Do you still recall how Christmas was during your childhood? The Christmas trees with sparkling lights around and the thought of generous Santa Claus paying visit to deliver your most wished gift? That’s Christmas – a never lasting magic clinging to the memories of every person.
The doll or the car you drooled over that magically appeared under the tree. The beautiful pink gown on a most wished doll, never having any idea that it was your mother who made it. A simple, handcrafted gift, yet something that reminds you of someone special.
Christmas presents back on the olden times were never wrapped in beautiful and glittering gift wrappers with laced ribbons. They were never bought on department stores. They were easy, simple and inexpensive presents crafted with care and lovingly wrapped in old newspapers.
One thing is for sure, when it comes to Christmas cards then real paper cards are the only way to go. For most of us an e-mail Christmas greeting is just not the same as getting one delivered by the mailman. Don’t get lazy and think you can send an email and be off the hook. Sending a real Christmas card with your genuine holiday wishes is a long standing tradition and in my opinion one that should be honored.
Decorations and embellishments were never bought back then. A simple foil tree adorned with blinking lights, simple bells made out of egg cartons and foils, and memorable crocheted banners on a red and green background were enough to festoon the walls of every home.
Every member of the family is encouraged to be involved in the decorating process. It is an activity to have fun with the family, enjoying each others company and let everyone appreciate the outcome at the end of the day. Today, as we look back on the many Christmases we had, may we yearn the values we have learned and strive hard to rekindle it back.
You can easily create your own with a grape vine wreath cage. All you need to do is fill it with floral foam and attach sprigs of greenery collected from your own backyard.
Back in the colonial times, life was difficult. People then did not have a lot of material things. But they were resourceful. They made use of preserved plant materials and any kind of fruit they had on hand, and fashioned it into a beautiful, eye-catching Christmas decorations for their homes.
They used dried materials like pods of okra, cotton pods, oyster shells, dried flowers from their own garden, sprigs of magnolia, boxwood, holly, pine, pine cones, and any other kind of greenery they can collect. They also embellished their wreaths with fresh pineapples, apples, oranges, and pomegranates; all made without artificial sprays, scent or color paint.
Fresh fruits were chosen for its color brilliance as well as its keeping quality when exposed to the harsh winter weather. All of these are artistically wired onto a sturdy frame laden with greenery and dried native flowers.

Way back in 1967, I was officially appointed as the family’s Christmas Stocking Stuffer. Since my dad died, I’ m concerned that Santa would stop visiting my two little brothers.
When my dad passed away, I learned that sorrow can be overcome by doing something secret and exciting for someone else. Whenever, I see the stunned looks on my brothers’ faces, I then concluded that the best job there is, is becoming a Christmas Stocking Stuffer.
Over the years, I have gained a few insights about it and so I am offering little tips and ideas you could use for the job.
1) Finding the Right Stocking: Most families by now have their stockings and you’ll just have to do something with what you got. On the other hand, if you’re just starting out or have the chance to set up a new custom, here are a small number of things remember when you select a stocking for stuffing:
• The Right Size: I have noticed that a medium size stocking that’s 20-24 inches from cuff to toe, is the right size. Bear in mind- you have to fill a stocking and a large one could spoil your Christmas budget.
• The Right Material: It is important to make sure that the stocking is made from the right material and durable. Knit stockings stretch out in both directions. Once again, consider your finances.
• If your family hangs their stockings, make sure the loop is durable enough to hold a large amount of pounds without breaking.
2) Places to shop for items to be stuffed inside the Christmas stocking. Your ultimate goal when shopping for items to be used for the Christmas stocking is to save money, to shop for items on sale, to use store coupons, and to go to thrift stores. Here are a few ideas proven to bring out smiles on a Christmas morning:
• Office Supplies Store: memo pads, pen markers, pencil or ballpen erasers, pencils and ballpens, index cards, paper and binder clips, colored pens, plastic rulers, scrap booking items, crayolas, post-it notes, staplers, pencil sharpeners.
• Drug Store: candies, nuts of all kinds, photo film, disposable camera, inexpensive but nice toys, activity books, a nice scented cologne, a non-greasy lotion, manicure set, liquid bath soap, batteries, costume jewelry, a hypoallergenic cosmetic, hairpins, hair clips, shaving cream, hair brush
• Book Store: inexpensive books, wholesome magazines, bookmarks, book lamps, diaries, coffee mugs, cd case, dvds, small stuffed animals, jigsaw puzzles
• Hardware Store: hammers, a variety of screw drivers, various pliers, spray paint, working gloves, padlocks, key labels, flashlight, construction gadgets, paint brushes, vegetable and flower seeds
• Craft Store: beads of several colors and designs, dental floss, sewing kit, scissors with shapes, watercolor, art papers, ink stamps with nice designs, paper stickers, buttons, decors, charcoal pencils, glitter dusts, how-to kits, golden cross stitch thread, linen cloth.
• Grocery Store: chocolates, fruits of any kind, cooking tools, cookies in boxes or in foil packs, small boxes of cereal, bags of snacks, beer in cans, small bottle of olive oil, vinegars in small bottles, snack cakes in foil packs
• Baking and Cooking Supplies Store: wooden spoons used for baking, oven thermometer, baster, kitchen tongs, strainer, cork openers, spatulas, garlic crusher, vegetable peeler.
• Sporting Goods Store: tennis balls set, golf balls set, wrist bands, baseball caps, baseball bats, jump ropes, sport socks.
3) The Choice whether to Wrap the Gift Items or Not: This is an individual choice. Since I love to wrap up gift items as much as I love being a Christmas stocking stuffer, it’s not a difficult option. Every item becomes a little gift – even if it’s a single piece of candy. Furthermore, unwrapping gifts will slow a child down making the magic of Christmas morning last a bit longer.
6) Qualifications of a Christmas Stocking Stuffer: The traits that Christmas Stocking Stuffer should possess, is someone who is: a fine listener, watchful and considers love is in the details. He or she is well-prepared and creative.

