Recovering From A New Year's Day Party

New Year's Day Party means different things to everyone. For youthful partiers, wild town carousers and binge drinkers, January 1st is a day of rest, detox and struggling to overcome a brutal hangover.

The first day of the new year will be spent drinking lots of fluid, lying in bed and perhaps meandering to the couch to watch TV. For sports fans, January 1st is a day of college football, snacks and friendship.

For go-getters and agenda-setters, January 1st is a fresh start and the perfect day to start on those New Years resolutions. If your family is in town, you may be looking for activities to share with your relatives.

There are many New Year's Day activities for families to enjoy. If you live in a winter wonderland, you can bundle up and go ice skating, snow shoeing or cross-country skiing on January 1st, following up your chilly activity with a nice hot cocoa or coffee.

If braving the elements just isn't your thing, then why not start a family New Years tradition of bowling and feasting on pizza? This can be a great open invitation to all your cousins, siblings, in-laws, aunts and uncles too. Many families also enjoy going to an afternoon matinee the day after a rowdy New Year's Eve.

You can also combine this with a nice dinner out somewhere, but be sure to make reservations, buy your movie tickets in advance and arrive early to avoid all the hassle of a popular idea.

Many people like to use New Year's Day to turn a new leaf. Some like to gather their friends together and volunteer. Perhaps they'll serve food at a local soup kitchen, walk dogs at a nearby animal shelter or visit residents in nursing homes.

You may also volunteer a show of support for our troops by creating care packages for those brave soldiers who spent their holiday in Iraq and Afghanistan. A good place to look for opportunities near you is www.ivolunteer.org.

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Celebrating All Over Town With New Year's Eve Parties

New Year's Eve parties used to be celebrated at the homes of family and friends. However, since massive-scale parties are broadcast on television for all to see, there is a longing in many Americans to hit the streets and live large for the night.

Whether you plan on bundling up in Times Square or wearing that slinky dress to a Miami gala event, there are many options for the New Year's Eve party hunter. Yet, beware. The only way to orchestrate such an elaborate trip is to book everything well in advance to avoid any disappointment, as tickets usually sell out months in advance!

Some people would rather attend New Year's Eve parties someplace warm. South Beach New Year's Eve is simply out of this world! New Years Miami promises sightings of celebrities -- like Lindsay Lohan, who is hosting the New Year's Eve South Beach party at The Mansion, where you can enjoy unlimited premium bar drinks for $200.

Celebrity John Legend will be hanging out at Prive Nightclub this year, which is selling tickets for $200 as well. Or you can hang out at the Opium Hard Rock Nightclub for $100, Louis Nightclub for $200 or SET Nightclub for $250, all of which include all premium bar drinks. For more information, check out www.sobenewyears.com.

There are celebrations pretty much everywhere, so it's up to you what sort of New Year's Eve parties you'd like to attend. For some people, it's all about the warm weather and the beaches.

After all, why not start the new year with a pleasant vacation an escape from the dreary winter weather? For others, it's about New Year traditions and experiencing the Big Apple like they've seen on television since they were kids.

For sports fanatics, it's about the big game and tailgating with friends. One thing is for sure: you do not want to spend this New Year's Eve sitting home with a box of wine! Start this year off motivated and adventurous -- and good things are sure to come your way!

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Making Your Decision For A New Years Eve Event

Finding the right New Years Eve event can be difficult, with so many options out there, and it takes a bit of soul-searching to know what factors matter most. Hardy partiers want the most people, the most booze and the most epic celebration, so only Times Square will do.

Older couples want the most reasonable prices, least amount of travel time and finest food, so a fireworks cruise is more their speed. Over-zealous partiers who've experienced one too many hangovers may opt to just sleep the night away, while new homeowners might feel a house gathering is in order.

Here is an overview of some holiday events that might satiate your craving for "the party of the year."

Another type of New Years Eve event is a parade. Some localities have their parades bright and early on New Years Day, but you can also sometimes find illuminated parades on New Year's Eve.

Anchorage, Alaska is well-known for their Torchlight Parade and Fireworks Display, which involves skiers and snowboarders cascading down Mt. Alyeska carrying torches. In Dallas, Texas, the Cotton Bowl Parade takes place on December 31st at 3 pm traversing from Ross Avenue and Pearl Street to the West End.

