likes to play. This holiday, upgrade his sports equipment. He will think of you every time he plays. Or maybe Dad doesn’t play sports, but enjoys the competition of a good poker game. Give him something to play this winter like a poker set, table and a poker book. The game is so hot right now and he can invite his buddies over for a nice friendly home game.

Apparel and accessories for Dad work well as a holiday gift. Great suggestions could be a new jacket, work out clothes, sweaters, or even a nice tie! Dad should really throw away that old holey shirt and you can replace it with one from his school alma mater. Maybe he could use a nice black sweater or ski jacket to keep him warm and in style. Watches are also a nice addition to Dad’s wardrobe. They are both functional and contribute to that finished look that makes Dad look complete.

All of these suggestions of holiday gifts I am sure will put a happy face on Dad. Some you can enjoy as a family and others Dad can enjoy by himself or with his buddies. After all, holiday gifts are wonderful to receive and put to use and with these suggestions you will surely not disappoint dear ole Dad.

Christmas party games make any holiday celebration fun. Party games get the party going and keep it going. Like most Christmas traditions, Christmas games were enjoyed throughout the centuries as an important part of holiday celebrations.

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.

Coming up with Christmas gift ideas that will be original yet appreciated by the person receiving them isn’t always easy.

Birthdays are fairly easy. For a start, they don’t all arrive at once, so you have time to get your creative juices flowing.

Choosing Christmas gifts is different. You need to buy presents for everyone from the youngest niece or nephew, through to grandparents. Sometimes you may not meet these people very often and the decision isn’t made any easier by the relative lack of knowledge.

If you know the person concerned, it could be that they have been kind enough to drop some hints into your conversations with them. Providing these hints aren’t too obscure, those kind of conversations can be life savers.

But what do you do about the other people you need to buy Christmas gifts for?

You could take the easy way out by buying a gift voucher, but that doesn’t look very impressive when it’s wrapped up below the Christmas tree.

DVD sets are often a good choice. Especially if you know one or two of their favorite films or television shows. Amazon’s feature of “people who bought this also bought …” can really come in handy for choosing a present that shows you put some time and thought into it.

If you’ve got the time and creative energy to make a really personalized gift, that can work very well. Anything from a scrapbook covering the year in words and pictures through to a DVD you’ve made from photos and music. There’s a lot of software available nowadays that makes this kind of exercise a lot less daunting than it would have been even a few years ago.

Personalized presents that are ordered online can also make good gifts. You can create t-shirts, mugs, mouse mats and all kind of other presents at the click of a mouse. They’re then delivered to your doorstep a few days later, ready for you to wrap and give for Christmas.

Other personalized gifts can include naming stars, buying land on the moon and even preserving an important minute of time!

Living in the country and on a farm sometimes money is tight and you have to really think about how you spend your money. Our tradition since we moved here six years ago is to search the woods for a Christmas tree. My husband dreads it so and complains about it because he grew up with the fake tree. I grew up with the fresh smell of pine and spruce in our house and only rich people could afford the fake trees anyways. Sure we had plenty of Charlie Brown trees but who cares, it was the adventure of finding one and cutting it down.

The first few years the kids enjoyed it and we spent many hours looking in the woods for the perfect tree. My husband’s thought was why cut down a 20 ft tree and just harvest the 6 feet of the top of the tree. Sorry to say that is about the only way to get a natural tree.

Now the two older kids 17 & 15 find spending time with the family boring, “Why can’t we buy a tree”, “It’s cold out here, pick anything, just cut a birch tree down, does it matter? So I took my 9-year-old son out, he still saw the adventure of finding the tree exciting. We found one right away and not too deep in the blackberry bushes. So we planned on cutting it down on a Sunday. Sunday’s here in Maine are the best bet since we still have hunting season for about another week. Sunday finally came and our plans changed since a big winter storm was coming in and my husband had to leave for work early. Well I guess we could wait until the next weekend but the tree wasn’t all that big around I’m sure we could cut it down ourselves. So as soon as my husband was off I told the kids my brilliant plans to which the older kids were not as excited as my 9 year old and I were. They complained about how cold it was and it would take forever and they didn’t want to walk very far. Well great news it isn’t too far a couple of fields away and it isn’t all that big around. So we dug around in the barn for two hatchets and we were off.

We got to the tree and of course I had to hear about the stupid blackberry bushes and why didn’t someone make a trail. I didn’t say all that much other than muttering why do teenagers have to be such party poopers.

My youngest the gung ho outdoor enthusiast wanted to start the cut, which he chopped for about five minutes. I think the older kids started thinking; if we chop really fast we can get done faster. My daughter started the next round and she chopped for another 5 minutes and then my oldest son continued. They all took turns and we were laughing and joking. Finally we watched the last chop and the tree started swaying and fell. We chopped it to where we thought was the right length and the two older kids dragged it home. My youngest a little disappointed on not being the one that got the last chop was a little upset and said so. I told him I saved the most important job was some one needed to take the handsaw and make the end even to fit into the stand. His little face brightened and he was so happy about his important job.

I guess dragging your kids kicking and screaming to make a happy memory was worth the aggravation because during that time of teamwork and togetherness, no one cared about how cold it was, or how many thorns were sticking into your legs. We were as one as a family working together for the same goal, sure it ends up looking like a Charlie Brown tree all the same but being perfect didn’t matter. What mattered is we did it together and that is good enough for me.

It’s a Christmas time, what’s up, have you planned your Christmas vacations or not? If not, hurry up its not too late to plan a wonderful Christmas vacation, while there is ton of discounts waiting for you in the market. Yes friends, many discount hotels are waiting for you to come and they have many astounding plans to celebrate your Christmas stay in the hotel. Thousand of discount hotels are offering very lucrative offers to their customer, in all over the world.