Christmas wreath can be used as fantastic source of fundraising activity for non-profit groups. Instead of the traditional selling of cookies, children’s candy bars, or cookie dough, selling Christmas wreaths can be a bestseller which would brings in more money and helps draw out a cheerful mood into your locality at the same time.
Christmas wreath fundraising activity is a brilliant way to lend a hand to your neighborhood and assist your group raise funds simultaneously. Sometimes the wreaths that are prepared by non-profit groups have a very viable price and are of first-rate quality. There is an exceptional thing that a Christmas wreath brings with when you learn that the buying has lend a helping hand of a group you would like to support.
There are quite a few companies that recommend a Christmas wreath fundraiser plan, most are accessible online using a simple browsing. These companies permit you to buy wreaths in volumes getting a considerable discount and then put them up for sale at a marked up rate. Many are offering wreaths as affordable as $6 that you can later sell for $24. This is much better than the forty cents that you acquire from a candy bar sale.
There are closing dates and not everybody thinks of their Christmas fundraisers in or before the month of October. For those of you who are getting a bit late getting on track don’t worry, there is still hope. Instead of buying their wreaths out on Thanksgiving Day or through the last week of November more than a few people choose to wait until days closer to Christmas. There are also companies that provide deliveries as late as the week before Christmas.
However, if this still doesn’t work for you, then it is time to take matters in your very hands. To propose a Christmas wreath fund raiser you can opt to make the wreaths yourself. They are fairly easy and all of the supplies except the evergreen branches are available in almost all craft stores all year round.
The finest way to organize a Christmas wreath fundraiser is to secure orders from people before you actually make them. Prior to purchasing your supplies you should have a list of placed orders by customers ready. Collect for these sales as soon as the order is placed, this will keep your group from all the hassle when the people who placed their orders are unexpectedly not home at the time of delivery and have actually moved without leaving a forwarding address from costing you the capital you considered making. Have the outstanding balance due a few days prior to your plan of purchase so those final stragglers can get their as well.
After receiving your orders you can acquire your materials or your pre-made wreaths. You can regularly make a few more sales at the last minute so you might want to consider picking up a few extra ones to sell as you are delivering the ordered wreaths.
Christmas wreaths hanged on front doors of homes around the community always draw out a cheerful mood to the area. Fundraisers can have some inconveniences, so make sure to set up a scheduled time for them and you are guaranteed a better result. Good planning is the answer to making your Christmas wreath fund raising activity a success.

