by fontplaydotcom
Easter Sunday or Resurrection Sunday, which do you celebrate? For many people, this is the same holiday. For others, the symbols and activities surrounding Easter or Resurrection Sunday make this day almost two separate holidays. When some people think of Easter, they automatically think of the Easter Bunny, whereas others instantly think of Jesus Christ. If you prefer not to associate Easter with rabbits but keep the holiday focused on Jesus, you may enjoy these ideas.
1. Create Resurrection Baskets. Instead of filling wicker baskets with plain chocolate bunnies and jelly beans, you can put candy in the basket with scriptures printed on the wrappers. Oriental Trading sells various candies with Christian messages and Bible scriptures on them. They sell toys and games with spiritual messages on them, as well. Also, instead of stuffed rabbits, you could place stuffed lambs or sheep in your Resurrection Baskets. Christian coloring books, Bibles, and bookmarks make nice additions to gift baskets, too.
2. Plan a Jesus Lives Scavenger Hunt. Instead of searching for Easter eggs, children can search for clues and objects that pertain to the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. After all the objects and clues have been found, children can receive candy or prizes.
These are just a few fun-filled Christian ways to celebrate Easter. If you try them, let me know.
July 29th, 2009 by Yolanda D. Young | Posted in Customs, Holiday Celebrations | Comments (0)
by magpiebride
Children should be encouraged to send thank you notes to friends and family members who give or send them presents for their birthday or any occasion. Store bought cards are nice to purchase so your children can sign them, but it’s extra special to send thank you creations made by your child.
Computers provide many options for creating original thank you notes made by your child. Let your child draw a picture for thank you notes. You or your child can scan the picture, and then design a card or a postcard to send out to show his or her appreciation for a gift. Also, you can take a photograph of your child enjoying the gift, transfer it to the computer, and create a card to send to the person who gave your child the gift.
You can give young children some markers, stickers, crayons, scissors, glue and paper, so they can create a work of art to thank someone for their presents. Younger children will enjoy covering their hands with paint, making hand prints on paper to send out to say thank you, as well. Grandparents will truly appreciate this gesture from children who can’t express themselves in writing, yet.
July 22nd, 2009 by Yolanda D. Young | Posted in Customs | Comments (0)
by rouvelee
Your family has been showered with presents for the future baby at a baby shower, and your due date is quickly approaching. Now it’s the time to send out thank you notes for the gifts. When the baby arrives, you won’t have time to write and send out notes of gratitude. Most of your time will be spent tending to your newborn’s need and trying to rest. While you have a few minutes, create an original, personalized baby shower thank you note on your computer.
1. Have someone take a picture of you and your family surrounded by the shower gifts and transfer it to the computer. Put the picture on the cover and type “Thank you!” on the inside of the card. Print them out and write personal messages to your family and friends.
2. Take a picture of the nursery and make that picture the cover of your thank you note.
3. Scan and transfer to your computer the latest ultrasound image of your baby and create memorable thank you notes and mementos of your pregnancy for others.
Creating your own thank you notes and filling them with personalized messages makes them extra special. Make sure you keep one for your baby’s scrapbook, so your child can see how you expressed your appreciation for his or her presents.
July 21st, 2009 by Yolanda D. Young | Posted in Baby Showers, Customs | Comments (0)
Photo Credit: jeezychreezy
For Father’s Day, my daughters and I took my husband to the beach. He wasn’t expecting to go anywhere for Father’s Day, but, when he arrived home from an arduous workday and opened the front door, he was whisked away to one of his favorite spots–the beach.
We placed a tan king-sized sheet on the living room floor and put his green and white lounge chair on it. We opened up and propped our rainbow-colored beach umbrella above the lounge chair, on which my daughter placed a multi-colored beach towel. So he’d have a place for a Daytona Beach cup filled with his favorite soda, we brought in the white resin table from the backyard and set it next to the chair. We placed some of our larger seashells from various beach trips on the table, too, along with a small wooden drum from Jamaica. Also, we placed a beach ball, a few beach and pools toys, and a ukulele from Hawaii around the living room.
We kept the lights in the room dim and played ocean, birds, and water sounds on the CD player. Later, the music was switched to some soothing jazz.
My 2-year-old put on her swimming suit, and my 5-year-old wore a floral lei, pink tank top, a grass skirt, and flip flops. I wore a white tank top, floral skirt, and a beaded Hawaiian necklace.
When my husband arrived home, he couldn’t wait to rest on his lounge chair. The girls had a lei waiting for him and were ready to perform songs on the karaoke machine, while I played along on the pink ukulele. Later, we hula danced as my husband fell asleep on his lounge chair at the beach for Father’s Day.
July 10th, 2009 by Yolanda D. Young | Posted in Customs | Comments (0)
by clevercupcakes
Having a baby brings joy, excitement, and enthusiasm. When a couple announces their first pregnancy, many people begin thinking about celebrating the baby-to-be and couple with gifts. Consequently, the couple will find themselves registering their wish list of products at a favorite store or two. A baby shower will be planned, and friends and family members will shop for items to present to the mother-to-be, traditionally, before the baby is born. However, what happens when the couple announces their second or third pregnancy? Should they expect to be thrown a baby shower?
Some people believe a baby shower should be thrown for a couple to help defer the expenses of their first bundle of joy, with a few exceptions. A shower might be thrown for the couple again if their second child will be of a different sex than their first child. A second shower would be appropriate for a couple who had their first child in their twenties and, now, they’re expecting their second child when they’re in their forties.
Many people believe whenever a child is born, a shower should be thrown. According to the Emily Post Institute (www.emilypost.com), “It is perfectly fine to throw a baby shower for a mother’s second or third baby, as long as the guest list is limited to close relatives and very close friends and/or guests who did not attend a shower for the first child.” The site, also, includes some other reasons a second shower is acceptable.
