7 Simple Steps to Ensure Your Child Still Believes in Santa

 

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.

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.

 A reputable, inexpensive website that offers all of this as a service can be found here: www.PackageFromSanta.com

 

Make a Statement with Your Monogram

Monograms are traditionally viewed as the elite form of combining your letters into a single symbol. In different areas, monograms have been circulating for centuries. Customarily speaking, monograms were used to display an artisan’s signature on a creation. Through the years, monograms have become a unique way of personalizing one’s possessions, whether it is luggage, robes, or even socks.

For your wedding, why not add the elegant personal touch that monograms bring to any occasion? For subtle touches, you could include your monogram on the wedding stationery, wedding favor packaging, wedding program cover, or place cards. For a bolder look, buy or make a monogrammed aisle runner. In lieu of a traditional cake topper, have one that combines your and your groom’s initials. Wrap your bouquet with a monogrammed handkerchief. It’s your wedding, why not make it personal?

Outside of the ceremony, monogrammed items make great attendant gifts. No one will forget that you gave them that great keychain with their initials on it!

Monograms are a great way to make a statement, and are becoming more and more popular in today’s bridal industry. The inclusion of a monogram in the wedding accessories can add an exquisite and elegant touch to your wedding day.

 

Signature Picture Frame as a Guest Book Alternative

 

Wedding Garters are More than Accessories

Wedding garters, and subsequently the wedding garter toss, is a tradition that has been carried out for centuries, but its practices and rituals have differed through different civilizations and different times.

In ancient times it was believed that a bride’s clothing would bring good luck to anyone who got a hold of it. This became a little upsetting to the bride, since her guests would demolish her dress in order to have a piece of it, and its presumed fortune.

Obviously over time, this tradition began to change. Soon the good fortune, it was only associated with the bride’s garter, which guests would fight over. This too turned out to be dangerous, as the bride would often be knocked over by drunken male guests trying to remove her garter. In current times, only the groom removes the garter, and then tosses it to the unmarried male wedding guests.

Of course this all is based on the process, but the tradition itself is steeped in symbolism. It’s an iconic emblem towards the surrender of the bride’s virginal girdle to the groom, the tossing away of a groom’s single life and embracing a married life, good luck for the guest lucky enough to catch the garter.

But why is the garter often blue, you ask? In several ancient cultures, the color blue was considered symbolic of wealth and prosperity, so both the bride and groom would have a blue band around the bottom of their garments. As style and tradition have changed, so has this custom, so that now the garter is often blue.

The most common garter practices involve two garters: one that is tossed away, and another above it that is for the bride to keep as a memento. These garters are a valuable keepsake, and can be kept as a reminder of your special wedding day for years to come.

So, whether you wear a garter out of tradition, duty or simply for fun, know that it can be tailored to you and an extremely fun part of the reception.

 

The Nurse Mommy: Brown Bow Gift Co. Review

If you are an online shopper and have multiple gifts to buy I am sure you are like me and try to buy everything from one store to save on shipping, right? Well, now you can! Brown Bow Gift Co has something for everyone and the prices are amazingly affordable! Seriously, I think you would be hard pressed to find one person that could not find a gift for just about any loved one from this store! I was lucky enough to receive the Photo Keepsake Box.

As a busy working, blogging Mom of a little man entering his terrible two’s, I have to slack on some things. I fully admit I am not super mom. When little man was an infant all his pictures were perfectly arranged in an album by chronological order…..well, those days are gone and now we live with folders of pictures piled everywhere. That is why I thought this lovely little box would be perfect for me. Instead of having a dozen of those picture sleeves on every bookshelf, I now just empty them all into my adorably stylish Photo Keepsake Box.

This is a high quality leatherette box that would look good with any décor! This company is wonderful to work with and offers everything from candles to lunch boxes. Anything that you might consider purchases for a gift for ANY occasion can be found at Brown Bow Gift Co. I highly recommend them for your gift purchasing needs!

Source: http://www.thenursemommy.com/2009/07/day-3-part-2-25-to-brown-bow-gifts.html

 

This Side of Eternity: Brown Bow Gift Co. Review

Before we began homeschooling many years ago, my daughter attended the local public elementary school. We did the whole back to school thing. Went shopping for the perfect back to school outfit. And then took the school supply list and picked out everything from Office Max. To be perfectly honest these are a couple of things I do not miss at all.

But there is one thing I do miss.

Each year on the first day of school I would drop her off at school. Then I would come home and make up a batch of homemade cookies. I would have the cooking set on the table waiting for her to come home from her first day at school.