When you consider ways of making handmade Christmas greeting cards you could effortlessly come up with many ideas. The crucial point lies in your collection. The quantity of several collections you have to fashion your beautiful card, directly stays in ratio to the best card you would be in possession of. The assortment of decorations one could gather to make a fine-looking and eye-catching Christmas card would be the focal point of card making. It is not just a month’s labor; you have to be inventive enough to look for stuff around you right from day one. These collected works would someday prove to be useful. Before sitting out to make your card, wander around to look for materials that would make Christmas greeting card truly exceptional.
Tips for Your Handmade Christmas Cards
1. It is significant that the resources you bring together should be colorful enough. Consequently, whenever you come upon several colored sheets with various thickness and you find them of no use, take out a punching instrument and punch out small balls. The balls should be of varying sizes. Try to get a hold of them with the use of compass and scissors. These groups of balls could be glued at the borders of photographs, to make frames for any photo, to lay them as a bed for a new embedding craft.
2. Gather several different colored ribbons to create beautiful bows and glue them in your Christmas card wherever essential. It would be magnificent to tie a bow around your card to hand them exclusively as a gift to your loved-ones. These ribbons could also be placed parallel to give the impression of beautiful Christmas trees.
3. Punch out star figures and parallel strips of colored papers to attach stars and hint trees using parallel strips. It would be nice to use silver and gold colors for stars.
4. Put aside colored threads that lay unused. If the threads’ colors are, gold and silver gather them to make out your own picture. Give them a classic touch using these golden threads. You can also use the golden threads in letters printed on the card. Glue them consequently and place them tight in place.
5. Create some snow flakes in your golden and silver sheets and attach them sparingly in the card to make fine glitters in your card.
6. Get the finest glue that would aid you fixing any type of material from threads to papers.
Be it children, teenagers or adults, anybody would love to be greeted on Christmas. If the wishes were conveyed through presents and compliments then that would be much special. If it is going to bear a special touch of yours then that would be the most exceptional gift that they could ever have. It is very important that you acquire all the materials prior to making your card. It is essential to create the card at a stretch than to craft them in different modules for a number of modules. Should you make at a stretch design ensure that, you use a high quality glue that dries up with out leaving a mark on your card. Make sure they cling to everything tight in place. Else get your card plastic-coated in a nearby store. This would not upset any of your designs.

One of the exciting and entertaining ways to count the days till Christmas is through the use of advent calendars. These calendars have new surprises in store each day as Christmas Day gets closer.
A Christmas Pyramid Calendar makes the countdown more thrilling, as better surprises, like embellishments and decoration for a Christmas tree can be revealed each day.
However, one of the most exciting ways to count the days till Christmas is to reveal new elements for a nativity scene each day, ending it on Christmas Eve with a tiny infant lying in a crib of hay.
Advents starts every fourth Sunday prior to Christmas Day and lasts for 21 days until Christmas Eve. In this case, you will need 21 square boxes with equal sizes each, decorated with Christmas paper, or painted silver or gold. To make it look impressive you can alternate gold and silver, or and green.
With the use of a sharp craft knife, take out the lids and rims from the three sides of each lid, leaving one rim intact. Coat a thin line of craft glue around rimless edges and dip in glitter. Set aside to dry.
Make a hole at the edge of the lid opposite the remaining rim – just right in the center – and jab through a gold colored split pin. Open the split pin from inside the lid so that it stays together. Do the same thing on the rest of the lids. Number each lid from 1 to 21 with the use of number sticks.
Secure the remaining rim of each lid to one side of each box with the use of craft glue or a glue gun. This is made to create a flap that opens. Give it time to dry thoroughly, after which you can start assembling your advent calendar.
Put boxes 1-6 nest to each other and make sure they are well-aligned with the lids at the front and split pin handles at the bottom. With the use of craft glue or a glue gun, glue each box next to each other so you have a foundation row of six boxes.
Glue together boxes 7-11 for the second row and put in on the first row like you were making a pyramid of blocks. Paste it in place. At this point, there should be half a box length of the bottom row and at each of the second row.
Next, glue together boxes 12-15 and create the fourth row with boxes 16-18. This shall be followed by boxes 19-20 for the fifth row and the last box – number 21 – on top. You should now be able to form a pyramid stacked with 21 boxes with flaps in front that open upward.
Place a Christmas tree ornament, a tiny gift, or a piece of nativity scene in each box. Box 21 should hold something special – a sparkling star for the Christmas tree, a decorated Christmas candle, or an infant for the crib.
Put your pyramid on a shelf or on the window. You can make the decorations more elaborate by covering the sides with glitters or putting Christmas ornaments in each step.

