What’s the difference between the free Santa letter and the premium letter?

The free Santa letter is a low-resolution option that will not look very sharp when printed and it will expire after a few days so you cannot retrieve it later. The premium Santa letter is a high-resolution, professional-quality output that will print out with the best quality. The premium letter also comes with a high-resolution envelope design. Premium letters are saved in the database so you can access them later and print additional copies, if you’d like.

Will my Santa letter look exactly like it did in the preview?

The preview is only an approximation of what your letter will look like. The actual output may vary slightly from the preview. The free letters are low resolution. The premium letters are high resolution.

How will you deliver my Santa letter?

Your letter will be available via a download link. To receive the link, you will need to enter your email and then click one of the buttons below to request the free letter or the premium letter with an evelope. If you don’t click one of the buttons AFTER you enter your email, you will not receive your letter. P lease be sure to enter your email address correctly so we can send the download link to you. If you don’t see the email, please check your spam folder.

How do I print my Santa letter?

When you click on your personalized link, your letter will open in a pdf file. You will need Adobe Reader to access your letters. If you don’t have Adobe Reader, you can download Adobe Reader free. To print, click the printer icon in the upper left corner to open your printer dialogue box. The Santa letters are designed to be printed on standard letter paper (8 1/2 x 11″). For best results, use a heavier weight paper, such as resume paper and use your printer’s highest quality print settings.

Is there a different envelope design to match each stationery design?

No, there is currently only one envelope design. You will get this envelope no matter which letter you purchase. You can see the envelope design here.

Can I get an envelope without purchasing a letter?

Envelopes are only available if you upgrade to the premium Santa letter. The free option does not include an envelope.

How do I save my Santa letter to my computer?

To save your Santa letter, go to your personal download link, open the file in Adobe Reader and click the Save icon in the upper left corner.

I entered my email, but I didn’t receive my letter. How come?

If you did not make a selection AFTER you entered your email, you will not receive a letter. The email is not generated until you tell the system whether you want the free letter or the high-resolution letter with an envelope.

I’ve read all the FAQs and still have problems. How can I contact you?

If you’ve read the entire FAQ and are still having problems, please email postmaster at freesantaletters.net.

One of the joys of the holidays that many people enjoy is baking cookies. If you’re one of those people, here’s a tasty recipe that includes cinnamon and almonds for crunchy, cinnamony goodness.

New England Christmas Cookies
Ingredients
3/4 cup of melted shortening
3/4 cup of melted butter
1 cup of brown sugar
1 cup of white sugar
1 teaspoon of cinnamon
1 cup of sliced blanched almonds
3 eggs, beaten
1 teaspoon of salt
3 1/2 cups of flour
1 1/2 teaspoons of soda

Directions
Cream sugar and melted ingredients. Beat eggs and add to creamed mixture. Sift
together all dry ingredients and beat into dough. Stir in almonds. Form dough into
small rolls and wrap in wax paper. Refrigerate overnight. Slice thin and bake at 350
degrees for 8 to 10 minutes. DO NOT OVERBAKE.

I looked at the pile of gifts under the tree, frowning. With five different patterns of gift wrap, everything looked … wrong. Where was the festive mood I’d prepared for that Norman Rockwell backdrop? Something definitely didn’t ring right for that long-planned-for moment. It was the wrapping. Yawn!

Special moments need special preparation. With some time and inspiration, something as small as gift wrapping techniques can make a big difference.

When wrapping presents, simple can be elegant. Wrapping packages in plain brown shipping paper and topping with something extraordinary can be creatively beautiful. Try a small pine branch and pine cone, a touch of gold leaf, or red berries. No ribbon or bow needed – tie it off with a length of raffia.

White paper with metallic is also timeless. Paper may be left plain or sparingly leafed with gold, silver or bronze to match ribbons.

You can also dress up a package up as Santa Claus or Rudolph. For either character, wrap a rectangular or square package in plain, red wrapping paper.

For Rudolph, cut a triangle and teardrop-shaped ears from brown Kraft paper. The triangle should be large enough to reach top-to-bottom of the box. Using glue stick or double-sided tape, attach the triangle and ears to the front of the box. Decorate Rudy’s face with large googly-eyes, a mouth and, of course, his bright red pom-pom nose. Curl some chenille stems to make antlers.

For Santa’s suit, glue white faux fur trim around the top and bottom of the box, and straight down the middle. Glue 3-5 large, black buttons to one side of the trim.

Oatmeal boxes make great snowmen gift boxes for small presents. Spray paint white (don’t forget the inside!) and allow to dry. Glue on googly-eyes. For a snowman, texture-paint a carrot-nose and coal mouth. Glue buttons down his front and tie a scarf around his neck. Then pack your present inside!

Gift wrapping techniques are only limited by your imagination! Use clip-art, garage sale china and boxes, and paper punches to your advantage. Have fun!
-Deborah Dyess

Part of welcoming Baby into the family is the addition of a baby Christmas stocking. Placing it with the others on the mantle somehow solidifies the little one’s place in the household.

Picking the baby Christmas stocking used to be limited to choosing pink or blue, with the words “Baby’s First Christmas” embroidered on the front. But times have changed! Stockings can specialize in the family’s favorite sports teams, hobby or town or have photo inserts for that all-important first-year portrait.

If you’re a crafty mom, making a baby Christmas stocking is an enjoyable way to prepare for the holiday. The stocking will be unique and truly special. Begin with a plain stocking. Patterns are available in stores and online. (I like the clear directions and pattern at Craft and Fabric links). Here are two simple ideas to try.

Handprint Christmas Tree Stocking
Make a Christmas tree from your baby’s hand and footprints. Start with the trunk of the tree. Using brown paint, footprint your child. Carefully press the tiny foot to the stocking, positioning it correctly. Green handprints make boughs of the Christmas tree. Make a handprint stamp by transferring your baby’s handprint to thick FunFoam. Cut it out and use it to create the tree. This prevents accidents caused by wiggling little fingers! Use 3-5 near the bottom of the tree and decrease by one until the top is created. Fingers should point out for the lower branches, and up for the top. The number of handprints will vary, depending on the size of the stocking. Allow the painted tree to dry, then adorn with beads, sequins, buttons, etc. Tiny charms can be used as miniature ornaments, and a locket can hold a photo of Baby.

Photo Insert Stockings
Photo insert stockings are easily made. Purchase fabric needed, plus a small square of thin vinyl (available in many fabric sections). Before sewing the front and back stocking pieces together, position the vinyl on front of the stocking and sew in place on three sides. Once the photo is inside, close the opening and sew the stocking as directed. Cover stitching with decorations or trim. Several photo inserts can be placed on the stocking to show baby’s growth during the first year or Baby with different family members.

However you choose to make your baby Christmas stocking, enjoy! This is a great Christmas for you and your family.

- Debora Dyess

Poinsettias, with their bright red leaves, are popular holiday decorations. Also known as the Christmas Star, the poinsettia is a subtropical plant best known for its striking red color. It’s often used as a floral Christmas decoration because of its bright colors. The plants are native to southern Mexico and Central America and in the United States can be found growing wild in Hawaii.

They are named after Joel Roberts Poinsett, the first United States Minister (a predecessor to ambassadors) to Mexico, who introduced the plant in the U.S. in 1825. Poinsett was so impressed with the brilliant red color of the plant that he sent some home from Mexico to South Carolina, where they thrived in his greenhouse.

Mexican legend tells how the poinsettia came to be a Christmas symbol. The story states that a child who could not afford a gift to offer to Christ on Christmas Eve picked some weeds from the side of a road. The child was told that a humble gift, if given in love, would be acceptable in God’s eyes. When the child brought the weeds to the church they bloomed into red and green flowers and the congregation felt they had witnessed a Christmas miracle. Franciscan friars in Mexico started including the plants, known as Flor de Buena Noche, or Christmas Eve Flower, in Christmas celebrations in the 17th century.

