Whether you’re cooking for Thanksgiving or Christmas make sure to take the Santa approach very early for the meal preparation ??” sit down and write out the different types of foods that you would like to include for the meal. At first your list might be long, but over time it will become shorter as items are checked off or rearranged. Expert chefs and those with extensive experience recommend starting as early as two months before the event. After all you start saving early in the year for Christmas gifts, and often begin your holiday shopping in July, so why take advantage of this time to begin to prepare for the holiday meal time.

There are many other ways in conjunction with a standard meal preparation list you can cut down on stress, and even the expense of the meal. For example, you can delegate to others within the family certain dishes such as those for the dessert bar. Desserts are always a part of the main event, and need as much attention to it. If you know of a special dessert that you think others will like, or a favorite of yours, ask them to contribute a special pie, cake or candy on the holiday. Make sure to include the standard and favorites, such as pumpkin pie, or a unique cake such as red velvet or butter nut delight. Take into account too those that might have special dessert requirements, such as diabetics or those allergic to certain ingredients such as nuts or eggs. Spend a few minutes researching on the internet and cook books for delicious replacements that will make their holiday yummy too. There are the other options of ordering from a bakery, but be sure to check out of the ingredients. Other options to the overly sweet dessert offerings are fresh fruit, such as cantaloupe, strawberries or fresh apples along with low fat and sugar free toppings like whip cream.

The meal wouldn’t be complete without a varied option of healthy and nutritious vegetables. They can be cooked in your traditional on the stove top or in the oven, but think of adding a tray of fresh cut vegetables to add color, and a healthy attitude to your table. Again, you may preorder from a local deli or mart, but if you plan right most raw vegetables can be cut and cleaned twenty four hours in advance. If you want to use fresh vegetables for your stove preparation of traditional fares, you can store for example, sweet potatoes after they are cleaned and skinned right in your refrigerator up to twenty four hours before cooking. Just pop into the oven after mashing and add a dash of brown sugar with marshmallows. Other necessities of a holiday feast like stuffing or dressing can be made up too ahead of time, even if your considering going traditional and stuffing the turkey and baking. Fantastic vegetable entr?©es can be presented in a multitude of ways.

Of course the center attraction for any holiday meal is the meat. Many families prefer the traditional for the Thanksgiving holiday of turkey. However, if you want to be creative or stick to cultural based foods there are options of for example, Italian spaghetti and some sweet wine and fresh garlic bread. In other areas of the country such as in the agrarian south, open season for turkey hunting can present a nice fat round turkey for your dinner table. It can then be cleaned by the lucky hunter and stored early to eat on Thanksgiving or Christmas day. Deciding on your meat should be thought out early in advance. There are options of special ordering from your local meat department, or buying a few weeks ahead and freezing. Quick fix meats can be bought on the hoof pre baked, and then just warmed in the oven for a juicy delight. Other types of meats such as baked hams or hens are good to fix ahead, and refrigerated and kept juicy with a brown or light colored chicken broth.

There are so many options to create your perfect and stress free holiday meal celebration, just remember to start early and delegate what you feel that you might not be able to handle. A good idea is to begin testing a few of your holiday creations if you feel you must fix them. That way you will never feel that your dinner is not what you want it to be, and you can set back and smile knowing you did your very best.

In order to help plan your holiday budget, take a look at your last years spending totals. If you add all the gifts plus cards, wrapping paper, and shipping costs then you should get a good idea of what you spent in all. Now that you have your starting point, you should acknowledge that this should be the most you spend this year. Look at the list and see if there is anything you can take out. Maybe get generic type of wrapping paper instead of the name-brand kind. Do the same thing with your tape and holiday decorations, as well. Sending out gifts all together in one package can lower the shipping costs. You should also do your best not to overspend on your children.

After doing all this, you have established a budget, and it probably was not as hard as it originally seemed. You should distribute the money on paper and shop according to those funds. Some alternatives to buying things can be to create a scrapbook for your mother, instead of purchasing an expensive necklace. Baking cookies for your aunt or uncle, instead of buying something expensive, can also put big smiles on their faces, and will also help you keep your holiday budget. Another way of cutting back on money is to look for the least expensive stores for sales and bargains. Even thrift shops hold wonders, because as the old saying goes, one man’s trash is another man’s treasure.