Boston has one of the best New Year's Eve parades beginning at 5:30 pm at the Hynes Convention Center, migrating to the Boston Commons, where there will be a magical 12-minute fireworks display. Seattle and NYC sometimes host parades as well.

Sometimes a New Years Eve event is just all-around undesirable. When caught between the prospects of attending a poorly planned party, an expensive club event or navigating anywhere out in the lousy weather, many people opt to just stay home.

The older you get, the less adventurous your New Year's Eve plans usually become. You're tired, you don't want to spend the money and that bottle of champagne you received as a gift last year is just fine.

Perhaps you've even thought ahead and purchased your favorite TV box set or maybe you'll settle for a Monty Python, Twilight Zone or M*A*S*H rerun marathon. You'll probably watch the anticlimax of the ball dropping at midnight and toast your partner before nodding off, but at least you won't be terribly hung-over or broke the next day.

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Many Similarities Between Christmas And Hanukkah Traditions

Christmas and Hanukkah both have their own sets of traditions, in which Christian and Jewish people, respectively, participate. According to the Jewish Hanukkah story, Maccabees and his people went to the temple and cleaned and repaired it.

The temple had been looted and destroyed during the Maccabees revolt. After the repairs and cleaning was done, the people wanted to rededicate the temple. They had to light the Hanukkah menorah for the rededication ceremony.

However, there was only a small flask of oil available that would only burn for one night. They decided to light the menorah. The oil kept burning for eight days, just enough time for them to get more oil.

This miracle is commemorated by the Jewish people by lighting candles on the Hanukkah Menorah for each day of Hanukkah, which is eight days. Christmas, on the other hand, is the Christian holiday that celebrates the birth of Jesus.

While holiday foods may be traditional, you do not have to participate in Christmas and Hanukkah to enjoy them. One Hanukkah traditional food is jelly doughnuts, which do not have a hole but are very popular in Israel.

The doughnuts are called sufganiyot and are sold over the month before Hanukkah begins. To make the doughnuts, one drops the dough into hot oil without shaping it. The result is a funny and odd shaped doughnut that is then covered in powdered cinnamon or sugar.

While these doughnuts are not traditional in the Christmas holiday, cookies can be found in great abundance during the Christian celebration.

For both Christmas and Hanukkah, people exchange gifts and cards as part of their celebrations. Many traditions are largely celebrated within both the Hanukkah and Christmas holidays.

Both are religious holidays, however Christmas is also celebrated by individuals who do not participate in the religious traditions. For many, Christmas is more of a cultural celebration.

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Surprise Your Friends And Family With Gift Baskets For Christmas

Gift baskets for Christmas are easy to arrange for the special people in your life. With gift baskets there are many options, allowing you to customize and create the ideal gift to please the receiver of your gift.

For example, you can find out their ideal gift by discreetly asking questions about their favourite foods, clothes and movies. For example, you may find out a friend loves to work in the garden, so you can buy a new set of garden tools to include in your gift basket, to replace their old worn out tools.

The biggest surprise is to receive a gift they will use every day, like garden tools in their garden. This is why you should make discreet enquiries, before you decide what to include in your gift baskets for Christmas.

If you know the receiver is a coffee aficionado, then discreetly find out their favourite choice of coffee and include it in your Christmas gift basket. You can include personalized coffee mugs and even a coffee maker, depending on your budget.

If you know your sweetheart loves chocolate covered strawberries, then place an order at the gourmet food store and surprise her on Christmas Day. It will look like a Valentine gift, but it will be much better. Adding a bunch of red and white roses, will add the icing on the cake.

There is no end of ideas for customized gift baskets for Christmas.

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Celebrating Christmas With The Holiday Feast

The holiday feast of winter solstice dates back roughly three centuries preceding Christ. In celebration of the harvest, people ate whatever was in abundance, while also taking a moment to pray to the gods for a good season coming up.

While we may not eat the same things, the communal meal on Christmas is still a focal point of our festive gatherings and one that borrows from many other cultural traditions.

Colonial America had a different sort of Christmas day meal. Culinary historians say the holiday feasts of 1769 included eggnog, Virginia ham, biscuits, corn pudding, chicken and oyster pie, pumpkin chips, cucumber pickles, mincemeat pie, Filbert pudding, honey flummery, plum pudding, coffee and walnuts.

