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Article: The Perfect Christmas Gift

By Matthew Keegan

I suppose there is no such thing as the imperfect Christmas gift, but I am sure that there are some gifts that are less desirably received than others.

Let's take a look at the "Personal Trimmer." Every time I hear of one of these items or see it in the store I think, "nose hair trimmer." Hey, there is no way of getting around it: if you give this gift you are telling the recipient that the strand of hair hanging out of their left nostril is unsightly. Or, since the product is also marketed for the ears, you've noticed a bit 'o fuzz on their earlobes.

One way to test the wisdom of gift selection is by doing this: imagine your loved one at work hanging around the water cooler. "Bob" comes up and says, "so, what did you get for Christmas?" Your loved one replies, "I got slippers, some shirts, a tool case, and a really cool personal trimmer." Sure, like he is going to share this information with blabbermouth Bob, who is known to share "news" throughout the office. You get the picture: if he is ashamed of the gift he'll lie and say, "a one year subscription to Sports Illustrated" or some other tale. Never encourage your loved ones to lie!

For the ladies, you must always be careful what you buy for them. Us menfolk are at a disadvantage: we're wired to think practical while women are wired to think sentimental. Exercise equipment might be smart, but like the fella in the Best Buy television ad who purchased exercise equipment for his sweetheart, you don't want your wife to assume that you think that she is fat. In case you make that error, you must think fast and say, "no babe, I just want to keep you heart healthy so I have many more Christmas' with you!"

Unfortunately, men don't always think that fast. Better yet, if your wife tells you what she wants, get her that. You can always run over to Victoria's Secret later to purchase lingerie which she'll like because you like seeing her wearing it. Trust me!

Are you going to the neighbor's for a Christmas social? Then leave the Royal Dansk cookies at home. Better yet, don't buy them. Are they awful? No. Just too common. Like the unwanted fruitcake that gets passed around the family and neighborhood year after year the Royal Dansk cookie tin is getting the same reputation. If tasked with the responsibility of bringing a dessert and you aren't baking, pick something up at the local bakery. It'll be fresh and it will be eaten. Let them worry about their cholesterol level.

What should you buy the boss? Well, the standard gifts over the years have been wine or hard liquor, something for his desk [photo frame], or a personal item like a fold up umbrella. Boring! Rather, have some fun and purchase spyware for your boss so that he can spend the time snooping on his employee's internet access. See if that wins you valuable points during review or promotion time!

Seriously, maybe the whole gift thing has gotten a little bit out of line. Maybe we should think of more practical gifts to give such as: spending time with an elderly relative; volunteering to help coach your child's soccer team; or by making a cash donation to a relief agency in the gift recipient's name.

Two thousand years ago the greatest gift ever given, Jesus, was freely given to mankind; I believe anyone freely receiving His love is receiving that very same gift. Jesus is one gift that perfectly suits mankind: God's boundless love and unrestricted forgiveness.

This article originally appeared on Townstead.com, a defunct site managed by Matt Keegan. It was part of his "Life in New Jersey" series of articles.

Matthew Keegan is the owner of a successful article writing, web design, and marketing business based in North Carolina, USA. He manages several sites including the Corporate Flight Attendant Community and the Aviation Employment Board. Please visit The Article Writer to review selections from his portfolio.

Article Source: E-Zine articles

Article: Holiday Tips: Christmas tree care: Xmas tree care, and how to fireproof a fresh tree. Learn how to select the freshest, cut trees for the holidays.

Purchasing a cut tree for the holiday season can be expensive. If you shop for a tree purely on appearance, you may be deeply disappointed. By learning a few basic pointers, you will be better prepared to purchase the perfect tree. Your investment would be long lasting and your money well spent.

While shopping for a Christmas tree, inspection is essential. You must try to identify what variety of tree you are considering. Pine, blue spruce, and fir trees make wonderful selections since they have good needle retention and are very aromatic. Pine tree needles are long and will be in clusters of two, three, or five. Spruce and fir trees possess shorter needles and are attached to the branches individually. Avoid purchasing hemlocks, white spruce, or Norway spruce trees. These trees are poorer in quality and tend to lose their needles easily.