Sometimes you travel during the holidays and buy presents. So, this year invite everyone to your house for the holidays to save on travel expenses. This will help tremendously in keeping your budget and you will have more money to save. You do not even have to go to those expensive party stores, take time with your children and make decorations for the party and place holders. Having a potluck would help, also. With everyone bringing a dish or dessert, the only thing that you will have to provide is the turkey and ham. This will work wonders to help keep your holiday budget.

When your shopping keep track of any sales, but keep to you budget. A lot of people shop the day after Thanksgiving, but do not buy things that are a great “deal”. Sometimes the deals are not really deals, when they say five for a hundred dollars, do not buy five. Instead, only buy how many you need as they are all just twenty dollars. Remember to take your shopping list, only buy gifts within your holiday budget. An alternative is online shopping; you can browse the internet for different online auction bargains. You can comparison shop, and find the best price. This is really great if you are going to ship your presents, because the company will ship it for you, sometimes at a lower cost than you could ship it for on your own.

Making your own gifts can be helpful when trying to keep a Christmas budget, too. If you are skilled at drawing or sewing it would be a great gift to make something for a family member or friend. Find out their favorite animal and draw a picture of it. You could also make a collage of your family or favorite musicians. The gifts that come from the heart are the best ones and they are a lot more cost efficient. This method will really help with keeping your holiday budget, and it will really pay off.

If you have a budget you need to keep during the holiday season, it does not have to be as hard as one would originally think. Following the tips and advice in the paragraphs above, should help you along the way.

Sometimes it seems like a good idea to proclaim your love very publicly to prove your sincerity. The proposal is not the time for showing off though. At Christmas time especially, people tend to be family oriented. They want cozy evenings by the fire and hushed and pleasant conversations among the people that they love the most. In most parts of the country and most years, you can find snow at Christmas. One romantic possibility is to take your sweetheart out for a walk in the snow. It softens the scenery and makes for a gorgeous backdrop to set the stage. Even better would be a moonlit walk through the snow. The light on the white carpet will light up the darkness just enough to create a mysteriously beautiful scene. Being alone together in such a magical setting will make the proposal of setting out in a new life together an even more concrete and thrilling idea than it would be otherwise.

Making a proposal intimate is certainly worthwhile, but it is also important to involve the right people. It is becoming more appreciated these days if the future groom asks the future bride’s father permission to marry her. While it is an old-fashioned ideal, the feeling today is of supreme romance. Considering involving the family is a definite possibility and will not intrude on the intimacy of the moment. If you and your love are close to your families, consider wrapping the ring as a gift. To make sure everyone is attentive, you and the bride-to-be’s father can arrange for that gift to be opened first. To increase the anticipation, try a miniature scavenger hunt. The first gift can be an envelope with a clue inside such as, “Under the Couch Cushion” or “You’re Favorite Childhood Toy.” Hide as many clues as you wish and make the last one, “The Man You Will Marry.” When she makes her way back to you, be ready on one knee with a ring.

When you do decide how to propose, make some aspect of it your very own. If you take that walk in the snow, end up in a place that is significant to both of you, or go someplace neither of you have ever been. That way it will belong equally to each of you and will be a starting place for your life together. If you set up a Christmas Eve family scavenger hunt, make the clues significant to your relationship. When you finally ask, don’t simply say “Will you marry me?” Tell her exactly how you feel about her and ask her if she feels the same way about you. Don’t be afraid to let her talk and don’t forget to say “I love you.”

Christmas is a beautiful and magical time to propose marriage. Wherever and however you ask, just remember the three guidelines. Keep it intimate and make sure that you are able to clearly demonstrate the commitment you are offering. Don??(TM)t forget to involve the people who you care about and who care about you. While you don??(TM)t need to propose in front of the family, make sure that they know as soon as possible. Finally, make sure that you make the day, and especially the moment, memorable and specific to your relationship. Remember those three things and you??(TM)re sure to have an unforgettable proposal.

