BlogHer - Christmas - Comments

Whatcha gonna do with a Cowboy when he don't saddle up and ride

Cowboys Kid and Sunsets — Wed, 07 May 2008 13:27:01 -0500

Hello, I am new to this whole "blog" thing! But I do have my own Cowboy! All I have to say is YUM!! I L.O.V.E. him! He is polite, the whole "yes ma'am, no sir" and all!! He ropes, and wrangles,we even have our own brand!! Although his dream is to move to Texas and have a ranch. We have a small ranch now and raise Quarter horses, not for sale or anything just raise them!! Cowboys are truly last of a dying breed! I hope you find one for yourself they are worth having! Check out my blog, http://cowboysandsunsets.blogspot.com/ I have just started but will add more photos soon! I look forward to "chatting" Good luck to you, try going to roping events those Cowboys tend to hang out there alot!LOL!!

Kim

JRR Tolkien did santa correspondence with his kids

Crunchy Carpets — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 09:52:12 -0500

for years...with art.

They loved it

Look for me at http://crunchycarpets.com or check out the ladies at www.wetcoastwomen.com

7 Simple Techniques for Keeping Your Child Believing in Santa

djgruber — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 15:43:32 -0500

Many parents love to see the joy and excitement Santa Claus can bring to their child. For many people, their childhood memories of Santa Claus are the best Christmas memories they have. Keeping your child believing in Santa, however, can be a daunting task. Children are smart these days, and some of the old Santa tricks just don't get by them anymore. Many children are perpetually plagued with the question, "Is there a Santa Claus?"

Every family may have slightly different Christmas traditions with regards to Santa Claus, but there are some very easy things any person can do to keep the belief in Santa at an all time high. The following 7 techniques will keep your child believing in the magic and wonderment of Santa Claus and you don't have to be familiar with the history of Santa Claus to apply them.

1) Have your child write a Santa Letter. This can be a simple letter that your child can write to Santa Claus. Children absolutely love to write a letter to Santa, but they occasionally need a little parental guidance to pull it off.

Help your child include a special list of gifts they desire for Christmas into the Santa letter. Many children enjoy getting more creative by drawing or cutting out pictures that represent the gifts they want.

Once the child's Santa letter is finished, simply mail it to the North Pole. Mail it to the following Santa Claus address: Santa Claus, 1 Candy Cane Lane, North Pole 00001. Don't bother using a return address, you wouldn't want it to return as ‘undeliverable' for any reason.

2) Write a letter from Santa and have your child receive it in the mail. Create a personalized letter from Santa by directly mentioning your child's name and certain information about your child in the text. This will make for a much more believable Santa letter. Be sure to make these letters from Santa different for each child in the same household. The child will have no doubt that Santa Claus is coming to town after they receive their personalized letter from Santa!

"I can honestly state as a parent that the personalized letter from Santa has single handedly restored my son's belief! The look of shock and amazement on his face when he got an ‘authentic letter from Santa' quickly abolished any doubt he previously had about Santa Claus."

Print the Santa letter on authentic looking letterhead, as this will help to reinforce the believability. Many different styles of paper can be found at your local office supply store.

You can add to the fun by getting your letter from Santa postmarked at the North Pole. Simply send your Santa letter inside another sealed, stamped envelope to: North Pole Christmas Cancellation, Postmaster, 5400 Mail Trail, Fairbanks, AK 99709-9999. (It needs to arrive by December 15th)

Many parents add a certificate for being on Santa's "Nice List" along with the Santa Letter for added effect. Another great item to add with the Santa letter is a Santa Claus coloring sheet. Combining the personalized Santa letter, the nice certificate, and the Santa Claus coloring sheet is a sure fire method for keeping your child believing.

A reputable online service that offers inexpensive Personalized Santa Letters and Nice Certificates can be found here: www.PackageFromSanta.com .

3) Have your child leave milk and cookies out for Santa Claus on Christmas Eve. This is simple enough to do with your child. It lets your child know YOU still believe, too. Make it a bonding experience for you and your child by baking the cookies together on Christmas Eve. Don't underestimate how powerful this can be for creating joyful memories of Santa Claus, for both you and your child. Did you know that Santa's favorite cookie recipe is Chocolate Chip?

Put the fresh cookies on a plate next to a glass of cold milk. You can even put a short letter to Santa Claus next to the cookies and milk. These tasty treats will give Santa the energy he needs to continue traveling to the millions of other households awaiting his arrival.

