Keeping Your Pets Safe during the Holidays

Everybody loves Christmas holidays because it is that time of the year that marks merry reunion with friends and family. Festivities are ongoing throughout the season and the joyfulness is contagious. Adults are busy shopping and planning, children spend hours writing letters to Santa Claus, and all enjoy decorating the home. But we tend to forget that these holidays are disastrous for our pets.

During Christmas, innumerable pets are injured because of decorations, foods or holiday plants. Help your pets to celebrate this festive occasion safely by ensuring that they are protected from Christmas health hazards. Beautiful holiday decorations like Christmas lilies, poinsettias, holly and mistletoe are toxic when pets ingest them. Mistletoe is responsible for cardiovascular and gastrointestinal problems. Poinsettias and holly cause lethargy, nausea, diarrhea and vomiting. If you plan to decorate the dining table with the help of holiday plants keep them in a place that cannot be reached by pets between mealtimes. The mistletoe should be hung where pets will find it difficult to reach.

Cats are attracted to berries which are extremely poisonous. Do not allow your pets into the room where you have kept your Christmas tree if there is no one to supervise. If your pet eats pine needles, its intestine could get punctured. Always unplug the lights of the tree before you leave the house and either tape or secure the electrical cords of the holiday lights so that your pet does not chew them. The Christmas tree should be secured to the ceiling or wall so that it does not fall on your pets. Restrain your pets from drinking water from the holder of the tree becomes even fresh water would contain the residue of fertilizers and water that are stagnant is a breeding ground for bacteria. If you tend to use water preservative for your tree go for one that is non-toxic so that it will not harm your pet in case it drinks it when you are not around. Do not use aspirin in tree water to preserve it because if your pet ingests it accidentally it could become seriously ill or even die.
Keep away Christmas ornaments and tinsel. Cats like to play with the latter. Some even eat it but this is dangerous as it can block the intestines. Pets think of ornaments as toy balls. The shards from glass ornaments that are broken could injure the paws and mouths of your pets. If swallowed, they could injure the intestine tract and stomach grievously. If your pets continue playing with the ornaments, hang some balloons on the lower branches of the Christmas tree. Be around till your pet snares one. The sound of the balloon bursting will make your pet leave the Christmas decorations alone.

When your children open their gifts make them put the toys away because the smaller parts of the toys could result in intestine blockage or choking in pets and would require surgery in order to remove them. A majority of pets love to doze on a hearth that is warm. Even if the fire is out make use of fireplace screens. Extinguish candles when you leave the room and keep them out of reach of your pets.

A Christmas Miracle

It was about a week before Christmas last year and we still did not have our tree up. The kids had been whining for weeks about putting it up and decorating the house – but I had put off the task because of all the rearrangements and digging out of boxes. You know the drill – it can be a lot of work and a real mess. But I finally got the living room moved around so we had room for our extra large Christmas tree.

We all gathered around the artificial tree to help get it set up and make sure we had all the pieces to it. After we had the tree set up I decided to take the kids up to the attic with me to get the rest of the decorations from up there.
We got up to the attic and had to move a lot boxes out of our way, but we finally found the old, favorite Christmas decorations from years gone by. I was so excited that I found all those old decorations that held memories from the kids - I just grabbed the boxes and went back down stairs to go through them.

After I got down stairs and made some lunch for the kids I started to go through all the old boxes of decorations. As soon as I opened the first box I noticed that there was a whole bunch of glass in the bottom of the box and all the decorations that were glass had been broken.

I started opening all the boxes to see if all the glassware had been broken – and to my disappointment, yes, all of the glass things were in tiny pieces in the bottom of the boxes. All the ornaments that my kids made and their baby’s first Christmas ornaments were all broke. These things were much more than decorations to me; they carried with them memories from Christmases in the past.

When my husband got home I was still very upset about the decorations. He told me that everything was going to be ok and we will just buy some more ornaments that the kids can decorate. He gave us some money and sent us to the store to get decorations and supplies for the kids.

The kids and I went to the store and got everything we needed to decorate the tree and to make some new ornaments. We were all still upset but we had a good attitude and we thought it would be fun to have new decorations this year.

When we got home and started unloading the car my husband came out to help. We all got inside and I looked over to see our empty tree and to my amazement it was beautiful. It was covered with lights, decorations and garland. Even some decorations made by my kids.

While we were gone my husband called his mom and she came over to help with the family crisis. Turns out my mother-in-law had a few ornaments made by my children that she had kept safe over the years. With those beautiful decorations and special touches, they got the whole tree decorated before the kids and I got back home - and it was the best tree ever.

After I got over my shock I made everybody some hot chocolate and we all sat around the lighted Christmas tree. This was a Christmas that the kids and I will never forget - it was a true Christmas miracle to me.

Baby’s First Christmas

It’s baby first Christmas! How exciting for you and them! Now is a perfect time to start traditions. Like buying the new bundle of joy a baby first Christmas ornament and sending a newborn santa letter. Or making them a scrapbook for the holiday season or just putting every day pictures in it for them and you to look back on. Here are a few gift ideas for your new bundle of joy.

If you ask a parent what they think they spend the most money on when it come to the kids they will probably say diapers. Diapers are expensive so a great gift to get a new baby or for a baby shower is a diaper cake. Diaper cakes are made to look like a wedding cake but it is made from diapers and is filled with toys, blankets, pacifiers, clothes, socks, and sometimes a keepsake for mom.

Soft squeaky washable books are another great gift idea for new babies. They can be washed and used over and over again. Don’t be worried if you get a book that is too advanced for your baby; your baby will grow into it before you know it and he will enjoy playing with it for a long time.

Piggy banks are a gift that can last for a lifetime. They can help your child learn to save money. Get them personalized with the child’s name and the year on it and it will be keepsake that will last.

Every parent wants to show off their new bundle of joy - especially around the holidays. A good gift idea to give to family members is a personalized photo frame with your child’s photo in it. Since your frame is personalized they can only put pictures of your child in it; pretty sneaky isn’t it?

Another gift idea for baby’s First Christmas is buying baby’s first Christmas pajamas. You will to give the pajamas to them early so when they open their presents on Christmas morning you can take all kinds of pictures with the pajamas on.

There are many places that will personalize blankets. These blankets are a great gift idea for babies because you can have them personalized with their name, the year and even baby’s first Christmas on them. They are machine washable so you can use them over and over for years.

Whatever you decide to do this year and in years to come, make sure you make memories with your kids that they will remember and you will too. Be sure to take a lot of picture so you all can look back on that special day.