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hristmas is a fun time of year, but gift ideas for kids can be tough to come by if you aren’t used to dealing with children. It isn’t all that tough, though, if you know what you are doing. Going beyond the typical books and clothing that kids get every year; these ideas will help you get that perfect gift for the kid in your life.The Movie Gift Basket

Get a basket or tub, pick up a liter of soda, some microwave popcorn and a gift card to a local video rental store and you have a movie gift basket! Any kid will love to get their very own movie card and all the “fixins” that are just for them. This is appropriate for a kid of any age.

Grab Bags

Get several small trinkets and one “main” gift. Put each one in its own decorated paper bag and put those bags into one large bag. Allow the child to choose one small bag at a time, discovering the treasures that are contained within each. This is a delightful surprise for the younger child, but older kids seem to like it too.

Gift Cards

Kids love to get gift cards. Depending on the age, you can get them a gift card to a toy store, the mall or get one of the major credit card gift cards so that they can spend it anywhere! They will feel just like a grown up when they go shopping and use their very own credit card to get the things that they want!

Art Sets

Purchase an art set of acrylic paints, brushes and paper, or try a different medium such as charcoal, pastels, water colors or oils. You can add in an instructional book and you have a gift that gives in so many ways. Children love to create and art allows them the gift of self expression.

Puzzles

Puzzles are a fun way for children to learn through doing. They learn logic without even realizing that it is a lesson because it is so much fun. Jigsaw puzzles are fun and you can get the mats that roll up so that the puzzle can be put away without being taken apart. Wood puzzles and brain teasers will keep kids entertained for hours as well.

Magazine Subscription

There are many great kids’ magazines that are available; many are published by mainstream publications such as National Geographic and Sports Illustrated. Find out what interests the kid in your life has and get them the gift that gives all year long – a subscription to their favorite magazine.

Jewelry

Jewelry is always a hit with girls. Younger girls will love bracelets and necklaces with their names in block letters. Jewelry kits are also a big hit with girls. They can make their own jewelry and wear it.

When you are shopping for the kids in your life, don’t be afraid to be creative. Have fun and steer away from the conventional. Think about the child’s personality, likes and dislikes, then run with it! If all else fails, do a movie gift basket or a hot cocoa gift basket. You can’t go wrong!

We heard all kind of story about Santa Claus since we were born but do you know the real one?

The legend of Santa Claus can be traced back hundreds of years to a monk named St Nicholas. It is believed that Nicolas was born sometime around 280 A.D in Patara, near Myra in modern-day Turkey .Much admired for his piety and kindness he became the subject of many legends. It is said that he gave away all of his inherited wealth and traveled the country side helping the poor sick. St Nicholas made his first inroads into American popular culture towards the end of the 18th century. In December 1773 and again in 1774 a New York newspaper reported that groups of Dutch families had gathered to honor the anniversary of his death.

The name of Santa Claus evolved from Nick’s Dutch nickname Sinter Klass a shortened form of Saint Nicholas (dutch for Saint Nicholas ). He was described as everything from a rascal with a blue three-concerned hat, red waistcoat and yellow stocking to a man wearing a broad brimmed hat and a huge pair of Flemish trunk those. His feast day was celebrated on December 6 on his death anniversary. Even after the protestant Reformation when the most popular saints began to be discouraged Saint Nicholas maintained a positive reputation, especially in Holland.

Christmas is a beautiful Holiday you have to spend it with your family and the people that you love the most and now you can become a Santa for the Christmas.

The Christmas holidays in Scotland wasn’t exactly the same many years ago as they are now. Christmas itself was until recent times a purely Religious festival (the New Year, now called Hogmanay, was and still is the main holiday for Scots). It was forbbiden to celebrate Christmas until 1950′. This ban lasted for about 400 hundred years because of John Knox, the religious reformer in Scotland, who had a big influence on Scottish Church, and probably because of him the ban was strictly enforced in law. Until the sixties last century Christmas wasn’t even a public holiday so people barely celebrate it. Adults were working although the children had their presents. It looked as if you could almost say: “Wanna have a real traditional Scottish Christmas? Go to work on Christmas day!” But most of people didn’t like that and nowadays Christmas looks pretty much the same as the US version.

