10 Tips for More Meaningful Holidays
April 30, 2007
No matter how many lists you make, cards you send, gifts you buy, or packages you wrap, there will be things you intended to do this holiday season that won’t get done. If you do manage to get everything done, but you’re too tired to enjoy the season, everyone suffers.
Consider these tips to minimize your stress and maximize the meaning this holiday season:
1. Tamper with tradition. Dragging yourself through “we’ve always done it” rituals when they’ve lost their meaning, and you’ve lost your energy, does not contribute to holiday joy.
2. Begin the season by making a list - but don’t stop there. Pick out the most important item, the second, and on down the list. Remember, a creative mind always has more ideas than the body can accomplish!
3. Use your calendar - not just for appointments with other people, but with yourself as well. If you plan to send cards, estimate how much time it will take to write and address them, and block out that time on your calendar.
4. Ask your family what’s important. Prepared foods instead of home-cooked means more time for sharing new sports equipment and relaxing with friends.
Vacationing with Children
April 30, 2007
Traveling with children will be a memorable event ? the question is "What kind?" Your chances of a lifetime memory you will cherish increase significantly with some advance communication and preparation.
The book, Love It or Lose It: Living Clutter-Free Forever, outlines a five-step process you can apply to organizing any area of your life ? including traveling with children of any age. Make the children a part of the trip by letting them help you plan. Your children will enjoy the trip more if they feel they have some say about the agenda. Get books from the library, or do an Internet search, on the area you plan to visit. Give them some options of what to do and actually use some of their suggestions. Who knows? You may enjoy their suggestions more than you think.
Here is a guide to vacationing with children, using the 5 steps:
1. Design your vision.
The first step to happy memories is good communication. Start scheduling family meetings to plan ? the earlier the better. At the first meeting, ask each member of the family to describe what he or she would like to have in order to have a wildly successful vacation. It’s a great idea to put some structure into this discussion. Use a flip chart and have family members take turns recording answers. Subsequent meetings can be used to work out each of the next steps.
Making Time to Write this Holiday Season
April 29, 2007
As the countdown to Christmas day continues, most everyone is naturally all wrapped up in preparing for the big day (and the eve of the big day and the day after the big day?).
Whether it’s shopping, baking, or hosting holiday gatherings, you are probably engaged in time-consuming activities related to the season.Although your dedication to these tasks is completely reasonable and most likely pre-planned, your ability to meet these demands and still have to write may not be as realistic.
In order to maintain your sanity through the holidays, you should not allow your writing time to totally disappear. You may find yourself feeling somewhat stressed out, as you try to tackle the gift buying and deal with the family get-togethers.
I honestly believe that if you make time to write during this hectic season, you may alleviate some of the inevitable anxiety associated with the holidays. Writing can be as relaxing to writers as watching television is to couch potatoes.
You should not overlook the value of a little me time (or break/rest time for you alone). Schedule some me time or free time into your busy day, and then actually TAKE IT!
The Holiday Shopping Experience - Rewarding or Traumatic?
April 28, 2007
Picture this scenario! It’s December 24th, the day of Christmas Eve. On this day you should be relaxing, enjoying time with family and thinking of all the precious memories you have created throughout the year.
No, wait! It’s the last day of shopping before Christmas and you haven’t even started to do your gift shopping.
You get into your car and fight traffic all the way to the local mall, only to spend an hour trying to find a parking spot. That is if you find one at all. You enter the mall in search of the perfect gifts and there is a stampede of people. Looks like everyone else is doing last minute shopping too!
You dodge the nudging elbows and stomping feet of the crowds. You’re starting to feel claustrophobic, your stress level is starting to increase and you haven’t even begun shopping yet!
Sound familiar? To top it all off, you browse through the stores only to find that meager offerings remain. The shelves are practically empty. What happens then? You spend too much money on something that your gift recipient neither needs or wants. Their gift wasn’t chosen for them…it was chosen out of desperation.
Sussex County Delaware Beach Area Towns and Villages Are Unique and Historic
April 27, 2007
I love Sussex County Delaware. I am native born, multigenerational and proud to be one of those who, as they say; “are from here”. In fact the earliest records of our family show we were here well before the Mayflower arrived; some our ancestors were here in the mid 1500’s or before. They settled as farmers and missionaries in the areas of what are now Lewes, Milton, Angola, Long Neck, Broadkill and Red Mill Pond.
I was raised at what is now Eagle Crest Aerodrome, near Milton and started school at Milton school then went to Lewes School and graduated from Lewes School. Since then I’ve lived in several areas of what we locals sometimes call “Saltwater Sussex” and what I used to call The Henlopen Quadrant; that is the locations within 25 miles of Cape Henlopen.