Paper is frequently purchased for school and office use, as something to write on. But paper has several of uses too. It is actually an ideal stuff for craft arts. Paper can be used to adorn a home, or make miniature items. It can be as stationery, storage boxes, greeting cards, picture frames, and many other things. The method of making these projects is classified as paper crafts.
Paper crafts are done by both amateur and professional crafters. Even in planning an interior design or doing architectural stuff, paper plays a very important role. The paper products in architectural work consist of lampshades, wall papers and many more.
In most events that we celebrate, paper crafts are made as decorations. Others make use of paper crafts as gifts. Throughout the year, there are a great number of activities that uses paper crafting for decoration purposes. For instance, the busiest month of the year is December, as this is the month of preparation for Christmas. More people are purchasing new sets of Christmas decorations each year. The ornaments that they purchase from department stores are generally made up of plastic material which can be quite expensive.
It is a smart idea to use paper to make Christmas ornaments. Papers are less expensive and considered a very flexible material. Also, it is more enjoyable and creative to design your own paper ornaments than buy the usual plastic decors in stores. Making your own paper decors makes you feel the Christmas spirit.
The ideas of paper crafting are endless. You can make a Christmas tree or a snowman, a Christmas wreath, Christmas stars, out of it. All you need is a wide imagination to create wonderful decors.
You can also create Christmas gifts out of paper. You need not go to the mall just to pick out a Christmas gift. You can create your own present for your friends and loved ones. It would surely be appreciated because the recipient knows that you invested time and effort in crafting it, thus, making it very special.
You can also try to fashion your own Christmas greeting cards using your loved ones favorite theme and colors. Or maybe try fashioning a nice greeting card out from a Christmas wrapper drawing your own favorite designs and painting it with watercolors. In making Christmas greeting cards, you need some bulky papers and fold it in half. Draw the front with designs that are suitable to the recipient’s preference. You can use red and green as the dominant colors to emphasize the yuletide season. For a snowy white effect, you can make use of fine styro balls or cottons and paste it on the card with the use of paper glue. There are endless list of materials you can use to customize your card. The use of stickers, shiny ribbons, craft beads, and paper stamps are the most common items used to complete a homemade Christmas greeting cards. Browsing online will give you unique and plenty of ideas that will help you create an exceptional greeting card.

As the holiday season draws near, you’re sure to be busy making your list and checking it twice.  Between balancing your budget with your children’s wish lists, battling the shopping malls for the best bargains, planning family gatherings, decking the halls, preparing holiday meals, gift wrapping, and more, it’s easy to see how Christmas can come and go without the time to slow down, take a breath, and enjoy the holiday season with your family.  

If you’re looking for ways to stop and smell the gingerbread this year while creating some precious memories that can last a lifetime, here are a few simple and fun holiday activities that will ensure your entire family has a holly jolly Christmas!

“Remember that Carol” is a simple game that both kids and adults will enjoy as they go from person to person each taking turns announcing a Christmas carol that they remember and singing a verse from it.  A great game to entertain your children at home or to pass time on the road while traveling for the holidays, it will have your family making beautiful music together in no time! 

Christmas Charades is fun for the whole family!  Just have everyone write out 2 or 3 common holiday-themed items, characters, or decorations, etc. on small pieces of paper.  Fold them all up and place them in a bowl, and then take turns drawing out one at a time and acting them out for all to guess.

Holiday bedtime stories.  Dedicate 5 minutes each night throughout the month of December to read your child a bedtime Christmas story book.  Let your little ones take turns picking out which book you will read each night.  You can let your children choose one or two new Christmas books each year to add to their collection. 

Christmas Gift Hunt.  If you like to open a gift early on Christmas Eve, or hunt for presents on Christmas day, you can create a memorable fun way for your children to receive their gifts by making a simple Christmas holiday hunt.  You’ll need to prepare ahead and hide a trail of simple holiday clues that when solved will lead your child from one clue to the next until they ultimately reach and uncover where their “treasured” Christmas gift has been stashed away.  If you don’t have time to make your own clues, inexpensive pre-made print ‘n’ play Christmas hunts are available online for both children and adults at Treasure-Adventure.com.  Simply download, print, and play instantly! 

