The Origins of Christmas Traditions

The Origins of Christmas Traditions

Christmas Traditions

Many Christmas traditions are far older than you might realize. While many people associate Christmas with the birth of Jesus, some Christmas traditions have their origins in pagan roots.

Some of the pagan roots of modern Christmas traditions include the date (Dec.25th) it is celebrated on, the Christmas tree, and mistletoe.

Pagan Roots of Christmas Traditions
Long before Christmas was an established tradition, ancient peoples celebrated the Winter Solstice on December 21st. The Winter Solstice marked the shortest day of the year and was considered to be a time of renewal as the Sun began its return.

Over time, the Romans extended the celebration to a week and came to dedicate these festivals to Saturn, their god of agriculture. During this the week of December 17th to December 23rd, the Romans held banquets and exchanged gifts to mark the festival of Saturnalia. Our modern Christmas traditions of elaborate dinners and gift giving likely have their origins in these pagan roots.

Why Do We Celebrate Christmas on Dec. 25th?
As the Roman Empire spread into Persian lands, soldiers encountered stories of the god Mithra. Long associated with the coming of the new dawn, Mithra was adopted by some as the new Roman sun god. Worship to him, Mithraism, became an official religion of the Empire and was most popular from around the 1st century BC to the 4th century AD.

Because he was the new Roman Sun god, Mithra's birthday now was associated with the Winter Solstice. Consequently, the Saturnalia was replaced with celebrations to Mithra. Some scholars contend that the original 12 Days of Christmas referred to those 12 days between Mithra's birthday on December 21st and New Years Day, January 1st.

In 325 AD, the Roman Emperor Constantine began to allow the practice of Christianity. As the leaders of the church spread the Gospel throughout the Roman Empire, they reinterpreted some of the old pagan beliefs as consistent with the new theology.

Because the actual birth date of Christ was unknown, the councils decided to identify Christ's birth with the existing birth celebrations for Mithra. Thus, the sun god's birthday festival turned into the son of God's celebration.

Ultimately these councils decided to move the day of celebration to December 25th. Sources are a bit inconsistent as to when this actually happened: it may have been at the Council of Nicea in 325 AD, by decree of Constantine in 336 AD, or by Pope Julius I in 350 AD.

At this point, the twelve days of Christmas came to represent the time between the Jesus' birth and the coming of the Magi (December 25th to January 6th).

The Christmas Tree Tradition
Like the date of Christmas, the Christmas tree also has its roots in pagan Winter Solstice festivals. The Romans and Druids are both said to have decorated their homes with evergreen branches as part of the celebration of Saturnalia.

Hanging decorations on either a fir or oak tree may also have been commonplace. Over the centuries, the original pagan roots of the Christmas tree evolved, taking on a different significance at each stage.

While some believe that the modern Christmas tree dates back to 8th century Germany (coinciding with those tribes' conversion to Christianity), there is little evidence to support this claim. The earliest record of an evergreen tree being decorated specifically for Christmas dates back to 1521 in Germany. Lights, in the form of candles, were added sometime in the 17th century.

The Pagan Roots of Christmas Mistletoe
So what about mistletoe? Some stories link the custom of kissing beneath mistletoe to the Druids, who regarded it as a fertility symbol. In Norse mythology, Mistletoe was associated with Frigga, the goddess of love, marriage and fertility.

After a dream foretelling the death of her son Balder, Frigga made all of earth's creatures promise not to ever harm her new baby. Mistletoe, a lowly weed, was also a baby at the time, and, therefore, considered too insignificant to hurt anyone.

Some time later the god Loki, jealous of the attention Balder received, crafted an arrow from the mistletoe and tricked Balder's blind brother into launching it at Balder. Balder died, and Frigga attempted to rescue him from the underworld. In most versions of the legend she failed, but, from that point on, mistletoe became sacred to her. The granting of kisses is said to be in recognition of Frigga's love for her son.

Yuletide Traditions: The Yule Log, Wassailing, and Christmas Carols

Yuletide Traditions: The Yule Log, Wassailing, and Christmas Carols

Christmas Traditions

Because people worldwide celebrate Christmas in some form, our current Christmas traditions stem from a variety of cultures, countries and eras. The Yule Log, wassailing, and caroling all have roots in northern European yuletide traditions.

The word yule has its origins in both the old Norse term Jol, known in modern Scandinavian languages as Jul. Originally, the Jol (Yule) translated to "wheel," referring to the wheel of the seasons that would turn around at this point in the year. Jol was a Winter Solstice celebration marked by feasting, dancing and a general "Yule-joy." Over time, the word evolved to the Germanic people's Jul and referred to December holidays, including Christmas and Hanukkah.

The Yule Log 
In the Norse Yuletide tradition, people would feast around a log burning fire as part of the Winter Solstice festival. The fire fed off of a log that represented prosperity and health. Because the burning of the log became central to these winter celebrations over time, the log itself became known as the Yule Log.

While the English traditionally cut the Yule and sang as they carried it home, the French would carry the Yule Log around their home three times before pouring wine on it and then setting it on fire. Throughout Europe, a small section of the Yule Log would be held back from the fire so it could be used to light the fire the following year.

Fires were supposed to be burned for at least twelve hours to guarantee a promise and good luck for the new year. Some relate the origins of the "twelve days of Christmas" with this twelve-hour burning of the Yule Log.

Wassailing as a Yuletide Tradition
Although its origins are unknown, the earliest documented instance of wassailing as a Christmas tradition dated back to the early 1300s. In this text, an Englishman raised a large bowl to a crowd of people he was leading and shouted out the Old English word Wassail, meaning "to your health."

The Wassailing Song 

Here is a traditional wassailing song that dates back to the middle ages: 

Wassail! wassail! all over the town,
Our toast it is white and our ale it is brown;
Our bowl it is made of the white maple tree;
With the wassailing bowl, we'll drink to thee.

Wassailing has been used among clergy and their followers as well as entire communities to celebrate a good harvest and promote strong friendships. The common practice of wassailing involves sharing a spiced punch from a single cup.

In England, the Yuletide tradition of wassailing involved going from house to house singing Christmas carols in exchange for money (that was generally donated to charity), food or more drinks.

While the exact ingredients of the drink are debated, wassail generally consists of sugar, ale, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg and strongly resembles a hot mulled cider or beer. Regardless of the ingredients used, the importance of wassailing as a Yuletide tradition lies in building camaraderie and a general good will.

The Yuletide Tradition of Christmas Carols
Christmas carols also reflect the endurance of Yuletide traditions in modern Christmas celebrations. During the 1200s, carols were sung as part of the winter festivals. Over time, carols made their way into churches, especially around Christmas time. The word carol itself comes from the Old French/Late Latin choraula that referred to a choral song. Some of the more popular Christmas carols include Silent Night, Deck the Halls, and The First Noel.

Modern Christmas Traditions

Modern Christmas Traditions

Christmas Traditions

While the origins of some Christmas traditions have ancient roots, others are far more modern. The story of the Nutcracker, the sending of Christmas cards, candy canes, and poinsettias as the trademark Christmas flower all represent modern Christmas traditions that stem from more recent times.

The Nutcracker
Although the traditional nutcracker dates back to the 1400s, it came to be a traditional Christmas icon during the 1700s. In the doll-making region of Germany's Erz Mountains, villagers worked in silver and tin mines by day and crafted wooden nutcracker figures at night.

The earliest designs always depicted authority figures, often bearing the uniforms of various miners' fraternities. As the nutcracker was becoming a part of modern Christmas traditions, so too were Christmas celebrations becoming the children-oriented event we know today. As functional toys, nutcrackers played a central role in these celebrations. Consequently, as their popularity grew, they started appearing in children's literature.

The most famous example of this is "The Nutcracker and the Mouseking." Written in Berlin by E.T.A. Hoffman's "The Nutcracker and the Mouseking" is the most famous example of a nutcracker in children's books. In this story, a young girl named Clara dreams of her nutcracker coming to life to defend her from the Mouse King.

The story adapted over the years and eventually was incarnated as a ballet by Tchaikovsky. The Nutcracker Ballet was first performed in Russia in 1892 and became one of Tchaikovsky's most beloved works.