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.

Christmas is a time when people get together and enjoy quality time with each other. That is why homes are usually extravagantly decorated during the season. Through the years, homeowners have always sought to find and have the most appealing and colorful Christmas decorations. Vintage Christmas ornaments are particularly popular with some collectors due to their nostalgic value, and sometimes because they are sweetly kitschy.

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/

Christmas is about love, sharing and goodwill. The Christmas season excites our senses; the shops abound with Christmas cheer and a continuous hum of Christmas carols. Christmas is a time for re-creating memories and adding new ones. The best way to add to these memories – is to surround ourselves with things that remind us of the season. Decorating is an easy way to accomplish this. Set time aside to plan your decoration activities to fill your house with the holiday spirit.

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.

Relatives of ours live in a big old arts and crafts style house, with dark wood paneling, a large hall, a carved stairway balustrade and a big stone fireplace. It’s a bit dark inside for my taste, but when it is decorated up for Christmas each year it somehow becomes a magical place. They have a tall and heavily decorated Christmas tree in the hall, and lots of extra twinkling lights around the stairs and along the old-style picture rails and panels. With the fire going and the main lights dimmed, it is a scene right out of a one of those traditional Victorian Christmas cards.

Their home has become a focal point for Christmas celebrations for their family and close friends. Early on Christmas morning it has become a tradition that several families gather there and stack their Christmas gifts under the tree to make an impressive colorful pile. We all stay on for a Christmas morning brunch around the fire before thoughts turn to the preparations for Christmas dinner. The highlight of the morning, of course, is the opening of the presents.

A few years ago one of the granddads was persuaded to dress up as Santa in a Santa suit to hand out the Christmas presents from under the Christmas tree. He chose a traditional red velvet Santa outfit, with white trimmings, a large white beard, a broad black belt and black boots. It was bought ready made, and was excellent quality for a very affordable price. He has a little hand bell as well, to call everyone to attention. He kind of looked like a jovial Father Christmas even without a Santa costume, and carried the role off brilliantly to the great delight of all the kids. Having Santa Claus himself hand out the Christmas gifts added enormously to the pleasure to be seen on the faces of the children. A very realistic Father Christmas as the focus of attention made the Christmas morning gathering a very special annual event that everyone looked forward to for weeks ahead.

The Christmas costume idea was such a hit that everybody now at least wears a Christmas hat of some kind, mostly Santa hats in various styles, elf caps with big ears or reindeer antlers. There have been a few variations from these traditional themes, like the occasional Grinch from the Dr Seuss books and the movie, or Jack Skellington from the Nightmare Before Christmas movie. Even the family pet has his Santa dog hat.

Last year, one of the younger mothers who helps Santa sort through the gifts arrived in a very fetching sexy Christmas costume in red and white. There has been much speculation among the menfolk as to whether this new fashion will inspire the other Moms to join her this year.

The granddad has so enjoyed being a Santa he has also worn his Santa costume to help out with a children’s hospital visit and has a couple of other community Christmas activities scheduled before Christmas as well.

Get more Christmas celebration ideas at http://www.christmas.ishoparcade.com. Discover the variety of low cost high quality ready made Santa outfits and accessories that are available, and the wide choice of related Christmas costumes and hats.

Christmas is closing by at rapid speed and we slowly need to start to think how can we make it unique this year. This article will walk you through a couple very original tips that will help you make this years holiday memorable.

Themes – There are several options: You can use one single theme for your entire home or create a different theme for each room. How to do it? It all depends, certain families might prefer one colour that dominates all others, some a set of matching ornaments that appear all over the house.

Leave nothing untouched – How about bringing Christmas in to unusual spaces, such as the bathroom? It can be much fun to decorate unusual places. Don’t forget practical thinking – refrain from using materials such as paper or water paint in wet areas and watch for places that produce heat – I’m sure your home to be “burning with enthusiasm”.

The Christmas tree – If you opt for living trees, make sure you’re going to cut the stump with a fresh cut and put it in water immediately. You want to cut it diagonally, making the area of absorption larger. Set reminders and check the water level a couple times daily for the first week and refill if needed. If you have space in your home, it’s fun to put a tree in the smaller rooms as well. Get a mini-tree for the kitchen, bathroom, or bedroom, and get it to match with the theme of its surroundings.

Fake snow – Instant snow can be so much fun, it doesn’t melt and can produce many hours of joy.

The big snowman – Why not make a snowman right in your living room this time? You have two options – either you can use fake snow or paper, glue, a couple cheap inflatable balls and white textured paint. The rest is up to your imagination!

Lights – Instead of mimicing the presentation of a Christmas store, think about using lights with slow transitions and new colours that will accent the best features both outdoors and indoors as well. Often it’s just the matter of changing the light bulbs or use suitable coloured sheets.

Candles – Candles are an element which shouldn’t be missing from any Christmas decoration. The easiest way to make them more attractive and personal is to get blank candles of any colour and use three dimensional textured paint.

Christmas garland – Garland is one of the best tools to cover door frames, window frames and the edges of mirrors with. Don’t forget to secure the decorations with tape or something similar.

Reusing Christmas cards – You can cut out elements from Christmas cards, old or new, and put them on various items, such as curtains or tablecloth.

Bells – Christmas wouldn’t be Christmas without the bells. With ribbons, you can tie them together and knot at the top. Drape the bells over a door knob, this way they’ll ring every time as someone enters or leaves. Watch out, it might get a tiny bit irritating after a while!

As always, there are no limits for your imagination! Christmas is a great excuse to entirely change the feel of your home. It will not only bring a little variation but will affect you and your family’s mindset – which can result in stronger bounding and many wonderful memories that you will never forget.