And Scottish Christmas are a mixture of different customes from Europe and USA. In result, everything goes around shopping, food, Christmas tree and decorations.

Shopping heat starts very early – just before Hallowe’en when shops start filling up with a variety of gift ideas. Shopping centres are decorated with fairy lights putted not just into the trees but almost everywhere. And also as in America Santa appears in shopping centre and children can stand in the queue to tell him what they want for a Christmas gift, and are given a small toy. One of the signs that the Christmas are coming is that the neighbours are decorating their houses. They are doing it usually with light up musical Santas climbing into windows and fake snow being rolled out across roofs. The smallest one can join in the countdown by using advent calendars, which have little doors that opens for every day in December with a little chocolate in it and picture behind. The calendar is ending on Christmas Eve. Of course on this day children are thrilled with excitement of waiting for presents, usually left under the Christmas tree. Sometimes kids can find their gifts the next day – in stockings filled by Santa as children were sleeping. On Christmas day all family is gathering around the table, eating turkey, pudding or chocolate cake (swedish Yule log), drinking wine or champaigne, and hopefully waiting for snow.

So as you can see it looks just as in any country in Europe or in USA. The things that are unique for Christmas in Scotland are beliefs associated with scottish Christmas like “Bees leave hives Xmas Mornining” or a Black Bum cake. There are also scottish gifts. Only in Scotland you might get for a present: original scotch whisky, wool kilts (in Tartans or in solid colors), and even picnic blankets or a Scotland’s Unique Cat Breed – the Scottish Fold. And also specific is that the presents are opened very carefully to make sure that the wrapping paper can be used once again.

Well were almost there again, and I thought id put a few things that you might want to remember this year.

Food whether its Christmas turkey, Chicken, Fish or a piece of Tofu shaped like a Christmas tree make sure you get to the super markets early and start buying bits each week in the run up to Christmas to keep the costs down and the enjoyment up.

Decorations if your getting into the festive spirit and need a bit of twinkle. Get some nice Christmas lights and dangle them around the room or better yet get a nice fresh Christmas tree from your local vendor (the smells great and for the following months the smell and pine needle will be reminding you about your wonderful Christmas)

Presents are all about letting people know that your thinking about them this doesn’t mean you have to go out and buy the latest ipod it does mean that if things are tight this year set a 5 pound/dollar present budget and see what wonderful things you can buy or buy to create for the people you love.

Booze is one of those things that has a tendency to flow really easily this time of year. If you haven’t tried it yet, get in a bottle of whiskey and a bottle of stones green ginger and feel the fiery warmth of a Scottish classic the Whiskey Mac (If you don’t like whiskey this beauty takes away the harsh edges and leaves behind a warm glow). If you wait till nearer the 25th often you get offers for this in local supermarkets.

Lock the doors! If you don’t want to have a hectic holiday period don’t have one. Close the doors and send your love by Card, Phone, Text or Email this period is about being around your friends and people you care about why spoil it visiting relatives you cant stand, lets face it they probably cant stand you either.

Cooking the food can be a pain in the proverbial, getting up at 5 to put a Turkey the size of a horse into the oven which somehow has to behave like the Tardis is a no brainer. Stop being a traditionalist get up when everyones ready then put the food in the oven, so what if its 3 in the afternoon when you eat, pour out a whiskey mac and get everyone peeling the Veg.

Television comes into play at some time in the day but make sure it and the games console are banned till after you eat. If somebodies bored then give them a peeler and a vegetable (amazing how quickly people are able to find fun things to do when they have a motive).

Christmas is just a day, if you don’t feel like doing it this year don’t do it. The whole point of it is being with people you love and being honest about how your feeling. Postpone it or call it off, nothings black and white judge it for yourself. If your carrying it all, maybe somebody else should be taking some of the weight if they don’t, don’t do it.