Christmas Cards
Another relatively modern Christmas tradition is the sending of Christmas cards. In Victorian England, it was common to send a letter or poem to loved ones at Christmas time. These were often quite ornate and time-consuming to create.

In 1843, Sir Henry Cole, who worked for the British Postal Service, commissioned the artist John Calcott Horsley to produce pre-made cards. Horsley printed one thousand cards in black and white that were then colored by hand. The first design consisted of three panels depicting a happy family, images of Christmas cheer, and the phrase "A Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to You." According to Hallmark Cards, this remains the most popular message to this day. The original cards cost 1 penny each to send and caught on quickly.

Richard Pease, a storeowner, commissioned the first American Christmas card in 1851. In 1862 the London printers Charles Goodall & Sons created the first mass-produced cards, eventually producing a number of designs including holly, snowmen, mangers, and other traditional Christmas icons.

Candy Canes
Candy CanesDespite tales claiming the candy cane represents the "J" of Jesus, the origins of this popular confection can be traced back several centuries.

Straight, hard, white candies were long a traditional Christmas tree decoration. The commonly accepted myth is that in 1670 the choirmaster of Cologne Cathedral in Germany added the bend to represent a shepherd's staff. During the 1800s, a confectioner in Gränna, Sweden added a straight red and white stripe peppermint candy called polkaris. Sometime in the early 1900s, the curve and the stripe met each other on the white candy to form the modern version of the Christmas candy known as the candy cane.

Did you know …
That poinsettias are toxic if eaten? However, as growers point out, poinsettias are not lethal. Consuming poinsettias will just make you ill.

Poinsettias
A red poinsettiaWho can see a poinsettia plant without thinking of Christmas? Native to Southern Mexico and Central America, they are called the "Flores de Noche Buena" (Flowers of the Holy Night), and are said to represent the Star of Bethlehem.

Legend has it that one Christmas Eve long ago, a poor child wanted to bring a present for Christ. Having no money, he could only offer a few meager weeds he had gathered. At the church, a miracle occurred when these weeds blossomed into the brilliant red and green poinsettia leaves we know today. In another version it was the child's fallen tears that sprouted into this beautiful plant.

Regardless of the myth you choose to believe, Joel Robert Poinsett, the first United States Ambassador to Mexico, introduced the poinsettia to the USA sometime in the 1820s. As the cuttings he brought home to South Carolina prospered well in his greenhouses, he began giving these novel plants as gifts to his friends. Consequently, botanists later named the plant after him.

By the early 1900s the Ecke family started growing them to sell as landscape plants. The Eckes are still the largest producer in the US today. Thus a new tradition was born.

Shopping for Christmas Gifts: Is Every Day Black Friday?

Shopping for Christmas Gifts: Is Every Day Black Friday?

Christmas Gifts

The day after Thanksgiving, known as Black Friday, is famously regarded as the single biggest day of Christmas Shopping all year. After Thanksgiving most people have a day off and go out looking in stores for gifts, and sales are everywhere.

However, while Black Friday is a major shopping day, it is not, in fact, the biggest shopping day of the year. The actual peak sales days occur on average from Dec. 20th to the 23rd. People shopping on these days immediately before Christmas aren't just picking up odds and ends. They tend to be doing all of their shopping. Whether you dislike crowds or are just extremely busy and don't have the time to spend in a mall, there are ways to make shopping for Christmas gifts fast and painless.

Avoid the Rush: Shop With Catalogs or Online
While Black Friday and the week before Christmas mark some of the busiest shopping days, the time between is not significantly better. Malls and department stores are generally packed during the entire Christmas season. Although the experience of going to a store to buy a gift gives you the opportunity to handle the product, catalog shopping and shopping online are a faster, crowd-free ways of shopping for Christmas gifts.

Catalogs have been around for over a hundred years and still serve as an excellent means of expediting the shopping process. Most major department stores offer a print catalog that can either be picked up at a store location or requested online or over the phone. Although a major downside of shopping for Christmas gifts through catalogs is the shipping time delay, companies with catalogs generally offer rush shipping during the Christmas season. However, today, catalogs are losing steam and tend to serve more as a supplement to online gift shopping.

Shopping for Christmas gifts online comes with all of the benefits of catalog shopping without having to go out to get a catalog from each store you wish to browse. With the click of your mouse, you can hop from store to store while comparing prices of various retailers, a virtual bargain shopping. Moreover, websites that offer online gift shopping can display a wide variety of items that catalogs cannot always include.

Websites that are not for a specific department store are also extremely popular. Online gift shopping on sites like Amazon.com, Buy.com, and Ebay.com offer highly detailed descriptions, brand comparisons and customer reviews of products. While a shopper frequently encounters product descriptions and brand comparisons, the customer reviews add a helpful dimension not available with catalogs or in stores.

For instance, a person shopping for Christmas gifts on Amazon may want an mp3 player. However, a customer review of the immensely popular iPod Nano criticizes the fragility, noting that one drop to the floor destroyed the screen. That is highly useful information for a gizmo that costs $250. If one is shopping for a younger user apt to drop things, the iPod mini is recommended instead of the iPod nano. No catalog will offer this kind of information and few sales persons will surrender negative information easily.

Shopping for Christmas Gifts Made Easier
If none of these options appeal to you, or if you simply cannot decide what somebody wants (or already has), stores, catalogs, and websites have an easy out for you. While a bundle of cash is not usually considered a suitable gift, a gift certificate for a favorite store is as good as gold and can save you the time and agony of trying to decide what to give.

When Crowds, Not Time, Is the Issue
Alternatively, if crowds are your main concern but you still want to show that you have put some time in a gift, start making your Christmas gifts by hand. You can put that time that you are saving by avoiding the mall into a homemade Christmas gift! Don't let the curse of Black Friday haunt you any more. Between catalogs and online gift shopping, you can put the fun back into shopping for Christmas gifts.

Inexpensive and Unique Christmas Gifts For Casual Acquaintances

Inexpensive and Unique Christmas Gifts For Casual Acquaintances

Christmas Gifts

Whether it's a co-worker, a teacher, or a newer friend, that casual acquaintance presents a problem when it comes to gift giving. Although you want to acknowledge them during the holiday season, you may not know what an appropriate gift would be. While you don't want to spend too much (especially if you are buying for multiple co-workers), you also want the gift to be worthwhile.

Nobody likes a gift to go over badly, and nobody likes to go broke for people they don’t know well. However, you can still give them inexpensive yet unique Christmas gifts.

Gifts You Can Make
Candles are an inexpensive Christmas gift If you have a group of casual friends to give gifts to this Christmas season, you may want to consider making something in bulk that you can easily distribute. Christmas cookies, candles, and ornaments are not only all easy to make but also unique, inexpensive Christmas gifts. Another idea is to make your own Christmas gift baskets and include a bunch of small, homemade crafts. Giving acquaintances a homemade gift related to the season is an easy way to ensure that they don't already have what you are giving them and that they will use your gift!

Enlighten them!
One thing often easy to tell about a person is how much reading they do. Casual conversation can reveal whether a person prefers war novels or bodice-ripping romance. Ask the bookstore clerk for the more popular or newest titles of a particular genre. While premium novels run around fourteen dollars, every bookstore offers a huge range of titles closer to seven. Alternatively, if you are unsure what books a person has already read, get a gift certificate from a bookstore so (s)he can pick a book.

If the person isn’t much of a book reader, a magazine subscription might be a better option. Amazon.com offers a list of thirty-five subscriptions that cost less than ten dollars including Esquire, Redbook, Details, and Field & Stream as well as general news magazines such as Time and Newsweek. A magazine subscription is a unique, inexpensive Christmas gift that will keep on giving for months to come!

Entertain them!
Budget DVD titles costing ten dollars or less practically flood the market. Depending on the place and time, you can find virtually any title more than a few years old on sale. Helpful hints: avoid foreign films or anything rated R. One thing to keep in mind if you are going this route is that not everyone has broken into the DVD world. Be aware of the technology a person is currently using: if they don't have a DVD player, then opt for a VHS instead.

You could also consider getting a CD collection of various artists that represent a specific era or genre, such as Motown. However, while ideas in this category represent unique and inexpensive Christmas gifts, they also take more time to get if you are shopping for a number of acquaintances. Stick to DVDs, VHS, or CDs if you need Christmas gift ideas for a limited number of casual friends.

