“Holiday” by definition, is “leisure time away from work devoted to REST or PLEASURE”. Ok, so why do we all look, seem and feel so stressed out? How come I needed a few days to recover from my Thanksgiving “Holiday”? We have all of these unbelievable demands put on us, my Family (the Primary Culprit), Friends, Work, and Society. Have we, in fact, destroyed the Holidays and replaced them with frenzied festivals of chaos? It kind of feels like it. Every day since December 1 my wife and I have compared Task Lists in preparation for the Christmas-New Year “Festival”. Our conversations begin with “Don’t forget…” or “When you’re out, could you…” . Phase One is ON! Phase One you say? Yes the “Three Phases of The Holiday Season”:

Phase One-“Pre Game”: This is BY FAR the worst Phase! It might be the most STRESSFUL TIME OF THE YEAR! (Any Carol Writers out there?). Lists, Christmas Parties (Didn’t they used to be fun?), Rushing Around, Crowds (try Amazon!), Family Event and Accommodation Planning (Airport Runs!), Juggling Parents, Step Parents, Kids, Step Kids, Food Planning and Shopping (this remains constant in all Phases!), Work (like anybody is really working!), Spouses, Pets, and Lists! (It needed to go in here twice! I have List Nightmares!) If you can survive the “Pre Game” without incident, you can usually manage a little fun in the next Phase.

Phase Two-“The Events”: You need to be prepared to attend at LEAST two functions per day even if they are quick “Stop Ins”. This Phase is ALL about being SOMEPLACE at someone else’s TIME! NIGHTMARE! Learn the phrases “Sure” and “If you want to honey”. You’ll need them and a little booze.

Phase Three-“The Aftermath”: Hopefully you made it, marriage, liver and sanity in tact. Phase Three is the best phase. It’s usually the week between Christmas and New Years. Everyone is running on fumes so you won’t be pulled in a million different directions and can actually…just maybe RELAX!

I’ve been through 48 mostly wonderful and certainly blessed Christmas Seasons! Please accept these “10 Tips for Surviving The Three Phases” as my gift:

1. “Make Lists”-They haunt me but I would be lost and INEFFECTIVE without them. Santa is right.
2. “Host ONE Big Event”-Bite the bullet for one day and save yourself a hundred visits while welcoming your family and friends into your home.
3. “Cut Down on Gifts”-Give Gift Cards, Homemade Stuff (Food is always nice! Who doesn’t like Fudge?), or Framed Photos!
4. “Say NO”- You cannot do everything! See Number 2.
5. “Put Down the Electronic devices and Talk!”-Talk to each other! Really talk, not mutter under your breath while texting. We have a “No Phones at the table” Policy.
6. “Watch One Christmas Movie a Day”-There are some really wonderful Holiday Movies! Sit down as a family and watch one EVERY DAY! Some of my favorites are “Christmas Vacation”, “It’s a Wonderful Life”, “A Christmas Story”, “Four Christmases”, and “Miracle on 34th Street”. You can Google a comprehensive list. Wikipedia has a nice one. Trust me. Your whole family will love it!
7. “Drink”-Pick a beverage and nurse it throughout the first two phases especially!
8. “Do Something Nice for Yourself”-You deserve it after all you’ve been though in Phase One! How about a massage? Day of Pampering? Nap? Just do SOMETHING!
9. “CALL Your Old Friends”-I realize that you probably “Facebook” but try picking up the phone and hearing their voice, like the old days! Ask them about their lives, families, and careers. They’ll love to hear from you and you’ll feel great after each chat!
10. “Reflect a Little”-Take it all in and try to enjoy the craziness while reflecting on all that is wonderful about this time of the year. How many more Christmases do you have? They are ALL very precious so treasure this one.

Nothing looks more beautiful than Christmas natural holiday decorations. Best of all, they are quick and inexpensive, and you can make them from what you find in your back yard. Make it a family tradition or do crafts with your kids one weekend in December.