Today it’s easy to find and buy poinsettias during the winter months and they’re so popular they even have their own national day – Congress has declared December 12 to be National Poinsettia Day.

More: The History of Poinsettia

The Fir-Tree is a short Christmas story by Hans Christian Andersen. It is reprinted here with permission of the Houghton-Mifflin Company.

The Fir-Tree
Out in the woods stood a nice little Fir-tree. The place he had was a
very good one; the sun shone on him; as to fresh air, there was enough
of that, and round him grew many large-sized comrades, pines as well as
firs. But the little Fir wanted so very much to be a grown-up tree.

He did not think of the warm sun and of the fresh air; he did not care
for the little cottage children that ran about and prattled when they
were in the woods looking for wild strawberries. The children often came
with a whole pitcher full of berries, or a long row of them threaded on
a straw, and sat down near the young tree and said, “Oh, how pretty he
is! what a nice little fir!” But this was what the Tree could not bear
to hear.

At the end of a year he had shot up a good deal, and after another year
he was another long bit taller; for with fir-trees one can always tell
by the shoots how many years old they are.

“Oh, were I but such a high tree as the others are!” sighed he. “Then I
should be able to spread out my branches, and with the tops to look into
the wide world! Then would the birds build nests among my branches; and
when there was a breeze, I could bend with as much stateliness as the
others!”

Neither the sunbeams, nor the birds, nor the red clouds, which morning
and evening sailed above them, gave the little Tree any pleasure.

In winter, when the snow lay glittering on the ground, a hare would
often come leaping along, and jump right over the little Tree. Oh, that
made him so angry! But two winters were past, and in the third the tree
was so large that the hare was obliged to go round it. “To grow and
grow, to get older and be tall,” thought the Tree–”that, after all, is
the most delightful thing in the world!”

In autumn the wood-cutters always came and felled some of the largest
trees. This happened every year; and the young Fir-tree, that had now
grown to a very comely size, trembled at the sight; for the magnificent
great trees fell to the earth with noise and cracking, the branches were
lopped off, and the trees looked long and bare; they were hardly to be
recognized; and then they were laid in carts, and the horses dragged
them out of the woods.

Where did they go to? What became of them?

In spring, when the Swallows and the Storks came, the Tree asked them,
“Don’t you know where they have been taken? Have you not met them
anywhere?”

The Swallows did not know anything about it; but the Stork looked
musing, nodded his head, and said: “Yes, I think I know; I met many
ships as I was flying hither from Egypt; on the ships were magnificent
masts, and I venture to assert that it was they that smelt so of fir.
I may congratulate you, for they lifted themselves on high most
majestically!”

“Oh, were I but old enough to fly across the sea! But how does the sea
look in reality? What is it like?”

“That would take a long time to explain,” said the Stork, and with these
words off he went.

“Rejoice in thy growth!” said the Sunbeams, “rejoice in thy vigorous
growth, and in the fresh life that moveth within thee!”

And the Wind kissed the Tree, and the Dew wept tears over him; but the
Fir understood it not.

When Christmas came, quite young trees were cut down; trees which often
were not even as large or of the same age as this Fir-tree, who could
never rest, but always wanted to be off. These young trees, and they
were always the finest looking, retained their branches; they were laid
on carts, and the horses drew them out of the woods.

“Where are they going to?” asked the Fir. “They are not taller than
I; there was one indeed that was considerably shorter; and why do they
retain all their branches? Whither are they taken?”

“We know! we know!” chirped the Sparrows. “We have peeped in at the
windows in the town below! We know whither they are taken! The greatest
splendour and the greatest magnificence one can imagine await them. We
peeped through the windows, and saw them planted in the middle of the
warm room, and ornamented with the most splendid things–with gilded
apples, with gingerbread, with toys, and many hundred lights!”

“And then?” asked the Fir-tree, trembling in every bough. “And then?
What happens then?”

“We did not see anything more: it was incomparably beautiful.”

“I would fain know if I am destined for so glorious a career,” cried
the Tree, rejoicing. “That is still better than to cross the sea! What
a longing do I suffer! Were Christmas but come! I am now tall, and my
branches spread like the others that were carried off last year! Oh,
were I but already on the cart. Were I in the warm room with all the
splendour and magnificence! Yes; then something better, something still
grander, will surely follow, or wherefore should they thus ornament me?
Something better, something still grander, MUST follow–but what? Oh,
how I long, how I suffer! I do not know myself what is the matter with
me!”

“Rejoice in our presence!” said the Air and the Sunlight; “rejoice in
thy own fresh youth!”

But the Tree did not rejoice at all; he grew and grew, and was green
both winter and summer. People that saw him said, “What a fine tree!”
and toward Christmas he was one of the first that was cut down. The axe
struck deep into the very pith; the tree fell to the earth with a sigh:
he felt a pang–it was like a swoon; he could not think of happiness,
for he was sorrowful at being separated from his home, from the place
where he had sprung up. He knew well that he should never see his
dear old comrades, the little bushes and flowers around him, any more;
perhaps not even the birds! The departure was not at all agreeable.

The Tree only came to himself when he was unloaded in a courtyard with
the other trees, and heard a man say, “That one is splendid! we don’t
want the others.” Then two servants came in rich livery and carried the
Fir-tree into a large and splendid drawing-room. Portraits were hanging
on the walls, and near the white porcelain stove stood two large Chinese
vases with lions on the covers. There, too, were large easy chairs,
silken sofas, large tables full of picture-books, and full of toys worth
hundreds and hundreds of crowns–at least the children said so. And the
Fir-tree was stuck upright in a cask that was filled with sand: but no
one could see that it was a cask, for green cloth was hung all around
it, and it stood on a large gayly coloured carpet. Oh, how the Tree
quivered! What was to happen? The servants, as well as the young ladies,
decorated it. On one branch there hung little nets cut out of coloured
paper, and each net was filled with sugar-plums; and among the other
boughs gilded apples and walnuts were suspended, looking as though they
had grown there, and little blue and white tapers were placed among the
leaves. Dolls that looked for all the world like men–the Tree had never
beheld such before–were seen among the foliage, and at the very top
a large star of gold tinsel was fixed. It was really splendid–beyond
description splendid.

“This evening!” said they all; “how it will shine this evening!”

“Oh,” thought the Tree, “if the evening were but come! If the tapers
were but lighted! And then I wonder what will happen! Perhaps the other
trees from the forest will come to look at me! Perhaps the sparrows will
beat against the window-panes! I wonder if I shall take root here, and
winter and summer stand covered with ornaments!”

He knew very much about the matter! but he was so impatient that for
sheer longing he got a pain in his back, and this with trees is the same
thing as a headache with us.

The candles were now lighted. What brightness! What splendour! The
Tree trembled so in every bough that one of the tapers set fire to the
foliage. It blazed up splendidly.

“Help! Help!” cried the young ladies, and they quickly put out the fire.

Now the Tree did not even dare tremble. What a state he was in! He was
so uneasy lest he should lose something of his splendour, that he was
quite bewildered amidst the glare and brightness; when suddenly both
folding-doors opened, and a troop of children rushed in as if they would
upset the Tree. The older persons followed quietly; the little ones
stood quite still. But it was only for a moment; then they shouted so
that the whole place reechoed with their rejoicing; they danced round
the tree, and one present after the other was pulled off.

“What are they about?” thought the Tree. “What is to happen now?” And
the lights burned down to the very branches, and as they burned down
they were put out, one after the other, and then the children had
permission to plunder the tree. So they fell upon it with such violence
that all its branches cracked; if it had not been fixed firmly in the
cask, it would certainly have tumbled down.

The children danced about with their beautiful playthings: no one looked
at the Tree except the old nurse, who peeped between the branches; but
it was only to see if there was a fig or an apple left that had been
forgotten.

