A Christmas Without Magical Reindeer Food Just Isn't As Magical As It Could Be!

My daughter Sally has always been fascinated with Santa’s reindeer. She writes a letter to Rudolph every year. I think she is more excited about her letters from Rudolph than she is about the ones from Santa. When the kids pick out their ornaments each year she has always picked a reindeer. Without a doubt Rudolph is her most favorite Christmas show - she watches it over and over.
One year she wanted us to buy her a reindeer. I told her that they only liked to live in places that stay real cold – places like the North Pole. She looked at me as if I had lost my mind. She decided that if I wouldn’t listen than she would just have to ask Santa. She checked the mailbox everyday for her letter from Santa. She was disappointed when Santa wrote that it would make his reindeer sad for one of them to move away. He asked her if she would mind leaving out some of his magical reindeer food. She takes the job very seriously she even convinced me to buy special bowls for their food and water.
We spend Christmas Eve at my mom’s house. Sally is always in a rush to get home to put out the food for the reindeer. On the way home we drive and look at all the houses lit up with bright colors. Sally stares up into the sky hoping to see the silhouette of nine reindeer pulling Santa’s sleigh. At home the kids all get to open their new pajamas and house shoes. After the cookies and milk have been left out for Santa everyone but me and Sally go to bed. She fills one bowl with water and the other with reindeer food.
We take the food out into the middle of the yard. She explained that the food needed to be there so that there would be room for all the reindeer. Before we go in she gazes up to the sky one last time trying to see the red glow of Rudolph’s nose. When I tuck her into bed she tells me she is going to be listening for the sound of hoofs on the roof.
Christmas morning after we open presents and have breakfast Sally and I sneak out back to see if the reindeer ate their food. Sally proudly collects the empty bowls. On the ground Sally always finds a gift from Santa. On the gift there is a short note thanking her for putting out the food and water for his reindeer and it says that he hopes she will be his helper again next year. Feeding the reindeer is without a doubt Sally’s favorite part of Christmas.

Christmas Eve – The Fun & The Struggle To Fit Everything In

Since I’m now a grandma, I have changed my Christmas Eve routine a little. Now the kids have to come to my house – funny how it’s true what they say about history repeating itself and all that! Well anyway, my family does have some true Christmas traditions and many of them revolve around Christmas Eve. Let me take you back in time – Let’s say about 20 years ago when my kids were all little and I was trying desperately to keep them happy and make Christmas wonderful for them.

20 Years Ago:

Christmas Eve is always a busy day for our family. After we finish our breakfast we start wrapping gifts for all the people we plan on seeing that day. It amuses me to watch how much care the kids put into their work. Our living room becomes a maze of bright shiny packages as we wrap. My daughter gets the job of putting her cousins' nice certificates from Santa in envelopes. They live in Canada. She likes decorating the envelopes with glitter and lace. We all help to load the van and clean up the scraps of paper and ribbon.

Our first stop is to my mother-in-law’s house. It is nice to have a chance to see all of my husband’s family. They all play music so there is always a cheerful Christmas melody filling the air. The kids bounce around waiting to open the presents. Christmas Eve with my husband’s family is always such a festive time. We finally let the kids dig into the presents scattered under the tree. I love to watch the excitement on the faces of the kids as they rip through the wrapping paper. There is always a gift from Santa for each of the kids hidden under the tree somewhere.

By the time we arrive to my Mom’s the sun has already set. When the door opens we are greeted by joyful laughter. The dining room table is covered with the most scrumptious food. We greet everyone and many warm hugs are exchanged. We all make plates and find a place to sit and talk. It’s nice to see my kids spending time with all of their cousins. My mom is always the one to hand out the Christmas gifts with my Dad as her helper. She is the best at buying the perfect gift, how she knows what a picky fourteen year old will like I will never know. My mom sends the kids home with reindeer food from Santa.

