Buy Dog Costume – Santa Paws (Pet Santa Claus Halloween or Christmas Costume) – X-Small (XS) at Amazon

Buy Dreamgirl Women’s Sleigh Belle Velvet Dress at Amazon

Buy House Scene – Boxed Christmas Cards at Amazon

Buy “White Christmas” Recycled Holiday Card (RF14) Set of 5 – Rwanda at Amazon

Buy Cowboy Boot – Boxed holiday Christmas Cards at Amazon

Buy Christmas Tree with Shoe Boxes Adult Costume (Standard) at Amazon

Ecclesiastes 3:1
To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:

Christmas is one of the happiest seasons of our life. It gathers us together as families, where we create special loving traditions and so many loving memories. We all have special remembrances of Christmass past. I would like to share with you some of my memories.
Christmas has changed for me through the years. I am a grandma now and enjoy
special Christmass with my grown children and their families. I watch them create lasting memories for their little ones. I am reminded of those happy times when my precious children were still home with us and of the Christmass we had
Together. How I miss those special times.

My song Christmas Wish says what is in my heart.
If I could have one Christmas wish, Id go back in time,
When our children all were young and they were home with us.
Wed decorate the house with lights, put up the Christmas tree,
Bake cookies; sing Christmas carols in the neighborhood.
Make gifts for the ones we love; wrap them really nice,
Laugh, kiss and hug a lot, wed have so much fun.
Id read the story of Jesus Christ, born in Bethlehem
In the manger wed carefully lay the Savior in.
Christmas Eve wed hold them tight, our hearts filled with love
Give thanks for our family, our special gift from God.
Wed tuck them safely into bed, fill the stockings full,
Peek in at our sleeping babes; angels without wings.
Eyes would sparkle Christmas morn when Dad turned on the lights,
Santa left so many gifts; cookies and milk were gone.
Opening gifts was the best of all; parcels ripped apart,
Finding their special wish, jumping up and down.
Id bake the turkey as they played with the toys they got,
Wed feast together on food and love, what a heavenly day.
The memories of those special days many years ago
Seem like only yesterday; life was filled with joy.
If I could have one Christmas wish, Id go back in time,
When our children all were young and they were home with us.

Not only does Christmas bring back memories of my precious children but also
memories or my dear mother who passed away October 18, 2002. She was
86 years old and life had not been easy for but she did her best to make our lives
Happy. The most favorite memories of my mother were the wonderful
Christmass she created for my brother, sister and I. She always made Christmas
beautiful and exciting, in spite of our alcoholic father who played havoc with our
Lives, whenever he got drunk, especially at Christmas time.

My mother seemed to have a mission to make things right for us each Christmas.
Every year she would open a charge account at Zellers, to buy us gifts. My
father gave her no money. We were poor because of his addiction. She bought us
needed things like socks and underwear but always something special. I
remember the red leather loose-leaf binder she gave me when I was 10. We kids
did not know it then, but for the rest of the year mom paid off her charge account
with cash she could squeeze from her food money. Each new season she started
over with another Christmas charge account.

Mom did not let us see the tree before Christmas morning, an old family tradition.
My kids now have their tree up at least two weeks before Christmas. But never the less, when I was young the first viewing of the tree was glorious.

One Christmas Eve, when my dad was drunk, he took a Christmas tree from a lot,
which had closed for the night, and hauled it home, dragging it behind him. We
lived in Canada and the tree was frozen. When he brought it into our house to
thaw it out; my mother was made aware of why no one had purchased it. The
tree had only a few branches. My mother sent him back for another tree, which
was equally as bare, so they tied the two together.

Mom would stay up all night carefully decorating the tree and wrapping our gifts.
She always had a knack of doing things perfectly. She made a special effort to
choose the most beautiful paper she could afford and each gift had a bright
ribbon and bow. She was dedicated to bringing excitement to our eyes,
Christmas morning, when she turned on the lights to our gorgeous tree, laden
with so many gifts from Santa. Her reward came when she saw the enjoyment we
had as we ripped open each treasure.

