Mrs. Claus and Santa Clause

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Have you ever wondered about the lifestyle of Mrs. Claus and Santa Clause? Let’s think about this for a moment. They have been married for years and years and we always think of them as being kind and sweet – but as a relationship expert, I have wondered about the relationship when they are alone.

Mrs. Claus must get tired of all those elves being around all the time. What do you think? It seems that Santa Clause takes the concept of taking his work home with him to the max. Not only does he have the elves to work with, but they are actually a big part of the Santa Claus family.

Of course, it is a well known fact that Santa has animal helpers with his mail and other tasks. I have it from a very reliable source that his mice (referred to as Christmas Mice), are actually responsible for sorting all of his mail. It seems that Mrs. Claus had finally had enough of the mess of the piles of letters by the front door and around their home so she had a long talk with Santa Clause.

After giving it some thought, Santa remembered about the mice that had asked if they could help with the Christmas work. In the past Santa had always insisted that the mice were too small to do anything helpful, and instead, he asked the mice to simply enjoy the festivities of the holiday traditions. But when he gave serious thought to his mail and Mrs. Claus’ anger, he reconsidered.

The Christmas Mice now sort the mail and place it into beautifully decorated baskets that are marked according to countries, animals, and other factors. This has made the Claus home even more attractive and it is organized. Mrs. Clause loved the idea – in fact, she made hand sewn ribbons and bows for each of the baskets.
When it comes to the reindeer, I have been told that Mrs. Claus loves them as much as Santa himself does. In fact, she cooks a special stew each weekend for the reindeer. It consists of lots of carrots and a secret ingredient that she calls reindeer magic.

All in all I think Mrs. Claus and Santa Claus have a wonderful lifestyle and relationship. After all, not many of us could handle that much time with our partners for that long.

Christmas Trees- The Foundation Of Our Holiday Decorations

If you celebrate Christmas, chances are you will celebrate the holidays with a Christmas tree. But although all across the nation there will be Christmas trees decorated this holiday season, none will be exactly like yours. However, you may choose to use a theme in your decoration, or even a very selective color scheme.

The nice thing about decorating with a theme or color scheme is that it helps makes the shopping experience easier when you are purchasing your decorations. Most of us have some great decorations that we use year after year – so we want to always find a way to fit those in.

Department stores are often the least expensive places to purchase Christmas decorations. Meaning you should be able to purchase your Christmas tree decorations, whether it’s lights or ornaments, for a relatively affordable price.
In addition to your local department store, you can also find and buy Christmas tree decorations from specialty Christmas shops. Depending on where you live, you should have at least one specialty Christmas shop in or around your home. The only problem with specialty Christmas shops is that their items tend to be higher priced; however, the quality is often better than what you would find in most department stores.

If you are looking for high quality, elegant Christmas tree decorations or ornaments, but you do not have access to a local specialty Christmas store, you may want to think about doing your shopping online. In addition to the Christmas tree decorations that you may find in your local department store, you may also be able to find individuals or companies who specialize in creating unique, handcrafted Christmas ornaments. As you might expect, handcrafted Christmas ornaments, especially those that are customized, cost a fairly decent amount of money, but it would be more than worth the extra cost to get exactly what you wanted.

As previously mentioned, there is a good chance that you already have a collection of Christmas tree decorations saved from previous years. If you are looking to save money, when decorating your Christmas tree, it may be best to use all of your old decorations. You could easily change things around a little bit so that your tree doesn’t look exactly the same as it did in previous years.

Whether you are shopping for Christmas tree decorations on a budget or not, you should easily be able to find the decorations that you wanted or at least the ones that you need. While it is fun to shop for Christmas tree decorations, the fun part starts when the tree decorating process actually begins. For the best memories, decorate your Christmas tree with someone that you know and love.

Make Christmas Joyful With A Santa Claus Postmark!

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It’s time to start planning for Christmas again and how to make it even more meaningful. If you are like the average family that recognizes and acknowledges this enchanting holiday, you will be dragging out your favorite and most cherished decorations from past Christmases plus adding more. Most people seem to continuously build their supply of adornments. After all, there are always new and gorgeous ornaments, wreaths, garlands, and other decorative embellishments we can add. The truth is that having a wide range offers the opportunity to either have a themed oriented decorating scheme, or a free for all style.