If you are buying for a smaller number of acquaintances, you may want to purchase tickets to a concert, play, or sporting event. Tickets are unique Christmas gifts that give a person an experience and a memory that can last a lifetime. While they may not be the most inexpensive Christmas gift ideas, you can buy discounted tickets for various events online at eBay or other ticket liquidators.

Engorge them!
Food is one of the best foolproof gifts, regardless of the time of year. While Christmas cookies may be a better gift for the teacher, a Christmas gift basket can go to almost any acquaintance. Gift baskets filled with fruit, cheeses, chocolates, smoked meats, and Christmas crafts can be easily made at home or purchased at department stores, online, or through catalogs.

Another unique Christmas gift idea is a membership to a product of the month club. Wine, beer, cigars, chocolate, and even bacon can all be delivered to a person's home monthly. While this is not the most inexpensive Christmas gift, it is, like a magazine subscription, a gift that the person will receive for months to come. By purchasing these memberships online, you can save time and energy in choosing a gift and then have to shop for it.

Christmas Gifts Alternative

Christmas Gifts Alternative

Christmas Gifts

While many aspects of the holidays excite children, they generally regard their Christmas gifts as the best part. However, adults may find Christmas gifts to be a stickier issue. Receiving them is fun, but finding the right one for each person can be troublesome.

Buying Christmas presents often forces shoppers into busy malls where they then have to search for the appropriate gift at a reasonable price. If the prospect of tracking down Christmas gifts is dragging down your holiday cheer, explore some alternative ways to choose and shop for gifts this holiday season.

Shopping for Christmas Gifts Made Easier
Although the Friday after Thanksgiving, commonly known as "Black Friday," is generally considered to be the busiest shopping day of the year, malls and department stores are bustling with people the entire month leading up to Christmas.

Finding a parking spot, elbowing through stores, and getting gifts that are in stock are enough to make some cringe at the thought of shopping for Christmas gifts.

If you don't want to face this scene again, try shopping through catalogs or online. Shipping is generally not a problem because companies with catalogs or websites tend to offer shipping that is guaranteed to make it before Christmas if you order by a certain date.

Shopping for Christmas presents online is also advantageous for those who want to bargain shop quickly in a crowd-free environment. By clicking a mouse, you can jump from retailer to retailer and find inexpensive Christmas gifts for everyone on your list.

Christmas Gift Ideas for Acquaintances
Once you choose your preferred method of shopping, you then have to decide what Christmas presents you want to give. Although you can figure out what to give to family and close friends by knowing or asking them, you may find it difficult to choose Christmas presents for your more casual friends.

While you want to acknowledge teachers, co-workers, and distant relatives during the Christmas season, finding unique and inexpensive Christmas gifts for people you know only casually can be elusive. Seasonal items like Christmas gift baskets make for unique Christmas gifts you can be sure the recipient will use.

Another way to give a unique yet inexpensive Christmas gift is to give homemade crafts. Get creative and make Christmas cookies or wreaths for your casual friends.

This section is divided into multiple sections covering:

1. Shopping for Christmas Gifts
2. Christmas Gift Ideas.

Christmas Crafts to Make as Decorations or Gifts

Christmas Crafts to Make as Decorations or Gifts

Christmas Decoration

By making Christmas crafts, you can have unique decorations at home while also creating potential gifts.

Some of the most treasured Christmas decorations are the crafts made by children and friends over the years, such as the candles made by an aunt or ornaments from the kids. Like the crafts, you hold onto, through the years, the handmade gifts you present to others can endure in their families for many holiday seasons to come. Some of the best ideas for inexpensive yet unique holiday gifts lie in Christmas crafts.

Christmas Crafts to Make
Here are some ideas for Christmas crafts that make good Christmas gifts:

• Christmas cards
• wreaths for windows or doors
• Christmas ornaments
• candles decorated in a festive theme
• cookies in a basket or box
• gift baskets.

There's no limit to the list of Christmas crafts to make: your imagination and personal talents are all you need.

Christmas Wreaths and Christmas Candles
Christmas wreaths and candles make beautiful personalized Christmas decorations. Although wreaths can be very complex crafts, they can also be beautiful if made with simple organic materials, like holly or mistletoe. However, creating Christmas wreaths from natural materials requires some knowledge of how to attach items and what weight the wreath base will support. Many local craft stores offer free courses on making wreaths and other Christmas crafts.

While more traditional Christmas wreaths generally include red berries or ribbon, wreaths can be personalized in a variety of ways. For instance, you might include little framed pictures of children when making Christmas wreaths for grandparents, or nestle toy cars in a wreath for a racecar lover. Virtually any lightweight item can be fixed to a wreath.

If you are looking for a more challenging Christmas craft to make, try making Christmas candles. They tend to require more skill, specific equipment, and safety precautions to prevent hot wax burns. To minimize the risk of wax burns, rolled beeswax candles make simple but lovely personalized Christmas gifts and decorations.

To make rolled beeswax Christmas candles simply cut a sheet of beeswax to the size you want, and roll the beeswax tightly around the candlewick. Tie six or seven beeswax candles in a bunch with red ribbon and place them in a small basket to have a lovely personalized present.

Personalized Christmas Cards
Personalized Christmas cards beat store bought cards every time, and craft the whole family can enjoy making. Children can draw their own Christmas cards and decorate them with beads, sequins, and other materials. With so many card-making computer programs, personalized cards are not only easy to make but also send thoughtful seasonal greetings in a more inexpensive and unique way than store bought cards.

Christmas Ornaments
Christmas decorations, like Christmas ornaments, are enjoyable crafts to make and often highly treasured when given as holiday gifts. One of the simplest ornaments to make is a marshmallow Christmas decoration.

All you need is a Styrofoam ball (available at craft stores), some craft pins with colored heads, a length of ribbon, and a bag of mini marshmallows. Stick the pins through the marshmallows into the Styrofoam, covering the entire ball. Tie the ribbon into a loop and attach it to the ball. The marshmallows harden as they dry, creating a long lasting Christmas ornament. Add a coat of clear lacquer to make this ornament endure the test of time.

For a more sophisticated looking Christmas ornament consider glass. Carefully remove the metal tops from the glass ornaments and fill them with glitter, tiny shells, or other materials. Replace the tops and you have sets of personalized Christmas gifts.

Christmas Crafts to Make in the Kitchen
A good cook is never at a loss for personalized Christmas gifts. However, even if you aren't a trained chef, you can still bake (and most likely appreciate receiving) Christmas cookies, gingerbread houses, cakes, and specialty bread. Personalized gifts from the kitchen can also include homemade pancake mixes and muffin mixes.

One of the easiest Christmas crafts to make in the kitchen is a pomander or clove-stuck orange. Take a firm orange and poke a hole in the skin with a skewer or pin. Using the hole as a guide, stick a whole clove through the orange rind. Continue to add cloves until the entire orange is completely studded with cloves.

If you wish, you can "cure" the pomander by placing it in an oven set to a very low temperature. Cure the pomander for about an hour. To complete the ornament, tie the ribbon around the pomander and hang it from a door. The smell of cloves and oranges will fill the room with a festive Christmas scent.

The Joy of Personalized Christmas Crafts
Whether you make wreaths or candles, personalized Christmas cards or ornaments, giving handmade items can be more pleasurable than giving store-bought gifts. Personalized Christmas presents are gifts from the heart that show a gift receiver that you acknowledge them not only with a gift but also you’re your thought and energy. Try making Christmas crafts for your family and friends this season and show them that even in today's hectic world you can still take the time to create something special for them.

Christmas Decorating with Children

Christmas Decorating with Children

Christmas Decoration

A family's most treasured Christmas cards, wreaths, and Christmas tree ornaments are often decorations made by the kids. Decorating with children allows kids to create their own gifts, help decorate the house, and keeps them actively involved in the Christmas festivities beyond just the gift-receiving aspect. Kids' Christmas decorations can include homemade cards, wreaths, and stockings.

Christmas Cards
Although Christmas for kids is often more about presents than the decorations, making Christmas cards is a fun way for kids to get creative while teaching them about the giving aspect of the holiday. By making their own cards children can learn how sentimental a simple card can be. The big greeting card companies have yet to publish anything that compares to a four year old's heartfelt finger-painting of a heart with "Grandma" written in it.