After distinguishing the type, you will need to examine it for freshness. The needles of the tree should be flexible and dark green in color. If the needles appear discolored or are easily broken, the tree has been standing too long. You can also grasp one of the tree’s limbs gently, moving your hand slowly across its length. If the needles pop off easily, the tree is dehydrated. A tree that has a moisture level below 80% will continue to decay, even with watering. Without high moisture content, it would also be considered a fire hazard! If the tree you select has an adequate amount of moisture, it will continue to absorb water from your tree stand. Therefore, the tree will remain fresher, longer. When you transport the tree you have chosen, take special care. Place it on top of your vehicle, base forward, and wrap it well with burlap. This will both protect the tree and prevent further drying.

After you have your tree home, it’s time to prepare it. If you don’t expect to do so immediately, you must unwrap it, cut off an inch or more from the bottom of the trunk. This assures your tree will soak up water easily. Position it in a stand and fill with water. Bring it indoors, and situate it in a container of water. Make sure it is stored in a cool location. Do not place your tree near any electrical appliances, fireplaces, burning candles, or any other item that could possibly ignite it.

Fireproofing a tree is a simple process and well worth the extra effort. All you will need is a bucket, warm water, alum, boric acid and borax. Place a ˝ gallon of warm water into the bucket. Add 1 cup of alum, ˝ cup boric acid, and 2 tablespoons of borax. Stir well, allowing the powders to dissolve. Finally, stir in one more ˝ gallon warm water and combine. Place some of this solution in a spray bottle and spray the tree generously. Add more of the liquid to the spray bottle as needed, spraying to thoroughly cover the branches and trunk. If you have any of this mixture remaining, add it to the tree stand. Allow the tree to dry before decorating. Make sure to clean up any spilled water or pine needles to avoid staining.

Decorating your fresh, fireproofed Christmas tree is the final step. If you chose to use lights and/or a lighted tree topper, make sure they are marked “UL approved” either on the box or cord tag. Replace burnt out bulbs immediately and check all cords for damage. Always remember to unplug all lights when you leave or when they are not in use. Your newly decorated tree will not only stay fresh longer, but it will provide hours of holiday pleasure safely.

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Caring for and Planting a Balled in Burlap Christmas Tree

Tis the season when lots of people drag a real tree into their house and decorate it. Some people buy live trees that are balled in burlap instead of a cut tree. A live tree is a great idea, but many people make serious mistakes when it comes to handling a live tree, and they end up losing their money. The information in this article also pertains to any live tree you are planting, be it now during the winter, or during the summer.

1. Before you even take the tree in the house, dig a hole for the tree where you expect to plant it after the holidays. Put the soil in a wheelbarrow and park it in the garage. You'll need loose soil to back fill the hole, and the ground might be frozen after the holidays.

2. Keep your live tree in the house for as short a time as is possible.

3. Keep the ball plenty moist while in the house, but not in a tub full of water. You don't want the ball to dry out completely, but by the same token it shouldn't be soggy all the time either. Just moist. You can wet it thoroughly, but then don't water again until the water is almost gone.

4. After Christmas move the tree outdoors as soon as possible and plant it immediately. If you were not able to dig the hole earlier, the ground is frozen, and the tree can not be planted, leave it outside and pack bags of leaves or bales of straw around the ball. Find a way to heal it in in such a way that the amount of sun and wind the root ball receives is minimal.

5. Try and plant the tree immediately if you can. You do not want to store the tree on top of the ground during the winter if you can avoid it. Putting in your garage is not a good idea either, it is likely to dry out in there. The absolute best place for the ball is in the ground, even if the ground has frozen after you dug the hole. Just set the tree in the hole and back fill with loose soil. Make sure there are no air pockets around the ball. Back fill only with small particles of soil. If this can not be done because the soil is frozen, just set the tree in the hole and back fill as soon as the weather permits.