Often our father was too hung over to get up with us to open gifts and would later
head out the day to be with his buddies but our mother made sure out
Christmas was special. We always went to grandma and grandpas house for a
turkey feast with all our relatives.

This Christmas I am especially grateful for my loving mother who sacrificed so
much for her family and created Christmas memories and traditions, which I see
being passed down to my grandchildren. I will miss her dearly.

In all of our own lives we have special Christmas memories and I have one more

which I will never forget.

I call it The Miracle of the Pinecones.
Just before Christmas, several years ago, my five-year-old grandson, Jesse, and I
were in Julian California where my husband was completing a job.
As we wondered below the spectacular pine trees we saw pinecones lying on the
They were large and magnificent. My grandson loved them and wanted to
Take some home, so we gathered them up.

I wondered what we could create with them. As I held one up and turned it upside down, I realized it looked like a perfect Christmas tree, only brown. I found my
Christmas snow and sprayed it white. Right before our eyes the pinecone turned
into a tree, covered with a blanket of snow. We then decided to decorate it. I
When we touched them to the snow they stuck. The
pinecones became jewel covered Christmas trees.

Jesse and I had so much fun making trees that we encouraged my mother, his
great-grandmother to get involved and we spent an afternoon making beautiful
trees. What a wonderful memory I have of my mother and grandson working
together creating multicolored treasures. I took a picture with my heart.
We had so many trees and wondered what to do with them all. We gave some to
family members and recruited them to go Christmas caroling in the
neighborhood. I took another picture with my heart, of little Jesse singing Away in a Manger and then and then proudly giving his precious tree to a smiling neighbor.

We still had trees to give and I wondered what to do with them. That year I taught the 16-year-old Sunday school class at my church. I wondered if I could combine my teenagers and the trees into a service project that would bring the spirit of Christmas to these young people. There was a senior care home across from our Church. I inquired if they would allow me to bring my teenagers in to sing Christmas carols to their residences and distribute the remaining Christmas trees. The home gave me their approval and thanks. When I presented my idea to my students I was not prepared for their response. Some of them were not excited about the idea. Actually, I think, many of them were just embarrassed to sing in front of each other. But I assured them it would be a nice thing to do and armed each one with a tree, the boys as well as the girls. We set out on our mission.

When we stepped into the first room of the care home, my young people were a
little timid but did sing a weak verse of Silent Night, except for one big boy who
stood in the back of the room and would not sing. One of them handed their tree
to the grateful patient and we left.

As we worked our way from room to room the teenagers gradually warmed up,
when they saw the smiles and tears on the faces of those dear old souls, except
for the boy in the back. Their singing got louder and more in tune and they
couldnt wait to rush to the next room. I will always remember the 95-year old man,
who had been confined to bed for several years, accepting his Christmas tree

from a group of excited teenagers. I took another picture.

When we had given out the trees the young people were satisfied and happy. They
felt the Christmas spirit and didnt want to leave. They knew the joy they had given
the patients.

We finally headed for the door. Along the way we met a sad little lady sitting in the
hallway in her wheelchair. When she spotted those noisy, laughing teenagers a
smile came across her toothless face and she held up her feeble arms hoping to
give them a hug. My wonderful teenagers formed a line and each one of them
bent down and give her a big hug. Another picture!

When we got outside the building, we discovered that the teenage boy, who had
stayed in the back of each room and would not sing, was missing. I went back
into the building to find him and it was then that I took the most memorable
picture, with my heart. There, in the hallway, was the big muscular boy, on his
knees, in the arms of that dear little 100-year-old lady. He had his strong, but
gentle arms rapped around her frail little body. Tears were streaming down both
their faces. On her lap was the pinecone Christmas tree he had carried
throughout the home and had been too embarrassed to give.

That year love came in the form of a pinecone tree.
We all have so much to be grateful for as we create Christmas memories and
traditions within our families How blest we all are.

