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Christmas Cards Tips - How to Send the Perfect Holiday Greeting

by Matthew Hick

Americans wills end nearly 2 billion holiday cards this year! A favorite tradition that most people say they wouldn't dream of giving up, sending holiday greetings is a wonderful way to keep in touch with long distance friends and relatives, as well as a way to thank business associates and clients for their faithfulness throughout the year.

Although a popular activity, sending out holiday greetings can be time consuming. From choosing the right cards for individual groups of people (friends, family, professional associates, etc), to writing personal notes, addressing them and finally getting them to the post office in plenty of time for Christmas delivery, it's no wonder today's busy consumer is looking for ways to make the entire process quicker and easier.

If you're strapped for time this holiday season try some of these time saving tips:

-Buy and address your cards early. Most stores beginning selling holiday cards in early October, which a great time to begin the card addressing process before other holiday stresses kick in. Or commit to working on jus a few cards every night for the months of October and November to make the job less stressful.

-Make a list of people that you would like to send cards to, then divide that list into three groups: must send; want to send; and would like to send. Start with the must sends, and if you run out of time, opt to send a personalized letter later in the year to your want to send and would like to send list.

-Join a card-making club or make it an annual family tradition. Many people love to create their own holiday masterpieces. Some craft clubs around the nation hold card making classes and workshops and even Christmas card exchanges that allow participants to make a dozen or more of one type of card and exchange them for others. It's a great way to get a quick variety of homemade card styles. Or, use the same concept within your family and host a card-making day in late fall that allows everyone (including the kids) a chance to make their own cards to be sent to faraway family and friends in December.

-Have your cards preprinted. Many local printers as well as photo developing centers and even card manufacturers are happy to print your personalized message on the inside of the card you choose, as well as address your envelopes - some even handle the actual mailing! Although it may seem a bit impersonal to some, it can be a great timesaver for those too busy to do it themselves.

-Order your cards and stamps online to alleviate several trips out to purchase cards, buy stamps, etc.

-Always make a few extra cards and have them ready to address and mail for those you may have inadvertently forgotten, or for when you receive an unexpected card from someone you haven't heard from in years.

-Send a Thanksgiving or New Year's card instead. If the holidays are just too busy to include one more activity, try sending out pre or post holiday cards. Thanksgiving cards are a wonderful way to express how thankful you are to have certain people in your life. New Year's cards can often be made and addressed during those letdown days immediately after the holiday. Not only a great way to extend the holiday a few days longer, but cards sent then are often enjoyed more by those receiving them since they aren't thrown on a pike with a dozen others to be read quickly and set aside.

-Sending out Holiday greetings to your friends and family should be an experience you enjoy. Don't let the stress of the holidays take away the fun of catching up with those you don't hear from often. Start early and take your time. You'll be glad you did.

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Easy Christmas Party Games, Plans & Ideas

by Terri Hunziker

Christmas party games and ideas are easy to plan with a festive mindset. Think fun! Whoever is heading to your house for the holidays, make it a Christmas to remember. These ideas are a breeze to plan and will inspire the joys of the season for you and your guest to share.

With all the hype and consumerism that has taken over the pleasure of Christmas, don't forget that nothing can replace the joys of a simple celebration at home with close friends and family. Think of Christmas past - the smell of fresh baked goods, the sparkling luminous tree, Christmas carols playing on the stereo, much talking and laughter throughout the house. This is the stuff of a true Christmas where the joys of the season can be found. It is also the simplest of celebrations to plan.

The smell of fresh baked goods coming out of the oven is an irresistible holiday memory. Even the family "scrooge" can't resist the temptation to indulge in Christmas treats and sweets. Don't spend all your time baking, a simple cookie recipe or two is all it will take to get your guests into the kitchen. Consider a holiday baking party with a few close friends, everyone shares their best Christmas cookie. How about a cookie decorating party? Cookie decorating is fun for kids, big kids and kids at heart. These recipes will bring the joys to your kitchen:

White Rolled Christmas Cookies

- 1 c. powdered sugar
- 1 tsp. cream of tartar
- 1 tsp. soda
- 1 c. butter (margarine may be used)
- 2 c. flour
- 1 egg, well beaten
- 1 tsp. vanilla
- 1 tsp. almond extract, if desired

Roll out dough a cut with cookie cutters. Dough can be rolled and re-rolled as often as necessary for cutting desired shapes. Frost with favorite powdered sugar icing and decorate. Also may be rolled in balls and pressed flat to 1/4 inch. Bake at 300 to 350 degrees for 8 minutes.

Christmas Fruitcake Cookies

- 1 c. butter, softened
- 1-1/2 c. sugar
- 2 eggs
- 2-1/2 c. flour
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- 1 tsp. cinnamon
- 2 (8 oz.) pkgs. pitted dates, chopped
- 3 c. pecans, chopped
- 1 (8 oz.) pkg. candied pineapple, chopped
- 1 (8 oz.) pkg. candied cherries, quartered

Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs, beat well. Add dry ingredients and mix well. Add the rest. Drop on lightly greased cookie sheet. Bake at 375 degrees for 13 minutes.

How about Christmas movie night or nights. A great past time for families who want to create a holiday tradition to do every year. There are a number of wonderful holiday movies that will become family favorites. Try some of these for your family holiday movie night:

- It's a Wonderful Life (1946) - The top all time favorite every year as George escapes the clutches of evil Mr. Potter and realizes he's the richest man in town. Thanks, Clarence.

