When purchasing large serving dishes for your Christmas dinner, resist the urge to buy the ones decorated for the season. Stick to plain white or clear glass, both of which work well in any season with almost any scheme. Use things like candles, napkins and tabletop decoration to add the spirit of the season. These can be easily and inexpensively changed from year to year for a fresh look.

If you are buying paper napkins for a Christmas party, stick to plain red – the leftovers can be used on Valentines Day or for a birthday party any time of the year.

Gift wrap the accent cushions on your sofas and chairs with fabric Christmas ribbon. Crisscross the ribbon and end with a large bow in the middle. They look very festive and can be done in minutes. The added bonus is that you can put the ribbon away until next year taking very little space in your storage bin.

Add dried orange slices to your potpourri or garland for a lovely Christmas smell and a seasonal look. Thinly slice a large orange, allow slices to dry out a bit on paper towel for a few hours, then spread them on a cookie sheet and bake in a very low oven (37° C/100° F) for several hours. For an extra Christmassy touch, edge them lightly with glitter once they cool.

Need a holiday decorating quick fix?  If you are short of time but want to jazz your place up for the season, the easiest, most effective way is to purchase a couple of large red poinsettias. On a coffee table, in the entryway or adorning the dining table they will add a very festive touch and require little maintenance. Turn down the lights and add a few candles and your space will be ready for a party.

A Cherokee legend... When the plants and trees were first created, the Great Mystery decided to give a gift to each different species.  But first, a contest was held to see which gift would be the most useful to whom.  "I want all of you to stay awake and keep watch over the earth for seven nights," the Great Mystery told the plants and trees.

The young plants and trees were so excited had no trouble staying awake the first night.  The second night was not so easy, with a few of them falling asleep as dawn approached.  On the third night, they whispered to each other to stay awake, but many still fell asleep.  On the fourth night, even more slept.

By the seventh night, even the beautiful larch had fallen asleep. The only plants still awake were the cedar, the pine, the spruce, the fir, the holly and the laurel.

"What wonderful endurance you have!" the Great Mystery said to them. "You shall have the very special gift of remaining green forever. You will be the guardians of the forest. Even in the dead of winter, your brother and sister creatures will find that life is protected in your branches."

And ever since that day all the other trees and plants lose their leaves and sleep all winter while the evergreens stay awake.

Keeping little ones busy as you prepare for the holiday season isn’t always easy but here are a few ideas that will keep them both occupied and happy:

1) Make a tablecloth: Pick up an inexpensive plain or mostly plain paper table cloth, or use a sheet of plain paper, and let the kids decorate it to use for Christmas breakfast. Depending on their age you can provide markers, glitter pens, stencils, stamps, or just crayons and let them exercise their creative minds while you get some time to wrap gifts, bake, or make a meal. Remember to let them be the judge of how much or how little to decorate – when they have had enough, it’s done! They will be so proud on Christmas morning!

2) Make a story board: Along with the excitement of all the commercials for gift ideas, it’s sometimes difficult to zero in on exactly what the kids do want for Christmas. One sure fire way to get it right is to provide a sheet of Bristol board for each child and let them display it on their bedroom door for the month or so prior to Christmas. They can start by decorating their board and by putting on their name. As the advertising flyers come in they can happily cut out anything they think they want for Christmas. It’s a wonderful way for them to spend time cutting and pasting and it will also provide a visual list for all of the ‘Santas’ in their life.

3) Clean out the toy box: Let the kids make an afternoon of cleaning and sorting the things they no longer play with and encourage them to donate or sell anything that warrants recycling. With a little luck there will be room for all the new toys they find under the tree!

“For centuries men have kept an appointment with Christmas.
Christmas means fellowship, feasting, giving and receiving,
a time of good cheer, home.â€� 
~ W.J. Ronald Tucker

Usher in the New Year with these trivial tidbits relating to the way people celebrate and some lesser-known facts. Did J’ Know…

• Auld Lang Syne means ‘times gone by’.
• The Chinese celebrate their New Year on the second new moon after the winter solstice.
• The first New Year’s Eve ball drop in Times Square happened in 1907.
• The Waterford crystal ball dropped in Times Square is 2 m (6 ft) in diameter and weighs 485 k (1070 lbs).
• The Jewish New Year is called Rosh Hashanah, which means ‘head of the year’.
• Hogmanay is the celebration of New Years in Scotland.
• Apples and honey are eaten to symbolize a sweet new year in Rosh Hashanah.
• Using a baby to signify new years is a tradition that began in Greece around 600 BC.
• At midnight in Colombia, Cuba and Puerto Rico families set 'Mr. Old Year' – a life-size male doll that they make - on fire.
• In Spain people eat 12 grapes - one each time the clock chimes at midnight on New Year's Eve.
• Late on the evening of December 31st , people of Japan eat a bowl of buckwheat noodles called toshikoshisoba - year-crossing noodles.
• In Brazil most people wear white clothes on New Year's Eve to bring good luck and peace for the following year.