This Christmas we have more reasons to look for the good things of life and be
thankful for all we are blessed with, in spite of events of the world. We must
remember that Christmas is a season of giving and of gratefulness.
I wrote a song to help encourage all of us and help us know what we can do
this Christmas to make a difference in our world.

What Can I Do To Help?

Theres so much sadness and so much pain. What can I do to help?

Theres so much anger and hatred. What can I do to help?

I can cherish my freedom, in this country I love.

I can bring comfort to someone. I can do all that I should.

Theres so much hurt and confusion. What can I do to help?

Theres so much sorrow and worry. What can I do to help?

I can love my brother; I can do a kind deed.

I can care for another; I can get down on my knees.

Theres so much sadness and so much pain. What can I do to help?

Theres so much anger and hatred? What can I do to help?

I can fight against evil and the suffering it brings

I can always to Gods will, so peace can come to our world

I can always do Gods will so peace can come to our world.

Thank you for letting me share my special memories of the happiest season of my
life. I pray we will all remember the reason for our Christmas Season and do all
We can to bring peace and happiness to our families and to our world.
WE can enjoy our own traditions and be grateful for this Christmas, a season of
Memories.

Eva Fry www.evafry.com eva@evafry.com

Buy Palm Tree Photo Boxed Holiday Cards at Amazon

Buy Three Painted Cardinals – Recycled Content Boxed Holiday Christmas Cards at Amazon

With Christmas just around the corner, our focus is slowly starting to shift from our work commitments to Christmas and with it comes the annual Christmas spending spree.

Unfortunately many families don’t set a Christmas budget and they rely on their credit cards to get them through the festive season.

Shortly after Christmas these same families will also develop symptoms of the “Christmas Giving Blues” which can include an upset stomach, lack of sleep and anxiety.

You know that feeling. You spend up big, charge it on the card, and then spend the next couple of months worrying about how you are going to pay off your Christmas debts while vowing never to let this happen to you again.

Unfortunately, this is a reality for a lot of families every Christmas and they just don’t seem to be able to break out of the cycle.

This year, give yourself and your family a Christmas gift and take the “Christmas Budget Challenge” and enjoy your Christmas without the suffering the Christmas Blues.

There are two parts to the Christmas Budget Challenge:

1. Put in place a strategy that will help you survive Christmas with as little pain as possible.

2. Put in place a strategy that will give you a plan to enjoy your next Christmas. This plan will also run itself without you even thinking about it.

Let’s start by putting in place a plan that will hopefully make this Christmas a little easier on your hip pocket:

1. Have a look at your finances and set an upper limit that you can afford for your Christmas spending. Allocate a certain amount to Gifts and a certain amount to other Christmas expenses. This is the start of your Christmas budget.

2. Leave the credit card at home and pay for Christmas with money wherever possible.

3. Keep track of all your Christmas spending. A good way of doing this is by carrying a small notebook and pencil and writing your purchases in it.

Gift Buying

4. Call your relatives and agree that Gifts will only be purchased for the children

5. Take your Christmas Gift budget that was allocated in step 1 and divide it by the number of gifts you need to buy. This number will be the maximum you can spend on each gift.

Christmas Food Shopping

6. Take your Christmas Dinner budget and make a shopping list.

7. When you are doing your shopping use a calculator to make sure you stay within your Christmas budget.

8. Save money by looking for the cheaper priced goods on the top and bottom shelves. Try not to buy items that are on shelves at eye level, these are usually the higher priced items.

9. Try not to buy items that are located in the displays at the end of the shopping aisles, these items are usually more expensive than the items located in the aisles.

10. Compare prices of similar items and buy the cheaper item.

11. Remember that Christmas is only one day a year. You don’t have to spend a weeks worth of grocery money on one day.

12. Ask each relative to provide a food dish, drinks or dessert.

As soon as Christmas is over and the pain is fresh in your mind. You need to take action and put in place the second part of the “Christmas Budget Challenge”. This next step will ensure that you have enough money for next Christmas

1. Add up all your Christmas expenses including gifts, food and any other costs.

2. Take the total of your Christmas expenses and divide it by the total amount of pays until next Christmas.

3. Open high interest bank account with the following attributes:

- No minimum starting balance

- Interest is accrued daily and billed monthly

- Interest rate on this bank account must be higher than the inflation rate.