In Williamsburg, feasters also ate cheese wafers, chilled crab gumbo, mushroom dressing, turkey, celery with pecans, ambrosia and drank wassail. In Mount Vernon, onion soups, half-shell oysters, broiled salt roe herring, boiled rockfish and baked acorn squash were readily available.

On the side, they had candied sweet potatoes, spiced peaches, Port wine, cranberries, cherry pie, apple pie, plums in wine jelly, roast turkey and hominy pudding too. Each table showcased a bountiful harvest from all the hard work America's earliest pioneers underwent.

The holiday feast just wouldn't be complete without Christmas candy! While today chocolate and candy are associated with everything from Christmas to Halloween, to Valentine's Day to Easter, these treats were reserved only for holiday season treats for the wealthy because sugar was very expensive.

The candy canes we so commonly chomp on today were originally manufactured as lozenges, and as medicine to treat coughs, colds and infections. Today, down the aisles of supermarkets, there are Christmas-themed chocolates, Peeps, M&Ms, Snickers bars, foil wrapped Santas, suckers and candies of all types marketed as Christmas gifts.

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The Many Different Traditions Of Hanukkah And Christmas

Two popular holidays, Hanukkah and Christmas are observed very differently. The Hanukkah holiday is observed for eight days by the Jewish people in commemoration of the victory of Maccabees and the rededication of the Temple of Jerusalem.

The Christmas holiday, however, is observed for one day, December 25th. Hanukkah comes on the 25th day of Kislev, or in the third month on the Hebraic calendar, which is usually in late December according to the Gregorian calendar.

Other names that depict this festival include: Feast of Maccabees, Festival of Lights and Feast of Dedication. The word "Hanukkah" means dedication in Hebrew. Friends and families partake in Hanukkah gift giving on every day of the eight-day celebration.

During the Hanukkah holiday, there are many traditions that are followed. One of them is the dreidel, which is a four-sided spinning top. The spinning top was a popular decoy for Jews during the religious persecutions when Antiochus was ruling.

When they assembled to study the Torah, they had to be very careful. If a soldier appeared, they would pretend that they were playing with it in order to avoid persecution.

Hanukkah and Christmas share a lot in their history, celebrations and traditions. Traditional religious celebrations are an important part of the Christmas holiday and participated in by many.

Hanukkah gift giving and exchanging cards are part of this holiday. Parents give their children gifts as an incentive to study the Torah, while adults give each other gifts and cards to strengthen their relationships.

Christmas cards, like Hanukkah cards, are also a very popular way to spread the holiday spirit. Both Hanukkah and Christmas are steeped in tradition.

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Planning A Christmas Party For Kids

Everyone knows that kids absolutely love Christmas, as there are lots of presents, visits with Santa Claus and no school. There are some really great ideas for a Christmas party for kids that work perfectly if you have a neighborhood full of children, and the grown-ups will probably have just as much fun as the children.

After running around having all that fun in the cold they will probably appreciate going to the next Christmas party house where they can have their fill of hot chocolate and other goodies.

At this house you may also want to include some type of craft making, perhaps they can make their own Christmas party decorations and ornaments. Have several different materials laid out so that they have plenty to choose from. You may also want to consider having a small tree here so that everyone can add their decorations to the tree.

By the time the scavenger hunt is over everyone will probably need a pit stop at yet another house, where there could be more hot chocolate and some musical fun. A home with a piano would be great, yet it is not necessary.

Just have a bunch of sheet music and start a Christmas party for kids sing-a-long. Perhaps a nice fire in the fireplace for some serious marshmallow roasting would be in order as well. This gives everyone a chance to talk about what a great time they have had.

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Better Places To Celebrate New Years Day

After a wild New Year's Eve, many Americans make it one of their New Year traditions to plan a New Years Day gathering. The sooner you lift yourself out of bed and take steps toward hangover recovery, the better -- even if it does feel more natural to wallow in bed for the entire day, nursing a headache and greedily gulping down water.

The next-day event you plan all depends upon how hard you hit the town the night before, how late you intend to stay up and what state you anticipate your friends will be in.

The Tournament of Roses parade is the most famous of all New Years Day parades, which features big floats made of stunning floral arrangements and numerous entertainers.

