10 Useful Tips For an Excellent Christmas Holiday Package

Thursday, October 25, 2012 9 comments
It's time to get your bags packed and wrap your mufflers up for Christmas. Here are few festive tips to get you started.
Christmas is almost knocking at the door! So, what are you waiting for? Hurry and pack your bags for a wonderful Christmas holiday. Here are 10 useful tips for an excellent Christmas holiday package.
1) Plan your Christmas holiday well ahead as you can avail of some reasonably great discounts if you book in advance.
2) Locate and choose a reliable and knowledgeable travel agent who can offer you an excellent Christmas holiday packages with discounts and special offers.
3) The internet houses an array of impressive discounts and offers on Christmas holiday packages. So do not forget to browse through it before you step out.
4) Christmas season is one of the best seasons for a holiday. Pick a holiday spot which is not very crowded as it may dilute the essence of your holiday.
5) Make sure the accommodation, meals, car rentals, sight seeing, tours, activity reservations etc. are included in the holiday package. That would make your Christmas holiday even more joyful by avoiding last minute hassles.
6) If you are in the spirit of celebrating Christmas while holidaying, ensure that you opt for a place where Christmas is heartily celebrated.
7) If you are planning a Christmas holiday with your family, make sure that everyone has some activities to engage themselves in that they enjoy being part of.
8) During Christmas, air travel is at its peak. One must buy tickets at the earliest and check flight schedules.
9) If you have other entertaining activities chalked out and are not included in your holiday package, make it a point to get it arranged well in advance to avoid last minute disappointment.
10) The last but most important tip is to make a checklist of your luggage and your program during your Christmas holiday so that you won't miss out on anything special. Do not clog your schedule with too much to do, as this may spoil the charm of holidaying.

12 Ways to Create Your Own Family Christmas Holiday Tradition - Part I

Monday, October 1, 2012 1 comments
Family Christmas Holiday Tradition gives us freedom and guidance in a time that is otherwise hectic and stressful, and often unorganized. Tradition gives us a blueprint of how our family anticipates and loves the holiday season, what they expect, how they love to celebrate.
Tradition gives us the opportunity to lay out our Christmas holiday activities well in advance. We can prepare a plan of action, and organize our holiday events using a true and proven site map. That takes off stress from last minute activities, e.g., the frantic search for needed holiday decor, or the headache of coming up with the right holiday menu.
But what shall we do, if our family does not have a Christmas holiday tradition yet? Simply, we create our own tradition. Let's open the music box of our own childhood memories. What was it that made Christmas holidays so special? Was it the heavenly scent of cinnamon, orange and fir, all woven into the air in a potpourri of Christmas promise? Or do we remember mother's Christmas story at candlelight? Was it the holiday music that touched our heart? With our own Christmas holiday memories at heart, let's manifest our own family Christmas tradition! Here are twelve ways!
1. Build the excitement and joy up in your and your family's heart. Start by decorating your home to invite Christmas promise into your family's life. My mother used to decorate every picture in our home with a little fresh and wonderfully smelling fir twig. When we saw that mother was preparing for the holidays, excitement built up in our lives.
2. On December 1st, we brought in a fir wreath with four candles. Often three of those candles were purple, but one was pink. Living through the first two weeks, we children were eagerly looking forward to the third Sunday when the pink candle of Joy and anticipation was lit.
3. Of course, we had an Advent calendar and one of us was allowed to open a window each day. This meant that we children went to great length to ensure that we were good kids - cleaning up our rooms, removing the trash, washing the dishes, etc. - so every one of us got a turn to open a window.
4. It was custom that a Madonna statue was carried from house to house in memory of Maria's search for a place to give birth to her child. So when it was our turn to open our family door and heart to Maria, our mother would bathe the room in warm, gentle candle light. We sang the old carols and prayed. It was an honor to accommodate the statue for one night, and every family tried to prepare a special welcome.
5. On the 4th of December, mom would bring in St. Barbara twigs from the garden. These cherry twigs, now brown and barren, will open their blossoms in the holy night. We watched the Barbara twigs carefully every day with excitement and wonder. Because out of these seemingly dead brown twigs, soon little green leaves would develop in the warm family room.