Here are a few ideas for natural holiday decorations:

• Small twigs can transform a dime store candle into a beautiful centerpiece. Start with a thick 8 inch candle. Gather straight small twigs and cut them to about the same height as the candle. Arrange the sticks vertically, side by side around the outside of the candle and secure them with a thick rubber band or hot glue. Tie with a plaid ribbon. Your holiday centerpiece is ready to decorate a festive Christmas table.

• Baskets of scented pine cones are sure to make your whole house smell like Christmas. Just put pine cones in a large plastic bag and sprinkle with pine-scented oil available in craft stores. Close the bag tightly and allow them to sit for about 2 weeks. This makes a great holiday gift that is easy to make.

• A bowl of orange pomander looks and smells like holidays and is a great project to do with kids. Pierce holes in whole oranges in a simple design. let children poke whole cloves into the holes. Tie the orange with a thin ribbon for more color.

• For an unusual natural decoration, use a zesting tool to carve simple designs on lemons and limes. Lightly carve swirls and curves so that the white membrane shows through the bright skin. They look and smell beautiful when displayed in a shallow bowl or holiday basket.

• Create a tiny Christmas tree from small boxwood cuttings poked into a cone shape made from a green floral foam called “oasis”. (Oasis is available in craft stores)

• Make your own pine roping using extra branches from your Christmas tree. Attach small branches to jute twine by wrapping with thin floral wire. Just be sure to overlap branches so that none of the twines shows.

• A really quick, fresh-looking Christmas holiday wreath can be made by using a plain green artificial one as a base. Just poke in large sprigs of holly or pine and add a ready-made bow. The greens will last a long time without water, especially outdoors.

• Another holiday gift idea that is colorful and easy to make: String cranberries and popcorn with a needle and dental floss for a stronger holiday garland.

May your Christmas be merry and bright with these natural holiday decorations!

Big parties and gatherings can be so much fun, and food and drinks, music, contests, are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to planning a holiday party or great event. While all those details are rather exciting to plan, one critical step could mean the difference between a fun, successful party and chaos: crowd control.

One easy step is to designate security personnel. There should be at least one security person for every 50 people expected at the event. Keep in mind that the purpose of event security is not to impede a good time, but to quickly nip a potential problem in the bud.

Another easy way to maintain organization and minimize trouble is to use colored wristbands for crowd control. Your choices may vary from vinyl to woven wristbands, plastic or silicone wristbands, depending on the durability and quality and other wristbands features.

If you’re checking tickets or IDs at the door, this should be a very simple task. Have multiple colored wristbands for varying level of admission. For example, at a music festival, discreetly designate the allowances of guests and their access to perks. Those who donate a minimal amount, identified by a blue wristband, have access to all music performances, free parking, and access to food vendors. Moderate donors, who get yellow wristbands, get VIP seating for the musical performances, preferred parking and tickets redeemable for free food and beverages. The platinum donors, with white wristbands, have access to VIP seating, backstage passes, and unlimited food and beverages. If the festival staff know the meaning of all event wristbands, the crowd will be easily controlled, preventing chaos.

For smaller events, you may choose to use two different plastic wristbands to identify those who can legally drink from minors. Checking IDs at the bar can be time consuming and frustrating in low lights and with numerous requests.

Woven wristbands are ideal for sports events of all kinds, and silicone wristbands are popular choice for trade shows and fundraising events.

Wristbands for crowd control are an incredibly helpful detail on your list of holiday party ideas, no matter the size of your special event.

It’s getting closer to Halloween; costumes are planned, decorations are put up, and parties are coordinated. But are you truly in the Halloween spirit yet? If you’re looking for a muse to get you ready for the tricks and treats, watch a good horror film! You’ve seen the Saw series and the classics like Frankenstein, but have you seen any of these movies, fresh to the screen in 2011?

Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark – a remake of the 1973 cult classic, a young girl discovers the truth about her father’s house, and its former residents. Produced by Guillermo Del Toro, it makes other scary movies look tame.