While having a variety of materials is key to any child's project-making session, it is especially true for a kid's Christmas cards. Don't just leave them with some card stock and crayons: give them materials that really let them express themselves. You might include:

• dried flowers
• dry macaroni
• family photos
• felt
• finger-paint
• glitter glue
• glue
• googly eyes
• ribbon
• safety scissors
• seeds
• stencils
• stickers.

Kids' Christmas Ornaments
Decorating the tree is often a highlight of the season for kids and can be even more significant if they decorate with their own Christmas decorations. Christmas decorating with children can become a family tradition as you annually add new kids' Christmas ornaments to the tree.

Some of the most common kids' Christmas decorations include paper and popcorn chains and paper snowflakes. The following are some alternative ideas for kids Christmas decorations:

Christmas Wreaths for Kids
Take paper plates and cut out the middle of the plates, leaving a rim about two inches wide. These serve as the base for the Christmas wreaths. Children can paint the plate and then glue materials on top. What you use to create kids' Christmas wreaths is up to you, but materials could include:

• old jigsaw puzzle pieces spray painted red, green, silver, and gold
• colored tissue paper
• feathers
• pine-cones
• popcorn
• origami paper
• hard candies.

One popular Christmas wreath for young children is a wreath of hands. Draw an outline of the child's hand on several pieces of construction paper and cut out the paper hands. Glue the hands onto the wreath base, with the fingers pointing out.

Reindeer and Kids' Christmas Decorations
Candy canes make great reindeer when Christmas decorating with children. Use the handle of the candy cane as the reindeer's face. Glue a small red bobble to the end of the handle for the nose, and further up glue two googly eyes. Behind the eyes wrap a small piece of brown pipe cleaner and twist it into antlers. Presto! Instant Rudolph!

Younger children can use traces of their hands and feet for Christmas reindeer. Trace an outline of both the child's hands on construction paper and cut them out. These will be the reindeer's antlers. Trace and cut an outline of the child's foot. This is the reindeer's face.

Glue the antlers to the top of the reindeer's head (the heel of the foot is the reindeer's nose, so glue the hands over the toes). Now glue craft eyes and a big red nose onto the face. If you glue the finished ornament to heavy card-stock and string a ribbon through it, you've got another Christmas ornament!

Christmas Stockings
Because they are closely associated with gifts, Christmas stockings are an important symbol of the holiday for kids and can also be a fun craft to hang on the tree. Cut out two pieces of felt in the shape of a stocking. Young children can glue the two pieces together. Older kids could sew the two pieces together to form a stocking with a pouch.

Use ribbons, glitter glue, and sparkles to decorate and attach ribbon to the top of the Christmas stockings to hang them from the tree.

Make the Holidays More Festive with Christmas Decorations

Make the Holidays More Festive with Christmas Decorations

Christmas Decoration

With the end of Thanksgiving comes elaborate Christmas decorations in retail stores across the nation. Although many stores decorate to inspire more spending, their Christmas décor also resonates a holiday spirit that reaches individual homes. Whether you decorate a tree or transform your house into a holiday wonderland, Christmas decorating is a fun way to kindle Christmas cheer among family and friends.

Homemade Christmas Decorations

Making Christmas crafts is a strong part of the Christmas tradition, from personalized Christmas cards to Christmas wreaths. Remember those handmade ornaments parents treasure for years?

Christmas decorating with homemade crafts adds a unique touch to any Christmas décor. If you traditionally hang lights on your tree, try incorporating some Christmas cookies as Christmas ornaments this year. Or, if you generally dress your house in lights, make a Christmas wreath for your front door.

Christmas Decorations for Kids

While children are generally excited about Christmas presents during the holidays, they also relish the opportunity to celebrate the season by decorating for Christmas. Get your children involved in making Christmas wreaths and ornaments.

Other Christmas decorations that are easy and fun for children include paper chains and snowflakes, popcorn chains, and Christmas cards. If your child's grade school is throwing a Holiday party, help with decorating the classroom: children can decorate Christmas stockings to take home and put over the fireplace on Christmas Eve.

Outdoor Christmas Decorations

Aside from decorating a tree and hanging stockings on the fireplace, many choose to decorate the outside of their homes to bring the Christmas spirit to their neighbors.

Outdoor Christmas décor can include anything from plastic Santas to poinsettias. However, if you are decorating for Christmas on your front lawn, you may want to choose a theme and build a whole scene. Some popular ideas include Santa's toyshop, the Grinch, and the nativity scene.

Christmas Lighting

Christmas lights are among the most popular and traditional Christmas decorations. Whether candles, rope lights, or outdoor Christmas lights are used, lighting plays a key role in Christmas holiday décor.

However, as with any aspect of Christmas decorating, safety is always a priority. When hanging Christmas lights, replace all broken bulbs and check insulating cords and sockets for damage.

This section is divided into multiple section covering:

• Christmas Crafts
• Kids' Christmas Decorations
• Outdoor Christmas Decorations
• Christmas Lighting
• Christmas Wreaths
• Christmas Tree Alternatives.

Outdoor Christmas Lights and Decorations

Outdoor Christmas Lights and Decorations

Christmas Decoration

Outdoor Christmas lights transform a house into a magical wonderland. Today, with more types of Christmas lights than ever before, choosing the right type of lights to set the ambiance can be confusing and overwhelming. Do you want to use a Christmas rope light or icicle lights? Will LED Christmas lights lower your electric bill? And then there are outdoor decorations to consider: do you want a brilliant Santa and sleigh or twinkling Christmas candles on the lawn?

Types of Outdoor Christmas Lights
Christmas lighting has evolved since you watched your dad teetering on an icy ladder looking for that elusive burnt out bulb or wrapping a tangled mess of lights around the front yard trees. Modern Christmas lights take much of the hassle out of decorating the house in the interior as well as the exterior.

Christmas Rope Light
A Christmas rope light is one of the easiest types of Christmas outdoor lights to install. Christmas rope light is a flexible, bendable tube of lights that is used to frame doors, windows and the side of the house. A Christmas rope light is also flexible enough to wind up tree trunks and light posts.

Christmas rope light is usually made up of bulbs of a uniform color: soft blues and whites are the most popular color choices. A Christmas rope light may emit a continuous glow or come in chasing patterns for those who prefer movement and action in their Christmas outdoor decorations.

Icicle Lighting
Icicle lighting consists of multiple strings of lights hanging down from a main cord of Christmas lights to give the illusion of icicles. To further the illusion the strings are all different lengths and are usually composed of small white bulbs. Icicle Christmas lights are generally hung from the eaves of a house to complete the icicle effect.

Net Lights
Net lights are woven mesh nets of lights useful for wrapping around shrubs, hedges, and small trees. They facilitate tree decorating by preventing you from having to wind a single strand of lights around a tree multiple times.

LED Christmas Lights
LED Christmas lights are longer lasting than traditional Christmas lighting. A string of LED Christmas lights generates less heat than ordinary bulbs and consumes less energy than other outdoor lights. Although the initial cost of LED lights is more expensive than other forms of Christmas lighting, over time, LED lights can save you a fortune in electric bills.

However, not all types of outdoor Christmas lights have an LED equivalent. At the moment, LED Christmas lights are most often used in Christmas rope lights.

Outdoor Christmas Decorations
Christmas lighting is the tip of the electric iceberg for the true Christmas decoration lover. Outdoor Christmas decorations come in a bewildering array of forms. You could march two-foot tall, electrically lit plastic Christmas candles up your driveway, or center Christmas lights in the shape of Christmas candles in your windows. Alternatively, you could pepper real candles in your windowsills and throughout the rest of your house.

When setting up Christmas lighting in conjunction with an outdoor Christmas scene, you should choose lighting appropriate to the theme of your Christmas decorations. While soft spotlights should light wooden nativity scenes, Santas on sleighs or giant inflatable snowmen tend to demand louder, more garish lighting.