Following the parade is the most-watched New Year's football game -- the Rose Bowl. In keeping with tradition and the history of the Rose Bowl, the University of Southern California will play another top-notch Big 10 conference team.

The pleasant 60-degree weather is another reason to head to California for the holidays. Visitors to this region also like to golf, shop and go out to brunch.

If you're looking for something warm and tropical on New Years Day, then you can't find a better after party than Waikiki Beach in Honolulu, Hawaii. You can enjoy breakfast at Lulu's overlooking the ocean and a day of beach activities.

Whether you're in the mood to catch some sun on the beach, surf the roaring waves or paddle around in an outrigger canoe, you'll enjoy this pleasant change of scenery and calm atmosphere.

Sunset booze cruises and bars like Duke's or Rum Fire are popular hangout options come nightfall.

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Planning Ideas For A New Years Eve Party For Kids

Forget fancy gowns and champagne toasts this year. Sometimes hosting a New Years Eve party for kids can be a welcome respite from overpaying for drinks, running around town on one of the busiest nights of the year and worrying about nursing a New Year's Day hangover.

Besides, you only have so many years to decide how your children spend their holidays. Soon they'll be running off to teen parties and college bashes, leaving you wishing you had just one more year to spend with them. Here are some tips for creating the perfect party.

Naturally, a New Years Eve party for kids will require some supplies. Hats, party blowers, noisemakers and glow-in-the-dark items are kid-friendly additions meant to ring in the New Year. Many parents decorate with balloons filled with confetti, streamers and festive table cloths.

Party crackers or party poppers can be purchased in the holiday section of stores like Wal-mart. You may want to have the kids make their own "Happy New Year" signs to hang in the living room for added ambiance. All these elements can contribute to a festive celebration.

At your New Years Eve party for kids, make sure to stop the activities just before the ball will drop in Times Square. Be sure the TV is on and ready for the countdown. Have the kids gather their party hats and noisemakers. Pour the kids' glasses of Sparkling Grape Juice and set them aside.

At the stroke of midnight, you may want to tell the kids to run outside and shout "Happy New Years" at the top of their lungs (so the decibel level inside doesn't blow the roof off!) Once the wildness of the celebration has quieted down a little, have the kids put on their PJs and watch a movie, which should get them calmed down and ready for bed.

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Planning For Your Christmas Holiday Party

The holidays are a time to remember the joys of Christmas past, while dreaming up great ideas for Christmas present; just like you would do as a kid, except then those new ideas were usually on a much larger scale.

Actually, maybe not, as party ideas allow you to think about the many different Christmas party themes that you can come up with and then start planning your holiday party, using any one of a dozen different ideas.

Utilizing this kind of Christmas party idea makes it viable for either an at home party or one at a rented hall or ballroom.

The Christmas party theme should include some great decorations, such as some all white Christmas trees, twinkling white lights everywhere and possibly one of the outlined carriage yard ornaments with white lights on it, making any site a great place for a holiday party.

You can incorporate what you plan on serving for food into the Christmas party decorations by choosing white foods, such as rice pudding and white chocolate mousse or fondue. You can serve white wine and punch along with different types of white sodas for those who don't drink.

To make your holiday party more special, use white poinsettias on white table cloths, with white napkins, white plates and white serving dishes, and anything else that goes along with your festive party theme.

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Party Ideas For Christmas Day

During the holidays, one of the most popular items on many people's "to-do" list includes planning a Christmas family party, which can be a great deal of fun. There are so many different party ideas that you can explore for this particular holiday; the possibilities are endless.

Anything that can make the holidays a little calmer is a great help. If you would normally bake cookies or other goodies, either as desserts or gifts, then you can send out a Christmas party invitation to each of your friends inviting them to your house for a cookie baking and decorating party.

This is one of those really great and fun party ideas where the guests can bring their favorite Christmas cookie recipe and the necessary ingredients to your house to get a head start on their holiday baking. Be sure to include the kids by having them decorate one batch of cookies while you and your friends get another one ready to bake.

Party ideas do not have to be centered on one particular religion or event on Christmas. Perhaps last year everyone was reluctant to invite a neighbor over because their religion was different; maybe they celebrate Hanukkah instead.

So this year your Christmas party invitations could include those neighbors by adding a few things that may make it more comfortable for everyone.