Final Destination 5 – The preview says it all: “Death doesn’t like to be cheated. A lucky few survive a disaster, and then one by one, death comes for them all.”

Insidious – It’s a movie about a haunted house and the creepy ways the spirits manifest themselves. The family and their comatose son move out of the house, only to find that the spirits weren’t just attached to the house.

Paranormal Activity 3 – Like the first two of the series, in-home cameras reveal evidence that something really scary is going on in their house. This time, the entity targets the two young girls in the family.

Scream 4 – The first sequel of the classic series since 2000, it features all of your favorite stars, like Neve Campbell, Courtney Cox and David Arquette, from the first three movies and some new faces, like Anna Paquin and Kristen Bell!

The Thing – A remake of the 1982 hit, scientists in Antarctica come face to face with a shape-shifting alien that has emerged from its hibernation deep below the ice.  Thick with dramatic irony, the creature uses the bodies of its victims to gain access to the rest of the human race.

Watch one of these movies to get yourself in the spooky spirit, and maybe you’ll get some great ideas for Halloween party! Scary movies are very popular at this time of year, and the movies that draw only a handful of people to movie theaters at other times of the year experience mass attendance during the second half of October. Private, locally-owned theaters often bring back older horror movies and classics, further maximizing their impact on the Halloween spirit. Check your local listings to find movie times, and bring a friend!

The quest for the perfect diamond engagement rings can be one of the most nerve-racking decisions in starting a new life with your partner. Of course, you want to pick a ring to suit her personality and brilliance, and the options can sometimes be overwhelming. The first part of your decision is choosing a jeweler you trust, which is hard enough, before picking the right one from the possible hundreds of rings in their selection.

As you have probably noticed, the desire for designer accessories is quite high among women, but some things are a little more obviously branded than others. For example, there’s no mistaking a Louis Vuitton handbag or Dolce & Gabbana sunglasses, but a designer engagement ring is rarely as externally branded. Instead, the brand name often appears on the inside of the ring, where some may choose instead to have a personalized inscription. The settings are often more intricately designed than most classic engagement rings, which ensures that it will be just as rare as she is. Some non-designer fine jewelers offer custom-made rings to compete with the unique designs, which is not a service some designer brands provide.

There is some serious budget-planning involved when thinking about purchasing diamond engagement rings, and the type of material and intricacy of design is reflected heavily in cost. Of course, price is a deciding factor for most grooms-to-be, and you can count on most designer items to be at least twice the price of their unbranded counterparts. Then again, what does a price tag matter, when you need to find a ring that’s as exquisite as your future bride?

Price tags and pressure aside, the most important part of choosing the perfect engagement ring is not brand or cost, but style: the degree to which the ring serves as an outward extension of her personality, inner beauty and grace. If she has a more reserved demeanor, a classic engagement ring may better suit her; if she is outspoken and fiery, she deserves a brilliant ring that says more about her than an autobiography ever could.  You know her better than anyone else, so you’ll know when you’ve found the unique engagement rings that best suit your beloved.

No matter how unconcerned with superstition you are in your everyday life, as your wedding day draws closer you may suddenly find yourself wanting to keep on the right side of wedding tradition and superstition.

So why do so many brides find themselves reaching for something old, new, borrowed and blue and where do these traditions come from?

The traditions and superstitions are all to do with bestowing the couple with luck and fertility. Many have changed over time, while others are diluted versions of old customs.

The rhyme “Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue and a sixpence in her shoe” comes from an ancient Israel custom where brides wore a blue ribbon in their hair to symbolise their fidelity. It was later embellished be the Victorians. Something old was an old garter which was given to the bride by a happily married woman so that the new bride would also enjoy a happy marriage. Something new looks to the future for health, happiness and success. Something borrowed is an opportunity for the bride’s family to give her something as a token of their love (it must be returned to ensure good luck), and something blue is thought lucky because blue represents fidelity and constancy. A sixpence was placed in the brides shoe to bring the couple wealth in their married life.