Deck the halls!  Make holiday decorating a group effort.  Take time to work with your children to make a few simple personalized holiday projects that can be displayed in your home or be given as memorable and unique gifts to friends and family such as painting ceramic angels or holiday candles, making ornaments or homemade candy canes, coloring and cutting out Christmas designs and applying them to windows, stockings, sleds, and other traditional holiday decor, or making a wreath together with everyone contributing.  There is an endless array of Christmas craft kits you might take advantage of or just grab your construction paper, glue, scissors, glitter, garland, and crayons, and make your own holiday decorations. Your kids will love this family craft time and beam with pride as they get to show off their special creations to holiday visitors.

Finally, make Christmas eve all about family time.  Turn off the TV and video games, turn on the Christmas tree lights, and play an old-fashioned family game or just come together as a family to talk and enjoy each other’s company. 

It takes only a little time and creativity to bring your loved ones together around a few special holiday activities and make your own Christmas traditions and lasting family memories of the joyous holiday season together.

Would you like to teach your children the words to some nice Christmas Carols? Would you like to keep the Christ in Christmas? Would you like to read the story of the birth of Jesus to your children? Did you know that Jesus was  not born in a barn, I thought He was and many of my friends and family thought He was born in a barn like structure. He wasn’t! He was born in a cave, a cave  that had a lot of barn type materials around. It was a cave that the shepherds would use to sleep in when they were traveling through Bethlehem. That’s why the the barn type stuff, they would bring their donkeys into the cave with them. Do you know why Mary and Joseph were traveling that night?

Do you know who ruled Rome when Jesus was born? Children have a lot of questiions if you start talking about the real reason for Christmas rather than the Christmas present reason. And I am sure there are at least a few of you out there that are like I was myself, I didn’t know all the answers. Well I know them all now, and we have them all on our web site, if you would like to know all this and more go to www.OurHolidaySite.com.

We also have lots of Christmas carols like “It Came Upon A Midnight Clear” and “Oh Christmas Tree” and “Oh Little Town Of Bethlehem” and “Deck the Halls” and many more. We also have “The Christmas Story”. You know that one “Twas the night before Christmas and all through the house, not a creature was stirring not even a mouse”, we have the whole story on our site. We also have some pages of pictures that you can print out for your children to color so you can shop quietly and undisturbed. We also have directions to make your children’s pictures look like stained glass. We have lots of fun stuff on our pages and you can shop on our site too. We like crafts so we have a few Christmas crafts on our site and are adding more as we think of them or remember them.

I just remembered when my grandchildren were much younger (they are teenagers now) I used to have them here every other weekend and near Christmas we would make Christmas decorations. I just remembered that as I am writing this so those are not in there yet! They include beads and pipe cleaners and although I remember what the beads looked like, I will have to go to the store and find out what they are called and the size so I can give you the correct directions. I have bunches of beads left and I will one day get back to making things with them. I also made crocheted items for Christmas, like doilies and placemats and would give them to my neighbors as gifts. I know the day will come when I actually have time on my hands and I don’t require sleep or rest! I never wrote articles or pages or anything during my working years but I find that I am enjoying it.

Many years ago I started writing my life story it was just going to be this one part but you can’t or at least I couldn’t tell that part without telling this part and on and on, until it became my life story. Now that I find that I enjoy writing articles maybe I will get back to that book or maybe I will be able to separate it and write a serial like in the old days!  Well anyway this is my article, my first one here, and I hope you will visit our site and have a very nice holiday. Don’t forget to go to www.OurHolidaySite.com.  Merry Christmas and may health and wealth find you in the New Year.