It does not have to be much, just a few simple touches such as goodie bags for the kids that include dreidels and gelt (gold wrapped chocolate coins); or even serving one traditional food such as potato latkes.

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Victorian Themes For Christmas Parties

This year when you are celebrating the Christmas holidays with your friends and families, you should ponder the beginnings of our customs. Did you know that the Victorians started the many traditions of the season?

The Victorian Christmas parties focused on the church and their children, as well as on big family dinners and celebrating with friends. For a fun and different Christmas party theme, perhaps you should step back in time with truly Victorian festivities.

The Victorian Christmas decorations were not complete without decorating the fireplace mantels with boughs of holly that also included clusters of different fruits, such as pineapples, pomegranates, oranges, apples and berries. Staircases were wrapped with garland and lots of burgundy ribbon and bows would complete the Christmas parties theme.

Of course it wouldn't be complete without a Christmas meal authentic to the Victorian era; for this you will need to include food such as pheasant, venison or roast goose.

Sugarplums, made with butter, cream, sugar, candied cherries, dates, prunes and vanilla were a favorite at Victorian Christmas parties. They were also partial to oysters and mincemeat with mulled wine, and for dessert fruit and plum pudding would finish up the feast.

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Celebrating With Christmas Party Games

Party games can be a fun addition to any party; you can even tie them in with Christmas party themes. Of course, it is not necessary to have a particular theme in mind when coming up with game ideas, as there are many different holiday games around that are great fun for kids and adults, or both.

If you need another idea for adult party games, then consider one called "ice breakers." You can write down a bunch of generic Christmas related questions or statements such as, (blank) has gone Christmas caroling, or (blank) has made Snow Angels, or something along those lines.

The guests take the list around to other guests and try to get someone's name next to each statement. This is a great game for a group of people who really do not know each other that well. Check the Internet for other adult related holiday party game ideas, as there are many sites that have this information.

For a kids Christmas party consider having something similar to pin the tail on the donkey, but change it to pin the nose on Rudolph or pin the star to the top of the Christmas tree.

Party games for kids can also include taking a small decorative jar and filling it with Christmas candy (that you have already counted) and have the kids write down their guess as to the number of pieces in the jar. The child who guesses closest to the correct amount gets the jar full of candy.

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Ideas For Christmas Holiday Parties

Planning any type of a party can be time consuming and stressful, yet planning holiday parties can be even more so.

When you are making it a Christmas family get-together, with the in-laws thrown into the mix, it can seem even more frustrating and intimidating. However, keep the faith, as there are some things that you can do that should keep the stress levels down.

With Christmas family holiday parties it can be a little tricky when it comes to serving alcohol, as it may prompt someone to mention things better left unsaid.

In order to avoid this consider serving something like an eggnog or setting up a fancy coffee bar; complete with different flavored creams and a few liqueurs. This adds to the festiveness of a party but will limit the intake of alcohol, which may help to avoid any unnecessary unpleasantness.

Holiday parties can also be a little difficult when you have to come up with a gift for Christmas party attendees that includes family. Sometimes people may feel that someone else got a better present, etc.

There are a few ways around this, as you can just pass out gifts for the children and let them open them and give small, similar presents for all of the adults to take home and open, perhaps something that you have made yourself, or perhaps a goodie plate with cookies and candy or similar type items.

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Planning With Beach Ideas For Christmas Parties

It is only natural to think about cold weather when you think about Christmas; after all Santa lives at the North Pole. However, if you are looking for some good ideas for Christmas parties, then why consider a tropical Christmas party?

You know, think beach! For your party invitations you can do something like sending a message in a bottle with all of the party details. For the party decorations consider a tree skirt with a Hawaiian or Polynesian print. If you are unable to find one, then use plain white felt and decorate it with palm trees or shells.

If you need ideas for Christmas parties for kids, then consider having a Candy Land Christmas with candy cane and lollipop party decorations. The lollipops can be made by cutting out large circles and covering them with colored plastic wrap, attaching them to dowels and placing them around the yard and house.

Consider taking gumdrops and stringing them together to use as garland on the tree or other decorations for the party. A cute idea for each party invitation is to write the details on a piece of paper, roll it up like a scroll, cover it with colored plastic wrap, twist the ends and tie them with colorful ribbon or yarn.

