Keries Christmas

Depending on the traditions you were brought up in, you probably have a variety of things you usually eat around Christmastime. This can vary from the vegetables and meat served at dinner, to a particular brand of chocolate to be eaten on Christmas Eve. Food is a big part of Christmas, and most of us develop habits even when traditions do not exist.

Yet there is a flaw in this ideal. While it is always good to have some traditions, traditions that are based around food can be a little more tricky. We cannot all like Christmas pudding, mince pies, candy canes and other seasonal niceties – yet many of us insist on eating these items anyway. Eating something just because it’s Christmas, and that’s what you do at Christmas, is extremely bizarre – but we do it anyway!

Christmas is a time to be enjoyed, and that means we should enjoy the food we eat as well. If you have always hated Christmas, fruit pudding, maybe this year it’s time to say to hell with tradition and have a dessert prepared that you do enjoy. No, it may not be Christmas dessert as you remember, but tell yourself you are starting an entirely new type of Christmas tradition. There is no reason to buy and consume foods you do not enjoy.

If your family protest, merely state that you have a distaste for certain Christmas foods and you would prefer not to eat them. Mostly, the issue will pass without further comment, and will not be raised again. You will thus be saved an uncomfortable culinary experience, and you may even have a few jealous, less rebellious family members eying your delicious dessert!

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In soap operas, Christmas is usually the time of a key storyline – where everything comes to a head, and someone inevitably gets punched. In reality, rather than going against fiction, the situation can be even worse. Christmas is a fraught time, where family members are brought together for enforced jollity, and after a few days things can begin to grate.

Christmas is a notorious time of year for arguments, as the tensions of planning the perfect meal and relative strangers being in close proximity becomes overwhelming. While you can try and assure you will remain calm and dignified at all times, that doesn’t guarantee other members of your family will have made the same promise. In fact, two family members besides yourself arguing can be even more distressing than if you were involved yourself.

It is therefore wise to play the role of peacemaker during the festivities, and give yourself an opportunity to be the one with the clear head. If you yourself feel you are losing control, take a moment and step outside. Take a few deep breaths to clear yourself, and then go back inside with a smile on your face.

What’s more, if you sense an argument brewing, do something distracting. Say something, ask a question or distract one of the people involved in the build up to the row. Don’t be obvious about what you’re doing – don’t say “now now, calm down both of you” – simply slide past the issue and move on to something else. People will get the hint without feeling offended or babied by your actions, and a sticky moment should pass.

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It is now socially acceptable – if not expected – to give tips during the Christmas season. These are usually small bonuses handed out to households to the people who make your life run a little smoother for the rest of the year; usual recipients include mailmen, people working at the post office, a building or house supervisor and the paper route boy. Yet while this is something of an established tradition, it can be tricky, particularly if you’ve moved into a new area.

Your first move should be to establish if tipping at Christmas is something your neighbors do. While you may think it harmless to tip even if your neighbors do not, it could create resentment if they find out – they may feel you are deliberately making them appear to be a Scrooge. A few well timed questions should reveal an answer – and may even reveal what is accepted to be given. If not, try the internet – a local community online where you can post the question anonymously should have the same result.

When you know if you are (or aren’t) tipping, it’s time to think of the tip itself. This is a tricky line to walk, as you do not want to appear overly generous, nor do you want to appear stingy. It is best to set a base rate and do the same for all the people you plan to tip. The amount is obviously dependent on your circumstances, but do not fall into the trap of spending more than you can easily afford. The tip may be a Christmas bonus for some, but don’t let it ruin your Christmas by breaking the bank. A simple thank you and a decent but not excessive tip should see you right.

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Buying gifts for teenagers is a nightmare. Where you could once be sure the latest hot toy would satisfy a delighted child, teenagers are far more complex creatures altogether. Unless you ask a teenager to write a designated Christmas list – something which may be sneered at as childish – you could find yourself struggling when it comes to gift buying.

One of the first ways to maneuverer around this problem is to keep your ears open from August onward. Listen out for any hints – deliberate or not – as to what the teenager in question may like. They may mention a fondness for a particular band or movie; meaning you can buy the CD or DVD, providing they do not already have it (a quick scan of shelves should provide the answer).

However, sometimes answers are not so forthcoming, and you’ll need to be a little more cunning. To this end, around October time, indulge the teenager in a game of “what if?”. Do it idly, as if it is merely a way of passing the time, and do not press for answers. Ask what they would do with the money if they won the lottery, and then scale it down. Even if you don’t get specific answers, you should get an insight into what they really want.

If you still cannot find an answer, try not to go for the easy option of cash unless specifically asked for. Think of stores they frequent and buy gift vouchers, or give a coupon on Christmas Day entitling them to a pair of concert tickets – for the show of their choosing. With a bit of thinking and cunning, you should be able to have one happy teenager come Christmas morning.