Outdoor Christmas Lights and Safety:

1. Check all strands of Christmas lights before installing them — replace broken or burned out bulbs and ensure that there is no damage to insulating cords or sockets and that all bulbs are secure.
2. Check all extension cords before plugging in lights or other lighted decorations — they should reach their location without straining on the plug and the insulation should not be frayed or otherwise damaged.
3. If hanging Christmas lights outside, use only lights that are designated by the Underwriters Laboratory (UL) for outdoor use and that have fused plugs. Lights for indoor use are not to be used outside.
4. Make hanging Christmas lights easier each year by screwing small hooks into the eaves — this is also safer and tidier than using staples or nails.
5. Mini lights create less heat than large bulbs and are perfect for decorating deciduous trees, bushes and outdoor columns.
6. When putting up standing rooftop decorations, ensure the base matches the pitch of your roof (you can custom make bases with 2x4s — attach one vertically to the decoration to support its height and one at the base matching the angle of the roof).
7. Weigh down all standing outdoor Christmas decorations with sandbags.
8. If your rooftop, lawn or other outdoor decorations are lighted, only use bulbs with the correct rating — this information is generally printed right on the socket.
9. Unplug all lights and other outdoor decorations before going to sleep each night or leaving your home.
10. Plug no more than three strings of Christmas lights or other outdoor decorations into a single extension cord. Connecting more can cause an overload to your system.
11. Plug all extension cords, outdoor Christmas lights and decorations into a GFCI outlet.

If decorating with luminaries, place the candles in votive holders and secure in sand or kitty litter. Light for no more than four hours at a time.

Outdoor Christmas Decorations and Decorating Ideas

Outdoor Christmas Decorations and Decorating Ideas

Christmas Decoration

The traditional time for putting up Christmas decorations is the weekend following Thanksgiving. And after all that rich food and football, putting up the decorations is a good way to work in some exercise! (This is also the biggest weekend for holiday gift shopping.)

For some, Christmas decorations are as simple as a decorated Christmas tree inside and a festive wreath on the front door. For others, decorating for Christmas becomes an all out festival of Christmas lights, lawn and rooftop ornaments, and all sorts of other indoor and outdoor Christmas decorations.

Christmas Decorating Ideas for Outdoors
Outdoor Christmas decorations that depict a scene are fun, easy ways to make your neighborhood more festive during the holiday season.

Luminaries: For a festive, but gentle scene, suitable for the approaching "Silent Night, Holy Night," line your drive and walkways with luminaries. These can be made by hand cutting shapes (snowflakes, stars, snowmen, etc) with an X-Acto knife out of colored and waxed lunch bags. But if you're not crafty, commercial luminaries are also lovely. Note: Paper bag luminaries are not recommended for snowy or rainy locales.

Nativity Scene: When decorating your front lawn or entryway with a nativity scene highlight the scene with lights. If possible, light the scene from above to simulate starlight shining down on the Holy Family. And, light the scene with soft lighting from the front to illuminate their faces.

A Gift Giving Christmas: Do something different this year; make your outdoor space a place for gifts...giant gifts. Wrap wood crates (or large cardboard boxes if you live in a dry area or one with early snow and no thaw 'til spring) in large sheets of Christmas paper (foil or waxed is best) and a large bow. Highlight the ribbons and bows with a string of lights. For the best scene use a number of different sizes and shapes of boxes/crates. Pile them up, tip them sideways, get creative, and have fun! Carry the theme to your front and garage doors.

Santa's Workshop: Excite the neighborhood children by building a mock toy workshop on your front lawn. Set up a fake assembly line with oblong tables covered with brown table cloths and tinfoil on top. Then have various toy parts sprinkled on it. Pepper garden gnomes throughout the area and set up a fake Santa Claus on the roof of the house. He can be supervising the "elves," checking his list, or off in his sleigh!

"Christmas waves a magic wand over this world, and behold, everything is softer and more beautiful." by Norman Vincent Peale

Themed Christmas Decorations: Choose a theme and go with it. Some ideas for themes include: candy canes, snowflakes, snowmen, Christmas trees, angels, candles, bells, reindeer, and, of course, Santa Clause and his sleigh! Put large plastic candy canes on either side of your doorframe. You could also string a series of bells and have them line the front of your house. Other "non-traditional" options are the Grinch or favorite cartoon characters celebrating the holiday.

Decorating the Neighborhood: Some neighborhoods are known for their decorations and people come from miles around just to tour the neighborhood each Christmas season. Possible neighborhood decorating ideas include enlisting adjoining neighbors to mount a reindeer on each of their roofs while you mount Santa and his sleigh, lighted toy soldiers marching through the neighborhood, and stings of white or colored Christmas lights connecting all homes in the neighborhood.

No matter what theme you select for your outdoor Christmas decorations, including a few basic materials will make any scene more festive. If you don't live in a naturally snowy climate, use sheets of cotton on your rooftop to recreate the North Pole. Icicle Christmas lights also do wonders to promote the Christmas atmosphere. Other accessories that make good outdoor Christmas decorations include poinsettias, mistletoe, and tinsel.

Hosting a Holiday Cookie Exchange Party

Hosting a Holiday Cookie Exchange Party

Christmas Food

Hosting or participating in a Christmas cookie swap or holiday cookie exchange is a wonderful way to spend time with friends, try new cookies and lighten your holiday cookie baking load. Successfully hosting a cookie exchange party is easy. With some advance planning, Christmas cookie swaps can be a fun way to exchange your favorite cookies and cookie recipes with other partygoers.

Start Planning Your Cookie Exchange Party Early
As with any party, if you're hosting a cookie swap party, plan the time and date well ahead of time. Remember that the holidays are a busy time for everyone and that more people are likely to attend if you set the date for your holiday cookie exchange as early as possible.

Your guests' schedules may be too tight late in the holiday season, so hold Christmas cookie swaps before Christmas, but not so far ahead of the holiday that you and your guests won't be in a festive mood. A great time to host a holiday cookie exchange is early in December since many people will have extra time over the Thanksgiving holiday to do some baking.

Organize Invitations for Your Cookie Swap Party
People who love cookies generally love cookie swaps. Make a list of friends, relatives, neighbors and coworkers to invite to your cookie swap party. The more guests, the more types of cookies you'll have to swap!

To know the exact number of people who will be attending your cookie exchange, keep track of guests' responses to your cookie swap party invitations. Create a simple chart with the guests' names, whether or not they are attending and the type of cookie they plan to bring:

Guest Name Yes No Type of Cookie Kathryn Livingston Yes Persian Almond Cookies Margaret Evans No N/A

You can also consider using electronic invitations to invite people to your cookie swap party.

If you are hosting a cookie exchange party, it is your job as host to keep track of who is bringing what type of cookie and to avoid duplications. Remind cookie exchange party guests to bring extra tins, plastic bags or plastic containers to the holiday cookie exchange so that they can take home their goodies.

How Many Cookies Will You Need?
Guests should bring enough cookies to the cookie exchange so that everyone can sample some of the cookies at the cookie swap party and then take some of each cookie home after the party.

You should base the number of cookies each guest should bring to the cookie exchange on the number of guests. For example, if you have 10 guests, ask each person to bring 11 dozen cookies to the cookie swap party. This will ensure that everyone will receive a dozen of each cookie and that there will be enough cookies left over to sample during the cookie exchange.

Remember to Bring Recipes to the Cookie Exchange
When hosting a cookie exchange party, remind your guests to bring enough copies of their cookie recipes for everyone. Part of the fun of a holiday cookie exchange is sharing recipes and the stories behind them.

If you like, you can create a cookie swap cookbook as a souvenir. Ask your cookie exchange guests to send you a copy of their recipes a week before the cookie swap to give you enough time to bind them into individual cookie swap cookbooks. Distribute these cookie swap cookbooks to your guests on the day of the cookie exchange party.

One Final Tip for Hosting a Cookie Exchange Party
If you are hosting a cookie swap party, consider offering your guests some drinks and snacks. During a cookie exchange, you and your guests will be eating a lot of cookies, so serve drinks and savory snacks to compliment all that wonderful cookie sweetness!

Christmas Drinks: Eggnog, Mulled Wine, and Champagne Cocktails

Christmas Drinks: Eggnog, Mulled Wine, and Champagne Cocktails

Christmas Food

Christmas drinks are a centuries-old tradition. Recipes for mulled wine and eggnog are hundreds of years old. Other Christmas drinks include mulled cider, non-alcoholic eggnog, and elegant champagne cocktails. Christmas drinks are a wonderful way of enhancing the festivities as long as they are enjoyed moderately and responsibly.

