Anniversary parties are a wonderful way to celebrate two people who have been together for a number of years. The most common anniversary parties are for 25 years and 50 years. There are many things you can do to make this day special for not only the couple, but all of their family and friends as well. Many people have shared in the joys and sorrows of the anniversary couple and they help to make this a special day as well. Planning an anniversary party is a huge undertaking, sometimes almost as big as a wedding.
Silver or Gold?
An anniversary party theme is fairly simple to determine. Unless the couple or their immediate family has requested a particular theme (this is unlikely), you should plan a fairly traditional party. A 25th wedding anniversary is traditionally silver, while a 50th anniversary is gold. Use this to plan the majority of your party, everything from invitations to decorations.
Who to Invite
An anniversary party can be as big as a wedding. While many people opt for a small get together consisting of family and close friends only, others look forward to a huge celebration with everyone who has touched their lives in past years. 25th anniversary parties tend to be of the smaller more intimate variety, whereas 50 years together definitely deserves more of a to-do.
If you’re planning a huge bash, it may take quite a bit of time to come up with a guest list. If the happy couple knows about the party the easiest thing to do is ask them who should be invited. Family members and close friends are fairly obvious, but in addition you may want to invite old coworkers, church members, old neighbors, and the list can go on. If you are planning a surprise party for the couple, this can be a little tricky. Rather than getting the input of just one family member, send a tentative guest list to several family members and ask each for additions and deletions. This will help make sure no one gets missed.
The Invitations
If you’re throwing a huge anniversary party, sending out invitations can be quite the task. If the party budget allows for it, get them custom made. You can order the invitations online and get everything shipped to you and ready to go. This will save an enormous amount of time. If the party budget is tight and that money would better go to use elsewhere, making your own invitations can actually be quite simple. All you need is a computer and a printer. You can download some great invitations templates that are simple enough to put together. All you need to do is add all the party information and perhaps a beautiful quote on the front and voila your invitations are ready to go.
Setting the Scene
Decorations for the party don’t have to be hugely extravagant, but by adding some special touches you will help make the night even more special for the happy couple. Use the anniversary color almost exclusively; this will help make a great effect. Some ways to use either silver or gold are:
- Use gold or silver pen or ink for place cards, menu, and any
other written items
- Gold or silver balloons make a beautiful yet inexpensive decoration
- Add gold or silver placemats or doilies at each place setting
- Gold or silver candles and or candle holders make a great centerpiece
- Dinnerware and barware should have gold or silver accents
There are many other ways in which you can incorporate these colors into the party. Just be sure not to overdo it since this may actually have a night club-ish tacky sort of look to it. Add plenty of white to balance it out.
Favors to Remember
Many couples will want to send their guests away with a little something to remember the night by and as a thank you for attending. One of the best favors ideas is a small picture frame of the couple. You can use pictures from their wedding day or a more recent photo. If you can find picture frames that hold two photos a nice idea is to add both a picture of their wedding day and a recent one. Friends and family of the couple will love taking this beautiful keepsake home.
Another great idea is a CD of songs form the era that the couple met and was married. This will bring back great memories for many of their family and friends and is probably one of the most useful favor possibilities. Be sure to check with local copyright laws to determine what type of fees apply to creating and giving away a music compilation. Make sure that all the music on the CD gets played throughout the night to really give guests something to remember.
A Night of Nostalgia
A great idea for any anniversary party, big or small, is a slide show. Start the show of with pictures of the couple when they first met and progress through the years of children and grandchildren. Don’t be surprised to see a few eyes get misty during the show. Add some memorable quotes throughout the show, and play some touching music that reminds them of certain times in their lives.
If you want the slide show to be a surprise, you can ask family and friends for their favorite pictures to add to the show. You’ll probably end up with more pictures than you’ll know what to do with so don’t worry if you can’t get any of the couple’s picture albums.