- No bank charges

ING Direct and Citibank have an online banking account that may be suitable for your Christmas Budget account.

4. Organize an automatic bank transfer from your bank account to your Christmas Budget account. This transfer will be on each payday for the amount you worked out in step 2. It is important that this is automated because most people will not stick to this plan if it is a manual process.

5. When next Christmas comes around withdraw your money and repeat the process again.

This plan is very simple and surprisingly effective and you will be able to enjoy your next Christmas without the suffering the Christmas Giving Blues.

Buy CR Gibson Spode Christmas Tree Boxed Christmas Cards (Pack of 3) at Amazon

Buy Pug Boxed Christmas Cards – 16 Cards & 17 Envelopes at Amazon

Buy Professional Santa Claus Wig and Beard Set Christmas Xmas Holiday Party Outfit Costume Accessory at Amazon

Buy Biking Santa Holiday Cards at Amazon

Buy Bonnie Jean Toddler Girls Clothes Red Snowflake Christmas Dress 2T-4T at Amazon

Buy Yorkshire Terrier Glitter Christmas Greeting Cards at Amazon

No description for this product could be found, but have a look over at Amazon for reviews and other information.
Buy Legacy Gooseberry Patch Christmas Jam Recipe Cards at Amazon

Buy Christmas Pixie Elf Belt (White) Adult Costume Accessory at Amazon

Buy Jewelry Chest Woodworking Boxes Hand Engraved Indian Craft Christmas Gifts Ideas at Amazon

Understanding how cultures are really different, have a look at how different countries decorate their Christmas Trees. A seemingly small thing, everyone more or less assumes that all Christmas Trees are decorated just like theirs. Once you understand that something so common as the Christmas tree is decorated differently, you can begin to understand how different it is selling to different markets.

German Christmas Trees (Weihnachtsbaum)

Many of today’s Christmas traditions started in Germany. There are at least 2 stories about how the Weihnachtsbaum began.

The first, Martin Luther is supposed to have gone for a walk in the woods near his home. He saw how beautifully the stars shone through the forest. He wanted to share the beauty with his wife so he cut down a fir and took it home. He used small candles on the branches and said that it would be a symbol of the beautiful Christmas sky.

Another legend says that in the early 16th century, people in Germany combined two customs that had been practiced in different countries around the world. The Paradise tree, a fir decorated with apples, representing the Tree of Knowledge in the Garden of Eden. The second, a small, pyramid-like frame called The Christmas Light decorated with glass balls, tinsel, and a candle on top. The Christmas Light was a symbol of the birth of Christ as the Light of the World. Changing the tree’s apples to tinsel balls and cookies and combining this new tree with the Light placed on top, the German’s created the tree that many of us know now.

Today, the Weihnachtsbaum is traditionally decorated by the parents in secret with lights, tinsel, and ornaments by the mother and is lit and revealed on Christmas Eve with cookies, nuts, and gifts under its branches.

Canadian Christmas Trees

German settlers migrated to Canada from both Germany and the United States before 1800. These immigrants brought many of the things that we associated with Christmas today. Advent calendars, gingerbread houses, Christmas cookies and the Christmas trees.

English Christmas Trees

Queen Victoria’s German husband, Prince Albert, put up a Christmas tree at Windsor Castle in 1848. Almost immediately, the Christmas tree became a tradition in England, the United States, and Canada. Today, the Norway spruce is the traditional tree used in British homes. The Norway spruce used to be a native species in the UK (until the last Ice Age) and it has been reintroduced before the 1500s.

Swedish Christmas Trees (Julgran)

Most Swedes buy their Julgran well before Christmas Eve. It is common to take the Julgran inside and decorate it just a few days before Christmas. Julgran are decorated with stars, sunbursts, and snowflakes made from straw. Other decorations include colorful wooden animals and straw centerpieces.