6. Check the ball for nylon string. Cut and remove any nylon string. Sometimes the diggers wrap the string around the stem of the tree. If the string is a cotton type, like sisal twine you can leave it on the ball but remove it from the stem. If the burlap is nylon it should be cut in many places or removed. If the ball is wrapped with a wire basket I recommend leaving it on. It will help to secure the tree and keep it from rocking back and forth with the wind. The roots will find their way through the wire and the burlap. Just cut the burlap where you can.

7. Do not plant the tree too deep. This is the number one reason for plants that do not survive. They should not be planted any deeper than they were in the nursery. The top of the ball should be one to two inches above the ground level. If you have heavy, wet, clay soil, you should plant it even higher and build a bed up around the ball. When you plant them too deep the plants literally suffocate.

8. Do not fertilize the tree at the time of planting. You can fertilize it in the spring, but only with an organic fertilizer. If you have compost available, mix some in while planting. Fertilizer can do more harm than it can good. I always recommend organic fertilizers. It's hard to make a mistake with organics. It's always a good idea to stake trees when you plant them. If the wind is constantly rocking them back and forth they will have a difficult time establishing new roots in their new home.

Michael J. McGroarty is the author of this article. Visit his most interesting website, www.freeplants.com

Article: 15 Christmas Decorating Ideas

Decorating your home for the holidays does not need be stressful or expensive. Being one of the most popular times of the year to decorate, get your family involved and have fun making your home beautiful for the holiday season.

Here are 15 Christmas decorating ideas:

1. Display your favorite Christmas collections. If you don’t have a collection, now is a great time to start! My son and I collect nutcrackers and every year we have a wonderful time selecting just the right one. With a permanent marker, I write the year on the bottom of the nutcracker. Not only do we enjoy looking at the nutcrackers during the holidays, we also enjoying the fond memories of selecting them.

2. Make simple bows out of Christmas ribbons and attach them to your curtains with pins. This is a very charming look.

3. Decorate your house plants by hanging small Christmas ornaments on them.

4. Place a collection of Christmas books on your coffee table.

5. Fill a glass bowl with pine cones and Christmas balls and place on a shelf or table.

6. Wrap your staircase banister with indoor Christmas lights, garland, and bows.

7. To add scent throughout your home, tie 5 or 6 cinnamon sticks together in a bundle using Christmas ribbon. Make as many bundles as you wish and place around your home in baskets or bowls.

8. To decorate your table, tie Christmas ribbon to the stems of glasses and/or handles of cutlery

9. To dress up your chairs, tie Christmas bows around the chair so that the bow is on the back of the chair.

10. Using a small brush or q-tip, paint the edges of pine cones with glittery gold craft paint. After the pine cones dry, place them in a decorative basket.

11. Add Christmas garland to door frames, window frames and mirrors. You can use tape to secure the garland to the surfaces.

12. Tie bows around door knobs using festive and colorful Christmas ribbon.

13. Attach garland and Christmas bows to your chandelier. You can also weave strings of red beads in the garland that will dangle down from your chandelier and reflect the light, which will add sparkle.

14. If you live in a milder climate, consider decorating with Amaryllis plants. These beautiful plants come in red and white, grow tall, and provide a very elegant look.

15. Don’t forget to decorate your fireplace mantel and hang your Christmas stockings. A few fireplace mantel decorating ideas are adding garland, different styles and sizes of Santas, teddy bears, and candles. You can also display your favorite nativity scene if you have a large enough mantel.

Be creative with your fireplace mantel because most mantels are the focal point during the holiday season. Another decorating idea for your mantel is to purchase a bunch of miniature rosemary trees shaped like Christmas trees, add mini ornaments to them and line them up across your mantel. These miniature rosemary trees are readily available during the holidays and come in festive containers.

Christmas decorating is a great time to create traditions and spend quality time with your family. Get out some snacks and drinks and create a little “decorating party” that you’re family will love and look forward to year after year.

Happy Holidays!

About The Author

Lesley Dietschy is a writer, jewelry designer, and the founder of a network of popular websites including http://www.HomeDecorExchange.com and http://www.HomeGardenExchange.com . Both of these websites feature valuable information and resources to assist you in decorating your home and garden

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