1. Decorating

Of course, the first step to having an old fashioned Christmas is the decorating. Decorations set the mood for an old fashion Christmas and get all involved in the decorating into the Christmas spirit. What better place to start with the decorations than a good old fashioned Christmas tree?

To create an old fashioned Christmas tree, handcrafted ornaments must be created. The creation of these ornaments provides the perfect opportunity for another component of an old fashioned Christmas - family togetherness!

Take a day well before Christmas to sit down with the family to create homemade Christmas tree decorations. Play Christmas music and work together, enjoying each other’s company. Homemade decorations can include stringed popcorn or paper chains made of colorful gum and candy wrappers.

Of course, you can’t forget the homemade Christmas ornaments. An old fashion Christmas is a chance to get the creative juices flowing. Cut and color paper ornaments. Use glitter to add a little extra sparkle and fun. When making these ornaments, keep in mind the symbolic meaning of different Christmas objects. For instance, the pine tree represents eternity, while the pinecone symbolizes warmth. A teapot represents hospitality, a mainstay in an old fashion Christmas. Try to create your own Christmas symbols and make them special and meaningful to you and your family.

Hanging apples, chocolate, walnuts, and candy from the tree branches is another old fashion Christmas touch. Work together to hang these objects on the tree - and have a great time snacking on these tasty treats, too!

To further the feeling of an old fashion Christmas and to provide some authenticity, shop at nearby antique malls and flea markets. Look for wax or glass-blown ornaments. You might even have some old ornaments that have been passed down in your family. Make sure to include these ornaments on your tree. Antique tins can also be found at antique malls and flea markets. These can make great candy dishes and can be set beside the Christmas tree.

A nativity scene beneath the tree also adds to the warmth and serenity of an old fashion Christmas. Place tinsel or angel’s hair throughout the tree and top it with a star and, voila, you have an old fashion Christmas tree!

To complete the creation of an old fashion Christmas, be sure to add plenty of lights to the tree. Then, gather the entire family together and have a lighting party to celebrate the lighting of the Christmas tree.

2. Baking and Cooking

Next to the tradition of trimming the tree, baking and cooking is an integral part of an old fashion Christmas. No home celebrating an old fashion Christmas is complete without the pleasant scent of cookies, pies, ham, and hot cider filling the air!

Be sure to have the entire family participate in the Christmas baking and cooking. Decorating sugar cookies is a time-honored old fashion Christmas favorite. Let the children in the family help cut the shapes and place the candy and sugar sprinkles on the cookies.

Also, pass on the tradition of slicing the ham to the next generation. And, of course, gather together at the table to eat your old fashion Christmas dinner together.

3. Christmas Day

In addition to enjoying an old fashion Christmas dinner together, Christmas day can be filled with old fashion fun and memories.

If possible, find someone to play Santa Clause and bring presents to everyone in the family. While exchanging presents, be sure to take time to look at each gift and appreciate what has been given. Set the mood by playing old fashion Christmas music in the background. A variety of CDs are available both online and in stores.

Take some time out of the day to enjoy a sleigh ride or go sledding together. Or, create an old fashion Christmas scavenger hunt. Top it all off by warming up with a nice, hot mug of apple cider or hot cocoa.

Celebrating an old fashion Christmas together as a family is the perfect way to create treasured family memories that will last a lifetime.

One common practice for individualizing Christmas cards is to include a family picture. It really is a great idea. The recipients gaze long and hard at those photos, trying to figure out how you and especially your children have changed so much. To make your Christmas cards truly unique, try experimenting with those family photos. Instead of dressing up and making a visit to the photographer, look through the candid shots you have taken. They are often more natural and show your family as they really are. Maybe you ride horses or bicycles. You have probably got pictures of your kids at the zoo or playing basketball. You might have a vacation picture of your family together, but you might just want to reprint and put pictures of individuals together. The mixed and matched photos will give the impression of a patchwork quilt, full of memories and love. The cards can be quickly printed in order to make as many copies as you need.