What do you think? Should a baby shower be thrown for every pregnancy?
July 9th, 2009 by Yolanda D. Young | Posted in Baby Showers, Customs | Comments (0)
By Saquan Stimpson/monstershaq 2000
How many times have you received a gift that was originally given to someone else? You probably don’t know if you have or haven’t. When most people receive gifts, they don’t know too much about the gifts’ history. We assume the person went to the store and scoured the stores until the perfect gift was found. However, this isn’t always the case. Sometimes the gift received is a regifted present—a present with a previous owner that hasn’t been used.
People regift for a variety of reasons. They may have received duplicate gifts, and they don’t have gift receipts. Consequently, they end up having extra presents stored in closets, boxes, and basements. Other people regift because they don’t like the gift or don’t have a use for it, and they believe someone else may find the gift likeable or useful. Some people regift because they just don’t have the time nor interest in going shopping to buy a present. I’m sure there are many other reasons people pass on a received gift to someone else.
Is regifting a bad idea? Well, it depends on your perspective. Some people might view regifting as being resourceful. Others might say regifting is good for the environment because less waste is created. Some people, however, would be offended if they knew they were receiving a recycled present.
How do you feel about regifting?
July 9th, 2009 by Yolanda D. Young | Posted in Customs | Comments (0)
By The Pug Father
Do children dress up for birthday parties anymore?
When I look at old family birthday party pictures from the sixties and seventies, I see girls dressed in patent leather shoes and pretty dresses and boys wearing perfectly pressed pants, starched shirts, and dress shoes. There’s one photo of me at my 7th birthday party in a white sleeveless dress with green and white plaid trim. As other children, dressed in their summer dressy attire, watch me, I’m squinting my eyes as I try to tie a balloon. When I peruse my recent family birthday party photographs, the children’s attire is far from dressy. The boys and girls are wearing gym shoes, t-shirts, and jeans or other casual outfits.
Recently, at my 5-year-old daughter’s Rock-n-Roll Ladybug Princess Garden Party, one of her friends came dressed up. She wore white patent leather shoes and a fluffy pink dress with a matching bow in her hair. Her mother had dressed her like mothers of previous decades dressed their daughters when going to a party. As she slid down the sliding board and ran around our backyard, she stood out from my daughter’s other guests. She didn’t seem any less comfortable playing in her patent leather shoes than those children in sandals and gym shoes. Her mother didn’t run behind her to make sure that her dress didn’t get dirty, either.
Children’s birthday party attire has evolved with the times. Children do much more than play Pin the Tail on the Donkey and Musical Chairs at today’s parties. Wearing casual clothes is practical for jumping in bouncy houses, roller skating, climbing play equipment, and riding horses. Yet, seeing children dressed up for a birthday party still makes me smile.
July 7th, 2009 by Yolanda D. Young | Posted in Birthday Parties, Customs, Party Stories | Comments (0)
A bevy of colorful balloons floating in the air shouts, “Celebration!” We give helium-filled mylar and latex balloons as gifts for all occasions. We hang them from ceilings, make arches with them, and put them on sticks for party decorations. Balloons add color and festivity to any occasion. However, there are a few safety issues to consider when using balloons for your events.
By D. Sharon Pruitt
Consider the age of your guests.
Although children love balloons, they are not the safest thing for them. Many balloon packages offer cautionary statements. They state that deflated or broken balloons may pose a choking hazard for children under 8-years-old. If you do decorate with balloons and have young children in attendance at your event, make sure to pay attention to any popped balloons. If you can’t patrol the balloons, you may want to put someone else in charge of keeping an eye out for them.
Consider the environment.
Although having your guests release helium-filled balloons at your wedding, for instance, is romantic, doing so may harm animals and the environment. On www.balloonhq.com, a balloon advocacy site, a writer states, “Although hand tied latex balloons are 100% biodegradable, they are still litter and do pose a potential threat to marine animals, seabirds and land animals.” If you do choose to have a professional balloon release at a celebration, make certain you ask the provider about environmental safety concerns prior to hiring him. Most importantly, ask the provider about balloon releases without attached strings or ribbons. If ribbons are attached, eventually the ribbon may become dangerous for some creatures and create litter.
Many celebrations would be incomplete without vibrant balloons decorating the party area, so continue using them. In fact, I’m a huge balloon fan. Just pay attention to young children around them, dispose of them properly, and make informed choices about releasing them.
July 2nd, 2009 by Yolanda D. Young | Posted in Customs, Party Planning, Tips | Comments (0)
By Alexander Oneil
Did you RSVP? May people see the initials “RSVP” on an invitation and don’t know what they really mean. Some people think it means to call the host only if you will not be attending the event. Otherwise, it’s okay just to show up at the party. However, RSVP stands for “Respondez, s’il vous plait”-which means “Respond, please.”
We’ve all seen the RSVP line on an invitation with a phone number and a contact name. The goal is for people to call to inform the host whether or not he or she will be attending the event. Responding to this request allows your host to better plan for her event. The amount of food, place settings, hospitality gifts, chairs and tables can all be determined by the response the host receives when she asks for you to RSVP.
So what if people do decide just to show up? What if the host didn’t order extra meals or chairs for those who didn’t RSVP? Now the host may be uncomfortable because she has to make accommodations or either inform people that there’s no room in the inn.
It only takes a few minutes to call, mail in the card, or e-mail to let someone know that you will or will not be attending their event. Wouldn’t you want someone to do the same for you?
June 19th, 2009 by Yolanda D. Young | Posted in Customs | Comments (0)
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