Kids are astoundingly innovative. Hand them a cardboard box and they will make a car out of it, or an ingenious doll house. Hand them a rubber band and they can turn it into a gun. My kid found a big rubber band that was used by the florist and before I knew it, he made it into a gun with the use of that rubber band and lego bricks. It shot out lego bricks across the living room.
Getting children to create Christmas presents for their friends and family members is a definite means to keep them happily busy and with any luck out of trouble. Here are a few ideas.
A Framed Art
Any kid can sketch. Hand them a thick white paper, some pencils, crayolas, or watercolors and let them draw a Christmas picture. Once the work of art is finished, have the picture framed efficiently in a classy looking frame. It may even surpass as fine art by a master, people act as if to appreciate but no one really does. That might make an excellent present for a snobbish relative, don’t you think?
Seriously, an image sketched by a grandchild would be cherished by the grandparents. Place the drawing on a nice frame and let them offer it to their grandpa or grandma as Christmas present.
Activity or Picture Books
You could let the children make picture books or activity books as presents to those they adore. When I told my children to create a birthday card for grandpa, they created picture books inclusive with lift-the-flap cut outs.
Take the children to the library to flick through the picture books on hand for additional ideas. At the last part of the outing propose that they create their own picture books.
Get 5 pieces of A4 size paper and fold it up in half.
Attach them in the center to make a booklet.
Hand out a booklet to each child.
Let them decide what goes on each page before they really start working.
Supply them with colored papers, glue, pencils, scissors, colored pens and crayons.
The moment they get used to it, they can create a picture book for each person on their list.
They may even create a picture book for you.
Friendship Bracelets
Do you have a pack of inexpensive beads with holes big enough to fit a thick and stiff rubberized string?
Allow the children to have the beads and the rubberized string.
Instruct them to thread the rubberized string through the beads. When the string of beads is quite long enough, teach them how to fix a knot with the free ends to lock the bracelet. Allow them to have the rest of the beads and rubberized string to make Christmas presents for the girls.
A Few Friendly Stones
Let the children gather up smooth palm sized stones. Clean and dry them. Bring out some white, black, and colored art papers. Let the children to create eyes and mouth, by cutting out and pasting these facial features on the stones. Allow them to be innovative and include mustache, eyebrows, a bow tie or whatever they could think of.
Once the glue is completely dried, cut out a piece of velvet that is a bit smaller than the stone and glue it at the bottom of each stone for a final touch.
With some ingenuity, the holidays can be used up fruitfully, making presents for one and all this Christmas. The children may even astonish you with a few creation of their own.
Prepare yourself for Christmas

I long for the moment when Christmas was more about spending time with friends, family and loved ones and less about fussing over finding the ideal gift; when little handmade tokens were more important than a department store gift card. Just call me schmaltzy, but my much loved part of Christmas is getting together with friends to bake cookies, spending time with the children coloring Santa Claus pictures and planning up of any Christmas crafts that I can think of.
Being said all that, I have come up with a few grand Christmas card ideas, making use of card templates and stencils. Usually, you can use Christmas stencils the standard way and paint the picture onto a card, however there are a lot of other ways to use stencils. I took some stencils from my collections and delved into just how many ideas I could come up with using them to adorn Christmas cards.
Let’s begin with the fundamentals of card making and then move ahead to the creative ideas. Cut a sheet of colored construction paper down to a 6×8 inch rectangle. Fold it in half to make a 4×6 inch card.
Idea #1. Find a Christmas stencil that you like at your local craft store or on-line. They come as plastic pre-cut stencils all set for painting or printable stencils that you can come across on the internet or in book format. Each category has advantages and disadvantages. The pre-cut stencils are all set. They are also more costly. The printable stencils still has to be cut out. However, they are inexpensive and oftentimes free.
Idea #2. The most fundamental technique to use a stencil in card making is with paint. Just lay your stencil on the front portion of the card. You can tape it down or hold it in place. Use up and down movement with a stencil brush to apply paint in the stencil hole. The stippling technique is done to prevent paint from seeping beneath the ends of the stencil openings.
Idea #3. There is also a grand way to use stencils as Christmas card templates. Mark out the holes of the stencil onto colored paper, cut it out and glue to the front of the card.
Idea #4. If you found a fine printable stencil, you can get rid of the steps of cutting out the stencil hole and tracing the image onto the paper. Just lay down the paper with the stencil on top of the colored paper and slice along the lines using a craft knife. Push down tightly to cut through both paper. Make sure that both pages stay together as you cut it. Glue the figure to the front part of the card.
I know that you can come up with a lot of other creative Christmas card ideas. In the end, it’s that special touch that you are aiming for, right? Don’t forget that eventually the Grinch found out that Christmas was something that comes straight from the heart!