To help others at Christmas you might like to give charity Christmas cards see this site for more details Cards for charity

Each year on Christmas morning, when it is time to gather around the Christmas tree to open gifts, the first thing my children do is reach for their Christmas stockings. They cannot resist the fluffy red stocking lined with white fur that is stuffed to the brim with mysterious little gifts and candies. It is a wonderful tradition that has always been a big part of our family Christmas celebrations, as it is with many families, in one way or the other, across the world. How did the giving of sock stuffed with goodies become such an integral part of Christmas to begin with?

In order to answer that question, I decided to do some research and I found that there are several possible stories behind the Christmas stocking. No one is exactly sure which story, if any, is true. However, the most accepted story entails a man whose wife had passed away and left him with three daughters to take care of. He was not a rich man and he was worried that even though his daughters were kind and gentle, they would never get married because he could not afford to pay their dowries.

One day St. Nicholas, also known as Saint Nicholas of Myra, was walking through town and overheard the townspeople talking about the mans dilemma with his three daughters. St. Nicholas wanted to help but he knew that the man would never willingly accept money from him. So he waited until it was dark and went to the mans home and dropped three bags of gold down the chimney, one for each girl.

It just so happened that the girls had washed their laundry that evening and had hung their stockings by the fireplace to dry. When St. Nicholas dropped the bags of gold down the chimney they landed in the girls stockings. When the girls woke up the next morning and went to get their stockings they discovered more than enough gold to pay for each of their dowries. Each girl then got married and lived happily ever after. Once word spread of how the girls had found gold in their stockings, everyone started hanging their stockings by the fireplace in hopes that they would be as fortunate.

While we do not hang our laundered stockings or socks by the chimney to dry, most of us do honor the Christmas tradition of hanging a stocking on Christmas Eve. The biggest difference is that now our stockings are made in all different shapes, sizes, colors, and textures and they are made especially for use as Christmas stockings. Instead of putting gold in the stockings, we put special gifts in them. If we are really bad during the year, we might just get a lump of coal instead of gifts.

I am intrigued by the fact that what may be an old wives tale could create such a wonderful tradition as Christmas stockings. The story of the father and his three daughters started a tradition that is now as much a part of Christmas as Santa himself. Christmas just would not be the same without Christmas stockings.

Proper Christmas ornament storage will keep your beautiful ornaments unmarred for next year and decades to follow. Antique glass ornaments are quite fragile. It’s surprising that some have remained unbroken for a century! Modern ornaments, especially the ones made of treated glass, are stronger — but they are still susceptible to damage. Proper storage and handling will preserve these beautiful ornaments for future generations to enjoy.

Handling Glass Ornaments
Glass decorations must be handled carefully and with due caution. When they are removed from storage, work on a padded surface as you remove their wrappings. Place a padded tree skirt under the tree to soften the impact, in case a glass ball falls from the tree.

An old-fashioned Christmas tree fence is useful to keep young children and pets away from the ornaments. If you don’t have a fence, hang the delicate glass balls near the top of the tree, and put unbreakable spheres on low branches. It is helpful to spray a pet repellent under the tree.

If your ornaments are displayed for over two weeks, position them away from sunlight. Direct daylight can cause the paint to fade.

Cleaning
The colors painted on antique ornaments were generally favorite family recipes. These were not very durable. Age has made them yet more fragile. Most are water-soluble, so they should never be washed. Avoid glass cleaners and other chemical solutions as well. Some of the modern lacquers are also water-based and will last longer if the same precautions are followed.

Gently flick glass ornaments with a feather duster to clean them. Ostrich-feather dusters are especially effective.

Storage
Strong Christmas ornament storage boxes with close-fitting lids are needed to store ornaments. Many manufacturers produce cardboard or plastic containers. Some are specifically designed to store ornaments and have appropriately-sized compartments. Plastic boxes are sturdier than cardboard boxes, but the completely airless space they create is not necessarily suitable for valuable or antique ornaments. Special acid-free cardboard containers are the best choice for these valuables.

Each piece should be individually wrapped before being placed in a Christmas ornament storage container. Use acid-free tissue paper, or acid-free paper towels (the kind sold as microwavable). Newspaper is not a good choice; the chemicals in the print — and in the paper too — can harm the finish on the decoration.