By the time we head home it is pretty late at night. We like to take a short drive to look around at the Christmas lights. It gives us a chance to calm down from all the excitement of the day. There are certain houses that the kids want to see every year. My sons Johnny and Derek insist on visiting the subdivision on the other end of town that has real reindeer as part of the decoration. Who could blame them? Angela likes the house with angels and music. Our goal is to try to drive around until the kids are tired – that doesn’t happen, after all, Santa Claus comes tonight!

Once we get back home we put out a plate of cookies for Santa along with the kids letter to Santa. The kids all put on their new Christmas pajamas. After awhile the kids get settled in and fall asleep. My husband and I like to sit together in the quiet for awhile surrounded by the glow of the Christmas tree lights. And then Santa goes to work!

Back To Today:

Do I miss those days? Well you know, as I write about it, I do sort of wish I could spend just one day with my kids as they were as little kids – just one day. But there really is something to be said about every age. Now that I am over 50 I can honestly say that it’s a great age to be. My Christmas holidays are less stressful – I get to enjoy my kids and grandkids without the worries that I used to have associated with the holidays. I see everyone on Christmas Eve and usually on Christmas Day too. Fortunately all of my family lives very close to me.

What about you and your Christmases – are they better now than they used to be? Have you carried on family traditions? Why or why not?

Tips and Ideas For Stocking Stuffers That Will Be Treasured

Once people have purchased their gifts and placed it under the Christmas tree they suddenly remember that they have forgotten to stuff the stockings hanging over the fireplace. Budgets set aside for holidays are usually spent at such a time. One might be short of money. In spite of budget constraints there are many ideas for stuffing stockings that would delight the children and would also be practical at the same time.

First of all it is always best to have the children write letters to Santa Claus. This provides them a way to mention the gifts that they want for Christmas – and many times parents are surprised at what the kids ask for in these letters. This will tell you what they want.

You can visit the dollar store nearest your house to look around for the gifts. You will come across a huge variety of goods available at a variety of prices which would easily help you to fill the stockings to the brim. Certain tips and ideas for stocking stuffers that will be treasured have two benefits. Do not wrap batteries along with the gifts. Stuff them in the stockings separately because you will have to buy them in order to make the toys work, so, they should not be grouped under extra expenses. Once you separate them you could start stuffing the stocking. This would be convenient for the kids to put the batteries in any toy or electronic device they wish to play with first.

You could purchase school supplies that would be required by your children and stuff the stocking with them so that you do not have to buy it in the future. If you are very busy during Christmas you will not find time to take pictures. Your children will be able to do it if you gift them a disposable camera. They will click pictures from their perspective which will be unique and could be added to a photo album. You could stuff supplies for art and craft which will be needed by the children later on. Children love creating. Material for art and craft is great as stocking stuffers. You could purchase paints, markers, colored pencils, crayons and coloring books which would keep children busy during Christmas and after it, too. Card games or mini games are ideal editions for travelers. Buy them so that the children could play them in the car on their own so that they will be occupied when you are making a holiday trip.

You could write Christmas letters to your children telling them about all the fun you had with them in the last year. This will not cost money. You could start a beautiful Christmas tradition. Your letters would be treasured by your children even after Christmas. It is always better to set aside a little time in order to give a little thought to stocking stuffers which would not require you to incur extra expenditure in order to fill the socks hanging on the fireplace while bringing unlimited joy your children when they see what is inside.

Christmas Trees are an Important Part of Christmas

Many people don’t believe in a Christmas without a Christmas tree. This would be as difficult for some as a Christmas without letters to Santa. After all, the two are tied together. Children write letters to Santa Claus so they can assured they will not be forgotten at Christmas time. Their goal is usually to insure that Santa will leave a wonderful package for them. While it's true that some kids receive a package from Santa in the mail, most look forward to what is left under the Christmas tree. However, those special letters from Santa are magical reminders that Santa Claus is real and that they really can get the things they want for Christmas. And not surprisingly, this all starts with a beautiful Christmas tree.