This turned into a first day of school tradition around here.

Now imagine if your child came home from their first day off school to find this waiting for them?

I think it would certainly make for a great First Day of School memory.

Brown Bow Gifts carries a lot of great products for every occasion. Birthdays, weddings, graduations, and any other special occasion you can think of.

Brown Bow Gifts does a great job of personalizing all kinds of products and making any occasion special. In fact I am looking forward to using some of their party favors for my daughters graduation party. Everything they carry is absolutely beautiful and unique.

They even have a blog that is full of gift giving information. You can check it out here.

Beside they have the coolest cookie bouquets that are sure to brighten even the gloomiest of days!

Do you have any first day of school traditions? I would love to hear about them.

Source: http://www.savingdollarsandsense.com/2009/08/brown-bow-gift-review.html

 

Connected2Christ: Brown Bow Gift Co. Review

I’m a fan of sites like The Brown Bow Gift Co.  were I can find special gifts for everyone in my life whether it be a receiving blanket for a new baby or a get well soon present for a friend that’s feeling under the weather, they’ve got it covered.

I found myself browsing around on their site a little longer than I do on most but  couldn’t resist browsing each category and getting blown away by their affordable prices on many high quality gifts!

I was given the opportunity to review Little Girl TUTU with Bow for my 14 month old daughter. I knew I would love this tutu as soon as I took it out of the big white box topped with a signature brown bow. This tutu is brown in color and came with a sweet little lilac colored bow attached. My daughter loves this tutu and enjoys spinning in circles dancing while wearing it! It’s high quality craftsmanship promises that this tutu will last for years and years to come. To bad my daughter will grow out of it by then though. I can see myself passing this along to my next little girl if God sees fit to bless with me with another daughter or even to another special little girl in my life.

I enjoyed getting to know Trisha from Brown Bow Gift Co and will definatly be shopping and recommending this great gift site to all my friends and family. I encourage you to check out the Brown Bow Gift Co today for great gifts  for any occasion for the ones that mean the most in your life.

Source: http://connected2christ.com/theblog/2009/08/the-brown-bow-gift-co-review/

 

 

Newest Trend ~ Ring Warming Ceremonies

Your wedding is one of the most important events in your life. On average, you’ll spend 12-18 months planning, making sure everything is perfect, for one day. No doubt you’ve agonized over the guest list, narrowing it down and bulking it back up to ensure all the people you love most will be there; so, wouldn’t it be such a nice treat to include them in your ceremony?

A growing trend among many couples is to have a ring warming ritual as part of the ceremony. This simple gesture is a beautiful compliment to your ceremony. During the service, your rings are passed around to all of your guests. Each guest holds the rings briefly, while silently saying a blessing or wish for your union. This ritual is ideal for small ceremonies, and can be a great way to include your guests in the service.

If you like the idea of having a very interactive ceremony, but worry about your rings getting dropped or lost, consider placing the rings in a small bag, or tie them together with fabric. If you are having a larger ceremony, or if you just don’t like the idea of having everyone touching your rings, pass them just among your immediate family members. The passing can even take place during the vows, so that by the time you get to the ring exchange the rings will have made their way back to you.

This ceremony trend is growing in the number of couples who employ it as part of their ceremony, and can be a wonderful way to make all of your guests feel as though they’ve actively participated in your union, besides just showing up and bringing a gift. Your wedding day is your special day, and you should choose to celebrate it any way you want.

 

Engraved Wedding Vow Rings

A Man’s Wedding Band (or Woman’s) Engraved a Whole New Way
If you’re looking to make your man’s wedding band really special, here is an article from Jerry Biern that you should find quite interesting.

Engraving Your Wedding Bands? New Technology Creates Romantic Possibilities.
What is more romantic than looking inside of your wedding band and seeing a personalized engraving with special meaning for the you and your spouse?

There are a few ways to accomplish this task that your jeweler will recommend and now some new processes available that increase the limits of the message that can be created.

 

Piece of Me: Brown Bow Gift Co. Review

Life has been so hectic these days that I have forgotten birthdays, anniversary’s and bridal showers! I always seem to remember a couple of days after the actual celebration and I am left empty handed and full of guilt. Luckily I found The Brown Bow Gift Co. and their wonderful gifts to make my life a little less hectic. The Brown Bow Gift Co. first launched in 2003 as Bundle It Gifts and offered a wide variety of gift baskets in their product line. After a redesign, The Brown Bow Gift Co. emerged in 2008 and expanded the products they offer. Now they have a wide variety of gifts for baby and children, wedding accessories and personalized gifts just to name a few.