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Christmas is a time of year when different families around the world will get together and observe traditions that are the same for them year after year and yet vastly different from those that other families share around the block. There are very few universal Christmas traditions any more and there is nothing wrong with that. In America however, there are some items that many people consider traditional holiday cooking and there is little that will be done to dissuade these opinions. The truth is that many of these traditional holiday foods are largely traditional in specific regions rather than the United States having one nations wide traditional Christmas dinner.

Turkey or ham? For some families the answer is both while others answer quite quickly that it is neither. One of the best all-American Christmas cooking ideas I’ve ever seen was lasagna. It was a Christmas Eve tradition but a delicious tradition just the same. There are no right or wrong traditions only those traditions that work well for you and your family. If you feel the need to change a long-standing tradition for a large extended family by all means discuss it with everyone involved. Otherwise it is your tradition and you should feel free to make it your own.

At the same time, there is something comforting and reminiscent of home to have those traditions to come home to year after year. I can’t help but think of the movie Christmas with the Kranks. The entire movie was spent in an attempt to break with the traditional Christmas trappings and trimmings only to make a mad dash to return to them in the end. That is often the way things go when attempting to break with tradition. If you are considering this for the first time this Christmas be sure to hang on to some of your old traditions in case you find that it just doesn’t feel like Christmas without them. You certainly don’t want it to be too late and miss out on the spirit of Christmas in your home.

Other great traditional favorites for many Americans as far as Christmas cooking goes are: sweet potato casseroles, devilled eggs, dressing or stuffing, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, pumpkin pie, apple pie, mince meat pie, and pecan pie. Of course there are regional favorites that are often highly dependent upon where you live such as key lime pie, lemon icebox pie, oyster dressing, deep fried turkey. If one of these is a Christmas tradition for you, no matter where you are in the world you will think of home or Christmas whenever you come across them. It’s really amazing how that happens and quite nice too when family and friends seem far away to have something as simple as a dish of food make them seem that much closer.

That, of course, is the great, and almost perfect things about Christmas traditions. We pass them along to our children who one day will find that they are a little less alone because someone in an airport is eating a slice of key lime pie or having a dish or macaroni and cheese. If you don’t have Christmas traditions it is time to develop a few just so that you can share something special and almost sacred with your friends and family.

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Go Go Pets Hamsters

How things have changed as now birthday invitations for childrens parties include pets of the virtual kind know as Go Go Pets Hamsters or Zhu Zhu Pets Hamsters. Invitation replies come back from Kate and Chunk, Johnny and Mr Squiggles, Billy and Pipsqueek and Michelle and Num Nums. It was not that long ago that the idea of inviting kids and their pets to your kids birthday party was the stuff of nightmares.

Read the rest of the article at http://ezinearticles.com/?Go-Go-Pets-Hamsters—The-Nightmare-of-Pets-at-a-Kids-Birthday-Party&id=3291197

Also check out my blog at http://gogopets-hamsters.blogspot.com/

Keries

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OK I’m sure you too have experienced those really awful Christmas gifts. You know the ones we usually know what they are before we’ve even open them. The the shape of the gift usually gives it away, or even the way it feels when prodded, so that we know we’ve received a gift we aren’t going to love. Yes another pair of jocks, a tie, perfume you probably don’t like or an unfortunate knitted jersey from your dear Granny – the reality of that awful Christmas gift is an oh so common feeling.

So we plaster on the fake smiles, nod enthusiastically and then cast the gift aside never to be looked at again. We stuff it in a drawer with ones from previous Christmases and hope they’ll all disappear, because for some reason – even though we hate them – we don’t want to throw them away. Yes it’s difficult, it’s embarrassing, and what’s more it’s more than a little disappointing. as wouldn’t we all like gifts we love?

The real problem of being on the receiving end of an awful Christmas gift is if we are in the same room with the person. We know we should be grateful, that we should be glad to be getting anything at all, but quite frequently “nothing” seems a better idea than another gift you can’t or won’t lose. So how on earth do we deal with the problem?

Basically, there is no way. You could try having a quiet word in the ear of the giver, if they are a persistent bad gift giver – but they’re more than likely to be offended, no matter how nicely you word it. So the best thing to do is just strap on a smile, appear delighted and keep going. That way no one gets hurt, and while the gifts may continue to be terrible, at least there’s a sense of the Christmas spirit.  No not the spirits of the bottled kind but I guess they help make it just a little bit more tolerable.

Keries

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Today was doing the weekly grocery shopping and noticed that more and more Christmas decorations are starting to appear in the shops. OK I thought they seem to be getting earlier every year.

However I’ve just read it only 50 days to Christmas and as per usual I haven’t as yet given it a thought. Maybe I should so that it doesn’t become the usual last minute rush to get things done or even worse find that what’s on my list has all been snapped up by others more organised than me.

This year I thought I might do some browsing on the internet for some ideas and after a quick look at some things just maybe it might be more relaxing than shopping with the Christmas crowds.

I’ll keep you posted on what I find so that you too can get some ideas.

Keries

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