If you have a little more time, the collage idea can be taken to a different level. You probably have stashed away somewhere all of the Christmas cards you have received for the last six or seven years. Pull those out and start looking through them. You will get one more chance to relive them, but then be ready to tell them goodbye. Cutting up the cards and reassembling them will create beautiful and unique patterns. Glue the random pieces to a stiff piece of paper and you will be inventing new designs and patterns to suit your own taste. To finish these cards off, you can add photographs or trinkets to the outside. As long as you can find big enough envelopes (and you can experiment with size) you don’t even have to keep the chunks of old cards within the confines of a traditional card shape. Let your imagination run wild. These cards will definitely stand out of the row along the top of someone’s television.

When the work of constructing the outside is done, a truly unique card will have your inscription on its inside, instead of one from the greeting card company. Don’t be afraid to write things that you really think and feel instead of the traditional “Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.” Use your sense of humor and let the real you shine through. Have your family help you too. The more personality you stuff into those cards, the better. It may require more time and effort than usual, but your work will be worth it. Who knows? With your homemade cards, you may just spark some effort on the other end as well. In return you may see some traditional letters and more frequent information from your loved ones.

You may not look forward to choosing Christmas cards when you take a look at the huge Christmas card selection at the local department or greeting card store. There are so many to choose from, and yet they all seem the same. You have been looking at cards long enough that the sentiment in them is hardly personal and even far from relevant to your own personality. Instead of buying a package of Christmas cards this year, try making your own. Starting with the couple of ideas here, you will be able to think of many more to individualize your handiwork. It is guaranteed that no one will have seen them or anything like them before. You will get a smile, maybe a chuckle, and even possibly a letter in return.

One way to do that is to celebrate Advent. Advent traditionally starts on the fourth Sunday before Christmas Eve. The four weeks leading up to Christmas Day is considered advent. The length of the season depends on which day Christmas falls on for that year. It can last from 22 to 28 days. There are so many ways to make Christmas special and give your children the true meaning. Advent can be the start of daily Bible readings that lead up to the birth of Jesus. Each week has special verses that lead to Christmas Day.

Explain to your child that the gift of the baby Jesus is why we celebrate Christmas and give gifts to others.

Keep an advent calendar and as each day goes by, celebrate that special day with a favorite Bible verse, or Christmas Carol. The countdown to Christmas is visible and the reason for Christmas is reinforced daily.

When Christmas cards begin arriving, make them into an Advent wreath and use your prayer time to pray for the senders of the cards. This can instill in a child the need to pray for others, and to thank God for the gift of friends and family.

Engage your whole family in an Advent service project. Collect money or food to give to local charities that see an increased need at this time. Call the Salvation Army for names of families who need “adopted” for the Holiday. Encourage your child to share their good fortune by giving a gift to a child who is needy. The Salvation Army has set up an Angel tree in the mall and a child’s name appears on each paper ornament. Help your child to choose a name and buy a gift for that child to have on Christmas Day. Let your child see you donate to a church gift giving project, or send a special package to a missionary family.

The nativity set is also an important part of Christmas traditions. Let your child help set it up and tell them stories about the animals as you set them out. One tradition is to set up the manger scene and each day move the figures in a little closer to Baby Jesus’ manger.

Have a craft time when all the family gets together to make a craft that will be a new ornament on the tree or a new Christmas decoration they will treasure from year to year.

Sing the Christmas carols with your children. The songs of Christmas that we grew up with are still out there for us to enjoy with our children. Take them as a group to sing carols in a nursing home. The people in nursing homes love children and Christmas and sometimes don??(TM)t have family members or young children in their own families to visit them. Adopt a grandma or grandpa from the inhabitants of the home. The staff can tell you who gets visitors and who doesn’t. Let your child pick out a small gift to give them, help them to wrap it and make it special for them. Give them a sense of giving and the good feeling it provides.

On Christmas Eve, we conclude the celebration of the Advent season. A birthday cake for Jesus and the Happy Birthday song will reinforce that Christmas is the time we celebrate the birth of Jesus. Prepare a nativity play, or put on your own nativity scene complete with little angels and your family pets as part of the scenery.