Decorating your home and surroundings is usually a Christmas tradition that all members of the family participate in. Even the very young get into the act. And of course, us adults sometimes get a little emotional at Christmas time. It’s not hard to do as we remember about favorite Christmases from years gone by. And if we are really lucky we will even have some keepsakes from those times that seem to keep us in touch with our past.

Christmas traditions are a wonderful way to bridge the gap between old and new, and young and old. The passing down of traditions keeps a bond of sorts between the generations. Just as our parents celebrated during the holidays, we have followed, and our kids will too.

Whether your family traditionally spends a specific time making and displaying Christmas craft projects, or simply decorating, or just spending quality time together, these can all become cherished Christmas traditions. And great memories will be a part of each Christmas as the tradition is carried on.
My family’s Christmas traditions include putting our Christmas tree up on Thanksgiving Day. Afterward, we work on a few Christmas craft projects – a family favorite is making snowmen out of Styrofoam balls. It’s easy enough even for the youngest members to do and fun for all.

When the craft projects are complete it is time to write our letter to Santa Claus. The kids love this. I always look forward to learning what it is that the children really want for Christmas. When the letters are ready we put them in envelopes addressed to Santa Claus at the North Pole. And when the kids receive an authentic letter back with a Santa Claus postmark from the North Pole they are ecstatic. As soon as their eyes take in the postmark from Santa Claus they are overjoyed, and I get to share in their joy.

No matter what activities you and your family look forward to together, the vital thing is to make it fun and make it meaningful. There’s something about Christmas that is simply enchanting and I believe that magic lives in our hearts. It just takes thewonders of Christmas to bring it out in each of us.

Fancy Tales Related to Christmas

A lot of what is widely regarded as true about Christmas or held as a
tradition cannot or has not been verified, or, has changed through the years.
Even Christmas Day itself, Dec. 25, has been questioned about whether that is
the exact day on which Jesus was born. Skeptics have asked why would shepherds
be out in the cold watching their flocks by night during the winter. Those
skeptics have put forward the thought that Jesus may really have been born in
the spring instead. It is therefore little wonder that there are many fancy
stories and tales that are told about Christmas and the Christmas season.

The most common fancy tale that everyone tells, particularly to children,
is about Santa Claus, also called St. Nicholas. But even if it were accepted
that Santa Claus existed, where does he live and how is he able to get to all
the houses of good boys and girls on Christmas Eve?

In the United States, there are rumors that Santa Claus has two homes. There is a home in Torrington, Connecticut, which is used as a distribution point for Santa and his many helpers, who are elves, to hand out gifts. And then, a second home is said to be located in Wilmington, New York, and that is where Santa Claus and his delivery reindeer crew are located.

But Santa can be visited in Cyberspace at anytime and what about the
widely held belief that Santa Claus really lives in a village at the North Pole?

The people of Finland also claim that their country is the official
residence of Santa Claus. That's because in Finland, you can actually visit a
village any time during the year and see Santa's workshop and observe Santa and
his elves hard at work as they prepare for their very important Christmas gift
delivery job on Christmas Eve. The only day when Santa's workshop is closed to
visitors is of course, on Christmas Eve.

Maybe a very smart visitor could visit Santa's workshop on the day before
Christmas Eve to see if there are any clues to how Santa and his reindeers plan
to make their trip the next day. That's because as the tale goes, in Finland
Santa Claus and his reindeers do not reach their destinations around the globe
by flying.

Finland welcomes visitors to Santa's workshop but there is nothing said
about whether visitors actually have any chance of having a word with the man
himself. While the chances of doing so are believed to be non-existent, among
the questions that inquiring minds could ask Santa is whether Rudolph is the son
of Donner (and to confirm the spelling - Donner or Donder) or whether Santa
spotted him in a different reindeer village one foggy Christmas Eve when he had
already started on his Christmas toy-delivery mission.

