Christmas Lights Gone Wild

Author: Admin | Filed under: Christmas Decorating, Christmas Fun Saturday Dec 13,2008

Twelve Things You Never Knew About Christmas

Author: Admin | Filed under: Christmas, Christmas History Wednesday Dec 3,2008

Christmas trivia, traditions and tidbits… what, where, who, how…. It’s always interesting and intriguing to find out history and background on such a celebrated and time honored holiday as Christmas.  Here’s a dozen interesting factoids that I bet you never knew about Christmas:

Christmas Tree1. Christmas trees were first lighted with actual candles, which presented a fire hazard. As a result containers filled with water had to be kept near the Christmas tree.

2. Workers in the construction industry are responsible for the tradition of having a Christmas tree on display at Rockefeller Center in New York City. They are credited with placing an undecorated tree at the site in the early 1930s.

3. Since the mid-1960s, The National Christmas Tree Association has maintained a presence in the White House at Christmas by donating a Christmas tree to the First Family.

4. The former Woolworth department store first sold manufactured Christmas tree ornaments in 1880.

5. Plastic became the primary material used to make tinsel after their use for decorative purposes was at one time prohibited because lead was used in the manufacturing process.

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Holiday Decoration Hazards for Pets

Author: Admin | Filed under: Christmas, Christmas Decorating, Dog Tips Sunday Nov 30,2008

Pets & decorations

As holiday preparations get into full swing it’s time to take a moment to think about holiday decoration pet hazards. Sure we all love the twinkling lights and pretty ornaments, the glitter and glitz and all of this may be interesting to our pets too.

Some of these new additions for our homes may also be a danger or hazard to our furry four-legged family members too.

Dogs are notorious chewers, especially if something smells good. Additions to the tree of decoration like strung popcorn, cranberries, old favorites, could be especially problematic. The strings with their goodies could cause serious blockage requiring vet intervention and even surgery.

Small ornaments are also swallow hazards as well as the classic wire hooks that are used to hang ornaments on trees. Try twist ties instead which serve the combined purpose of both keeping ornaments more secured and being a bit less of a swallow hazard.

Christmas lights

Then there are all the new wires and electrical cords all over the place for lights and other pretty decor pieces. Electrical cords are always a hazard but in you average household, people usually have these problems out of the way of dog’s interest. Make sure you do the same with all the new electrical cords and extensions that will be showing up for the holidays. Not only could a chewed cord electrocute your pets, it could also cause a fire if it’s gone unnoticed.

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Did You Get it Yet?

Author: Admin | Filed under: Christmas, Christmas Gifts, Christmas Recipes Tuesday Nov 25,2008

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Hang Your Stocking by the Chimney with Care

Author: Admin | Filed under: Christmas, Christmas History Tuesday Nov 25,2008

Christmas StockingChristmas traditions; it’s always interesting to find out where they come from and how they began so let’s find out about Christmas Stockings.

A Christmas stocking is an empty sock or sock-shaped bag that children in the United States and some other cultures hang on Christmas Eve so that Santa Claus can fill it with small toys, candy, fruit, coins, or other small gifts when he arrives. These small items are often referred to as stocking stuffers or stocking fillers. Tradition in western culture dictates that a child who behaves badly during the year will receive only a piece of coal.

But how did the tradition of hanging stockings by the fireplace begin?  One legend says that has it that St. Nicholas of Myra heard of a farmer who had three lovely daughters who feared they would never marry well because he didn’t have enough money to pay their dowries.

Knowing the farmer would never accept the money outright, St. Nicholas dropped three bags of coins into their chimney on Christmas Eve.  The young girls had each happened to have washed their stockings out and hung them by the fire to dry, so when the coins were dropped a bag landed inside each stocking.  The next morning the young girls woke to find the coins and went on to marry and live happily ever after.

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Where Did American Christmas Traditions Come From?

Author: Admin | Filed under: Christmas History Thursday Nov 20,2008

In order to fully understand why, as American’s, we perform different tasks throughout the celebration of Christmas, it is important to know where exactly each tradition originally came from.

It may be interesting to note that many Christmas traditions we perform during the holiday did not originate in America at all. Remember, when America was just an infant itself, it was comprised of many different peoples from many different countries. And these people had their own “homeland” traditions that they carried right along with them.

Do you wonder where the history and traditions of thing like the Christmas tree came from?  How about the Yule Log and Christmas caroling?  Maybe you’d be interested in what started the tradition of gift giving and about Santa Claus…

You can find out the history and traditons al all of these and much more HERE!  Go ahead, you know you want to know!