Christmas Day is an important time to instill in your child the true meaning of Christmas. Start with a prayer of thanks for the most wonderful gift of all, and have each of them say a word of thanks for another family member. Instead of rushing to drag the gifts from under the tree, prayer and family time will help your child realize that Christmas is about the greatest gift of all. The birth of Jesus

The fact is that a ten-foot Christmas tree will not fit in a home with six-foot ceilings. When looking at trees outside or at the market, it is hard to accurately imagine them in your house. People frequently bring home trees that will not fit through their doorway and will not stand up in their living room. It is possible to trim the tree once you have seen it next to your house, but it will be easier to measure before you bring it home. It is possible that a live tree is not for you. Even if you can get one that is short enough to fit under your ceiling, there may not be enough floor-space in your house to accommodate the branches. If it comes down to the tree taking up all of the seating in your house or no tree at all, consider the possibility of a smaller, artificial tree, or even a live, miniature tree.

Six-inch trees are available potted and ready to happily grace your table. You can even buy miniature decorations for them. If you would like a little bit bigger tree, maybe three feet tall, they are available as well, though you might want an artificial one rather than a growing, potted tree in your living room all year around. An artificial tree is also a good idea if you have small children or pets in your house. They will both play in the dirt of a potted tree and make a mess of your carpet. A live tree in a stand may also cause problems if you have pets that may jump into a large tree and knock it over. They will be much less likely to do so if the tree doesn’t look big enough to accommodate them. Don’t worry though; there really is a Christmas tree for any household.

Another thing to consider when looking for the right tree is the environment. If you live in an area where there are abundant trees, the forest service will often sell permits to cut trees on national forest land. The permits are typically inexpensive, and the thinning of the trees is healthy for the continued growth of the forest. In that case, you will want to look for a tree that will fit in your house. It is better not to cut down the very old and very tall trees just to take a small portion of them home. Look for an adequately sized tree that has short, soft needles. These will be the easiest to decorate and will remain green for longer than the trees with longer needles. If you live in an area where trees are scarce, you may decide to decorate a tree in your yard instead of cutting a tree or buying a cut tree in order to preserve what you have. Better yet, buy a potted tree to decorate in your home. When spring comes, plant it to strengthen the tree population around you.

Whatever your Christmas tradition is, it probably includes a tree. There are so many options when considering your Christmas tree, it is nearly impossible to go wrong. No matter how much space you have, who the people and animals in your house are or your relationship to the environment, you will find a tree that will work for you and your family. If you cannot decide what will be best for you, try something and see how it works. Next year you can try another kind of tree. There is no wrong answer when it comes to finding a good tree. A little bit of trial and experimentation will help you find the right one. Happy holidays and have a great time hunting down the right tree.

But is that all there was to it? No. For one thing, one reason why the baby Jesus was so important was because his birth had, according to the Christian belief, been prophesied and people were expecting him as the Messiah, the one who would save the world. Secondly, Christian tradition tells that baby Jesus had been immaculately conceived by God, who had planted the seed in the womb of Mary. Mary had been informed of her impregnation by an angel of God, who had told her that she was with child and that the child was to be named Jesus, and that he would be the awaited Messiah.

While Jesus Christ was said to have been born on December 25th, it is said that the three wise men (or magi) did not come to visit until twelve days later, on the date of the Epiphany January 6. The Epiphany is celebrated in some countries (e.g. the Greek and Russian Orthodox churches) instead of December 25. The wise men were said to have traveled from the east.

The wise men, or magi, visited King Herod to confirm a rumor that Jesus had, in fact, been born. They wanted to know where they could find the child, and so Herod sent them to Bethlehem, and asked that they returned to him when they left the child’s side. They followed the Star of Bethlehem in the east, and it led them right to the manger bed of the baby Jesus, where they presented him with the three gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

After leaving King Herod and before arriving at the stable, the three wise men were given a warning by an angel in a dream not to return to King Herod, warning them that King Herod had malicious intentions. The wise men delivered their gifts, and proclaimed Jesus the awaited Messiah. They therefore returned to their home via a different route than the one from whence they came. This apparently alerted Herod to the fact that Jesus was probably the prophesied Messiah, so Herod ordered the massacre of all infants in the area, with the intention of killing the proclaimed Messiah.