As you can see, planning an anniversary party can take a lot of time, so start planning as soon as possible. Since you could be inviting well over 100 people, starting a year in advance isn’t too soon. Don’t try and take this task on by yourself, you’ll probably have plenty of offers from friends and family to give you a hand; definitely take them up on their offer. This will be a night for everyone to cherish and remember, and the happy anniversary couple will be on cloud nine after seeing how much they mean to everyone in their lives.
John Lenaghan writes about party planning and other tips for the Party Ideas 4u website, where he provides valuable tips and advice about Anniversary party ideas, birthday party ideas and other party planning topics.
Depending on the age of your little ones, you may want to keep ideas for toddler Halloween costumes on the simple side. Since most of the very youngest trick or treaters are only going out to amuse the grandparents and immediate neighbors, it needn’t be terribly complicated to still bring a lot of smiles.
For infants, and those who get tired of walking, animal costumes work very well, can be done in minutes, and don’t require great sewing skills.
Turn your toddler into a cow, with a white hooded shirt, white sweat pants, black wool and some black felt. Cut cow-type “splotches” out of the felt, and either use double-sided tape or easily removed basting stitches to attach to the shirt and pants. Remember to keep two triangular pieces of felt to tack ears onto the hood. A dozen pieces of wool, cut to about 18”, can be braided to make a tail for pinning to the seat of their pants. If the toddler is slightly older, and not likely to “bust your balloon”, buy one disposable glove at the drug store, tie off the thumb so no air can get in it, then inflate the glove, tie it off at the wrist, and pin to the belly of their shirt.
Cats and dogs are equally as simple, using the same matching shirt and pants combo, with a few accessories. For the dog, you can buy rubber/vinyl noses, or you can create your own hound dog
face with a little makeup to match the shirt, and then draw on a black nose, and a black ring around one eye. Use felt to make a couple of oval-shaped ears, cutting one round end off, and tacking them to the hood of the shirt. The tail can be as easy as a piece of rope or cord, or you can sew a tube of felt and stuff it with quilt batting or lint from the dryer! For the finishing touch, cut down an old belt to create a “collar” and glue on some rhinestones.
Black cats are not only easy, they are delightfully charming ideas for toddler Halloween costumes. Get a matching black sweat pant and hooded shirt, plus black felt for the ears. Make sure you have a little pink felt as well, to glue to the inside of the black ear, to make it more realistic. Use make-up to draw on the nose and whiskers, and give your toddler black mittens, and black socks to wear over their shoes. You’re at the end of the job when you make a matching tail out of black felt, or a length of black cord from the curtain shop. A narrow black dress belt with rhinestones glued on, and a tiny bell, makes your kitten, purrrrrfectly divine.
Visit http://www.MalcolmsWeb.com and sign up for free weekly tips that willtake the mystery and fear out of parenting your precious little one.
Halloween is one of the most widely celebrated holidays of the year. It has become a highly commercialized media event for retailers and children everywhere!
I remember the thrills and excitement of “trick-or-treat” from the time I was only knee-high to a tombstone! We started out when it was still light and continued until long after the ghosts had been laid to rest. We would wear costumes we created ourselves and bring our own personal pillowcases to stuff full of the candy, gum, and homemade treats like popcorn balls, caramel-dipped apples, and cookies we collected from the well-wishers on Halloween night.
But the world has changed. Because of the small, unseemly elements that now persist in society, we need to be more careful about when, where, and how we celebrate a holiday such as Halloween.
Halloween used to be a time of harmless, if not annoying, children’s pranks. Now we can not even take a chance on accepting treats that are not commercially produced and professionally packaged. And we can’t even let our children out alone, let alone be out after dark.
But there are alternatives. Let me tell you about what we do.
This is a program that can be adapted and put to good use by any local church group, service club (like Lions, Rotary, etc.), or “Boy’s and Girl’s Club. It is a program involving three basic parts that can begin and end before it even gets dark outside, if you want.