“A story! a story!” cried the children, drawing a little fat man toward
the tree. He seated himself under it, and said: “Now we are in the
shade, and the Tree can listen, too. But I shall tell only one story.
Now which will you have: that about Ivedy-Avedy, or about Klumpy-Dumpy
who tumbled downstairs, and yet after all came to the throne and married
the princess?”

“Ivedy-Avedy!” cried some; “Klumpy-Dumpy” cried the others. There was
such a bawling and screaming–the Fir-tree alone was silent, and he
thought to himself, “Am I not to bawl with the rest?–am I to do nothing
whatever?” for he was one of the company, and had done what he had to
do.

And the man told about Klumpy-Dumpy that tumbled down, who
notwithstanding came to the throne, and at last married the princess.
And the children clapped their hands, and cried out, “Oh, go on! Do go
on!” They wanted to hear about Ivedy-Avedy, too, but the little man
only told them about Klumpy-Dumpy. The Fir-tree stood quite still and
absorbed in thought; the birds in the woods had never related the like
of this. “Klumpy-Dumpy fell downstairs, and yet he married the princess!
Yes! Yes! that’s the way of the world!” thought the Fir-tree, and
believed it all, because the man who told the story was so good-looking.
“Well, well! who knows, perhaps I may fall downstairs, too, and get a
princess as wife!” And he looked forward with joy to the morrow, when
he hoped to be decked out again with lights, playthings, fruits, and
tinsel.

“I won’t tremble to-morrow,” thought the Fir-tree. “I will enjoy to
the full all my splendour. To-morrow I shall hear again the story of
Klumpy-Dumpy, and perhaps that of Ivedy-Avedy, too.” And the whole night
the Tree stood still and in deep thought.

In the morning the servant and the housemaid came in.

“Now, then, the splendour will begin again,” thought the Fir. But they
dragged him out of the room, and up the stairs into the loft; and here
in a dark corner, where no daylight could enter, they left him. “What’s
the meaning of this?” thought the Tree. “What am I to do here? What
shall I hear now, I wonder?” And he leaned against the wall, lost in
reverie. Time enough had he, too, for his reflections; for days and
nights passed on, and nobody came up; and when at last somebody did
come, it was only to put some great trunks in a corner out of the way.
There stood the Tree quite hidden; it seemed as if he had been entirely
forgotten.

“‘Tis now winter out of doors!” thought the Tree. “The earth is hard and
covered with snow; men cannot plant me now, and therefore I have been
put up here under shelter till the springtime comes! How thoughtful that
is! How kind man is, after all! If it only were not so dark here, and
so terribly lonely! Not even a hare. And out in the woods it was so
pleasant, when the snow was on the ground, and the hare leaped by;
yes–even when he jumped over me; but I did not like it then. It is
really terribly lonely here!”

“Squeak! squeak!” said a little Mouse at the same moment, peeping out
of his hole. And then another little one came. They sniffed about the
Fir-tree, and rustled among the branches.

“It is dreadfully cold,” said the Mouse. “But for that, it would be
delightful here, old Fir, wouldn’t it?”

“I am by no means old,” said the Fir-tree. “There’s many a one
considerably older than I am.”

“Where do you come from,” asked the Mice; “and what can you do?” They
were so extremely curious. “Tell us about the most beautiful spot on the
earth. Have you never been there? Were you never in the larder, where
cheeses lie on the shelves, and hams hang from above; where one dances
about on tallow-candles; that place where one enters lean, and comes out
again fat and portly?”

“I know no such place,” said the Tree, “but I know the woods, where the
sun shines, and where the little birds sing.” And then he told all about
his youth; and the little Mice had never heard the like before; and they
listened and said:

“Well, to be sure! How much you have seen! How happy you must have
been!”

“I?” said the Fir-tree, thinking over what he had himself related. “Yes,
in reality those were happy times.” And then he told about Christmas
Eve, when he was decked out with cakes and candles.

“Oh,” said the little Mice, “how fortunate you have been, old Fir-tree!”

“I am by no means old,” said he. “I came from the woods this winter; I
am in my prime, and am only rather short for my age.”

“What delightful stories you know!” said the Mice: and the next night
they came with four other little Mice, who were to hear what the tree
recounted; and the more he related, the more plainly he remembered all
himself; and it appeared as if those times had really been happy
times. “But they may still come–they may still come. Klumpy-Dumpy fell
downstairs and yet he got a princess,” and he thought at the moment of a
nice little Birch-tree growing out in the woods; to the Fir, that would
be a real charming princess.

“Who is Klumpy-Dumpy?” asked the Mice. So then the Fir-tree told the
whole fairy tale, for he could remember every single word of it; and the
little Mice jumped for joy up to the very top of the Tree. Next night
two more Mice came, and on Sunday two Rats, even; but they said the
stories were not interesting, which vexed the little Mice; and they,
too, now began to think them not so very amusing either.

“Do you know only one story?” asked the Rats.

“Only that one,” answered the Tree. “I heard it on my happiest evening;
but I did not then know how happy I was.”

“It is a very stupid story. Don’t you know one about bacon and tallow
candles? Can’t you tell any larder stories?”

“No,” said the Tree.

“Then good-bye,” said the Rats; and they went home.

At last the little Mice stayed away also; and the Tree sighed: “After
all, it was very pleasant when the sleek little Mice sat around me and
listened to what I told them. Now that too is over. But I will take good
care to enjoy myself when I am brought out again.”

But when was that to be? Why, one morning there came a quantity of
people and set to work in the loft. The trunks were moved, the Tree was
pulled out and thrown–rather hard, it is true–down on the floor, but a
man drew him toward the stairs, where the daylight shone.

“Now a merry life will begin again,” thought the Tree. He felt the fresh
air, the first sunbeam–and now he was out in the courtyard. All passed
so quickly, there was so much going on around him, that the Tree quite
forgot to look to himself. The court adjoined a garden, and all was in
flower; the roses hung so fresh and odorous over the balustrade, the
lindens were in blossom, the Swallows flew by, and said, “Quirre-vit! my
husband is come!” but it was not the Fir-tree that they meant.

“Now, then, I shall really enjoy life,” said he, exultingly, and spread
out his branches; but, alas! they were all withered and yellow. It was
in a corner that he lay, among weeds and nettles. The golden star of
tinsel was still on the top of the Tree, and glittered in the sunshine.

In the courtyard some of the merry children were playing who had danced
at Christmas round the Fir-tree, and were so glad at the sight of him.
One of the youngest ran and tore off the golden star.

“Only look what is still on the ugly old Christmas tree!” said he,
trampling on the branches, so that they all cracked beneath his feet.
And the Tree beheld all the beauty of the flowers, and the freshness in
the garden; he beheld himself, and wished he had remained in his dark
corner in the loft; he thought of his first youth in the woods, of the
merry Christmas Eve, and of the little Mice who had listened with so
much pleasure to the story of Klumpy-Dumpy.

“‘Tis over–’tis past!” said the poor Tree. “Had I but rejoiced when I
had reason to do so! But now ’tis past, ’tis past!”

And the gardener’s boy chopped the Tree into small pieces; there was a
whole heap lying there. The wood flamed up splendidly under the large
brewing copper, and it sighed so deeply! Each sigh was like a shot.

The boys played about in the court, and the youngest wore the gold star
on his breast which the Tree had had on the happiest evening of his
life. However, that was over now–the Tree gone, the story at an end.
All, all was over; every tale must end at last.

Are you looking for ways to make your life a little greener? Then consider recycled Christmas cards this holiday season. Americans send 2.1 billion greeting cards – most made from virgin paper – during the holidays. But by choosing cards made from recycled paper, you’ll be helping to save our trees. Here’s a list of stores that offer eco-friendly cards for the holidays.

PaperCulture sells only 100% post-consumer recycled paper cards and plants one tree in a US national forest for every order received. But they also help reduce the energy required to ship your greeting cards by offering the option to personalize each card individually online and then have them shipped directly to your recipients – no extra shipping to your door! And this service is FREE. All you pay is the cost of postage. Of course, you can also have the cards shipped to you so you can send them out, but you’ll have to pay for shipping.