Place bubble wrap or crumpled paper towels in the bottom of the Christmas ornament storage container before you put any wrapped decorations in it. If the box doesn’t include sections, use extra tissue between decorations to provide more protection. Add a last layer on top of the ornaments before fastening the lid.

Place some silica gel desiccant in every container to remove dampness. You can buy it at craft stores.

For more security, store large glass decorations separately from little ones, and glass ornaments apart from wooden or metal ones. Mark all your Christmas ornament storage boxes plainly, so that you won’t have to unpack all of them if you want a particular ornament later in the year.

Even with all this padding, ornaments can still be injured by extreme temperatures and/or humidity levels. These elements can cause stress fractures eventually. Unheated attics and cellars are poor locations for Christmas ornament storage. Keep ornaments in a closet instead.

You only need is some time and some thought to make your ornaments undamaged. Good Christmas ornament storage isn’t hard, and it will preserve these fragile treasures for generations.

Christmas is a time for giving as well as receiving and both are fun. However, while many aspects of Christmas are enjoyable, the preparation is often more of a headache than you expect, and although giving the special woman in your life the present of her dreams can bring a lot of joy to you both, actually finding and buying Christmas gifts for her can be very difficult and time-consuming.

For one thing, there’s always the difficulty of coming up with different and varied Christmas gift ideas for her. And once, after much consideration, you’ve managed to get together a Christmas shopping list, you’re nearly there – now you only have to fight your way through the crowds in the shops all making a grab for the items you want! Then there are the queues, the winter weather and goodness only knows how much traffic you’ll need to negotiate on the way home.

Luckily for everyone involved, it doesn’t have to be this way. There is an easier option that is available to you right now. If you’re looking for Christmas gifts for her, why not do your browsing and buying online?

Shopping online for Christmas gifts for her can be a lot less hassle if you purchase online, and there is no shortage of choice. You’ll find most, if not all, major retailers give you the option to shop online these days. But even more useful are the specialist gift shops like www.dotcomgiftshop.com.

These kinds of sites can be a veritable gold mine for gift ideas for her. For instance, if you’re looking for something traditional, you might find an English Rose teapot of interest. Something more off-the-wall and available online is a ceramic cake trinket box. Or if the lady that you’re buying for likes a little glamour, how about glittery butterfly tealights as a gift for her? If you’re looking for a Christmas gift for a young daughter, granddaughter, goddaughter or niece, you might be interested in a white flower and paisley patchwork pony cuddly toy, or maybe something like a ‘Scottie & Friends’ pink cuddly Scottie dog.

Of course, another advantage of buying Christmas gifts for her online is that as well as surfing for presents in your own time and in your own home, you won’t have to wander from shop to shop over-burdened by an ever-burgeoning bunch of shopping bags! All the gifts you buy online can be delivered to your door in good time to wrap them all ready for December 25th.

And all the time you save getting to and from the shops and fighting with the crowds and queues can be well spent looking, not just for more gifts for her, but gifts for him and gifts for kids too. The number of Christmas gift ideas you can find online is almost endless. Try http://www.find-me-a-gift.co.uk, for instance.

So what are you waiting for? Make yourself something hot, find a comfortable chair and get shopping for Christmas gifts for her online right now! Christmas shopping was never so much fun. And it was never less trouble. So get surfing and get buying!

With all the varieties of lights available, choosing the perfect ones for your decorating project can be a challenge. Here is a guide to the difference between the styles and the most effective ways to use them.

MINIATURE “MINI” CHRISTMAS TREE LIGHTS

Mini lights were introduced in the 1970’s as a solution to the excessive power consumed by C7 and C9 lights. Their lower wattage, brilliant sparkle and diversity make them an ever popular choice.

The quality of Christmas tree mini lights will dictate the life of the bulbs; the less expensive the string, the shorter the life. Inexpensive string lights only last about 300 hours, plan on replacing them every year. The better quality mini lights can last up 2,000 hours but will cost you more.

Most Christmas tree mini lights come in strands of 50 or 100 bulbs but other choices are available. Some string lights are designed to stay lit even if a bulb burns out (this is called “wired in parallel”). Be sure and replace the burned bulb promptly as the voltage to the remaining bulbs will increase and reduce the life of the string lights.