Naturally, there are many other ideas for Christmas parties, such as a Winter Wonderland theme with white twinkling lights and fake snow as part of your decorations.

Another festive party theme could be decorating with Gingerbread people; with a little imagination you are sure to come up with many more ideas.

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Entertaining Your Family With Christmas Ideas

For those people who live in a warm climate, new and unique Christmas ideas may be difficult to come up with. In that case, there are some Christmas holiday party ideas that may work well to shake things up a bit if you want to try something different.

For instance, snow in the warmer climates is not a possibility, so you may want to consider creating a kind of snowy and cold Christmas.

A few Christmas ideas for making snow include taking a big piece of styrofoam and using a sharp paring knife to shave off some fluffy "bits" that you can put on your tree. Or you can combine 2/3 cups of liquid starch, 2 cups of soap flakes (you can make your own using a cheese grater and bar soap) and 3 tablespoons of water.

Combine the starch and the flakes, then add the water while blending with a beater. Once totally blended, you simply paint the mixture onto the tree branches.

One Christmas party game idea is to have snowball fights. Of course since it can't be real ones you can make your snowballs by wrapping several marshmallows together in plastic wrap and tying it closed or something similar.

There are many other Christmas ideas that you can use in a warm weather climate, just use your imagination.

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Thanksgiving Day Tradition With Ideal Gifts For Family Members

Consider starting a new Thanksgiving Day tradition by preparing a special, home made treat for the festivities, which can be given as a gift to the host or hostess.

If you need an idea for a gift for the family member or friend who is going to be preparing the Thanksgiving Day feast this year, then why not create an edible treat of some type to be served at dinner?

Fruit baskets are another idea for a great Thanksgiving gift; you can include the normal apples and oranges or opt for something more unique like different types of out-of-season berries.

Or if you do decide on apples, include some caramel for dipping, for strawberries add chocolate or anything along those lines, making it a new Thanksgiving Day tradition. If you decide on oranges, you could include little packages of spiced cider, and orange slices can be used as a garnish once it has been mixed.

Being edible is not a prerequisite for creating perfect Thanksgiving gifts; giving anything that you have made yourself is considered extremely thoughtful and is sure to be enjoyed by the recipient.

If you have a flower or vegetable garden, you can always create a beautiful centerpiece using the products of your labor; something that just may become a new family Thanksgiving Day tradition.

Even if you do not have your own garden, just stop by a florist or a farmers market and pick out several items that represent the Thanksgiving holiday and create a unique and memorable gift for the host.

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Better Family Entertainment With Thanksgiving Games

If you are looking for a way to pass the time while waiting for guests to arrive and sitting down to your traditional Thanksgiving dinner, why not start a new family tradition by playing some Thanksgiving games or doing some crafts?

While most families do have traditions that they observe at Thanksgiving you can always shake things up by playing a game or two.

A good way to incorporate Thanksgiving crafts into your day is to use them in preparation for some Thanksgiving games. For example, here is a good one for kids.

Have them find and cut out pictures of turkeys from magazines, or they can draw their own, and then stick them on several different index cards. On Thanksgiving Day have everyone leave the room and then hide the cards, then have the kids come back in and go turkey hunting; the one that finds the most cards wins.

There are so many different Thanksgiving games that you can play but one for the whole family is always a good choice.

For this one have everyone sit around in a circle and the first person will start with something like, "the Thanksgiving food I like the most is turkey" and the next person repeats what they said and adds their own item.

It continues around, yet if someone says it incorrectly they are out. The game ends when one person is finally able to state the whole Thanksgiving menu perfectly.

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Celebrating Family Traditions With Thanksgiving Turkey

Cooking a Thanksgiving turkey is one of the traditions that many people observe when they serve dinner on this holiday. In the United States, there are a few different reasons as to why the tradition of turkey has endured.

Some believe it was because Americans preferred using large birds when they had a crowd to feed, and because turkeys were fresh and affordable. Of course, another reason was that they could be slaughtered without the farmer having to endure a big economical setback.

Both ham and brined pork were available but many felt that pork was not fitting for such a feast and Thanksgiving Day prayers. Feasting on a Thanksgiving turkey was a better choice, and it was in keeping with the British custom that was introduced to the new world by the early settlers.