Norwegian Christmas Trees (Juletre)

Norwegians will often make a trip to the woods to select a Juletre themselves. The Juletre was only introduced into Norway in the latter half of the 19th century. On Christmas Eve the Juletre is usually done by the parents while the children wait out of site. Juletre are decorated with white lights, tinsel, Norwegian flags and other ornaments. Children often use shiny, colored paper to make paper baskets that are filled with candy or nuts. Chains made of colored paper are also very popular. Colored lighting is becoming popular, but the white lights are more like the candles they are supposed to represent.

Japanese Christmas Trees

Only about 1% of the Japanese are Christian, so Christmas is not a national holiday there and the year end celebration is more important than Christmas. Trees are decorated with small toys, gold paper fans and lanterns, wind chimes and small candles. A popular ornament is origami creations, with the origami swan being the most popular.

Greenlandic Christmas Trees

Because of the arctic climate, Christmas trees don’t grow in Greenland so theirs are shipped in from Denmark. Greenlanders decorate theirs with candles and bright ornaments.

Italian Christmas Trees (Albero di Natale )

The presepio (nativity scene) is very common in Italy. The scene is often set out in the shape of a triangle which is the base of a pyramid-like structure called the ceppo. This is a wooden frame arranged to make a pyramid several feet high. It is decorated with colored paper, gilt pine cones, and miniature colored pennants. Small candles are fastened to the tapering sides. A star or small doll is hung at top. The shelves above the manger scene have small gifts of fruit, candy, and presents. The ceppo is in the old Tree of Light tradition which became the
Albero di Natale in other countries. Some houses even have a small ceppo for each child in the house.

Brazilian Christmas Trees (rvore de Natal )

Christmas falls during the summer in Brazil. Some people decorate pines with pieces of cotton that represent falling snow.

Philippine Christmas Trees

Since fresh pine trees are too expensive for many Filipinos, handmade trees are often used. Filipinos often make Star lanterns from bamboo sticks, covered with brightly colored rice paper or cellophane, and usually feature a tassel on each point. One will be placed in each window, representing the Star of Bethlehem.

Chinese Christmas Trees

Only 3 to 4% of Chinese are Christian and few people celebrate Christmas. Of the small percentage of Chinese who do celebrate Christmas, most erect artificial trees decorated with paper chains, paper flowers and lanterns. Christmas trees are called “trees of light.”

Saudi Arabian Christmas Trees

Christians living in conservative Muslim Saudi Arabia have to celebrate Christmas privately in their homes. Christmas lights are generally not tolerated. Most families place their Christmas trees somewhere out of site and decorate as they do in their home country

Decorating the Christmas Tree with Feng Shui

When decorating the Christmas tree, think about colors. Green is a calming color and red a fiery and energetic color. These colors balance each other out, and they happen to be traditional Christmas colors. The Christmas tree should be in the center of the main room, or slightly to the left of the main room.

A Feng Shui tree should have something that family and friends put on of their own, something special as part of the decorations. Decorating the Christmas Tree should be a shared experience that will help create a special moment and increase the good energies of this festive ritual.

Decorating the Christmas Tree For Geeks

No, not Greeks, Geeks. A Geek Christmas tree is something to behold. It is usually a ‘regular’ Christmas tree, but a Geek will occasionally use an old PC as the base and make branches with old IT material. Decorations include CD’s, a broken mouse or two, old USB keys, the CPU from old mother boards and other similar shiny material. The star on top is built out of any appropriate material that is sitting around. Often the star sill be based on the ‘flavor’ of the Geek. A Star Wars Geek may use a Death Star model as the star of their tree.

Since there are many breeds of Geek, ornaments may be figurines from Star Wars, Harry Potter, World of Wars, and Star Trek. Fake snow at the base of the tree is usually the Styrofoam left over from packing material.

Now that you have seen the differences in Christmas Tree decoration, you can begin to work on how you will sell to different markets.