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Crafts
Gift Ideas
Unique Gifts
Fruit Cake Recipe
Festive Drinks Carols
Photo Tips * Lighting Tips
Green Christmas * Seasonal Scents
Centre Piece Ideas * Christmas Cookies
Stuffing Recipes * Travel Tips * Turkey Alternatives
Decorating Tips * Party Planning * Christmas Party Games
Turkey Recipes * Santa Tracker * Drink Calculator * Resolutions
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Looking to be green when things turn white this winter? There are many ways you can reduce the environmental impact from the use of driveway salt and deicers. Plan to use alternative ways to keep your driveway and walkways safe whenever possible. Try some of these options;

Shoveling - Allowing snow and ice to accumulate can result in a build-up that takes serious effort to remove. Stay on top of snow removal, shoveling during storms rather than just after, and clear all the way to the edges, allowing natural run-off to assist when things warm up.

Solar Action - Even on the coldest day the sun's rays can clear an amazing amount of snow and ice, particularly from black pavement. If you have a vehicle parked in the driveway all day, move it around to allow all areas to benefit from the sunshine.

Sand - When it's really cold - below 7° C - most deicers don't work anyway. So have some sand on hand to eliminate any slippery spots. Just sweep it onto the lawn come spring.

No Salt - Salt is no better for the environment than it is for us. If you have to employ deicing assistance, like when guests are expected, use a deicing formula that is better for the environment than rock salt. Ones with biodegradable colouring help ensure you don't use more than is necessary. And pay attention to their minimum effective temperature. No sense spreading it around if it’s too cold for it to work. 

Some people will go to any lengths to find out what you are getting them for Christmas. So if you shop or browse for info and ideas for gifts online, you better cover your tracks! Thankfully there is a simple solution to making sure your gifts are a surprise when opened.

InPrivate Browsing is Internet Explorer 8’s answer. It retains all of your history in one private session that is deleted as soon as you're done. Just press Ctrl+Shift+P and then browse and shop. When you close your browser, your tracks are covered! No history of the sites you’ve visited.

In Firefox 3.5, Ctrl+Shift+P does exactly the same thing. Plus, when you're finished, all the tabs you had open when you started your private session are restored.

Note: Private Browsing prevents information from being recorded on your computer BUT it does not make you anonymous on the Internet.

Holiday Guest Soaps – Monique, age 12, says, “I made some special soap for when Aunt Janet and Uncle Earl Visit this Christmas. I put pictures of last year’s party on them. They can take them home with them, too.�

Holiday Crossword Puzzles – Jacob, age 9, says, “I like doing crosswords like my mom and dad. These ones are about Christmas and the holidays. Try the 12 Days of Christmas one.�

Elf Yourself – Erin, age 10, says, “This is so much fun! You upload a face – yours or a friend’s – and then watch a funny video with you in it. I even sent it to some friends for a laugh.�

Yummy Holiday Treats – Andrew, age 8 says, “There is a whole bunch of really good stuff on this site that is pretty easy to make. Everything we’ve tried is good. Mom’s making the Banana Blitzen tonight.�

Interior Painting is a very popular, pre-holiday season home update. While many people take on the task themselves, the results usually have varying degrees of success. There is no shortage of tips to help you achieve optimal results, but one tricky area that often frustrates interior painters is making the transition from wall to ceiling.

The absolute best way to make the corner where ceiling meets wall look great is to paint both the wall and ceiling the same colour. ;) But since most of us don’t do that, the next best thing is to paint the lighter of the two colors first and let it overlap this edge, then achieve your fine edge with the darker of the colours over it.

Very few people have a steady enough hand to make a clean line freehand. A faster method is to use a painting guide or straightedge, just watch you don’t overload the device with paint causing it to ‘bleed’ under the guide and ruin your nice straight line.

“Christmas is a time when kids tell Santa what they want and adults pay for it.  Deficits are when adults tell the government what they want and their kids pay for it.â€�  ~ Richard Lamm

“From a commercial point of view, if Christmas did not exist it would be necessary to invent it.� ~ Katharine Whitehorn

“Some say the glass is half empty, some say the glass is half full, I say, are you going to drink that?� ~ Lisa Claymen

“Oh, for the good old days when people would stop Christmas shopping when they ran out of money.� ~ Author Unknown