DECORATING WITH CHRISTMAS TREE MINI LIGHTS

The important thing to remember with incandescent Christmas tree lights is to never connect more than three strings together.

Mini lights are suitable for both indoor and outdoor decorating. They are mostly used in indoor trees, outdoor shrubs, around tree trunks, as window borders and as accents to other decorations. Basically anytime a large amount of small points of light are needed for the desired affect.

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN C7 and C9 LIGHTS

C7 and C9 bulbs are generally considered traditional outdoor Christmas lights. Their large size makes them easily visible and bright.

The difference between C7 and C9 bulbs is mainly the size of the bulb and the wattage. They are available in either 2,000 hour life (120V) or 3,000 hour life (130V). C7 light bulbs are about 2 inches while C9 light bulbs are about 3 inches. The wattage varies anywhere from 3.5 watts up to 10 watts depending on the bulb size.

C7 and C9 lights use screw type sockets so bulb replacement is easy.

DECORATING WITH C7 & C9 LIGHTS

Because these lights are large, they make an excellent choice for decorating large outdoor trees and shrubs, building perimeters, fences or anywhere that a “classic” holiday look is desired.

Once again, you can only connect up to three strings together at once.

ROPE LIGHTS

Rope lights are the “new kid on the block” in holiday light choices. Essentially rope lights are just mini lights encased in a PVC jacket. There are a multitude of colors available and a variety of lengths making them an easy and affordable choice. Retail stores generally sell them in lengths of 3, 6 and 8 feet. Rope lights can also be purchased in spools of 50 and 150 feet for larger projects. Rope lights sold in spools can be field cut at 3 or 6 foot intervals for custom looks and designs.

DECORATING WITH ROPE LIGHTS

Rope lights are an excellent choice for creating figures, designs and as accents for walkways, handrails and borders. Their flexibility makes them perfect for creating shapes like snowmen, reindeer, wreaths and the like. They are limited only by your imagination.

One thing to note with rope lights is that if one bulb burns out, then a section anywhere from 3 to 6 feet will also burn out. If you have a long continuous run you can splice in a new length. If you’ve purchased short lengths then the entire rope light will have to be replaced.

The quality of the rope light will determine its dependability, so as you evaluate your choices bear in mind that the less expensive rope lights may have to be replaced much sooner than their more expensive counterparts.

Decorating with lights is the most effective way to create a festive atmosphere any time of the year. We’re all accustomed to seeing Christmas lights in the winter and Halloween lights in fall, but string lights can be used for any special occasion. Select the right string lights for your project and you’ll be pleased with the brilliance and sparkle they give to any holiday or event.

Of course you’re thinking of Christmas gifts in August, aren’t you? Well, I don’t usually, but this year I am because I want to tell you about a wonderful idea for a gift to your family, but this one you have to start early.

Present them with a family memoir. A memoir is like a biography or autobiography. It’s a way for family members to get to know their siblings and their ancestors and to pass along stories behind the stories such as why “the plates are cold.”

I had an opportunity to live with my maternal grandmother for a short time just before she passed away. She was anxious to talk and she was probably thinking a lot about her youth. I regret, now, that I wasn’t more attentive to her and asked her more probing questions. I wish I had recorded what she had to say.

The same is true of my mother and of the many members of the rest of my family.

So for Christmas this year, why not give a gift that the whole family can enjoy for generations? Give the gift of memories.

You can do this by having the extended family share their recollections, no matter in what part of the country they reside. There are many ways this could be done. This is only an idea for one, very easy way and might help to get your creative juices flowing.

Have a family teleconference and have it recorded, then transcribed. Using one of the many free conferencing services, the conference itself would be free except for long distance charges incurred by the callers. The recording can even be done free.

Designate a host. It could be a member of the family or it could be an outsider who would be primed with questions to lead the family members in an agreed-upon direction.

For example, have an older sibling of your parent as the authority or guest, then have your cousins and other members of the extended family participate in the teleconference. You might even want to invite an old family friend who could contribute.

