How to Make This Christmas a Merry, Memorable One!

There are many ways to make Christmas merry and memorable! Unfortunately, sometimes it’s difficult nowadays to feel the joy through the cluttered maze that has become of Christmas. Through the years, Christmas has strayed too far from its original purpose and become a highly commercialized event.

When it comes to the holiday season, more people are concerned with buying the “perfect” gift for others and anticipating what they will receive, rather than focusing on the true spirit of the holiday.

It’s time to get back to the basics when it comes to the season of gift giving, love, sharing, and caring. This year, you can make your Christmas a joyous and stress-free holiday by following these 3 easy tips:

1. Give of Yourself. If you enjoy providing gifts to others, that’s a nice gesture. However, you should avoid dwelling on it too much. No matter what you can or cannot afford, there’s always one gift that you can give to others: the gift of your time. 


* Christmas is only as commercialized as you allow it to be. Although it costs nothing, your time is the most precious gift of all.

There are many ways that you can give of yourself to others this holiday season:

* Be a friend who listens
* Spend time with a loved one
* Help someone with their household chores
* Babysit for a mother or father who really needs a break
* Let others know that you are available anytime they may need your help

2. Use Your Talents. No matter how nice that watch appears to look in the jewelry case, the homemade pen holder or the homemade blanket that you create for your friend, neighbor, coworker, or family member will be much more appreciated than anything you can buy in a store.


* Ultimately, handmade gifts are priceless, whereas the store bought gift will lose value over time.

Sure, store bought gifts are nice, but people will value your handmade gifts more due to one reason: you put your time, efforts, and love into creating those gifts. When the receiver thinks about your hard work and dedication in creating the gift, it will become more and more cherished.

Here are some ideas of homemade gifts you can make:

* Fresh-baked cookies, pies or jams
* Hand sewn quilts or crocheted scarves
* Framed photo collage
* Personalized scrapbooks
* Custom made jewelry

3. Cherish Your Time Together. In the end, we can’t take back time. Our time is lost in so many ways on a daily basis — especially around the holidays.


* It’s time to place our priorities on our family and friends rather than on the shopping and holiday preparations.

* Why fight the crowds on Black Friday when you could be enjoying your kids’ day off from school together? Wouldn’t you rather create some warm, happy memories?

* If you and your spouse don’t enjoy spending your day standing in long lines at crowded stores, then change it!

* Spending the night baking alone when your elderly mother is in town is such a waste. Plan your baking so you can enjoy each other’s company while things are in the oven.

If you want to make your holiday truly merry, remember to spend the time that you have with your loved ones enjoying each other. Make joyous memories instead of a frenzy of worrying, shopping, cooking, buying gifts and over-stressing.

If you follow the steps listed here, you’re sure to have a merry, memorable Christmas this year and every year!

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Overcoming the Temptations of the Holiday Season

Overcoming the temptations of overeating, overspending, and under-appreciating during this holiday season can be challenging. When it comes to the holidays, all of these issues tempt us more than usual. However, you’ll be pleased to discover that there are ways of coping with these stressful situations during the holidays.

Here are some ways to help you avoid the temptations so you can start the New Year happy and stress-free:

Overeating

When the holidays roll in, decorative and highly tempting food platters roll out to greet us with tantalizing turkeys, decked out hams, sides, and every dessert imaginable!

You know as well as I do that it’s really hard to pass on the food when it comes to Thanksgiving and Christmas. In many cases, even New Year’s Eve continues the scrumptious dinners and pastries.

Unless you want to be sporting a new bloat come the New Year, it’s important that you learn to resist the urge to indulge in too many of these foods.

To avoid overeating, try these tips:

1. Avoid the urge to stockpile the food on your plate. Start with small helpings and eat your meal slowly.

2. Have plenty to drink with your meal. In between bites, sip on a glass of ice cold water, low fat milk, or healthy juice. This can help fill you up quickly so you won’t be tempted by second and third helpings.

3. Eat a healthy snack prior to going to a family gathering or holiday party. Munching on fruits, vegetables or yogurt will help fill you up so you won’t be starving at the party.

Overspending

It’s so easy to spend more than you anticipate or can afford during the holidays. It’s important to budget your money appropriately so when the New Year comes along, you’re not burdened with debt.

Remember that you do not have to spend a lot on Christmas gifts! You can buy inexpensive gifts or create wonderful and precious homemade presents. No one wants you to go into debt buying gifts for them! Keep this in mind as you shop so you can limit your spending this holiday season.

These tips will also help you to avoid overspending:

1. Use cash only. Leave your credit cards at home and only spend what you have in your wallet. It’s a wonderful feeling not to have large credit card bills in January!

2. Chip in on a gift with another family member. If you know the perfect gift for dad is out of your budget, ask a sibling to split the cost with you.

3. Make a list and stick to it. Only go into the stores where you know you’ll find your gift items and keep the focus on your list. If you don’t have a need to go to the electronics or clothing section of the store, then stay away.

4. Set a strict budget. Setting a dollar amount for each item can also keep you focused and away from the more expensive gifts.

Under-Appreciation

Once the holiday season begins, it’s quite common to put wish lists together and forget about all the things we already have! Remember to be grateful this holiday season.

* There are many things that we can be grateful for — our job, home, friends, family members, and more! Remember to be appreciative at all times and you’re more likely to enjoy the holiday season.

Christmas isn’t about what you can get or what you didn’t get. It’s a time for sharing and making warm memories together. The attitude that you end this year with is the attitude that you’ll start the New Year with.

* A grateful attitude will bring more things in the New Year for you to be grateful for!

If past holidays brought too much temptation to overeat, overspend, and even to be a little greedy, you can make changes to your holiday season this year to avoid these temptations. The strategies listed in this article can bring you a happier and guilt-free holiday season.

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Do You Know the 10 Rules of Being Human?

During my Internet travels today, I found this video post by Chris Voss on the 10 rules of being human. If you’re over 50 and thinking about reinventing yourself to get the life you really want, you gotta watch this – and take notes! I am, especially as I think about turning 60 next year.

You Can Do a Great YouTube Interview Like This

YouTube now has a great tool where you can solicit questions and then use those to create your own YouTube interview video. Listen to this fun one with none other than Elmo!

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Video From Bermuda As Hurricane Igor Rolls In

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