(1) Serve a light meal
(2) Play Games and Activities
(3) “Trunk-R-Treat”
Light Meal:
Prepare and serve the group of children something like hot dogs or sloppy joes (you may use our family recipe below), with chips and apple juice. This is
easy to prepare and serves quickly. It is simple to control and clean up, too.
Sloppy Joes (Ronwen’s Untidy Josephs)
1 1/2 lbs. Ground Beef
1 Onion
1 Green Pepper
2 Tbsp. Worchestershire Sauce
½ C. Brown Sugar
1/3 C. Ketsup
1 can Tomato Soup
Brown ground beef with onion and green pepper. Add remaining ingredients. Simmer, and serve on hamburger buns.
Games and Activities:
Here you can let your imagination run wild! There is ring toss, ball toss, and balloon toss. There simple games of skill like relay races, sack races, etc. Think about the typical family reunion type of games and adapt them to the Halloween theme. All you need are enough activities to keep the children busy for about 30 minutes.
Here is a link you may find useful in planning your games and activities: http://family-reunion.com/games.htm.
“Trunk-R-Treat”:
This is usually set up in the parking lot where parents, teachers, and local officials have their cars lined up with their trunks facing together. The trunks are open and decorated in a festive Halloween decor. The adults them distribute candy from their trunks as the children pass them by.
Halloween is really a celebration for children and the young at heart. It is a “spooky” and magical occasion that can still be participated in safely, if we take the necessary steps to “make it so”.
Use your imagination, have fun, and enjoy the joyful elements of the Halloween holiday!
Bob Curtis has been writing articles, short fiction and poetry for over 30 years. He is the managing director of “Relationship Sense” (http://www.People4People.blogspot.com) and is the president of Nexus Publishing (http://www.nexus4u.blogspot.com). He assists with Blue Romance (http://www.moonlitefire.blogspot.com), a site promoting “positive” romance.
Halloween is the day of the year that has the most parties thrown in its honor. Everyone loves to dress up and attend Halloween parties with their friends. Most people end up getting several invitations to different Halloween parties that are often on the same night. If you are planning to throw your own Halloween party, how can you get all your friends to head to your shindig and not someone else’s? You need to come up with some unique and fun ideas that will get everyone on your list so excited about your party they won’t even consider going anywhere else.
Not Just Any Old Theme
Many people don’t bother thinking of a theme for their Halloween party since it seems to be somewhat of a theme already. But rather than just putting up some Happy Halloween banners and fake cobwebs, why not come up with a great theme party idea? You can do anything from a haunted house or graveyard to a monster mash or horror movie bash. Once you’ve chosen your theme apply it to everything from your invitations to your party food. Guests will love some guidance on what to dress up as, especially if you do something a little different.
Your Halloween party invitations are one of the most important aspects of your party. Invitations are the best way to get your guests excited about your party. Many people don’t even send invitations anymore so even sending out simple ones will help your party stick in people’s minds. Be sure to apply your party theme to your invitations. If you can’t find any invitations at your local party store that go with your theme you can always use invitation templates that you can download for free from the Internet.
You can totally customize invitation templates and add colorful pictures as well. Guests will love to receive these fun invitations in the mail. You should send your invitations out approximately three to four weeks before your party to give everyone time to make plans to attend. If you’re running short of time sending electronic invitations is a great idea too. You can add animation and sound to e-invitations and even check guest’s responses online. Be sure to contact anyone who doesn’t respond via telephone since not everyone checks their email often.
Spooky Decorations
Everyone will expect to see your house decorated to the nines on Halloween so be sure not to disappoint. Your decorations should match your theme, so give them plenty of thought. For instance, a haunted house theme should be complete with low lighting, smoke, a spooky soundtrack, and even live ghouls to jump out and scare the guests as they arrive. A horror movie bash might include retro horror B-movie posters stuck on the walls which you can find on the Internet and print off at home.
Decorations can be found just about anywhere in the months leading up to Halloween. Even grocery stores carry a wide selection. Start shopping early so you can get the best selection possible and take advantage of any sales. If you can’t find just what you’re looking for you can always rent decorations from a local party supply shop or even purchase decorations from the Internet. The Internet has an almost
endless selection and you can find just about any party supplies or decorations you’ll need.