Agree upon a topic. It might be what was my mother/father like when you were children? Was my parent easy to get along with? Or pick a particular year or a specific happening, such as holidays, summer vacations, clothes, education, etc.

The topic could even be general and everyone gets to ask questions: What kinds of clothes did you wear? What was a favorite activity? What were favorite meals, drinks, desserts, snacks, picnics? What kind of school did you attend? What kind of toys did you have and what were your favorites? Where did you go for vacation and what was your favorite? What were some of the family traditions for the holidays? Did you play tricks on each other and what was the worst that my parent did?

Once the recording is finished, it is easy and inexpensive to duplicate as many copies as needed. Have the audio transcribed and copies of the audio and transcription can be given to each of the family members. The only costs other than the long-distance phone charges, would be the cost to duplicate the CDs, the cost to transcribe the audio, the cost to print the transcription, and the cost of a host if you use a host. It would be good to include some family photos provided by those who participate.

This same gift idea can be used for other occasions and given to friends, neighbors, co-workers, a gift to expectant parents. Use the idea for weddings, class reunions, family reunions, anniversaries, graduations, significant birthdays. Gather a group together to reminisce about a person who is having a significant birthday (like one of those that ends in a zero or a 5).

Use the idea to plan an event, such as family reunions or holiday dinners.

I once did a transcription for a company which was morphing drastically from its beginnings and some of the original personnel were getting older. In this case, instead of using the telephone, they got together and reminisced about what it had been like to be a part of a “baby” company and to see it grow into a successful giant.

So, it’s the end of August and you don’t usually think of Christmas gifts? Perhaps these ideas will get you to thinking and you can start planning for the family Christmas gift now.

China is the world’s biggest manufacturer of Christmas products. China exports nearly 2 billion US dollars worth of Christmas products per year with more than half going to the United States. Most of it comes from Shenzhen in South China’s Guangdong province.There are over 3,000 factories in Shenzhen producing artificial Christmas trees. Christmas lights, ornaments and Christmas wreaths are also made here. These items are all made from plastic and metals.

Shenzhen is on the coast about an hours drive from Hong Kong. Before 1985 most of these products were mass produced in Taiwan and Hong Kong where the labor was cheap and ports were easily accessible. Taiwan and Hong Kong were not under the strict communist rule of China. By 1985 Taiwan and Hong Kong had developed into huge exporters and their local labor costs had increased. They started looking for a place nearby to ship materials to for assembly by cheaper workers. At the same time China was moving away from communism and setting up special economic zones. These zones welcomed foreign investment and setup industrial parks to attract them. Consequently, Hong Kong and Taiwanese companies started producing Christmas products in Shenzhen. The growth in exports from Shenzhen over the last 20 years has been huge. About 80% of the factories are owned by Hong Kong companies and the other 20% by companies from Taiwan.

Worker conditions in these factories are poor. The workers toil 12 hours a day six to seven days a week for a monthly salary of $100 to $125. The floors are concrete and little money has been invested into proper work tables, work table height, etc. Many workers are available as they come in from the provinces where they farmed for much less.

Most of these artificial Christmas trees and Christmas wreaths are made from metals and plastics. The plastic material used predominantly is PVC – polyvinyl chloride. When PVC is manufactured it creates and disperses dioxin into the environment which is one of the most toxic man made chemicals. Dioxins enter the food chain through air or water and accumulate in fatty tissues of animals and humans where they can cause cancer, damage the immune system and impair children’s development. Also PVC is often stabilized with lead which is a carcinogen and also associated with neurological damage. Lead is used in PVC because it makes the plastic more flexible which is beneficial in the wires and cords. It is also used to stabilize the color. Over time the lead in the PVC product can disintegrate into lead laced dust.

Most people purchase artificial Christmas trees and wreaths because they make less mess, they’re cheaper over time and convenient. Consumers should be aware of the dangers of the materials used in these products and the environmental damage done when these materials are manufactured as well as the conditions of the workers producing them. Purchasing fresh Maine balsam fir Christmas wreaths is the environmentally friendly choice and it sure smells a lot better than plastic too.