Don't forget to leave some crumbs on the table Christmas morning. Your child will feel honored that Santa Claus ate the whole plate of cookies and drank all of the milk before rushing on his way.

4) On Christmas Eve, have your child sprinkle reindeer food on the lawn. Santa Claus gets milk and cookies on Christmas Eve, but what about Rudolph and the rest of the joyful gang? What do they eat? Well, reindeer food, of course!

You can make a batch of environmentally friendly reindeer food with common grocery items such as oats or granola. (Do not use potentially hazardous items, such as glitter in your reindeer food. Although this may make the reindeer food appear to be magical in some way, it can be extremely dangerous if ingested by small children, should they decide to ‘sample' the reindeer food. It can also be potentially hazardous to the small animals outside such as rabbits, dogs, or cats that may eat the food.)

Once you have the reindeer food mixed up, walk outside with your child on Christmas Eve night and explain the importance of making sure Santa's sleigh team stays fed. Sprinkle a small amount onto your yard near bushes or trees.

This healthy reindeer snack will give Rudolph and the rest of the reindeer the nourishment they need to continue flying Santa's heavy sleigh into the night. Your child will be proud for helping Santa Claus on his journey, and is sure to raise the belief in Rudolph and the other reindeer as well.

5) Leave Santa Claus tracks in your house on Christmas Eve. Being sure to not stain your carpet, leave some dirty boot prints by the fireplace (or doorway). Be sure to draw attention to the Santa Claus footprints on Christmas morning. To a child, this is solid evidence that Santa had been to their house.

6) A month or so after Christmas, send your child a postcard from Santa Claus on vacation. This not only keeps your child believing, but reminds your child that Santa is in their hearts all year long. It also answers the common question posed by children after Christmas, "Where is Santa Claus now?"

Be sure to make the postcard from somewhere very warm and sunny. After all, Santa does need a break from all that North Pole snow.

7) Mail your child a birthday greeting from Santa Claus. This technique works in tandem with the personalized Santa letter you mailed your child previously. Mailing your child a simple birthday card from Santa is an excellent way to keep your child's belief high throughout the year. Your child will think, "Wow! Santa actually knows my birthday!" The shock on your child's face will be priceless.

Parents that have extremely intelligent kids or kids that are getting slightly older will genuinely need to utilize all 7 techniques mentioned above to keep their child believing in Santa Claus. These techniques will assure your child is one of the millions of children that write Santa Letters each and every holiday season... one of the millions of children that believe wholeheartedly in Santa Claus.

About the Author: Alex Russell has performed extensive research in the arena of personalized letters from Santa, and devotes much of his time to reviewing websites that offer services for Santa letters. Alex has earned the respect of many Christmas authority websites such as www.PackageFromSanta.com, for his highly regarded articles on such topics as "How to Write a Letter from Santa" and "The Truth about Santa Letters."

Love your style

Nordette — Fri, 28 Dec 2007 12:15:04 -0600

Enjoyed your humor. Thaks for a great chuckle.

Nordette

Nordette Adams is a Contributing Editor with BlogHer.org.

LOL

Elisa Camahort — Fri, 28 Dec 2007 11:53:02 -0600

As Liz said...thank goodness!!!

Elisa Camahort
BlogHer
elisa@blogher.org

Great story...

Liz Rizzo — Fri, 28 Dec 2007 11:17:55 -0600

Nice to start the day with a chuckle - Thank goodness you were there! :)

Liz Rizzo

I blog at Everyday Goddess.

Great recipe here...

Momma x5 — Fri, 28 Dec 2007 06:19:48 -0600

lol! I really can't stand most eggnog, but awhile back came across this recipe via. Family Fun: 'tis AMAZING! http://jas.familyfun.go.com/recipefinder/display?id=40582

Eggs-travagant Nog
RECIPE INGREDIENTS:
6 egg yolks
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 cups milk
l cup half and half (or milk, for lighter nog)
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 pint superpremium vanilla ice cream

1. Whisk together the egg yolks, sugar, and nutmeg in a large bowl.
2. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, heat the milk until it steams.
3. Pour some of the hot milk over the egg mixture and whisk (this keeps the eggs from scrambling), then scrape this egg mixture into the saucepan with the rest of the milk and cook over medium-low heat, whisking constantly, until it thickens a bit, about 10 minutes (or reads 165° to 175° on a candy thermometer).
4. Remove from the heat and stir in the half and half and vanilla extract, then pour the mixture through a strainer into a clean bowl.
5. Add the ice cream, and stir until melted. Cover and chill at least 1 hour, then stir before serving. Garnish with nutmeg. Makes 12 servings.