My Good Greetings only sells cards made of 100% recycled Forest Stewardship Council (FSC)-Certified card stock (50% post-consumer waster) and pairs them with 100% recycled envelopes manufactured with 100% post-consumer recovered fiber. And you can also feel good about purchasing your cards online, as they send packages with 100% recycled labels and recycled shipping materials. If that’s not green enough, they offset their carbon footprint through Greenshipper.

Minted.com allows customers to choose the type of paper they’d like their cards printed on, including the option of FSC-certified, 100% post-consumer waste paper manufactured with wind-power. They have a nice selection of flat and folded photo holiday cards, and they make it easy to find what you want by allowing you to sort by format, number of photos and other options.

Gallery Collection
You’ll find two types of cards in their Environmentally Friendly Christmas Card category – recycled paper cards and wind power cards. Cards are marked with icons to let you easily see which ones are made at low-impact, emissions-free mills powered by wind-generated, renewable energy, which ones are made from recycled paper, and which ones are made from raw materials that have been certified by the Forest Stewardship Council.

Pear Tree
In addition to offering a nice selection of regular green Christmas cards with holiday images, Pear Tree also offers recycled photo cards that contain up to 100% post-consumer fibers.

Fine Stationery
Although they don’t have a category specifically for recycled greetings, Fine Stationery has over a dozen designs you’ll find if you search for recycled Christmas cards on their site. Some contain post-consumer fiber. You’ll just need to read the descriptions to discover which recycled cards includes post-consumer waste.

Holiday Classics
Holiday Classics offers a variety of recycled Christmas cards and some of them are also printed with soy ink. Detailed card descriptions help you determine which cards have 100% recycled content, post-consumer content or soy ink printing.

RedStamp.com offers over 30 earth-friendly Christmas cards, and they make it easy to find them with a category devoted to Eco-Friendly products. You can easily tell from the descriptions which cards contain post-consumer recycled paper content, and which are printed with soy inks or created with renewable energy.

With this many options, you’re sure to find recycled Christmas cards for every taste and budget. Happy holidays!

The Santa Claus we know today has a white beard, wears a red suit and matching hat, flies around in a sleigh pulled by flying reindeer, and runs a toy factory run by elves at the North Pole. He is a fantasy loved by children all around the world. But how did this tradition of a gift-giving Santa Claus begin?

A real man by the name of Saint Nicholas was the inspiration for today’s Santa Claus. St. Nicholas was born around 280 AD in the area of the world that is now Turkey. His parents were wealthy Christians who died when Nicholas was still a small child. Wanting to follow Jesus’ advice to give to the poor, Nicholas gave away his inheritance and devoted his life to helping those less fortunate. He devoted his life to the church and became the Bishop of Myra when he was a young man.

Throughout his life, he always made an effort to help others, particularly children, and he was well known for his kindness. One legend about the Saint tells how he threw three bags of gold coins down the chimney of a poor man with three daughters. In some versions of this story, the coins fell into stockings the girls had placed by the fire. This story led to the modern tradition of hanging stockings by the fireplace and leaving oranges (symbolizing the bags of gold) in the toe of Christmas stockings.

Saint Nicholas died on December 6, 343 AD, but his legend continued to spread. The Dutch, who knew him as Sinter Klass (a nickname for Sint Nikolaas), brought that legend to America. Sinter Klaas soon became the patron saint of New York City and part of the local culture.

Sinter Klass’ transition to Santa Claus started when Washington Irving published a book on Saint Nicholas Day that contained numerous references to a jolly St. Nicholas character.

Then Clement Clark Moore’s poem, “A Visit from Saint Nicholas” (or “The Night Before Christmas”) created the now-popular image of “a jolly old elf” with a “little round belly, that shook when he laughed, like a bowlful of jelly.” Political cartoonist Thomas Nast helped popularize this image. In 1863 he began drawing a series of cartoons for Harper’s Weekly magazine that were based on the character in the poem and Washington Irving’s book. The Santa Claus depicted by the cartoonist had a beard, a pipe and fur clothing, and these images became the basis for our modern Santa. The cartoonist was also the one who invented Mrs. Claus, Santa’s elves and the North Pole.

Nash’s version of Santa Claus continued to spread, and today this red-suited version of Santa Claus keeps the kindhearted spirit of Saint Nicholas alive around the world.

The history of the candy cane can be traced back to Germany. In 1670, the choirmaster at the Cologne Cathedral was said to have bent straight white candy sticks into the now-familiar “J” shape to represent a shepherd’s staff. He then gave them to children in the choir to keep them happy during long Christmas services.

Later, the all-white sticks were decorate with the now-familiar red-and-white stripes and flavored with peppermint. Many people began to associate the shape, colors and flavor with the story of Jesus Christ. Here is one Jesus candy cane poem that explains how this simple piece of candy came to symbolize Jesus.

Jesus Candy Cane Poem
Look at the candy cane.
What do you see?
Stripes that are red
Like the blood shed for me.

White is for my Savior
Who’s sinless and pure.
“J” is for Jesus, My Lord, that’s for sure!

Turn it around
And a staff you will see.
Jesus, my shepherd,
Was born for me!

For more variations, see the Jesus Candy Cane Poem page on Squidoo.

Turn on the radio during the holidays, and you’re sure to hear plenty of Christmas songs about snow, sleigh-pulling reindeer, and Jack Frost nipping at your nose. But some people neither want a white Christmas or will be having one. Think of all those folks Down Under who celebrate Christmas in the middle of their summer. Or all the folks who leave their cold, wintry hometowns to vacation in Florida or Hawaii or other tropical locations during the Christmas season. Where are the songs for those people??

Fear not! Kenny Chesney’s got you covered with his song, “All I Want for Christmas is a Real Good Tan.” If you’ve never heard it, check out the lyrics so you can sing along.

All I Want for Christmas is a Real Good Tan
Ooooh, don’t you think it’s a pretty good plan
All I want for Christmas is a real good tan

All I want for Christmas is a real good tan
Take me to the islands
Put my feet in the sand
Rockin’ to and fro with the rhythm of the ocean
Singin’ silent night with the palm trees a blowin’

Ooooh, don’t you think it’s a pretty good plan
All I want for Christmas is a real good tan

Well if you’re thinkin’ ‘bout gettin’ me a present this year
Let me put a bug in your cute little ear
How about two tickets to a tropical show
Where we don’t have to wear these winter clothes anymore
Instead of turkey we’ll have mahi mahi grillin’
And pina colodas in the blender chillin’

All I want for Christmas is a real good tan
Take me to the islands
Put my feet in the sand
Singin’ silent night with the palm trees a blowin’

Ooooh, don’t you think it’s a pretty good plan
All I want for Christmas is a real good tan

Well everybody’s prayin’ for a Christmas so white
Come to think about it that would be alright
As long as there is sand nor snow on the ground
And everyday our skin gets a little more brown
We’ll string some lights in a coconut tree
I’ll rub some oil on you and you can rub some on me

All I want for Christmas is a real good tan
I can see us baby on the beach hand in hand
Rockin’ to and fro with the rhythm of the ocean
Baby whats you say you and me we’ll be goin’

Ooooh, I can almost feel my toes in the sand
All I want for Christmas is a real good tan

And don’t worry baby we’ll celebrate plenty
I’ll buy you some shades a brand new bikini
We won’t have to worry about the holiday rush
It’ll be you and me fallen’ deeper in love

Ooooh, don’t you think it’s a pretty good plan
All I want for Christmas is a real good tan
All I want for Christmas is a real good tan

Selecting the perfect holiday gift for friends and acquaintances can be difficult, particularly if the person is someone you don’t know very well. And if your budget is already tight during the holidays, the problem becomes even more difficult.