Music is an important aspect of any party as well. While some spooky tunes are fun at first, you’ll want to switch over to some more upbeat music once the party gets going. People love to dance so have plenty of high energy songs ready to go. If you are inviting a variety of different people have several different types of music so no ones gets bored.
Tasty Halloween Treats
Food is an important part of any party. While you don’t need to provide a full meal, some creative and tasty snacks and treats will help keep your guests fueled for the night’s festivities. Turning simple party food into ghoulish culinary delights will surprise and please your guests. Try making some bewitching cupcakes, and put out snacks such as gummy worms and other Halloween candy treats.
Costumes are a given, since this is Halloween after all. If you are having a Halloween theme of some sort, let your guests know on your invitations that they should dress to fit the theme. For instance, if you’re throwing a horror movie bash, you can simply say, “come as your favorite horror movie star”. Don’t expect all your guests to comply with your request. Some people have been thinking up their Halloween costume since last year!
Don’t forget about the party favors! Depending on how many people you’re inviting and how much you’re willing to spend, the possibilities are endless when it comes to party favors. A simple idea is candy bags full of traditional treats such as candy corn. Something more substantial might be a pumpkin carving kit that comes with cutouts and tools. Your guests will love having a little something to take home with them.
Endless Costume Possibilities
If you really aren’t into the scary aspect of Halloween, you can always break with tradition and hold a different type of Halloween party. Have a famous couples party or a crazy hat party instead. Guests can still dress up but might be more creative then a white sheet with holes cut out of it. Dressing up for Halloween is something that both adults and kids can enjoy so great creative and have fun with it!
Having games at your party isn’t a necessity, but can be a great deal of fun for your guests. Games act as an excellent icebreaker if everyone doesn’t know each other. Any games where you can break people off into teams will help to get everyone talking. Pumpkin carving contests are a good idea, as is bobbing for apples. Be sure to give a prize to the best costume as well.
Your Halloween party is sure to be a success if you take the time to plan. Leave yourself plenty of time and don’t forget it’s all the little details that help to make a fabulous party. Enlist the help of family and friends if you’re feeling overwhelmed, and remember, planning is half the fun!
John Lenaghan writes about party planning and other tips for the Party Ideas 4u website, where he provides valuable tips and advice about Halloween party ideas, birthday party ideas and other party planning topics.
Credit can often be the first thing we think of at Christmas, whether it’s taking out a personal loan, credit card or simply the extension of an overdraft. However, saving money at Christmas isn’t just a matter of searching for the best personal finance product. This article gives you a few tips on how to make the most of the internet for your Christmas shopping.
Tip number one: get your credit sorted first
Most of us will borrow money this Christmas – whether that’s through a personal loan, credit card or simply moving further into our overdraft. However, as you may be aware – personal finance products vary enormously and it’s worth making sure you have the best personal loan before you start spending it, likewise when you conduct a credit card search, you want to ensure that what you’ve offered is the best deal. Bear in mind that even internet promotions bear geographical significance. For example – if you live in the UK – the search term “Credit Card UK” is likely to give a much more relevant result than simply “Credit Card”, which will take your search out to global credit card sites – the same applies to a personal loan search.
Tip number two:
Use the search engines and price comparison sites. Search engines can be very helpful, but they function on technical sorting – rather than human sorting. Sometimes websites such as moneynet ( http://www.moneynet.co.uk )and lowermybills can save you the time of sifting through lots of irrelevant sites – as they have dedicated teams which comb the financial press and short list the best consumer deals.
