What to Put Into Christmas Stockings?
You all know what Christmas stockings are. They’re oversized socks that you place under the tree hoping for Santa to drop some goodies in them. Traditionally, ordinary socks are used, but seeing how full Santa’s basket is in popular media photos, it wouldn’t hurt to have more space for him to fill, right?
Warning: If you’re under 12 years old, don’t read the next line. Don’t spoil your Christmas. 
So, parents, what can be done to make the proverbial Christmas stocking more appealing to those who will receive the gifts within? I have always thought that setting up goodies for the stockings during Christmas is a lot like putting together some items for party loot bags. In short, you should have a collection of candies and mementos.
Have at least one expensive item among the cool stocking stuffer gifts, and then add fillers like candies and small whimsical toys. A keychain may be the main gift, then the rest can be added for the surprise factor.
Consider also your child’s personality. Does he enjoy receiving plastic iguanas or lizards? If he’s the adventurous type, you can add plastic replicas of scary animals. If your child is scared of these things, you can leave them out. The same goes for candy. Your child may have a particular brand he or she likes. Think about the small trinkets your daughter has been gushing about while reading your fashion magazines and get cheaper counterparts.
The Hospitality Business Is Booming Despite the Bad Economy
One thing I’ve noticed lately is the way people are still splurging on travel even though they may not have enough to live the next year in relative luxury. Why?
I can think of many reasons why people would want to spend what money they still have to visit places they’ve always dreamed of visiting. This is great news for countries that thrive on tourism. One main reason why the travel industry is on the rise is the thought that “you only live once”. Meaning: they’d better go where they want to go before they become too poor to do so. And if they starve because of this expense? At least they’ve achieved one life goal. The way the economy is going, they’d probably be close to starving by the next year anyway.
Tourists who have the money to spend are better off going now because the hotel industry has shrewdly cashed in on this ‘trend’ of people becoming more fatalistic and saying ‘que sera sera’ to their lives. There are options upon options in wherever tourist spot you’d want to visit, with countries opening their doors to tourists with money to burn. To each his own, as they say. Some people go for travel, some people go for gadgets.
So, what does this mean for all of us? It means we can expect careers like Tourist Guides, Travel Counselor Jobs and Hotel Management to boom again. That’s a heads up for all parents who are still doggedly pursuing nursing and medical careers for their children when there are other careers available.
Do You Face Your Problem or Do You Facebook It?
It’s fun reading posts on facebook. First of all, you know who is engaged to who, and which high school classmate is still single and dreaming of artcarved wedding bands. You also see entertaining photos of other people, even those you barely talked to in the past.
But the most entertaining of all are the complaints and giddy-happy posts. Besides the occasional quote or photo quote, there are so many comments about how life sucks, how happy life is, and how life could be better. Complaints and many other issues are being taken online, on facebook.
You have to ask: why? Why do people “facebook” their problems? I guess most people want to share the pain, but I think there are times when people simply want to see who would like their posts. Yep, I know a lot of people that have become “like-hos”, or those that check their status every so often to see how many of their friends have liked their posts. If the post is a complaint, though, I feel iffy about liking a post.
How to Keep a New Years Resolution?
Create a new year’s resolution and put it in a time capsule. That may be one of the ways to keep a good new year resolution. Of course, you can always add something that will test your resolution.
For instance, if you promised you won’t smoke anymore, you can always include cheap macanudo cigars inside just to see if you did your best to keep the resolution. A time capsule has worked for school children who put in what they want to be when they grow up, with the capsule dated 20 years into the future. But you can put one date in the next year when it will be opened.
The buddy system may also work for the New year resolution time. You can place your resolutions in a hat. During your family time on New Year’s Eve, give every family member a piece of paper. Write down one or two of the most important things you want to accomplish in the coming year. The one that picks up your paper is responsible for reminding you about your resolution during the next year.
Sending your resolutions to the heavens using balloons. This requires helium balloons and some ribbon. On a slip of paper, each family member will write a single goal for the next year. Ok, this is probably the least environmentally friendly way to do this, but it’s the most romantic. If your resolution reaches the heavens and God reads it, you have to answer to him if you break your promise.
Washing Dishes Manually: Is It Really Difficult?
I know most moms know how to operate dish washers, but there are still a lot out there that are more comfortable washing dishes without the benefit of technology. Some have no choice, either because they don’t own a dish washer or because they don’t have the space for a dish washer.
Washing dishes is one of the necessary chores that needs to be done a few times a day. Why a few times? Because if you let the dishes pile up, you’ll have a more difficult time cleaning the lot later. My personal struggle with washing dishes came when I was living alone, and while I was in the dorm during college. It’s pretty tough to get it right the first time you try it.
How can someone mess up something as simple as dish washing? If you’re a new wife and your mother-in-law sees the tiniest hint of oil in the plates you’ve washed, you may get an earful. If you don’t know what ketchup does to a white plastic serving spoon, and you place the spoon on top of a used plate with ketchup on it, you may end up with a pink colored serving spoon. Washing dishes manually is a bit complicated, and some may find it more challenging than they anticipated.
I also discovered through manual dish washing why double bowl sinks were invented. I mean, you only need one sink, so what’s the use of having another one if there is only one faucet? The free sink is for holding the dishes that are ready for rinsing, while the other one is for those that you haven’t washed yet. I know these things are supposed to be common sense, but a new housewife who lived with maids since birth may not know about these.