Christmas gift cookies or other baked goods are an inexpensive yet personal solution to many gift-giving dilemmas. And they’re easy on the budget, too!

Homemade candies, holiday cookies and treats can be a perfect present. After all, everyone enjoys eating. Even Santa Claus loves it when people leave cookies for him on Christmas Eve! This means your gift will surely be appreciated and used. The fact that you have made your gift trays with your own hands also adds a unique personal touch to your presents that an item grabbed off a store shelf could never capture. Additionally, the process of making the items can be fun and relaxing, giving you an opportunity to enjoy the holidays.

So what should type of culinary treats should you create in your Christmas gift factory? Traditional options include decorated sugar cookies, gingerbread men, or goodies such as fudge. If these require more time or skill than you have available in this busy time, you may want to make something simple but delicious such as saltine cracker toffee.

On the other hand, if you’re feeling a little adventurous, consider making cookies from around the world for an internationally themed holiday tray.

If you need ideas for cookies or other goodies, check some recipe sites such as Allrecipes.com or Recipezaar.

Any of these Christmas gift cookies or treats can be baked ahead of time and presented in a colorful holiday tin, basket or cookie tray. You can find these for a small price at your local dollar store, drug store or superstore. You can stick with one treat or mix and match recipes to build a tasty variety.

Giving tasty holiday treats will surely brighten anyone’s holidays and they’re far less expensive than many less personal items you could buy. So this season, head to your kitchen instead of the mall!

If you’re a parent, you know just how much most kids love the Christmas holidays. So how about letting them help with the decorations this year? They’ll have fun helping to hang decorations around the house, and with a little help they can also make their own decorations.

These decorations don’t need to be complex. For instance, kids love making their own Christmas tree ornaments. You can look for crafty ornament ideas online or keep it simple by purchasing blank wooden or plaster ornaments at the local craft store for your kids to paint. You can also buy ornament kits online or at the craft shop to make simple crafts out of beads, felt or other objects (such as the mitten ornaments shown here). This type of Christmas decoration craft project is great for small children or those who may be making their own Christmas decorations for the first time.

You can also help your kids make Christmas plaques to hang on the wall. Simply pick up a blank wooden plaque at the craft store and let your children’s creativity run wild! Give them some paint or permanent markers and let them add images of Santa, reindeer, angels or whatever their imaginations dream up. Then add a greeting such as “Merry Christmas!” to complete the project. This type of Christmas decoration craft project is ideal for children of any age.

These are just two simple ideas for very easy Christmas decorations any children can make. But if your kids are a bit more advanced, you can find more complex Christmas craft projects for kids online or in craft books and magazines. Simply search for “kids Christmas decorations” and you’ll find plenty of ideas. And many will be fun and easy to make without requiring a lot of materials.

Just be sure to pick projects that are appropriate for your children’s skill level. And then have fun! No matter what type of Christmas decorations you help your children make, you’ll be creating treasured keepsakes and memories that will last a lifetime.

In 1897, a young girl named Virginia O’Hanlon wrote a letter to “The New York Sun” questioning whether Santa was real. Journalist Francis Church wrote the response, and his work quickly became one of the most famous editorials ever written. His words were reprinted in the Sun every Christmas until 1949 when the paper went out of business, and they have also been reprinted in newspapers around the world, turned into children’s books, made into an Emmy-winning animated children’s video, and become the inspiration for the 2004 Ginny Celebrates doll by Vogue.

Below is Virginia’s letter and Church’s response.

“DEAR EDITOR: I am 8 years old.
“Some of my little friends say there is no Santa Claus.
“Papa says, ‘If you see it in THE SUN it’s so.’
“Please tell me the truth; is there a Santa Claus? – Virginia O’Hanlon

Virginia, your little friends are wrong. They have been affected by the skepticism of a skeptical age. They do not believe except they see. They think that nothing can be which is not comprehensible by their little minds. All minds, Virginia, whether they be men’s or children’s, are little. In this great universe of ours, man is a mere insect, an ant, in his intellect as compared with the boundless world about him, as measured by the intelligence capable of grasping the whole of truth and knowledge.

Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound and give to your life its highest beauty and joy. Alas! how dreary would be the world if there were no Santa Claus! It would be as dreary as if there were no Virginias. There would be no childlike faith then, no poetry, no romance to make tolerable this existence. We should have no enjoyment, except in sense and sight. The external light with which childhood fills the world would be extinguished.

Not believe in Santa Claus! You might as well not believe in fairies. You might get your papa to hire men to watch in all the chimneys on Christmas eve to catch Santa Claus, but even if you did not see Santa Claus coming down, what would that prove? Nobody sees Santa Claus, but that is no sign that there is no Santa Claus. The most real things in the world are those that neither children nor men can see. Did you ever see fairies dancing on the lawn? Of course not, but that’s no proof that they are not there. Nobody can conceive or imagine all the wonders there are unseen and unseeable in the world.

You tear apart the baby’s rattle and see what makes the noise inside, but there is a veil covering the unseen world which not the strongest man, nor even the united strength of all the strongest men that ever lived could tear apart. Only faith, poetry, love, romance, can push aside that curtain and view and picture the supernal beauty and glory beyond. Is it all real? Ah, Virginia, in all this world there is nothing else real and abiding.

No Santa Claus! Thank God! he lives and lives forever. A thousand years from now, Virginia, nay 10 times 10,000 years from now, he will continue to make glad the heart of childhood.

So you’re in charge of planning the holiday office party and need some ideas? You can find plenty of suggestions online for office Christmas party games for groups, and many require little preparation and limited materials. Here are a few to get the fun started.

Christmas Tree Rip – The goal of this game is for players to create a Christmas tree out of construction paper. Whoever makes the best tree wins. The catch? The only “tools” players can use are their own hands – and they have to hold the paper behind their back while they’re making their masterpiece. No peeking allowed! After everyone finishes with their trees, hang them up for your coworkers to judge the winner.

The Christmas Memory Game is the holiday variation of a traditional memory game. Simply find 15 Christmas items, such as ornaments, small figures, greeting cards, CDs, or anything else that’s festive and small. Put all the items on a desk or table, covered up so no one can see them. To play the game, give everyone a piece of paper and a pencil or pen, and then uncover the objects for 30 seconds. Then cover the items again and have your coworkers write down as many as they can remember. The person with the most correct answers wins.

Helping Hand Gift Wrap requires some gift wrap, ribbon, boxes of equal size, scissors, and tape. You’ll need to divide your guests into pairs and then tie the right hand of one to the left hand of another player to form teams. Make sure the players understand that they may NOT use the hands that are bound together. Each player may only use their free hand. Next give each pair a box, some gift wrap, a pair of scissors, tape and some ribbon. When given the signal to begin (a bell or some Christmas music works well) each pair has to wrap their box without using the hands that are tied together. The winner is the first pair to successfully complete the task.

Santa Hat Game – No Scrooges are allowed in this game because everyone has to wear a Santa hat. The goal of the game is to NOT be the last one with a hat. At the beginning of the party, give everyone a hat and let them know that the loser is the last one wearing a hat. Then pick someone to be the official Santa. No one can remove their hat until “Santa” removes his (or her) hat. This game is played throughout the party. Santa should let everything get in full swing so people aren’t paying attention to their hats before removing his. Then the race is on to see who notices. Gradually people will remember the game and start removing their hats. Come up with a good gag gift or an evil office task for the loser, such as making him or her clean the coffee mugs in the break room for a week.

Christmas Pictionary – For this game, you’ll need a whiteboard and markers or a large easel with paper. Start by writing the names of Christmas songs on strips of paper and mixing them up in a Santa hat, box or anything handy. Then divide the partygoers into teams with equal numbers of players. Have a player from the first team select a slip of paper. He or she can’t show the paper to anyone, and has to get others to guess the name of the Christmas carol by drawing pictures. Limit each round to 60 seconds and award one point for correct guesses within the time period. First team to three points wins.