- Miracle on 34th Street (1947) - Did Macy's just hire the real Santa Claus? Hearts young and old still melt as Maureen O'Hara (and a very young Natalie Wood) finally see that "faith is believing in things when common sense tells you not to."

- A Christmas Story (1983) - Ralphie schemes and dreams his way to his one and only Christmas wish, the official Red Ryder air rifle.

- A Christmas Carol (1951) - The all-time best version of the Dickens classic starring Alister Sim as Scrooge and a definite must for any holiday DVD collection.

- The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993) - Tim Burton's original stop-motion masterpiece about a bunch of ghouls who just don't get Christmas "...and they call him Sandy Claws!"

- The Santa Clause (1994) - Comedian Tim Allen's only successful big screen performance to date as a hapless divorced dad begins to put on weight and grows a long white beard.

- Polar Express (2004) - On track to becoming a classic with Tom Hanks as the conductor on the early morning run to the North Pole.

Nothing says Christmas like Christmas carols. The tried and true classics are still the favorites. How about a tradition of caroling with family and friends. A rousing rendition of "Deck the Halls" is sure to get your group and your neighbors in the holiday mood. This list of carols are perfect for your caroling adventure:

- The 12 Days of Christmas
- Christmas Tree
- Come All Ye Faithful
- God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen
- Tattenbaum
- Hark The Herald Angels Sing
- Silent Night
- The First Noel
- It Came Upon A Midnight Clear
- We Wish You A Merry Christmas
- Jingle Bells
- Joy To The World
- Three Kings

Create some holiday magic with your family and friends The scents, sounds and traditions from seasons past makes a great backdrop for a season of festivities, laughter and fun. Start a few new traditions your gang will want to do year after year. A bit of planning and a lot of love will create traditions enjoyed by the young and the young-at-heart. A little Christmas party games and fun will make the season merry bright and memorable. Happy holidays!

Terri Hunziker founded GamesAndLetters.com. Games and Letters provides hundreds of print-and-play games -- Christmas party games, bridal shower games, baby shower games, and more! For immediate access to hundreds of fun games and ideas for your next party, visit, gamesandletters.com.

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How to Plan Your Christmas Gifts

by Jimmy Cox

Give yourself at Christmas; there really is no more wonderful of a gift. Out of the pretty box you give can fly all sorts of rare intangibles, once the ribbon is off and the lid is lifted. Affection, nostalgia, laughter, shared memories all these can crackle in the tissue paper along with grace and generosity. I was watching, a gift can say: last summer I could see you needed a better tennis racket. I was listening, a gift can tell: I heard you say you liked old cars... or Beethoven... or adventure stories.

The art is to put into every package more than the gift itself. We should think to ourselves that any gift will rattle around in any box unless the box is stuffed with human values, with joy and smiles and loving-kindness. Put yourself in every Christmas package.

Christmas Comes But Half the Year

Stretch your Christmas shopping out a bit: if you see something in September that's just right for somebody, buy it or order it; Christmas will always come along, every year.

Keep your eyes open all during the year, during sales, off-seasons, general shopping, for the odd, delightful, pertinent gifts that are so meaningful at Christmas; buy them, tag them, and store them away.

When you travel during the year, anywhere, buy for Christmas gifts as well as for souvenirs.

Think well in advance of the gifts that take a whole year to accomplish: a year's collection of the college newspaper for a son at an Army camp; pictures taken the same day of every month of the new baby, for grandparents far away, to be given in an album.

Have a notebook or card index to jot down hints during the year of things that other people would like; be alert to the wishes expressed idly by your family and friends.

Well ahead of the holiday make whatever discreet inquiries are necessary about size or taste, etc.

Mark a calendar for the days when materials for fruitcake, etc. need to be purchased; have some foolproof reminder for whatever takes many weeks before Christmas to do.

Investigate Christmas Clubs, and decide whether they suit your family's buying and spending habits.

Giving To Children

Consciously take notes during the year; many a real desire is forgotten or overlooked by the child in the dazzle of Christmas stores.

Take the children with you, once, early in the shopping season, to the biggest store in your city; say that it is not a trip to buy, and stick to it. Let it be just for looking, and allow time for the children to see and think about everything they see.

For very young children, do not buy for Christmas a gift that is out of season; a fishing rod he longed for at the beach last August will have little meaning for the very small boy when he sees it under the tree at Christmastime.

Avoid at all costs the gift a child is not yet ready for; a stamp album given half a year too soon may set up boredom where a little later a lasting interest might have developed.

Wrap everything. Wrap lots of little presents, too, and disguise packages that might be obvious. Under no circumstances tease the child by withholding the one present he has counted most on, if you have bought it for him.

If there is not time to set up a complicated toy on Christmas morning, put it away somewhere safely until that can be done; many a fine gift does not survive the early hours, and pieces are stepped on or thrown away accidentally, and directions are lost.

If there are children of different ages, take pains to protect all their gifts from each other's ravages, and to protect the younger children from harm.

Try to include in every child's Christmas a gift for the day itself, such as a Christmas book to be read or a record to be played.

With a little thought and planning, Christmas gift-giving can be as rewarding for the giver as the recipient.

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