The turkey seemed to be the best bet also because the chicks born in the spring would have several months to grow and fatten up before taking the place of honor at the traditional Thanksgiving Day dinner.

By the time Abraham Lincoln declared Thanksgiving a national holiday in 1863, the Thanksgiving turkey was already at center stage, and for most it was already a family tradition.

There are even some who believe that due to the popularity of "A Christmas Carol" by Charles Dickens", showing a newly transformed Scrooge giving the gift of the holiday turkey to the Cratchit family, the bird's status as the center of the Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday feasts was forever cemented.

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Families Celebrating Traditions Of Thanksgiving

While most families have their own Thanksgiving traditions, there are still some elements of the traditions of Thanksgiving that are similar all across the nation.

As the celebrations begin it can add a little extra warmth to the season if you remember those holidays spent with loved ones in the past and also incorporate some of traditions of your ancestors, which will make it that much better.

Celebrating the plentiful harvest was the original concept of the North American Thanksgiving, but it goes back even further to the 5th century when the use of cornucopias was considered a symbol of fertility, food and abundance.

It is obvious that certain celebrations are key to our traditions of Thanksgiving even today, even though they are not exact expressions of the traditions of our ancestors. Yet our current celebrations do reflect those customs and have continued to evolve over the centuries.

During the 20th century manufacturers began making commercialized items to be used as Thanksgiving decorations, such as little dishes and whatnots in the traditional Thanksgiving shape of a turkey.

Next came the personalized name place holders and elaborate centerpieces during the 1920's, followed by paper goods with Thanksgiving designs in the 40's and 50's.

While there has been an increase in the number and variances in the items used as decorations, you can choose to decorate your home anyway you wish in order to keep or compliment your own traditions of Thanksgiving.

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Knowing More About Thanksgiving Family Traditions

The Thanksgiving holiday is full of family traditions, like preparing a big Thanksgiving Day feast and all of the trimmings, using a special table cloth, silverware and dishes, drawing names for Christmas presents, or getting the kids involved in games. However, according to a few surveys, there are some traditions that are more popular than others.

Next in the line of family traditions is football. Some celebrate it by tossing around the ball in a family game while others simply enjoy watching the game on television. It began on Thanksgiving Day in 1876, with the first intercollegiate championship game being played and has become as popular as the traditional Thanksgiving dinner.

It has even been said that Thanksgiving was declared a holiday just so that Americans could sit around and watch the game together.

You probably already have certain family traditions that you observe at Thanksgiving, yet you can still come up with new ways of celebrating and starting your own, unique family customs.

Remember that it does not have to be anything elaborate, as long as it celebrates the spirit of sharing and giving thanks for your blessings in life.

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Sharing Your New Thanksgiving Traditions With Someone Without Family

Thanksgiving is actually celebrated in many different ways around the world, although it is known by different names. In Israel they celebrate Succoth.

The Moon Festival is the name for the celebrations in the Far East, and in South India it is known as Pongal. While many families celebrate with a traditional turkey dinner, there is no reason why new Thanksgiving traditions cannot be added to the time honored Thanksgiving customs.

If looking for new Thanksgiving traditions, then try putting your turkey into the oven to roast early in the morning and then getting everyone up to watch the famous Macy's Thanksgiving parade.

Your mouth will be watering with all of the wonderful aroma's filling the house and you can run to the kitchen to baste the turkey during the breaks.

New Thanksgiving traditions can be anything that you and your family want them to be, and one idea is to expand on the already existing theme of sharing. Not everyone is fortunate to have family near them, or even have any family at all.

So consider inviting someone to share your Thanksgiving if you know that they will be alone. Show just exactly what Thanksgiving is all about to your children. Invite someone without family to celebrate with into your home; someone who may otherwise spend this holiday in sadness and solitude.

Perhaps this is one tradition that you can instill in your children and they will pass this important message on to their children as well.

To read more Sharing Your New Thanksgiving Traditions With Someone Without Family

The Many Ways Of Celebrating Thanksgiving

There are numerous ways of celebrating Thanksgiving and one way to see the differences is to look at the way other countries celebrate. An American Thanksgiving typically means staying inside to keep warm, cooking a huge feast and watching football.