Pin the Nose on Rudolph is a great game to play after your coworkers have all had a few drinks. It’s the typical kids party game with a Christmas twist. Before the party, you’ll need to get some round, red stickers from the local office supply store and enlarge a picture of Rudolph to hang it on the wall. Blind fold each participant and see who can come closest to getting Rudolph’s nose where it belongs. The person who places their “nose” closest to where it belongs, wins.

You’ll likely have a few party poopers who don’t want to participate in these Christmas party games for groups, so remember that everyone is there to have fun and office Christmas games can be as much fun to watch as they are to play!

Here’s a tasty holiday treat that’s easy to make and tastes great. Leave some of these out for Santa Claus instead of cookies and they’re sure to disappear quickly!

Ingredients
1 cup of butter
5 tablespoons of sugar
A dash of salt
2 cups of flour
1 teaspoon of vanilla
1 teaspoon of almond extract

1/4 cup of sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons of ground cinnamon

Mix all ingredients except the sugar and cinnamon. Roll into 2 inch length logs. Bake at 300 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes. Cool. Roll logs in a sugar and cinnamon mixture. Enjoy!

By Mrs. M.A.L. Lane
*This story was first published in the Youth’s Companion, vol. 74.

It was the day before Christmas in the year 189-. Snow was falling
heavily in the streets of Boston, but the crowd of shoppers seemed
undiminished. As the storm increased, groups gathered at the corners and
in sheltering doorways to wait for belated cars; but the holiday cheer
was in the air, and there was no grumbling. Mothers dragging tired
children through the slush of the streets; pretty girls hurrying home
for the holidays; here and there a harassed-looking man with perhaps a
single package which he had taken a whole morning to select–all had the
same spirit of tolerant good-humor.

“School Street! School Street!” called the conductor of an electric car.
A group of young people at the farther end of the car started to
their feet. One of them, a young man wearing a heavy fur-trimmed coat,
addressed the conductor angrily.

“I said, ‘Music Hall,’ didn’t I?” he demanded. “Now we’ve got to walk
back in the snow because of your stupidity!”

“Oh, never mind, Frank!” one of the girls interposed. “We ought to have
been looking out ourselves! Six of us, and we went by without a
thought! It is all Mrs. Tirrell’s fault! She shouldn’t have been so
entertaining!”

The young matron dimpled and blushed. “That’s charming of you, Maidie,”
she said, gathering up her silk skirts as she prepared to step down into
the pond before her. “The compliment makes up for the blame. But how it
snows!”

“It doesn’t matter. We all have gaiters on,” returned Maidie Williams,
undisturbed.

“Fares, please!” said the conductor stolidly.

Frank Armstrong thrust his gloved hand deep into his pocket with angry
vehemence. “There’s your money,” he said, “and be quick about the
change, will you? We’ve lost time enough!”

The man counted out the change with stiff, red fingers, closed his lips
firmly as if to keep back an obvious rejoinder, rang up the six fares
with careful accuracy, and gave the signal to go ahead. The car went on
into the drifting storm.

Armstrong laughed shortly as he rapidly counted the bits of silver lying
in his open palm. He turned instinctively, but two or three cars were
already between him and the one he was looking for.

“The fellow must be an imbecile,” he said, rejoining the group on the
crossing. “He’s given me back a dollar and twenty cents, and I handed
him a dollar bill.”

“Oh, can’t you stop him?” cried Maidie Williams, with a backward step
into the wet street.

The Harvard junior, who was carrying her umbrella, protested: “What’s
the use. Miss Williams? He’ll make it up before he gets to Scollay
Square, you may be sure. Those chaps don’t lose anything. Why, the
other day, I gave one a quarter and he went off as cool as you please.
‘Where’s my change?’ said I. ‘You gave me a nickel,’ said he. And
there wasn’t anybody to swear that I didn’t except myself, and I didn’t
count.”

“But that doesn’t make any difference,” insisted the girl warmly.
“Because one conductor was dishonest, we needn’t be. I beg your pardon,
Frank, but it does seem to me just stealing.”

“Oh, come along!” said her cousin, with an easy laugh. “I guess the West
End Corporation won’t go without their dinners to-morrow. Here, Maidie,
here’s the ill-gotten fifty cents. _I_ think you ought to treat us
all after the concert; still, I won’t urge you. I wash my hands of all
responsibility. But I do wish you hadn’t such an unpleasant conscience.”

Maidie flushed under the sting of his cousinly rudeness, but she went on
quietly with the rest. It was evident that any attempt to overtake the
car was out of the question.

“Did you notice his number, Frank?” she asked, suddenly.

“No, I never thought of it” said Frank, stopping short. “However, I
probably shouldn’t make any complaint if I had. I shall forget all about
it tomorrow. I find it’s never safe to let the sun go down on my wrath.
It’s very likely not to be there the next day.”

“I wasn’t thinking of making a complaint,” said Maidie; but the two
young men were enjoying the small joke too much to notice what she said.

The great doorway of Music Hall was just ahead. In a moment the party
were within its friendly shelter, stamping off the snow. The girls
were adjusting veils and hats with adroit feminine touches; the pretty
chaperon was beaming approval upon them, and the young men were taking
off their wet overcoats, when Maidie turned again in sudden desperation.

“Mr. Harris,” she said, rather faintly, for she did not like to make
herself disagreeable, “do you suppose that car comes right back from
Scollay Square?”

“What car?” asked Walter Harris, blankly. “Oh, the one we came in? Yes,
I suppose it does. They’re running all the time, anyway. Why, you are
not sick, are you, Miss Williams?”

There was genuine concern in his tone. This girl, with her sweet,
vibrant voice, her clear gray eyes, seemed very charming to him. She
wasn’t beautiful, perhaps, but she was the kind of girl he liked. There
was a steady earnestness in the gray eyes that made him think of his
mother.

“No,” said Maidie, slowly. “I’m all right, thank you. But I wish I could
find that man again. I know sometimes they have to make it up if their
accounts are wrong, and I couldn’t–we couldn’t feel very comfortable–”

Frank Armstrong interrupted her. “Maidie,” he said, with the studied
calmness with which one speaks to an unreasonable child, “you are
perfectly absurd. Here it is within five minutes of the tune for the
concert to begin. It is impossible to tell when that car is coming back.
You are making us all very uncomfortable. Mrs. Tirrell, won’t you please
tell her not to spoil our afternoon?”

“I think he’s right, Maidie,” said Mrs. Tirrell. “It’s very nice of you
to feel so sorry for the poor man, but he really was very careless. It
was all his own fault. And just think how far he made us walk! My feet
are quite damp. We ought to go in directly or we shall all take cold,
and I’m sure you wouldn’t like that, my dear.”

She led the way as she spoke, the two girls and young Armstrong
following. Maidie hesitated. It was so easy to go in, to forget
everything in the light and warmth and excitement.

“No,” said she, very firmly, and as much to herself as to the young man
who stood waiting for her. “I must go back and try to make it right. I’m
so sorry, Mr. Harris, but if you will tell them–”

“Why, I’m going with you, of course” said the young fellow, impulsively.
“If I’d only looked once at the man I’d go alone, but I shouldn’t know
him from Adam.”

Maidie laughed. “Oh, I don’t want to lose the whole concert, Mr. Harris,
and Frank, has all the tickets. You must go after them and try to make
my peace. I’ll come just as soon as I can. Don’t wait for me, please.
If you’ll come and look for me here the first number, and not let them
scold me too much–” She ended with an imploring little catch in her
breath that was almost a sob.

“They sha’n't say a word, Miss Williams!” cried Walter Harris, with
honest admiration in his eyes.

But she was gone already, and conscious that further delay was only
making matters worse, he went on into the hall.

Meanwhile, the car swung heavily along the wet rails on its way to the
turning-point. It was nearly empty now. An old gentleman and his nurse
were the only occupants. Jim Stevens, the conductor, had stepped inside
the car.