Christians everywhere celebrate Christmas as a reminder that the birth of Jesus was God’s way of allowing them into a personal relationship with Him. In His life, Jesus would die a cruel death on a cross so that the world’s sins would be forgiven and people everywhere could, through their faith in Jesus, have eternal life in Heaven.

For those of the Christian faith, Christmas is a very special day of religious observation. While studies show these days that we may possibly be celebrating Christmas at the wrong time of the year, Christmas was first celebrated in remembrance of the birth of baby Jesus and the journey that the Virgin Mary and her husband Joseph made on a donkey to Bethlehem. They were denied lodging at every inn, for many other people were in town for the same reason that Mary and Joseph were, so an official count could be made of all of the King’s people. The family eventually settled into a manger, where the Mary gave birth to her son without the help of a physician.

A good way of teaching your children the Christmas story without making it a religious experience is to purchase the children’s story version of the Christmas Story. Small, thin books can be purchased in any store, especially during the Christmas season. During the rest of the year, larger book store chains like Barnes and Noble, Borders, and B. Dalton will carry books like this, although you may have to search in a particular section.

The internet may also be a great resource for teaching your children the true meaning of Christmas. Northpolesantaclaus.com is a great web page for kids during Christmas time. It has a link for the kids to email Santa Claus if they so choose, and there are also web pages that they can go to learn about the ways that children in other countries celebrate their Christmas holiday, including the different versions of Santa Claus that they incorporate into their celebration.

Coloring books are sold during the Christmas season that tell the story of Mary and Joseph’s journey on donkey back. Generic versions of these, in story book form, are sold at department stores and grocery markets all over. If you have a family Christian store or some other Christian book store, they will have the more biblicized versions of the Christmas Story in them. Coloring these pictures with crayons can give kids a visual idea of the story and what happened the night that Jesus Christ was born. This can also be a great lesson in reading for your younger children, as well.

In Sweden, Christmas is celebrated like a popular national holiday, lasting for nearly a month. During this month-long celebration, the Swedes also celebrate St. Lucia’s day. St. Lucia’s day is a winter holiday in Sweden in which the eldest girl of the family wakes up early in the morning, clothes herself in a white robe with a red sash, and wears an evergreen wreath of seven lit candles around her head. Still costumed, she serves her family rolls and coffee in bed. In this practice, she is mimicking a popular saint named Saint Lucia who is rumored to have delivered victuals to the Christians in the early days of their persecution is Sweden. The real St. Lucia was eventually caught, arrested, and executed for her deeds. On St. Lucia’s day churches and schools may hold programs, plays, or processions and sing carols in her honor.

Sweden was first introduced to the popularized version of the Christmas tree by Germany in the 1700s, although they have only recently become customary. The Christmas tree is brought in (whether it has been purchased or cut down) a day or so before the Christmas holiday, and festively decorated in lights, tinsel, candy, and other objects. It is watered every day and kept at least a month, usually to the 20th day after Christmas day.

The height of the Christmas holiday is really Christmas Eve, December 24. A large feast is prepared on Christmas Eve, dessert and all. This is also the day Swedish children open up their gifts, brought to them from Jultomte. Tomte is somewhat of a Swedish version of Santa Claus. He has been depicted as a small elf or gnome, and is said to live under the floorboards of the family home. Tomte is credited for providing protection over the family and their flock of animals, if they have one. Just as American children leave Santa Claus milk and cookies, Swedish children may place candles in the windows of their home to help Tomte find his way to them, as well as a bowl of porridge to thank him for finally making it. Obviously, Tomte is fictional but in some households a friend or member of the family may dress up as a gnome and sneak into the house with a bag full of gifts for the children.

Most Swedish families spend most of the actual Christmas Day (December 25) in church. The following day is Saint Staffen’s day (also known as St. Stephen’s day), the day in which the Swedes honor the patron saint of animals and give their animals a little extra food in their bowls as a special treat.

On the 13th day of January, the Christmas holiday ends in Sweden. This is the day Swedish families take down their Christmas tree ornaments and dispose of their Christmas tree.