Tip number three:
Set yourself up with online bank accounts. There has been lots of press about consumer concern of online security, yet the reality is that 1) online security for shopping and banking is extremely robust and 2) your money is as safe online as it is anywhere else – fraud exists at all transaction points – not just those on the internet. Online bank accounts can save you bank charges when you’re transferring money and you can track your finances throughout the Christmas period, regardless of whether the banks are open or not. With online banking, your finances are accessible 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Tip number four:
Make a list of what you intend to buy people and then conduct some price comparison research online. Websites such as Kelkoo ( http://www.kelkoo.co.uk/
), Ciao and PriceRunner can help you source the lowest price for what you’re looking for, but you may find that some online retailers can beat their bricks and mortar counterparts anyway. For example, Amazon and eBay have gained huge popularity because they’re easy to buy from and they give significant discounts over the High Street.
When you buy online – you also have more choice than what’s available in your high street. Online specialists such as CCL – a computer specialist ( http://www.cclonline.com/ ), Stand & Deliver – audio visual furniture ( http://www.standanddeliver.com/ ), Crave – a maternity fashion site ( http://www.cravematernity.co.uk/ ), The Christmas Hamper Store and headSpun – an online music merchandise store ( http://www.headspun.co.uk/ ) allow you shop for your entire family, without you leaving the house. This saves you shoe leather, shopping queues, car park fees, heavy bags and you don’t have to be sneaky about buying things when the kids aren’t looking!
The diversity of online retail stores takes the emotional strain out of Christmas shopping. Even traditional high-street favourites, such as H Samuel, have their own online store, as traditional gifts such as watches and collectibles remain popular, despite the emergence of techno-gifts like the iPod or latest Sony Ericsson multimedia mobile phone.
A lot of sites have very modest delivery charges and sometimes these are waived completely under special conditions. In addition, providing you’re not doing your online shopping on Christmas Eve – delivery services are usually very quick. For example, Justtoys.com pledges to despatch toys on the same day as the order, providing the order is placed before 3pm. This site in particular has enjoyed the benefits of adults returning to their youth, with increased sales of retro-toys such as the New Series Radio Controlled Dalek ( http://www.justtoys.com/ ).
If you have any concerns about (or problems with) an online retailer, the vast majority have customer help lines – which are either free or charged at local rate, or there is an e-mail address for sales queries. In essence – online retailing has become so secure and sophisticated now, why isn’t everyone doing their Christmas shopping online?
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
About Rachel:
Rachel writes about financial and retail consumer issues for a variety of online publications, including her own personal finance blog Cashzilla.
Additional Information
Credit information for Christmas:
http://www.moneynet.co.uk/personal-loan-guide/index.shtml
According to a study by BizRate Research, 60% of women were already planning their online buying in September, compared to only 42% of men. Women are also reported to carry the burden of Christmas shopping with 55% taking on the responsibility, compared to only 45% of men. However, as more and more retailers go online, women can exploit the internet by saving themselves time, money, and effort.
There are many advantages to shopping online:
* You have more choice
* Prices tend to be lower
* It’s scientifically proven to be less stressful!
Choice:
Even if you live in a big city, you’d have to be prepared to shop in multiple districts to get the same choice that you would have online. Most high street retailers now have a presence on the internet in any case and you may find that the website could offer more choice than your local store. In addition to big brand names, there are also lots of specialist sites on the internet – which only have an online presence. Such online specialists include CCL – a computer system and accessory specialist (http://www.cclonline.com/), Justtoys -with toys for kids and “big kids” (http://www.justtoys.com/) and ChristmasHamper.com (http://www.christmashamper.com/)or Highland Fayre which specialise in luxury food and drink hampers.
Lower prices:
Many websites offer minimal delivery charges and because they don’t have the same costs as a bricks and mortar business, their prices to the consumer are often lower. Most transactions on the internet start with a search engine, but this is not the only method of research that you can do for your Christmas shopping. Perhaps you have heard of price comparison sites which exist for very specific markets such as personal finance like moneynet.co.uk (
target="_blank" href="http://www.moneynet.co.uk/">http://www.moneynet.co.uk/
Internet shopping is healthier
Internetretailer.com reported in 2003 that when twin sisters were asked to conduct Christmas shopping – one online, one offline, the sister who did her shopping on the internet fared much better. (http://www.internetretailer.com/dailyNews.asp?id=10847)The sister who shopped on the high street took four hours to complete her shopping trip. At the start of the shopping expedition, this sister had a heart rate of 67 which rose to 138 whilst shopping and was still 79 when she got home – apparently “tired and cold, with sore feet”.