“Too bad I forgot those young people wanted to get off at Music Hall,”
he was thinking to himself. “I don’t see how I came to do it. That chap
looked as if he wanted to complain of me, and I don’t know as I blame
him. I’d have said I was sorry if he hadn’t been so sharp with his
tongue. I hope he won’t complain just now. ‘Twould be a pretty bad time
for me to get into trouble, with Mary and the baby both sick. I’m too
sleepy to be good for much, that’s a fact. Sitting up three nights
running takes hold of a fellow somehow when he’s at work all day. The
rent’s paid, that’s one thing, if it hasn’t left me but half a dollar to
my name. Hullo!” He was struck by a sudden distinct recollection of the
coins he had returned. “Why, I gave him fifty cents too much!”

He glanced up at the dial which indicated the fares and began to count
the change in his pocket. He knew exactly how much money he had had at
the beginning of the trip. He counted carefully. Then he plunged his
hand into the heavy canvas pocket of his coat. Perhaps he had half a
dollar there. No, it was empty!

He faced the fact reluctantly. Fifty cents short, ten fares! Gone into
the pocket of the young gentleman with the fur collar! The conductor’s
hand shook as he put the money back in his pocket. It meant–what did it
mean? He drew a long breath.

Christmas Eve! A dark dreary little room upstairs in a noisy tenement
house. A pale, thin woman on a shabby lounge vainly trying to quiet a
fretful child. The child is thin and pale, too, with a hard, racking
cough. There is a small fire in the stove, a very small fire; coal is so
high. The medicine stands on the shelf. “Medicine won’t do much good,”
the doctor had said; “he needs beef and cream.”

Jim’s heart sank at the thought. He could almost hear the baby asking;
“Isn’t papa coming soon? Isn’t he, mamma?”

“Poor little kid!” Jim said, softly, under his breath. “And I shan’t
have a thing to take home to him; nor Mary’s violets, either. It’ll be
the first Christmas that ever happened. I suppose that chap would think
it was ridiculous for me to be buying violets. He wouldn’t understand
what the flowers mean to Mary. Perhaps he didn’t notice I gave him too
much. That kind don’t know how much they have. They just pull it out as
if it was newspaper.”

The conductor went out into the snow to help the nurse, who was
assisting the old gentleman to the ground. Then the car swung on again.
Jim turned up the collar of his coat about his ears and stamped his
feet. There was the florist’s shop where he had meant to buy the
violets, and the toy-shop was just around the corner.

A thought flashed across his tired brain. “Plenty of men would do it;
they do it every day. Nobody ever would be the poorer for it. This car
will be crowded going home. I needn’t ring in every fare; nobody could
tell. But Mary! She wouldn’t touch those violets if she knew. And she’d
know. I’d have to tell her. I couldn’t keep it from her, she’s that
quick.”

He jumped off to adjust the trolley with a curious sense of unreality.
It couldn’t be that he was really going home this Christmas Eve with
empty hands. Well, they must all suffer together for his carelessness.
It was his own fault, but it was hard. And he was so tired!

To his amazement he found his eyes were blurred as he watched the people
crowding into the car. What? Was he going to cry like a baby–he, a
great burly man of thirty years?

“It’s no use,” he thought. “I couldn’t do it. The first time I gave Mary
violets was the night she said she’d marry me. I told her then I’d do
my best to make her proud of me. I guess she wouldn’t be very proud of a
man who could cheat. She’d rather starve than have a ribbon she couldn’t
pay for.”

He rang up a dozen fares with a steady hand. The temptation was over.
Six more strokes–then nine without a falter. He even imagined the bell
rang more distinctly than usual, even encouragingly. The car stopped.
Jim flung the door open with a triumphant sweep of his arm. He felt
ready to face the world. But the baby–his arm dropped. It was hard.

He turned to help the young girl who was waiting at the step. Through
the whirling snow he saw her eager face, with a quick recognition
lighting the steady eyes, and wondered dimly, as he stood with his hand
on the signal-strap, where he could have seen her before.

He knew immediately.

“There was a mistake,” she said, with a shy tremor in her voice. “You
gave us too much change and here it is.” She held out to Jim the piece
of silver which had given him such an unhappy quarter of an hour.

He took it like one dazed. Would the young lady think he was crazy to
care so much about so small a coin? He must say something. “Thank you,
miss,” he stammered as well as he could. “You see, I thought it was
gone–and there’s the baby–and it’s Christmas Eve–and my wife’s
sick–and you can’t understand–”

It certainly was not remarkable that she couldn’t.

“But I do,” she said, simply. “I was afraid of that. And I thought
perhaps there was a baby, so I brought my Christmas present for her,”
and something else dropped into Jim’s cold hand.

“What you waiting for?” shouted the motorman from the front platform.
The girl had disappeared in the snow.

Jim rang the bell to go ahead, and gazed again at the two shining half
dollars in his hand.

“I didn’t have a chance to tell her,” he explained to his wife late in
the evening, as he sat in a tiny rocking-chair several sizes too small
for him, “that the baby wasn’t a her at all, though if I thought he’d
grow up into such a lovely one as she is, I don’t know but I almost wish
he was.”

“Poor Jim!” said Mary, with a little laugh as she put up her hand to
stroke his rough cheek. “I guess you’re tired.”

“And I should say,” he added, stretching out his long legs toward the
few red sparks in the bottom of the grate, “I should say she had tears
in her eyes, too, but I was that near crying myself I couldn’t be sure.”

The little room was sweet with the odour of English violets. Asleep in
the bed lay the boy, a toy horse clasped close to his breast.

“Bless her heart!” said Mary, softly.

“Well, Miss Williams,” said Walter Harris, as he sprang to meet a
snow-covered figure coming swiftly along the sidewalk. “I can see
that you found him. You’ve lost the first number, but they won’t scold
you–not this time.”

The girl turned a radiant face upon him. “Thank you,” she said, shaking
the snowy crystals from her skirt. “I don’t care now if they do. I
should have lost more than that if I had stayed.”

For centuries, people have tried to capture images of Santa Claus as he makes his annual trip around the world. And so far, no one has succeeded. Let’s face it – no camera shutter is fast enough to record those magic reindeer zipping at incredible speeds around the world, and Santa Claus himself is, well, elusive.

You’d think that it would be easy to spot a big, fat guy in a bright red suit with clunky boots, but he somehow manages to sneak in and out of houses with the stealth of a ninja. He has evaded capture for centuries. Until now. Now you WILL be able to capture Santa when he comes to your house this year.

I have two kids and have personally tried this method to be sure it works. I didn’t actually practice skeet shooting in step 4, so perhaps my hand/eye coordination wasn’t as quick as it should have been, but I have tried the other steps and am proficient at the most important one, which is step #5. If you follow these steps in order, you are sure not to disappoint your kids.

1. Wear warm clothes. To catch Santa in the act, you’ll need to be outside so you can spot him as soon as his sleigh nears your neighborhood. So be sure to don a nice warm hat, jacket and boots because you never know what time Santa will arrive in your area. It could be a long night.

2. Set your camera to the fastest shutter speed possible. Because Santa has to make it all around the world in a single night, the guy drives a supercharged sleigh that is faster than any known technology, so you’ll need to be quick to catch him. If you don’t have a camera with a shutter speed of at least 1/3200 of a second, well, you better borrow one from your neighbor.

3. Grab a snack so you don’t get hungry. It’s going to be cold outside, so you better grab some tasty cookies and a Thermos of warm cocoa to keep you company. Make sure you have plenty of extras so you can share when Santa arrives. And grab a few carrots, too. The reindeer like them.

4. Be patient and watch the skies. The secret to catching Santa is patience and a good eye. You may want to practice some skeet shooting before attempting to capture Santa, as this will improve your hand/eye coordination and make it more likely you’ll be able to aim and focus your camera in time. But don’t practice skeet shooting on Christmas Eve when Santa is flying!! You wouldn’t want to accidentally knock him out with one of those clay pigeons.