Eggnog: the Origin of a Christmas Tradition
Eggnog describes a variety of Christmas drinks made from eggs, milk, and alcohol (usually brandy, rum, or whiskey). Eggnog has been part of the Christmas tradition since 17th century Britain when a powerful beer called nog was a popular drink. At Christmas, nog was mixed with egg yolks, sugar, cinnamon, and lemon rind. This became the basis for our modern version of eggnog.

Eggnog became popular in North America in the 1800s. However, the recipes that characterize our current versions are based on the French style of eggnog, lait de poule (literally "Milk of the Chicken"), in which the French substituted brandy and other spirits for nog.

Because eggs can contain salmonella bacteria, it is important to heat the eggs you will use for your eggnog to 170 °F to kill any bacteria and avoid food poisoning with Christmas drinks.

Eggnog Recipe
(Adapted from eggnog recipe on epicurious.com)

• 3 cups whole milk
• 7 large eggs
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup whiskey 
• 1/3 cup rum or brandy
• 2 cups heavy cream 
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

(alcohol can be halved to produce a less potent eggnog)

In a large heavy saucepan, heat the milk just to the boiling point. Do not let the milk boil.

As the milk heats, whisk the eggs and sugar in a large bowl. Add the hot milk in a steady stream, whisking as you pour.

Return the milk/egg mixture to the saucepan, and cook over moderately low heat for six to seven minutes. If you have a cooking thermometer, the eggnog should reach 170 °F.

Once cooked, pour the entire mixture through a fine sieve into a large bowl. Stir in the whiskey, brandy/rum, heavy cream, vanilla extract, and nutmeg.

Allow the eggnog to cool completely at room temperature. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours before drinking. Ideally, allow 24 hours of refrigeration to allow the flavor to mellow.

For a child-friendly, non-alcoholic version, leave out the liquor.

Mulled Cider
CiderMulled cider is another Christmas tradition in many households. There's nothing like a hot cup of mulled cider by the fireside after romping in the snow. This version of mulled cider uses nonalcoholic cider, as opposed to "hard" cider.

• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• dash of salt 
• 8 cups nonalcoholic cider 
• 1 3-inch stick cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon whole allspice
• 1 teaspoon whole cloves
• dash of nutmeg
• orange slices for garnish

Combine the sugar, salt, and cider in a large pan. Tie all the spices up in a cheesecloth bag and add to the cider. Bring to a slow boil, reduce the heat, and simmer for twenty minutes. Pour into mugs and garnish with orange slices.

Mulled Wine Christmas Drinks
Mulled wine is a Christmas tradition older than most other Christmas drinks, including the venerable eggnog. Mulled wine recipes date back to medieval Europe. Wine often went bad in the middle ages, but by simmering herbs and spices in the wine, it was still possible to enjoy drinking it.

When making mulled wine it is very important that the wine not comes to a boil. If it does, the flavor of the mulled wine will be ruined. You don't need to purchase a high-quality wine for mulled wine: any fruity red will do.

Mulled Wine
(Adapted from Mulled Wine Recipe on thewineman.com)

• 2 lemons
• 2 oranges
• 1 bottle red wine
• Nutmeg and cloves (to taste)
• 2 ounces brandy
• 1 cup sugar (optional)

Slice the lemons and oranges. Heat the wine in a saucepan: do not boil. Add the fruit, brandy, nutmeg and cloves to the wine. If using sugar, add when the wine is hot. Pour into mugs and garnish with cinnamon sticks, or, for Christmas drinks, candy canes.

Champagne Cocktails
Champagne cocktails make elegant Christmas drinks that are a great way to toast the holidays. A morning glory offers a nice variation of the traditional mimosas for your Christmas brunch! Or, stay in the Christmas theme and make poinsettia champagne cocktails!

Morning Glory Champagne Cocktails

• 1 ounce Grand Marnier
• Champagne
• orange juice

Pour grand Marnier into the champagne. Fill approximately half the glass with orange juice and top with champagne. For non-alcoholic "champagne cocktails" substitute a non-alcoholic sparkling cider for the champagne.

Poinsettia Champagne Cocktails 

• Champagne
• 1 ounce Chambord 
• cranberry juice 
• splash of soda water (optional)

Fill a champagne flute half full with your favorite champagne. Add an ounce of Chambord and top off with cranberry juice. If you find the cocktail too sweet, add a splash of soda water to lighten the flavor.

Christmas Food for Diabetics

Christmas Food for Diabetics

Christmas Food

Christmas for diabetics need not be a time of absolute abstinence while others enjoy holiday cheer. By making some careful baking substitutions, monitoring blood glucose levels and engaging in some light after dinner exercise, diabetics can usually eat many of the holiday foods eaten by non-diabetics.

Controlled Christmas Eating
Christmas for diabetics can include the same foods other people eat, if certain criteria are met. To eat "regular" holiday fare, diabetics must have good control over their blood glucose levels and must understand how to include seasonal foods in their meal plans. Small portions of sweet foods can be substituted for carbohydrate foods in a diabetics food plan and will make Christmas for diabetics more enjoyable. Consult a dietician if you have any questions.

Sugar Substitutes
Some sugar substitutes, like Splenda®, can be used in place of sugar when baking Christmas goodies for diabetics. However, baking with sugar substitutes can cause digestive problems. To minimize digestive complaints, food baked with sugar substitutes should be eaten in small quantities.

Christmas Snacks for Diabetics
Keep a selection of healthy Christmas snacks for diabetics during the holiday season. Healthy snacks are not only diabetic-friendly, but they also can help prevent (or at least minimize) weight gain over the holidays by providing an alternative to less healthy treats. Possible snacks during Christmas for diabetics include:

• breadsticks
• cut vegetables with salsa
• dried fruit
• popcorn
• seasonal fruits
• low-fat cheese cubes.

Keeping Active
Light exercise after meals can help control blood sugar, especially when diabetics inadvertently overeat. A quiet walk before or after Christmas dinner can helps control diabetics' blood sugar levels.

Christmas for Diabetics: Seasonal Recipes
Use the following recipes at your dinners or parties to make Christmas food for diabetics.

Holiday Fruit Squares
(Adapted from "Christmas Fruit Squares" from Diabetic-lifestyles.com)

• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 3/4 cup cake flour 
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 
• 2/3 cup spoonable brown sugar substitute
• 1/4 cup walnuts, chopped
• 1/4 cup golden raisins 
• 1/2 cup dried no sugar added cherries
• 1/2 cup peeled apple, chopped 
• 1/3 cup dried figs, chopped
• 1 large egg and 1 egg white
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 tablespoon fresh orange juice
• 1 tablespoon pineapple juice
• Butter-flavored cooking spray

Preheat oven to 350 °F. Line a 9 inch square pan with parchment paper and spray the paper lightly with the butter flavored cooking spray.

Mix the flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, brown sugar substitute, and walnuts together in a large bowl. In a second bowl mix the raisins, cherries, apple and figs. Add the fruit to the flour. Mix well to separate the fruit and coat all the fruit with the flour mix.

Beat the egg, egg white, oil, orange juice and pineapple juice together and add to the flour and fruit, stirring until the mixture is evenly moist.

Pour the mixture into the prepared pan and press down so it forms an even surface. Bake on the middle rack for ten minutes. Cool for ten minutes. Cut into 25 squares and allow to cool completely.

One serving equals two squares and is a diabetic exchange for 1 carbohydrate (fruit) and 1 fat.

No Crust Pumpkin Pie
(Adapted from "Pumpkin Cookie Bars" from Diabetic-lifestyle.com)

• Baking spray
• 2 large egg whites
• 1/4 cup liquid egg substitute 
• 1/3 cup + 1 tablespoon nonfat dry milk 
• 1/4 cup canola oil 
• 1 16-ounce can unsweetened pumpkin 
• 1/4 cup currants
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
• 3/4 cup one-to-one white sugar substitute
• Preheat oven to 350 °F. 