Real Life Mothering!
http://www.pancakesandpinesol.com

yummy nog!

alyssaroyse — Tue, 25 Dec 2007 18:42:05 -0600

I have to say, one of the greatest benefits of having a backyard full of chickens is that we got fresh eggs today to make eggnog from scratch..... and, done that way, it's not nearly as bad..... in a whole batch, that "fed" 9 people, i used 8 eggs and 1/2 a gallon of whole milk from "our" cows.... that breaks down to an egg and a glass of milk. and when you whip the whites separately, it's all light and fluffy..... good stuff. yeah, the sugar and rum throw things off a bit but it's christmas....

ho ho ho ho. no hum. :)
___________
Alyssa Royse
JUST CAUSE
make some good news!
www.JustCauseIt.com

Thanks Jill

Catherine Morgan — Tue, 25 Dec 2007 12:27:48 -0600

Merry Christmas to you too.

Contributing Editor Catherine Morgan
also at CatherineBlogs.com and The Political Voices of Women

Merry Christmas, Catherine, Bloghers

Jill — Tue, 25 Dec 2007 08:16:05 -0600

That's all. :)

Enjoy.
ill
Writes Like She Talks

Help Santa Create his 4th Annual Celebrity Nice or Naughty List

Jingle Vote — Sun, 23 Dec 2007 17:15:23 -0600

It's that time of year again and Santa, as always, is running a little behind and needs a little help creating his celebrity nice or naughty list for Christmas morning.

Please visit:
http://www.jinglevoteblog.com

and cast your vote for who you think has been very elfish and has done their part to make this world a better place (the Nice List).

and cast your vote for who you think has not been too elfish, but rather selfish and deserves a lump of coal this year (the Naughty List).

Here you will also find the Ask Santa Podcast, Games, Quizes, Free Jinglegrams for your loved ones and a place to upload your favorite holiday memories, photos or videos.

Hope to see you there!!!
http://www.jinglevoteblog.com

Happy Holidays,

Jingle Gella Bella Stella

Head Elf

TinkerTank and NORAD santa

alyssaroyse — Sat, 22 Dec 2007 09:29:55 -0600

Don't forget www.TinkerTank.org. Accurate bios and photos of Santa and all the major holiday characters. explanation (finally) of how reindeer fly, letters to and from (and email links to email santa) etc... My favorite part of the site are the histories of the holidays, which are cross-cultural and historically accurate. I also love that the photos of the characters are not your hallmark versions.... (Cupid is a cute black girl....) It's not kitschy like most holiday sites, it's the "official" corporate web site of Santa's workshop.... so you actually have to read it. hysterical. i think it's so "official" so that parents can "prove" to their kids that it's all real.

we always track Santa at Norad Santa, www.noradsanta.org, which has undergone a facelift this year and looks great. you can track the progress and they often have guest celebrity reporters which are just hysterical..... even though our daughter no longer believes, she still loves it.

and for parents, and parents only, there's the South park Christmas special, Mr. Hankey's Christmas Special. http://southpark.comedycentral.com/video_by_episode.jhtml?episodeId=1248... though the whole episode is downloadable on iTunes. For those who don't know, Mr. Hankey is the Christmas Poo. He hosts the holidyas special with such classic songs as Merry F'Ing Christmas and Christamas in hell. It is as politically incorrect, sophomoric, moronic an stupid as it can possibly be. It is also pee-your-pants funny if you have that kind of sense of humor. which i do. :)

Merry HappyDays to all!!!!!!!
___________
Alyssa Royse
JUST CAUSE
make some good news!
www.JustCauseIt.com

Santa & His Ho's Ain't Welcome

theprisonerswife — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 12:04:34 -0600

*lol*

this is basically another case of the "politically correct police" getting all out of hand again. we are so concerned with not offending anyone that we forget that language has several complexities & nuances that inform HOW things are interpreted.

this is just stupid tho, people need to find something IMPORTANT to gripe about.

~~
the prisoner's wife: mommy.wife.wordsmith.all around cool chick.

I agree!

Kalyn Denny — Sat, 15 Dec 2007 19:47:01 -0600

I agree, those meal-in-a-jar gifts would be good for so many different people!

Kalyn Denny
Kalyn's Kitchen

Me too!

Karoli — Fri, 14 Dec 2007 03:55:20 -0600

Thanks for putting me a bit more in the spirit! I blogged it here

karoli (odd time signatures)