Cape Henlopen is the anchor point of Salt Water Sussex County, where the Delaware Bay meets and flows into the Atlantic Ocean at Lewes. When you stand at Cape Henlopen Point, you can see the razor line of color change where the dark waters of the Bay meet the blue waters of the ocean in a diagonal line extending from the beach out into the sea.
Ten Tips for a Real Holiday Season
April 26, 2007
Holidays and the start of a new year inevitably make us think about how we can improve ourselves, and have the life we want in the future. We make resolutions - I must lose weight, I will save more money - and then lose our way. That’s because we aren’t matching our resolutions with who we are inside. We’re more likely to succeed if we work on discovering our inner, Real selves, appreciate who we already are, and then take a chance on custom-made changes, not one-size-fit all resolutions. Here are ten tips for making the new year better in a Real way.
1. Let your values be your guide — There are plenty of people who will tell you what should be important to you, if you let them. Friends, co-workers, family, even the mass media, bombard us with opinions and ideas. Don’t just accept what others say. Decide for yourself what matters most and let those values set your course.
2. Take a long-term view — Bad habits, difficult relationships, and other disappointments don’t develop overnight. Similarly, life doesn’t get better in a moment. Change happens slowly, step-by-step. Have the patience to see it through.
Quick and Easy Holiday Decorating
April 25, 2007
You’re tired. You’ve worked hard all week. Suddenly, the kids shout gleefully… “let’s decorate!” … in anticipation of the coming holiday. The “let’s not” is miraculously not permitted to escape your lips. Instead you take a deep breath while you wonder about how this decorating could become an easier and more fun-filled activity.
Well, it can be!
- First, insist on family members pitching in to help and treat this like a family project. This should not just rest on your shoulders to accomplish and it will be much more fun if you all are making changes and creating memories together.
- Next, pick a day and time you’ll all devote no more than one to two hours for a quick holiday makeover at your home (for a major decorating holiday schedule two or three longer blocks of time). It helps if you can set the decorating date about one to two weeks from now, if time still allows for that. This gives you time to gather items together for the project.
- Ask the kids to create one or two new arts and crafts decorations that are suitable to the holiday to have ready for the decorating day. Or, ask them to select ones from among any they may already have on hand, for instance, from school projects.
Vacation Home Exchange V Renting - Trade and Save, or Do You ?
April 25, 2007
Vacation Home Exchange V Renting Trade and save, or do you ?
Ever thought of trading your home with another family for a few weeks instead of renting a Vacation Home?. Lets look at the differences and see if it’s an option you might consider.
Renting a vacation property is easy enough, pay a rent for as many weeks as you need. Rent direct with the owner or via the thousands of rental agents, or via a travel agent.
The choice is pretty vast and often you can select properties from a book or brochure, there are sizes and prices to suit everyone. Many allow pets and come fully fitted out.
Bigger properties housing 7-12 or more offer a low cost break as you pay for the property, rather than per person, as you would in a hotel. Downside is you get to do all the work, although some rentals can come with housekeeping or maid duties.
The attraction of renting is usually one of cost and choice, and works best in your own country. Renting abroad involves a high travel cost (per person) and unlike a package tour you are often down to organising and paying for travel from airport to the property. There is usually someone on hand to see you in, the owner or their agent, and most properties provide a good break.
50 Ways to Acknowledge Your Employees Before and After Labor Day
April 24, 2007
For most people, Labor Day symbolizes the end of summer, back to school, and another long weekend. Deep down however, when we stop for a moment and reflect as we often do on bank holidays, we all know that Labor Day is, in reality, meant to signify a time to recognize the achievement, struggle and determination of the working man and woman.
Here are 50 ways to acknowledge your employees in honor of Labor Day. See how many you are doing already, and which ones you could start doing better:
Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas - How to Tap in to the Holiday Publicity Bonanza
April 23, 2007
If your product or service can be given as a gift, a publicitywindfall awaits at the end of the year - but you need to startworking in June. Each December, media outlets cover the newest,the hottest and the most unusual Holiday gifts. The reportersassigned to develop these pieces typically depend on two sourcesof information:
1. Phone interviews with local store owners
- and -
2. Press materials that have been sent by publicity seekers.
Let’s deal with Point 1. Here’s a cool trick: In earlyNovember, write a letter to stores and major websites that carryyour product. Remind them that they may be hearing fromjournalists soon about hot gift ideas, and request that theyconsider mentioning your product when that happens. Point out afew reasons why your product is the newest, coolest, best orwhatever. Ask the vendor to drop you an e-mail or give you acall if a story results that mentions your product.