Christmas Decoration Ideas for Children

Author: Admin | Filed under: Christmas, Christmas Decorating, Christmas Tree Tuesday Nov 18,2008

Christmas decorating ideasAre you a parent? If so, there is a good chance that you already know just how much kids love the holidays. That is why you may want to think about letting your children help you decorate for Christmas. In fact, in addition to just letting them help you hang Christmas decorations, you may also want to let them make their own handmade Christmas decorations. Not only will you find that there are a number of benefits to doing so, but you will also find that there are a number of fun and exciting Christmas decorations that they can easily make.

Christmas WreathAlmost every family that celebrates Christmas has a Christmas tree; therefore, there is a good chance that your family will have one. One fun and exciting Christmas craft project that your children could do involves making their own Christmas ornaments. Christmas ornaments can be made from regular paper or any other type of material. In fact, you can purchase a number of Christmas ornament cutouts or guides from your local craft store. These ornament pieces are likely plain, but already shaped like something, such as a star or a cross. It would be up to your child to paint their ornament. This type of Christmas decoration craft project is great for small children or those who may be making their own Christmas decorations for the first time.

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Where and When Did “Christmas” Begin?

Author: Admin | Filed under: Christmas, Christmas History Saturday Nov 15,2008

Christmas… The word itself inspires feelings of joy and good will towards our fellow man. A day when the greatest gift in all the world was bestowed upon us from Heaven.

When you think of the name “Christmas”, what immediately comes to your mind? The birth of Jesus Christ? Yes, traditionally, that is what we believe is the reason behind the Christmas holiday and celebration. The birth of Jesus Christ. I mean, goodness sake! His name is in the word itself!

But is that really where the beginning of the Christmas holiday comes from? Or is it somewhere else? Would you believe that it is indeed rooted somewhere else?!

Let’s go back though, to the time before Jesus Christ’s birth, and see if we can’t make sense of this. . . .

Centuries before Christ was born there was a group of people who celebrated something they called “The Winter Solstice”. In this celebration, early Europeans would gather together and rejoice that the worst part of the Winter Season was passing and that they had managed to survive another harsh, cold Winter. And also, that they could begin enjoying longer days. In other words, this was a celebration of light itself. And life as well.

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Making Your Own Christmas Decorations versus Buying Them

Author: Admin | Filed under: Christmas, Christmas Decorating Tuesday Nov 11,2008

Christmas WreathIf you are like many other individuals, you enjoy Christmas. With Christmas comes gifts’, spending time with family, and Christmas decorations. While everyone loves to get Christmas gifts and spend time with their family, there are others who are most excited about decorating for Christmas. In a way, putting up Christmas decorations symbolizes the upcoming Christmas holiday. Perhaps, that is one of the reasons why decorating for Christmas is enjoyed by so many.

When it comes to decorating for Christmas, different individuals use different methods. Perhaps, the most popular method is buying Christmas decorations from the store and then hanging them or displaying them in the home. In addition to buying store bought decorations, there are other individuals who make their own Christmas decorations and then hang or display them. If you are preparing to decorate your home for Christmas, you may be wondering which decorating method you should use. Honestly, the decision is yours to make; however, you will find that each method has a number of advantages and disadvantages.

As previously mentioned, one of the most popular ways that most individuals choose to decorate their homes for Christmas is by purchasing store bought decorations. These store bought decorations can include items such as a Christmas tree, Christmas lights, Christmas tree ornaments, Christmas lawn decorations, and Christmas kitchenware. Perhaps, the wide variety of different decorations that can be purchased online or from a storefront retail location is the greatest benefit to buying your decorations. While it is possible to make your own Christmas lights or Christmas kitchenware, it is time consuming and you need to have special skills to do so.

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Fun Homemade Christmas Ornament Project

Author: Admin | Filed under: Christmas Decorating, Christmas Fun, Christmas Tree Thursday Dec 13,2007

There’s something special about making something with your own hands, especially for children who love to see their crafts on display.  So what could be better at this time of year than creating some homemade Christmas ornaments.

Christmas ornaments made from ordinary pipe cleaners and inexpensive acrylic beads are very pretty and easy to make.  They look quite impressive yet are easy enough for small children to make.  This is one Christmas craft idea to use again and again.  Everyone in the family will enjoy making this Christmas craft, ich can be varied to make a number of different sparkling ornaments for your Christmas tree.

Sunburst BeadsTo make the bead and pipe cleaner ornaments, you need common pipe cleaners in desired colors and acrylic beads.  Two types of beads are particularly effective when strung on pipe cleaners.  One type are called sunburst beads, but are also known as paddlewheel beads, snowflake beads, or starburst beads.  These beads have six faceted paddles spaced equally around a center that contains the hole for stringing.  When several of these sunburst beads are strung consecutively, they fit against each other in an interlocking pattern.

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