5. Cheat. Now that you’ve spent all night watching the skies without any sign of Santa (I TOLD you he was quick), you’ll have to admit defeat and resort to trickery (aka Capture the Magic or I Caught Santa) to prove to your children that you were actually able to get a photo of him at your home. It’s ok. Many parents have resorted to the same techniques so they wouldn’t disappoint their children. After all, that’s what we parents do – we go out of our way to make our kids happy, even if we can’t really catch Santa.

Reprinted with permission from Squidoo – How to Catch Santa at Home

Looking for an easy Christmas craft project for kids? This simple clothespin reindeer is quick, easy and inexpensive to make. But kids love will love it! Just follow the simple directions below and you’ll soon have your very own reindeer craft ready to give as gifts or hang on the tree. Happpy holidays!

How to Make a Clothespin Reindeer
This is a simple Christmas craft for kids that can be completed in under 10 minutes if you use the basic materials. Older children may want to paint the clothespins brown to make the completed project look more like reindeer. If so, you will need to allow additional time for painting and drying.

Materials Needed:
- 3 clothespins (the old-fashioned kind work best)
- 2 googly eyes
- 1 red pom pom
- glue
- (optional) brown paint and/or red ribbon

Directions for Making a Clothespin Reindeer
(Optional Step 1) Use tempera paint to paint the clothespins brown. You will need to allow additional time for the paint to dry before starting the craft.
1. Glue 2 clothespins on top of each other to form the body.
2. Glue the third clothespin upside down on top of the other two to form the head and antlers.
3. Glue the googly eyes and pom pom on the top clothespin to make the eyes and nose.
4. (Optional) Tie a red ribbon around the reindeer to turn it into a Christmas tree ornament.

Reprinted with permission from: HubPages – Easy Reindeer Crafts for Kids

Christmas is a time for family. It is a time for celebrating the birth of Christ, for gifts, dinners with those we love and dressing up in our fancy clothes. And for many, time with family includes those with fur and four feet. Dog lovers tend to include their pets in everything they do, including the holidays. This can mean homemade dog biscuits, their own stocking or presents and, of course, some special Christmas clothing for the family dog to wear during the holiday festivities.

Dog Christmas costumes range from the simple to the extreme and will certainly add to the festive feel of the holidays, if your dog is properly prepared. But if your dog isn’t used to wearing attire, you’ll want to consider his temperament and ability to adapt to new situations. If you want to enjoy seeing your dog dressed up for the holidays, it is important that the dog at least tolerates it, as well. Nothing will put a damper on a Christmas gathering faster than a generally friendly dog who is psychotic over a new Christmas costume.

Let’s start with your dog’s basic temperament. A dog in a Christmas costume will be a hit at any holiday gathering, especially one with children. Most guests will want to pet him, and to a small child, your costumed dog is a magnet to be hugged, tugged and kissed. If your dog is shy or doesn’t like children, he is probably a poor candidate for dressing up for a holiday party. If, on the other hand, your dog is adaptable, loves kids and adores being the center of attention, you have the perfect pet to transform into an elf or reindeer.

If you decide to purchase a dog Christmas costume for your pet, do it the right way. Dressing your dog up for Christmas is more than just picking out a costume and throwing it on the dog twenty minutes before the guests arrive. Proper preparation will insure that you, your guests and the dog will all enjoy the evening.

When purchasing a costume, remember that pet Christmas costumes can be scary for a dog who isn’t used to wearing outfits. Introduce him to the costume slowly. Make sure the dog is relaxed and happy – a good time to introduce anything new to your dog is just after he has eaten. Do not try to put the costume on immediately after you return from PetSmart. Let Fido or Fifi see the costume and smell it, maybe even give them a small treat while they’re looking at it. Stroke the costume slowly along his side, so your dog knows it won’t hurt him. Drape the costume across the dog’s back and let him wiggle out from under it. Do this several times until the dog either seems comfortable with it there or ignores it entirely. Only after the dog is at ease around the costume should you put the costume on him.

Puppies who are raised around children are often familiar with “dress up” and actually seem to enjoy it. Even most adult dogs, however, can be coaxed into wearing a costume for Christmas if you handle it properly, even if the costume is only elf ears or reindeer antlers.

If you are determined dress up you particularly resistant pooch, consider making him a festive bow-tie out of a Christmas plaid or appropriately-colored polka dot material. These can be attached to his collar and he probably won’t even realize that you’ve turned his bah-humbug attitude into one that makes people smile.

Owners of larger dogs will be glad to know that there are even a couple of websites that specialize in costumes to help dogs up to 200 pounds get into the holiday spirit. In addition to the traditional Christmas costumes, they also carry “dresses” and “tuxedos” that will be especially appropriate for more formal Christmas affairs.

Some of the more popular Christmas costumes for your pooch include Santa or Mrs. Claus, elves, angels and reindeer. If you find, that for your dog, Christmas costumes are totally out of the question don’t despair – there are plenty of adorable dog collars with a Christmas theme that can add to your pet’s festive appearance this holiday season.

- Sherry Law

Are you agonizing over a gift for your favorite book lover? Gift ideas for book lovers do not have to be limited to the latest best seller by their favorite author. This year, surprise the reader on your Christmas list with something whose size and shape under the tree does not immediately scream “I’m a book!”

Zazzle has hundreds of items imprinted with “book-y” sayings. With choices ranging from coffee cups, sweat shirts and book bags, to cards, posters and postage, you will be sure to find a great book lover gift.

Another gift that will be treasured by many readers is a pair of bookends. Bookends come in all sizes, shaped like everything from angels to gargoyles and dogs to dragons. Or, if your reader has books stacked in every corner of the room, a bookcase might be in order. Bookcases don’t have to be expensive to be appreciated. Though your book lover might be drooling over a huge, glass-fronted walnut creation, even an inexpensive bookcase will help tidy their home and protect their precious reading material.

There are even games especially for book lovers. In addition to the Book Lovers edition of Trivial Pursuit, you can also get games such as BOOK-OPOLY, a Monopoly Style board game, or the bookcase editions of several of Parker Brothers games like Scrabble and Monopoly that now come in beautiful wooden boxes that are shaped like books and will look great on anyone’s bookcase.

A personalized embosser, book plates and a lending diary are all gifts that will help your book lover keep tracks of books that they lend to friends or family members, while a reading pillow, soft lap rug or a book light are all gifts that will light up the face of the reader in your life.

Other book lover gift ideas include bags to help tote those books around. A practical reader, for instance, might like a regular book bag, while your more fun-spirited reader might prefer a purse that is actually fashioned from a recycled book.

Magazine subscriptions to publications dedicated to readers, such as Good Reading or Bookmarks, are also a good choice.

Some readers can’t seem to put their books down for a minute. If your book lover is one of these, think about getting an Umbra Aquala Bamboo bathtub caddy so they can read in the tub without putting their book at risk. Crafted from bamboo and chrome, this bathtub book caddy has not only a book support, but a place for a wine glass and a soap (or perhaps a cookie) holder!

Are you afraid not to buy a book for your book lover? Gift ideas abound but, if a book it must be, make it special. Choose a book signed by their favorite author or a limited or leather bound collectible edition. You can find these online on eBay or Alibris. Simply search for the author’s name with the words “signed” or “autographed.”

Finally, if your budget allows, Amazon’s Kindle wireless reading device is a great gift that will allow your favorite reading addict to download books immediately from anywhere in the world and carry up to 1500 titles in a single slim package. Sure to win over even the most paper-loving readers!

Christmas is a time for happiness and being with those we care about. Think about your book lover and you’re sure to pick the perfect gift. You might even find one that will make them forget about the book waiting, for the moment unread, in the other room.

For more ideas, visit: Book Lover Gift ideas on Squidoo