On the other hand, her twin sister who had done her Christmas shopping online – took only 36 minutes to do her purchasing – and that was without broadband! Her initial heart rate was 66 and didn’t rise above 67. Instead of dragging the kids around the shops, this twin was able to have them on her lap, and all the shopping was delivered direct to the home.
And if you want some assistance in the New Year to lose those few extra pounds, there’s always online help for losing weight. The high profile website theleanteam.co.uk, as featured on Channel 4, provides useful health advice and if that still isn’t enough to tempt you online for Christmas – take a look at Disco Dancing Santa.
On researching suitable sites for this article, Rachel came across this work of magnificence: Disco Dancing Santa
Rachel also writes for a personal finance blog Cashzilla – a mighty personalfinanosaurus in Scotland.
Santa Claus actually started out as a version of Poseidon,Greek god of the sea, known as Neptune by the Romans. EarlyGreek sailors feared him. He could bring terrible storms inthe sea, or grant them safe journeys. Because he could savethem from the angry waters, he because known as “giver ofall good things”. The Romans and Greeks held a festival onDecember 6 in his honor.
Many countries still celebrate Christmas on December 6 butdue to the rise of Christianity, the day was changed to St.Nicholas Day in honor of an Asian bishop. Nicholas of Myrawas a benevolent bishop who wore red clothing, rode a whitehorse who could fly, and delivered gifts anonymously.
In America, we celebrate with Santa and his flying reindeer.
But many countries still celebrate with their own uniqueversion of Santa.
In Sicily, it is the spirits of departed loved ones whobring gifts to children.
Italian children wait for a kindly old witch named Befanawho flies through the air on a broom.
A Russian counterpart is known as Baboushka. Also calledGrandfather Frost in some parts of the country.
In Holland “Sintirklass” arrives by boat on December 6th.Children leave a wooden shoe filled with hay and carrots forthe donkey which carries the pack of toys.
In Sweden a gnome called “Juletomten” brings gifts in asleigh driven by goats.
In Germany and Switzerland the “Christkindl”, or ChristChild, brings the gifts. In some towns, Christkindl is anangel who comes down from heaven to give gifts.
In Australia Santa rides water skis, has a white beard, andred bathing suit.
In
China, Christmas Old Man, brings gifts to children.
In England, Father Christmas wears a longer coat and has alonger beard.
In France he’s known as Pere Noel.
All of Latin America and Spain are predominantly Catholic soBaby Jesus, el Niño Jesus, brings the gifts.
In Puerto Rico, children receive gifts from the Three Kingson January 6th, also called Epiphany. Every child putsgrass under their bed for the camels. In the morning thegrass is replaced with gifts. But since Puerto Rico is partof the United States, major gift giving is done on December25 from Santa Claus.
In Morocco he is known as Black Peter.
In Japan, Santa Claus is called just “Santa” and manychildren still call him “Santa no ojisan,” which means”Uncle Santa.”
No matter what name a child calls Santa, it’s a thrill towrite to, and get an answer from the North Pole.
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Author: Marilyn Pokorney
Freelance writer of science, nature, animals and theenvironment.
Also loves crafts, gardening, and reading.
Website: http://www.apluswriting.net
Living for a year in Siberia was bound to results in a few laughs. There was no funnier time than my effort to celebrate Thanksgiving.
The Set Up
As an American male, my idea of cooking was dropping by the local Chinese restaurant on my way home from work. We are talking about a person who considers cooking rice a culinary challenge of the highest order. This lack of skill came to the forefront while spending a year teaching at a university in the Siberian city of Chita.