Flowers have always been a big feature at weddings. The groom is supposed to wear a flower that appears in the bridal bouquet in his button-hole. This stems from the medieval tradition of a Knight wearing his lady’s colours, as a declaration of his love. Each flower has its own meaning and can display a special message.

The wedding cake was originally lots of little wheat cakes that were broken over the bride’s head to ensure good luck and fertility. Today’s three-tier wedding cake is based on the unusual shape of the spire of Saint Bride’s Church in London. Traditionally the newly-weds should make the first cut to signify sharing their life. Every guest than eats a crumb to ensure good luck. And sleeping with a piece under her pillow is said to make a single woman dream of her future husband.

Walking is thought to be the best way of getting to Church, as there’s more chance of spotting lucky omens. Seeing a rainbow, having the sun shine on the Bride and meeting a black cat or a chimney sweep are all lucky. Bad omens include seeing a pig, hare or lizard running across the road, or spotting an open grave.

Before I was a Mom

I never tipped over toys

Or forgot words to a lullaby.

I didn’t worry whether or not

My plants were poisonous.

I never thought about immunizations.

Before I was a Mom,

I have never been puked on.

Pooped on.

Chewed on.

Peed on.

I had complete control of my mind and my thoughts.

I slept all night.

Before I was a Mom

I never help a screaming child

So doctors could do tests.

Or give shots.

I never looked into teary eyes and cried.

I never got gloriously happy over a simple grin

I never sat up late hours at night

Watching a baby sleep.

Before I was a Mom

I never help a sleeping baby

Just because I didn’t want to put her down.

I never felt my heart break into million pieces

When I couldn’t stop the heart.

I never knew that something so small

Could affect my life so much.

Before I was a Mom,

I never knew the feeling of having my heart outside my body.

I didn’t know how special it can be

To feed a hungry baby.

I didn’t know the bond between the mother and her child.

I didn’t know I love being a Mom.

Before I was a Mom

I had never known the warmth,

The joy

The love,

The heartache,

The wonder

And the satisfaction of being a Mom.

I didn’t know I was able of feeling so much

Before I was a Mom.

African Photo Safaris are becoming quite popular travel destinations for honeymooners and second honeymooners. No wonder – a trip to an exotic destination like this can be an ideal wedding gift for him, for her, and for both.

The choices of African safari trips vary greatly, by the main mode of transportation to the main form of lodging.

If a couple prefers a lot of hiking and walking and taking photos up close from ground level, there are Walking African Safaris. For those who wish to cover more territory during their stay, there are African Safari Driving Tours, which allow for taking plenty of photos in a multitude of locations across the entire Serengheti Plain.

The lodging consideration is quite important for many couples. If one partner wants a luxurious stay and the other prefers a pampered experience, it could challenging to get them to agree on accommodations. There are some interesting compromises available for modern African Safari enthusiast, however. It’s rare for honeymooning couples to really want to “rough it”. In Tanzania there is a compromise that many choose: the permanent tented lodge.

Tented lodges often include four poster beds, wooden floors, covered verandas, and bathing facilities ensuite and a separate tented lodge and dining area. There are usually additional verandas, outdoor sleeping platforms and some even offer “room service” of a sort. This allows couples to choose the best of both worlds.

If you need a break from daily routine and crave for some time together with adventure as a bonus, seriously consider this vacation ideas that includes plenty of fresh air, sunshine and wildlife, as well as fine food, great company and plenty of world class photo opportunities. African Safari might be just right wedding gift for you and your partner, and ideal travel destination for romantic getaway.

In Britain, as in many other countries, there is a special day in the year when people play practical jokes on each other and when the media invent hoax news stories. This day is called April Fool’s day, and it takes place on April, 1.

Some April Fools’ Day hoaxes have been very easy to spot. Examples include a TV report about a dinosaur in a London park, and a supermarket advertisement for “whistling carrots”. The supermarket ad said that when people cooked the carrots, they would start making a whistling sound as soon as they were ready to eat!