Spray a 13 by 9 inch pan with baking spray. In a large bowl, mix egg whites, egg substitute, sugar substitute, dry milk, canola oil and pumpkin for approximately two minutes, then stir in the currants.

Combine the salt, flour, baking powder and pumpkin spice. Sift the mixture over the wet ingredients and fold into the mix.

Pour batter into sprayed pan, and bake forty minutes. Cool then cut into 36 pieces. One bar equals one serving, and counts as ½ a carbohydrate (bread/starch) on a diabetic exchange.

Chicken Kabobs
(Adapted from "Chicken Kabob Dippers" from the American Diabetes Association)

• 4 small boneless chicken halves cut into 1 inch pieces
• 4 wooden skewers soaked in water 
• 1 medium yellow pepper
• 1 medium green pepper
• 1 medium red onion
• 1 small zucchini (1/2 inch slices)
• 8 ounces button mushrooms
• 2 tablespoons light mayonnaise
• 2 tablespoons Barbecue Sauce

Cut the chicken into 1 inch pieces. Chop the yellow pepper, green pepper, red onion, and mushrooms into chucks, and slice the zucchini into ½ inch rounds. Skewer the chicken, alternately with the vegetables.

Grill three to four minutes on each side, either on a barbeque or under a medium-high grill. Chicken should be cooked and the vegetables crisp but tender.

Mix the mayonnaise and barbeque sauce together, and serve as a dipping sauce for the kabobs.

A serving equals 1 skewer, and counts as 1 vegetable, 2 meat (VL) and 1 fat on a diabetic exchange.

A Heart Healthy Christmas

A Heart Healthy Christmas

Christmas Food

A heart healthy Christmas can be a real challenge: after all, the holiday season has traditionally been a time of gastronomic excess. Large meals, Christmas cookies, and decadent candies seem to be everywhere at Christmas. The average person can easily pack on an extra five to ten pounds between Christmas Eve and New Years Day. However, with a few changes, it is possible to have a heart healthy Christmas.

Setbacks to a Heart Healthy Christmas
Overeating is the most obvious challenge to a heart healthy Christmas. Because Christmas food is available at every turn, most peoples' eating habits change over the holidays. Candy and cookies are readily available at home and at work. Dinner invitations and parties with elaborate meals and desserts abound at Christmas, making it difficult to abstain from indulging. People often accept that second helping when the hostess offers it, or give into temptation and have just one more helping of that o-so-delicious dessert.

Food isn’t the only obstacle to a heart healthy Christmas: holiday drinks, a lack of exercise, and the combination of excitement and stress also upset even the best intentions for a healthy Christmas. With Christmas drinks like eggnog and hot mulled cider, alcohol consumption typically rises over the holiday season. Also, many people either travel or have relatives over during the holidays, causing dramatic schedule changes that affect exercise routines and daily diets. Add the inevitable stress associated with Christmas, and it's extremely easy to overeat and over drink.

Moderation, Moderation, Moderation
The key to a heart-healthy Christmas is moderation. Moderation doesn't mean severe restrictions (as many people seem to think), but rather a lack of access. You can still enjoy that apple pie for dessert; just stop to consider if you're really still hungry before grabbing that second piece. Most people also can partake in a Christmas drink or two without sabotaging their heart healthy Christmas. Unless your medical condition restricts alcohol and specific types of food, there's no reason you can't indulge in some holiday cheer.

A Heart Healthy Christmas Dinner
Christmas dinner is the big test for many people trying to follow a heart-healthy diet. Remember that a skinless piece of turkey breast isn’t the enemy (a three-ounce serving of skinless turkey breast only contains 119 calories and less than half a gram of fat). In fact, a heart-healthy diet could benefit from eating turkey more often than just Christmas and Thanksgiving.

One of the true enemies of the heart healthy Christmas is all the trimmings served with the turkey: the stuffing, gravy, buttery mashed potatoes, biscuits and sweet potato casserole topped with the little marshmallows.

However, even decadent trimmings wouldn’t be too disastrous as a once a year indulgence (unless you have severe dietary restrictions). The trouble is that many of us load up our plates to capacity, go back for second helpings, and spend the weeks before the meal enjoying holiday treats. Consequently, that sumptuous Christmas dinner is more of a culmination of a season of indulging.

Limit and Substitute Your Way to a Healthy Heart Christmas
You can have a heart healthy Christmas dinner if you limit portions and make heart-healthy substitutions where you can. Limit yourself to only one normal-sized portion at Christmas dinner and avoid second helpings. Limit the high fat, high cholesterol foods you put on the plate (stuffing, gravy, etc).

There are also several dietary substitutions you can make to achieve a heart healthy Christmas meal. Perhaps the simplest technique is to substitute fresh vegetables for the high-fat Christmas dinner trimmings. For instance, steamed sweet potatoes may be substituted for the high-fat sweet potato casserole.

Here are some other substitutions to help with your heart healthy Christmas:

• replace cookies with seasonal fruits and nuts
• use fat-free skim milk instead of regular milk
• add low fat or no fat cheese to cheese plates
• use plant oils, sparingly, in place of dairy fats
• use the low fat chicken broth to soften mashed potatoes instead of milk and butter.

Pass the Fiber, Hold the Salt
Fiber is a substantial part of a heart-healthy diet, but fiber consumption often goes down during the Christmas season. Try to keep fiber in your diet during the holiday season. Substitute cut-up veggies and a low fat dip for the chips and dip on the buffet table, for instance. Instead of a bread and sausage based turkey stuffing, a high fiber wild rice dressing could be served to promote a heart healthy Christmas dinner.

Salt and sugar intake also need to be watched closely during the holiday season, and not just in the savory dishes. Many cookie recipes contain surprisingly high amounts of salt and sugar. Some recipes can be modified to contain less sugar and salt by adding other spices. However, getting the right combination often requires some experimentation to get the taste of the final dish right.

A Heart Healthy Christmas Includes Exercise
After Christmas dinner, it's not unusual to slip into "holiday paralysis" and take a nap on the recliner for a while. Although most of us have succumbed to the food coma that follows a large meal, this isn’t good for digestion. Similarly, it is not the best idea if you want to have a heart healthy Christmas.

Taking a walk after Christmas dinner is a much better choice for your heart than a nap. In fact, it's best to stay as active over Christmas as your health allows. A snowball fight with the kids, throwing a Frisbee in the park, or simply taking a leisurely walk will all get you moving around and, therefore, can all contribute to a heart healthy Christmas.

Christmas Cookies and Gingerbread Houses

Christmas Cookies and Gingerbread Houses

Christmas Food

Most families have their own unique variation of Christmas cookies and gingerbread house recipes. The smell of baking puts people in the holiday mood. While some munch on Christmas cookies as soon as they are out of the oven, others use cookies as Christmas decorations, ornaments or gifts. No matter how you use them, Christmas cookies really bring out the Christmas spirit!

Christmas Cookies as Decorations: Gingerbread Houses
Gingerbread houses are based on basic gingerbread cookie recipes and are perhaps the most elaborate example of cookies as Christmas decorations or ornaments. It's best to plan gingerbread houses before you begin making the gingerbread: templates for gingerbread houses are available both online and in books devoted to Christmas cookie recipes. Here's one of the possible cookie recipes used to make gingerbread houses, along with a recipe for gingerbread house "cement."

Gingerbread House Recipe
The following is a simple recipe for making a gingerbread house. Before you start, choose a pattern so that you know the number and size of cutouts you will need. (Adapted from "Building Gingerbread Houses" from allrecipes.com)

• 1 cup butter
• 1 cup white sugar 
• 1 cup molasses
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon ground allspice 
• 1 tablespoon ginger
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 5 cups all-purpose flour

Preheat the oven to 375 °F. Melt the cup of butter in a large pan, and then mix in the sugar and molasses, stirring the mixture well. In a separate bowl combine the remaining dry ingredients (baking soda, allspice, ginger, salt, and flour). Slowly mix them into the wet sugar mixture.

Roll the dough for gingerbread houses on a floured surface to an even thickness of 1/4 of an inch. Cut the dough into the pieces required to make gingerbread houses (based on the pattern you have selected). Bake for thirteen to fifteen minutes. Let the pieces cool for a few minutes, and then transfer them to cookie racks.