Questions about these things are often included in letters written to Santa Clause. Not surprisingly, in letters from Santa Clause children are sometimes surprised to learn that Santa wonders about things like whose idea was it to have Christmas trees and for the gifts to be placed under them.

The tradition of Christmas tree as it exists today comes from Germany by
way of immigrants. But it isn't clear how the tradition really gained a foothold
in Germany. One story is that Christians in Germany during the 16th century
started to bring trees that were decorated into their homes. Some of those
Christians would build pyramids for Christmas. The pyramids were made of wood
and would be decorated with evergreens and candles if wood was in short supply.

It is however Martin Luther, a Protestant reformer, who is said to have
been the first to add lighted candles as decoration to a tree based on his
inspiration from the brilliant light of twinkling stars that shone through
evergreen trees as he walked home one winter evening.

As the legend goes, Martin Luther placed a tree in a primary room of his
house and placed wires with small, lighted candles around the branches of the
tree. And that is how, as the tale goes, the Christmas tree as known today, was
started.

Eating Heartily but Consciously During Christmas Season

During the Christmas season, summer and its body-conscious state of mind
are distant memories. Hearty indulgence in the many foods shared at Christmas
therefore doesn't produce the same feelings of guilt. Nevertheless, its not a
pleasant thought to start the New Year carrying any extra pounds. So why then
eat yourself into a resolution to 'take off a few extra pounds' if you can
smartly avoid it?

Whether it's sharing cookies and candies at work, or having an evening out
at a party or dinner, you can have Christmas food and enjoy it. While you seem
to be eating heartily with a smile, the key is to have a secret strategy of
moderation. It involves sticking to a plan that can be called 'Eating on a
Budget.'

'Eating on a Budget' is not about the cost of what is eaten, but about the
quantity of what is eaten. It is important that a 'budget' or eating in
moderation plan is developed because it is almost impossible to avoid exposure
to a lot of cookies, candies and other sweets at Christmas. At work, you may
risk appearing like the Grinch who stole Christmas if your response will always
be something like, 'Uh..no..bah humbug' all the time that some Christmas goodies
are offered. It will seem as if you aren't in the spirit of the holidays
especially since at that time of year everyone is usually in a festive and more
relaxed mood, and the pace at work is usually slower.

A practical way to partake in Christmas goodies, for example, is to
substitute some holiday cookies for say the bagel that you usually have with
breakfast or for a mid-morning snack. And instead of just taking one cookie,
from the platter, which is noticeable and likely will encourage a colleague to
tell you to have more, take three instead. That's where the plan can come into
play. You can then enjoy the cookies over two or more hours, because nobody will
be watching how you really eat. You can always have a few candies, one cookie or
a cookie and a half by your desk and that way it will seem as if you are
heartily enjoying the holiday treats.

Another strategy is to bring - bake or buy - low calorie Christmas cookies
and candies to work to counteract others that are being offered. Since eating
healthy is highly encouraged, health-conscious cookies will not be looked down
upon so long as they taste great. A box of sugar-free Christmas chocolate
candies for example will look just as delightful as regular chocolate candies.
It's interesting to note that in a poll sponsored by the National Confectioners
Association in 2004, chocolate was the favorite food gift that Americans said
they preferred to receive for the holidays. The lowly and much maligned fruit
cake was last on the list. The second favorite holiday food gift was a fruit
basket and a plate of cookies was third on the list, according to the
Association.

For an occasion such as a Christmas party or a dinner, including Christmas
Dinner, where larger quantities and selection of food is available, the 'Eating
on a Budget' plan means that serving portions and the choice of food selected
should be carefully watched.

At a party where more desserts and sweets are likely to be available, a few of
the selections can be sampled. If the urge to try everything can't be resisted,
then do so, but then second helpings have to be severely limited. The same is
somewhat true for Christmas Dinners. One big difference is that the food served
during Christmas Dinner will be heavier, so by selecting portions wisely, one
can always say truthfully that the stomach is full.

And indeed, after a sumptuous Holiday Dinner, your body is likely to be full
from food and your soul full of joy from sharing another memorable holiday
tradition with family, friends and loved ones.