Even completely ridiculous hoaxes can fool people, however. One year, when BBC said the government was going to “modernise” London’s famous Big Ben clock by making it digital, lots of gullible people called the BBC to say they didn’t agree with the idea. The same thing happened a few years later when BBC invented a story about Britain suddenly having a new national anthem, with all the words in German!

One of the most famous April Fool Day’s hoaxes was a BBC TV program in 1957 about ‘spaghetti trees” in Switzeland. In the 1950s, most British people weren’t familiar with “foreign” food such as pasta, so the program made thousands of people think that spaghetti really did grow on trees.

In the United States, April Fools’ Day hoaxes include a 1998 advert by Burger King for a special “left-handed” hamburger. The ad said that when a left-handed person bit into the burger, any sause that dripped out would always fall to the right, away from their hand. Anyone who fell for that one must have felt quite embarrassed, but perhaps less embarassed that the people in Sweden who put stockings on their televisions on April 1, 1962.

Why did they do it? Because all Swedish televisions were black and white all the time, but an “expert” had just appeared on a popular program to say people could immediately see everything in color if they put a nylon stocking over their TV’s. Can you believe this?

In our dog-eat-dog world, someone who acts generously can be made to feel like a patsy. For doing the right thing, the dress manufacturer has clearly won accolades and applause from a higher power.

The story is told by a woman and is based on real facts.

As a major dress manufacturer and retailer, I sold Tiffany prom dresses, Jovani prom dresses and graduation dresses to a small retail operation in Montreal, which was owned by a man who was a member of my synagogue. I had heard that he was an upright, honest man who ran an ethical business, so I gave him credit. according to the terms he had initially agreed to, he was supposed to pay his bill of $8,724 sixty days after receiving my shipment. I was very disheartened when I learned from my accountant that he was delinquent on his payment.

We sent out three notices, which he ignored. Finally, I picked up the phone and called him. “What’s going on?” I inquired. “Look,” he sighed, “I am really sorry but I can’t pay my bill. Business is terrible, and I may have to close. I don’t have a penny to my name.”

I didn’t know what to do, so I counseled my rabbi. “Should I take him to court?” I asked. “After all, $8,724 is not a negligible amount. I really need that money. On the other hand, I feel bad for him; He’s down on his luck – what can he really do?” The rabbi didn’t give me much concrete advice. “Follow your heart!” he counseled.

I wrestled with myself for a long time, and finally concluded that I didn’t have the heart to sue the man. I heard later that he closed his business. He moved away to a different section of the town, joined another synagogue, and I lost track of him. Several years passed, and my business prospered.

One day, I received a call from a woman whose name I didn’t recognize, who asked if she could come up to my office to see me.She was deliberately vague about her intentions, but my curiosity was piqued, so I agreed to see her. When she arrived, she revealed her identity: she was the daughter of the man who still owed me the $8,724.

“After all these years, my father has felt terribly guilty about the debt he owes you,” she said. “He went bankrupt and was never able to stage a comeback. He still doesn’t have any money, but he asked me to give you this instead.” She then pulled a piece of jewelry out of her pocketbook and handed it to me.

It was a gold bracelet studded with diamonds. “it is a family hairloom,” she told me, “and practically the only thing of value my father has left. He asked me to give it to you with sincere apologies and greatest hope that it is worth something. He doesn’t know how valuable it is, but he is hoping it will brign you at least part of what he owes you”. At this point, I didn’t want to take it, but she insisted.

I don’t know much about jewelry, but I doubted that the piece was really valuable. I tossed it into a drawer and forgot about it. A few days later I remembered it and showed it to my father, who was also quite skeptical about its possibilities. However, he suggested that it wouldn’t hurt to go to an expert he knew for an appraisal.

he appraiser examined the bracelet carefully and at length. Finally, after much time has elapsed, he turned to us and said excitedly, “This is a really valuable piece! It is worth much more than you imagined. As a matter of fact, I would like to buy it from you. I am prepared to give you $8,724.”

The exact amount, to the dollar, that the man had owed me.

by Patrick Simone