Thanksgiving
Experiencing the Russian culture was one of my primary reasons for moving to Siberia. Experiencing the American culture was apparently one of the prime reasons the University hired me. These conflicting view points resulted in every Russian and American holiday being celebrated, even if it wouldn’t have been otherwise.
As the end of November approached, I started getting questions about Thanksgiving. My Russian peers and students were particularly interested in the concept of Thanksgiving dinner. In turn, I started asking seemingly innocent food related questions and was pleased to learn most of the necessary food items were not available in the local market. This included turkeys, cranberries and so on. Then I made my mistake.
Since the ingredients weren’t available, I began to mouth off about the injustice of missing Thanksgiving dinner. Oh, how I could cook a turkey. To bad everyone would miss out on it. The moral trifecta of justice, fate and karma rose up to put me in my place.
The uncle of someone’s brother was flying in from Moscow. If I created a list, he would buy everything and bring it on the flight.
I was in deep, deep trouble.
Reverting to the times of my youthful indiscretions, I immediately did what anyone in my situation would. I emailed my mother for help. The first response was, “Very funny. You’re going to cook?” After explaining the situation, I received a very long list of instructions written at a third grade level. “This is a
knife” and so on…
Well, the magic day came and everything went shockingly well. The turkey tasted like turkey. The stuffing tasted like stuffing. Heck, the cranberries even came out red. Then it was time for the gravy.
In Siberia, you do not buy ingredients in pre-packaged bags. Instead, you buy everything in a clear plastic bag with no label. In theory, you should arrange everything at home so you know what it is when it comes time to cook. Thus did the flour adventures again.
Cooking instructions were read. Turkey juices went into the pan. Instructions were read. Flour went into the pan. Instructions were read. Constant stirring was undertaken. Instructions were read. Water was added.
Feeling cocky, I then did a tasting sample and nearly choked. The gravy was incredibly salty and exceedingly chunky. I added more water, but there was no change. For the next 20 minutes, I kept adding water and stirring. The gravy just kept getting chunkier, tasted horrible and actually began to smoke!
After awhile, one of my female students came into the kitchen to find out what was going on. She blanched as she tasted the gravy. We went through the instructions and I made a passing reference to my suspicion the flour might be bad.
She took one look at the flour and started laughing. Hysterically. She was laughing so hard she couldn’t tell me the reason in English and my Russian was pretty bad. She recovered after a few minutes and gave me the English translation.
I had grabbed the stuff used to paste over holes in the wall, not the flour. Put another way, I was making turkey drywall.
No wonder it was so chunky!
After the crowd left, I repaired a door knob hole in my bathroom.
Rick Chapo is with http://www.nomadjournals.com – makers of writing journals. Outdoor activity and travel journals make great Christmas gifts for him and her. Visit http://www.nomadjournaltrips.com for more travel and outdoor activities articles and stories.
Do you face the holiday season without a romantic relationship in your life? Holidays mean gift giving and if you are single, this can have its own special impact when you are alone. It might feel like you have everyone to buy presents for but there is no one special who is going to be paying loving attention to you. Perhaps it is time to map out a strategy that takes good care of you and keeps your spirits up.
First, get out your list making tools and write down all the people you want to send cards to, get a gift for, spend some time with, or call. Following that, to insure a rich and comforting holiday season, try the following:
*Put yourself at the top of your list.
Being single, it is highly likely that no one is going to take care of you through these upcoming holidays but you. Holiday love starts with loving yourself. The better you feel, the more attractive you are and the more you have to give to others. It also becomes more possible to attract someone when you are in a positive mood.
This is a good time to get something special for you. Think about it. If you had a romantic partner, you would be getting him or her a present. If you are single and not dating anyone in particular, spend that time, energy, and money on yourself. That gift might be something you have noticed and wanted but didn’t buy for one reason or another. If there is something you want, and it won’t put you in debt, now is the time to get it. Wait for the holiday moment to open it or use it or bring it out. Put a card on
it that says, “Happy Holidays…and you deserve it!”