During the Christmas festivities choosing the perfect Christmas tree is one of the family traditions that kids look forward to. First you need to decide if you want a real or artificial Christmas tree and also understand the pros and cons associated with each.

Many people prefer to buy real Christmas trees. The reasons are varied, but basically, these individuals say that only a real tree can give the authentic ‘feel’ to the holiday. They will mention that the smell of Christmas fills the home when a real Christmas tree is used as the center piece of the decorations. But also, they will tell you that using real Christmas trees is kinder to the environment.

There are different beliefs about the first Christmas tree but we don’t exactly know who started the tradition. In due time the tradition of decorating Christmas trees started and new decorations and traditions evolved. Over the years various groups and even different families came up with their own traditions and decorating styles and that resulted in personalization of holiday adornments.

People started using artificial Christmas trees at the beginning of the 18th century and from then on the tradition of buying artificial Christmas trees continued. You have an array of choices to select from as a wide range of the different artificial Christmas trees are available nowadays. A quick search through some of the online stores will reveal that there are several different styles , shapes and colors of trees available.

The real pros and cons of using the real Christmas trees and the Artificial ones vary as different people have different opinions on them as they believe that by picking one or the other you are destroying the environment or are dishonoring the spirit of Christmas.

Artificial trees have increased in popularity as the manufactures design them more like real trees and they are also easier to assemble. One of the greatest advantages of these artificial trees is that they can be easily assembled. Plus the artificial trees can be dismantled and stored for next Christmas quite conveniently and can again be re-used from year to year. The fact that an artificial tree can be re-used means you will save money. And, since Christmas is an expensive time of year, saving money is a good thing.

But the biggest disadvantage of the artificial Christmas trees is that they are made of non renewable petroleum and if accidentally burnt they start to release toxic fumes which will spoil the environment. Plus the artificial trees are not recyclable and so they end up in landfills and stay there for a long time damaging the environment in the process.

Not only do real Christmas trees smell wonderful, but the shopping experience for them can be lots of fun for the entire family. Plus, the real Christmas trees are renewable sources and there are many Christmas tree farms that grow Christmases trees from year to year. But the real Christmas trees need to be maintained and watered regularly and you will also need to clean up the pine needles that fall from the tree. Additionally, at times, at least for some people, these pine trees can also trigger allergies.

Wow, it’s that time again!

What time is that?.....You ask.

Time to get ready for Christmas! JOY!

Ok, so it might be a little early for some of you. But for others, like my mother for example, (love you mom!) you’ve probably been getting ready for months already.

Well, here at PackageFromSanta.com we think about Christmas all year. In fact, we started working on this year’s Package back in January. Really!

I really think you’re going to love all the new stuff we’ve been working on. I know your kids are going to love it! All the letters (as well as the letterhead) are new for 2008. So, if you ordered last year you don’t have to worry about the letter being the same.

Many of the other products have been updated as well. One of the things we’re really excited about is the new packaging for the Deluxe Package From Santa. It’s just incredible. Kids are really going to flip when they see this.

Anyway, what I’m trying to say is…

We ARE Officially Open And Taking Orders For The 2008 Season!

That’s RIGHT… let the excitement begin!

You can go to http://www.packagefromsanta.com/ and check everything out.

Of course, feel free to place an order!

Top 10 Christmas Gifts for 2008

The festivity of Christmas is right around the corner and the shopping malls and other centers will be filled with beautiful displays. The celebration of Christmas takes place with great pomp and show.

It's always anybody's guess as to which gifts become the 'hot gifts' of the Christmas season. Many items continue to remain on the top 10 lists each and every year.

Here are given some popular Christmas gift ideas that will likely make it to the top 10 Christmas gifts list in 2008:

• Package from Santa


• Cell phones


• Pets


• MP3 players


• Apple iPods


• DVDs


• Jewelry


• Digital camera


• Chocolates


• XBox and Nintendo

Tip: Get your shopping done early this year to avoid the stampede of shoppers clammering for the latest 'hot gift'.