• Cement Icing for Gingerbread Houses
• 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
• 2 1/2 cups confectioner's (icing) sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract (optional)
• 2 egg whites

Because the cement dries soon after it is made, wait until the gingerbread is completely cool before making the cement. Mix the cream of tartar with the confectioner's sugar. Add the vanilla and the egg whites.

Beat the mixture at high speed until the frosting holds its own shape (add more confectioner's sugar if necessary).

Use the cement to build gingerbread houses immediately, as the cement dries quickly. Cover the cement bowl with a damp cloth to slow the drying process.

Cookies as Ornaments
Some people use cookies as Christmas decorations, hanging cookies on the tree as ornaments. Nearly any of your favorite cookie recipes can be adapted to make Christmas ornaments. The key to turning a cookie into an ornament is to poke a hole in the top of the cookies (a straw generally works best) before you bake them. After baking and decorating the cookies, you can string a ribbon through them and pepper them all over your Christmas tree.

Christmas Cookies Recipes: Cinnamon-Orange Snickerdoodles
While Christmas cookies can serve as decorations, they are most commonly a yummy, festive snack. Baking Christmas cookies can be a kid's favorite Christmas activity and can be given to friends as a heartfelt Christmas gift. Easy to make and even easier to eat, snickerdoodles are popular Christmas cookies.

• 1 cup shortening
• 1 cup sugar 
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon orange extract
• 1 tablespoon grated orange rind 
• 2 eggs 
• 2 3/4 cups flour 
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt 
• 2 teaspoons cream of tartar 
• 1 teaspoon baking soda

Preheat the oven to 375 °F. Beat shortening, brown sugar, white sugar, orange extract, and orange rind until fluffy. Beat in the two eggs.

In a separate bowl combine the dry ingredients: flour, cinnamon, salt, cream of tartar and baking soda. Add dry ingredients to the wet sugar mixture and mix well.

Grease a cookie sheet and drop rounded teaspoons of cookie dough onto the sheet. Combine the remaining tablespoon of sugar and teaspoon of cinnamon and sprinkle over the cookies. Bake for eight to ten minutes.

Christmas Sugar CookiesChristmas Sugar Cookies
Sugary goodness! Sugar cookies are often included in Christmas cookies recipes. If you feel even more creative, bust out the food coloring and make fun, festive Christmas designs on them. (Adapted from "Sugar Cookies" recipe from gardenhelper.com)

• 1 cup butter
• 1 1/4 cup sugar
• 2 egg
• 1 tablespoon vanilla
• 4 cups flour
• 4 teaspoons baking soda

In a large bowl, beat together the butter, sugar, egg, and vanilla extract until the mixture is fluffy. Then mix the dry ingredients (flour and baking soda) until well combined.

Chill the dough at least two hours, then roll on a floured surface until 1/8 of an inch thick. Cut with Christmas cookie cutters, place the shapes on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 375 °F for ten minutes or until lightly browned.

Traditional Christmas Food Alternatives

Traditional Christmas Food Alternatives

Christmas Food

Traditional Christmas Food Alternatives - Some of the most evocative memories of Christmas for many people are the smells and tastes of food.

Let's face it: few of us diet over Christmas (although a lot of us feel the need to after the holidays—weight loss is one of the most popular New Year's resolutions!).

Good food is a focal point for many celebrations, of course, but Christmas is one of those times when food really comes to the forefront. The extravagance of Christmas food has been well established since the Middle Ages when feudal lords hosted meals for their serfs and retainers.

Nowadays, the big Christmas dinner is central to Christmas Day for many families—turkey, stuffing, sweet potatoes, plum pudding, and dad snoring in the family room afterward with his belt loosened.

An Alternative to the Traditional Christmas Dinner
If you are tired of slaving in the kitchen on Christmas Day, consider this alternative to the traditional Christmas dinner: prepare an array of snacks, such as cookies, cheeses, dumplings, and whatever else suits your taste to set out smorgasbord style. Refill the trays as needed. As your guests arrive, you can then spend more time entertaining and less time in the kitchen. That certainly makes for a Merrier Christmas!

Here are the Traditional Christmas Food Alternatives:

Christmas Cookies
While the traditional Christmas dinner is only enjoyed on Christmas Day, Christmas cookies are a type of Christmas food that promotes the festive spirit throughout the holiday season. Ginger snaps, sugar cookies, shortbread cookies, chocolate chip, oatmeal, fudge, peanut butter…the possibilities for Christmas cookie flavors seems endless!

Likewise, Christmas cookies can be used in a number of ways. Above being yummy snacks, they can also be Christmas gifts, ornaments, and decorations. Whether they inspire nostalgia or creativity, Christmas cookies keep the Christmas spirit strong each holiday season.

Heart Healthy Christmas
The extravagance associated with the traditional Christmas dinner excites some but presents a challenge for others. Those with heart conditions may not be so thrilled to face tempting high-fat, high–cholesterol foods.

However, substituting certain side dishes with lightly dressed vegetables or fruit can help you on your way to making a heart healthy Christmas dinner. Light exercise before or after eating may also be the good way to compensate for some of the more lavish Christmas food that you can't do without!

Christmas food for Diabetics
Diabetes is another health concern that can make the traditional Christmas dinner problematic. The sugar in cookies, desserts, and even side dishes makes Christmas for diabetics a trying time. Like those looking to have a heart healthy Christmas, diabetics can use various food and sugar substitutions.

Using the sugar-free and reduced calorie versions of food products whenever possible is key to creating an enjoyable Christmas dinner for diabetics.

Christmas Drinks
While Christmas food is a major part of the holiday celebration, no festivity can be complete without the presence of Christmas drinks. Eggnog, hot mulled cider, and peppermint flavored hot chocolate are mainstays of the Christmas tradition.

Submit a Christmas Recipe
The traditional Christmas dinner usually engenders images of turkey, ham, mashed potatoes, and gravy. Yet, Christmas food leaves itself open to interesting variations that can spice up Christmas dinner. Share some of your favorite recipes with us and others in this section.

This section is divided into multiple articles covering:

• Christmas Cookies
• Heart Healthy Christmas
• Christmas for Diabetics
• Christmas Drinks
• Cookie Swaps
• Submit a Christmas Recipe.

Christmas Traditions

Christmas Traditions

Christmas Traditions

Christmas. For many of us, no another word evokes more memories of childhood.

Perhaps that's why Christmas traditions are so important to so many families. Christmas decorations, Christmas cards, Santa Claus, and the inevitable mad scramble of last minute gift shopping: they're all part of one of the most enjoyable—and stressful!—holidays of the year. There's a sense of continuity in celebrating in the same special ways year after year.

Christmas Gifts
Most of our important Christmas traditions aren't as old as we often think. Take gift giving for instance. It's hard to imagine Christmas without presents under the tree, but the practice of buying large fancy gifts for Christmas Day didn't really get rolling until the 1860s!

In 1867, Macy's, the major department store in New York City, stayed open until midnight Christmas Eve. Seven years later, in 1874, they were the first to design their window displays around a Christmas theme. That was the start of the gift-giving craze (so if you, like many people, feel that Christmas has become too commercial, now you know who to blame!).

Before Macy's, and their brilliant marketing move, gifts were given, but they weren't as important a part of Christmas as they are now. The tradition goes back all the way to the Three Wise Men, who brought gifts of gold, Frankincense, and Myrrh to the infant Jesus.

Boxing Day
Christmas traditions also include giving to the poor; the British tradition of Boxing Day—the day after Christmas—dates back to the Middle Ages, when the Churches would open the alms box the day after Christmas and distribute the money to the poor. Boxing Day hasn't escaped the commercial blitz either—now it's best known for department store Boxing Day Sales! Boxing Day is also known as St. Stephen's Day.

Christmas Decorations
In our modern holiday celebrations, tradition also influences our Christmas decorations. From poinsettias to Christmas trees, the quintessential symbols of yuletide festivities stem from cultures all over the world. While most know that Christmas stockings arose from the Dutch children's custom of leaving out their shoes to receive gifts, the origins of other Christmas decorations, like wreaths, is not so well known. In fact, Christmas wreaths came about from ancient people's worship of the evergreen holly. These people saw the evergreen as a symbol of eternal life because it stays green throughout the winter.