*Give meaningful gifts to others.
There are other gifts that you can give yourself that bring an enormous return. That is the gift of giving to others who are suffering from poverty, illness, catastrophe, or age-related problems. Call your local homeless shelter, nuring home, crisis center, or hospital, and ask what you can do. If you volunteer your services, you will definitely be smiling inside all year when you think of the people you helped. Go see the facility where you will be working before the holidays so you know the staff, the needs, and the drill that is expected of you.
* Take time to receive the messages and thoughtfulness that does come your way at this time of year.
This is the time of year when people are often more generous of spirit. When people take the time to acknowledge you or wish you a happy holiday, let that message in. We are so busy, we often let it bounce off of us without absorbing it. When you receive your holiday cards, take time to read them through. Sit still long enough to feel the words and greetings. Now, more than ever, we need to stop and let all the good intentions and sentiments that accompany this time of year into our consciousness.
Holidays can be a perfect time to be single: to take better care of yourself, meet new people, and share new experiences. Who knows? You might even meet someone you want to know better in the New Year.
Visit http://www.tonjaweimer.com for more tips and skills on singles, relationships, and dating. You can also subscribe to our F’ree Savvy Dating Newsletter from master certified singles coach, life coach, and syndicated columnist, Tonja Weimer.
With the holiday season already upon us our thoughts quickly turn to family and friends. What do the holidays hold for you? Are you filling your days dreaming about the parties you will attend the shopping you have to do and the gifts you will exchange? Why not consider sharing some of your festive spirit with someone less fortunate. You could be the difference between a family experiencing a blessed holiday season or struggling to make it through.
Whose life are you going to touch this holiday season? What are some of the ways you could help? Who would you help if you could? How can you make a difference? You’re only one person, you say.
There are many places to look for the answer to these questions. Perhaps just a single coin in a bell-ringer’s bucket is all you can afford this year. If that is the case then give them your nickel. Better yet, give them your time.
No time? How about looking at what you are purchasing for gifts this season. Why not purchase a gift that will give joy to more than just the receiver? There are many opportunities to share in this way. One that quickly comes to mind is the “Letter from Santa” Charity Drive. DocUmeant and Admin Café have teamed up in support of this year’s Work At Home Mother (WAHM) Sponsored Charity Drive benefiting families going through hardship due to extensive medical conditions.
Ginger Marks and Michelle Jasper believe that because children are who make the holidays wonderful, children should benefit from this special holiday spirit. Letters from Santa presents children the unique opportunity to receive their own personalized
letter from Santa. Through their Letters from Santa promotion they are donating 20% of their sales to this Charity Drive. To participate, contact DocUmeant at DocUmeant@gcn.cx or visit their webpage at http://www.documeant.net or you may offer your services to the charity drive. Visit their WAHM’s web site at: http://www.wendysvarietyshop.com/Charity.html
Another opportunity to support those in need is to choose from the list of organizations at beliefenet.com. Beliefnet.com’s listings are categorized in three convenient groups. These groups are: Hunger & Poverty, Health & Education, and Environment & Animals. They also believe Christmas is a time for giving. Their site is configured so that with a click of your mouse you can easily make a daily difference by triggering free donations to address issues like poverty, homelessness, violence against women, curing cancer, protecting the environment etc. Their thoughts are: “We’ll bet you have more to give than you realize!! “ Beliefnet.com With the endless list of suffering people the choices you make this holiday could impact someone’s life in a positive way. Consider your options and support those less fortunate during this holiday season. Make a difference, today!
© Copyright 2005 Ginger Marks
Ginger Marks is the founder of DocUmeant, Your writing assistant. For more information, visit her website at http://www.documeant.net or her Ryze home at Ginger’s Ryze home She is also the Copy Editor for Ladies First Magazine You have permission to publish this article electronically or in print as long as the bylines, URL and copyright are included. Please send a copy of the publication to documeant@gcn.cx