Plentiful crops are represented by a cornucopia table centerpiece that spills over with the fruits of the harvest, and people decorate their homes with colorful pumpkins and squashes.

In Israel they celebrate Sukkoth and instead of staying indoors they build a shelter and head outside for the holiday, while commemorating the 40 years that the Israelites spent wandering the desert.

Of course there are other ways of celebrating Thanksgiving and expressing the true holiday spirit of sharing as well, and that is by donating time at a soup kitchen. Thanksgiving is understandably one of the busiest times at a soup kitchen and it can be one of the perfect Thanksgiving activities in which the whole family can participate.

Why not make up a few trays of snacks and goodies and distribute them to the police stations, fire stations or hospitals in your area as a way of celebrating Thanksgiving and sharing with your community.

Or you can make a few plates and take them to a retirement home, or perhaps an orphanage or a shelter for abused woman, anywhere where there are people who may be alone, without their family members to celebrate with. It would be greatly appreciated.

To read more The Many Ways Of Celebrating Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving Gift Basket For A Day To Remember

Thanksgiving gift basket is an ideal and thoughtful gift to give to family and closest friends, being together at this special time of the year. Even though Thanksgiving is only a few weeks before Christmas, there are times when some family members cannot all be together for Christmas and may come to celebrate the festive season for the Thanksgiving holidays.

Some families, like to celebrate both Thanksgiving and Christmas Day, to bring everyone together to the one location. They may even arrange for Thanksgiving to be in one location and Christmas Day in another location.

You can buy a thanksgiving gift basket online or look at what is available in many stores. I like to see the product infront of me before I hand over my money. So I buy all my gift baskets from my favourite stores, even though I may be paying a couple of dollars more, rather than taking advantage of online specials.

I want to keep my peace of mind, knowing I will be buying exactly what I want for my friends and family.

I have heard stories from friends who have bought a gift online, and were disappointed with what they received. Unless you develop a relationship with a website, and you know they are reliable, then you can continue shopping online.

Spending time together with family and friends, giving and receiving gifts, helps to make the day much more enjoyable when giving out a custom made thanksgiving gift basket.

To read more Thanksgiving Gift Basket For A Day To Remember

Finding Cheaper Alternative Ingredients For Cheap Healthy Recipes

Cheap healthy recipes can be made with cheaper alternative ingredients. In these days of people losing their jobs in their millions, many people are looking for better ways to stretch the dollar further and still eat healthy and delicious food. This is still possible, when switching expensive food ingredients with cheaper alternatives and buying food in bulk.

You can buy food like staples in bulk, much cheaper than when buying individual items. For example when buying rice, wholemeal pasta and other staples, always buy in large quantities to last a long time. You can use these staples, as a basis for many healthy and nutritious recipes.

You can also look for alternative and cheaper food items than your favourite more expensive choices. For example, when buying your favourite choice of steak, you may notice the price has increased over the last year. A good idea, is to look for cheaper meat in the meat section of the food store, to use as an alternative to the more expensive meat.

Another way to save on your shopping budget, is to go to the food store less often. Write a list of the food you need, before you leave home and buy only those items.

Do not buy food you will not eat and watch it rot away, just because it was available on a discount price. Quite often, the reason an item is on a discount price, is because no one is buying it, the warehouse is full and the stock needs to be sold.

Buying food only once or twice a month, and buying in bulk will save you plenty of money in these tough economic times. You can still buy quality food with the best nutrition, you just need to find cheaper alternatives to use with your cheap healthy recipes.

To read more Finding Cheaper Alternative Ingredients For Cheap Healthy Recipes

Better Tips And Ideas For Holiday Gift Baskets

Holiday gift baskets should always include the best gift ideas to suit the preferences of the recipient of your gift. There are many ways you can make a gift interesting and unpredictable.

If the recipient of your gift is a guy, then you may not want to give him what every one else will give him on Christmas Day like a bottle of cheap after shave. You should make an effort to find out what he really wants for Christmas, and then include it in your gift basket.

The same thought should be given for any recipient. I have received gifts that I have never used from people that do not know me very well and looks like they did not make the effort to find out what I really wanted as a gift. Those that did make the effort, I was pleasantly surprised.

My husband knows I love chocolate covered strawberries for Valentines Day. Every year, he surprises me with a box of my most favourite delicacies. He does not tell me he is about to buy them for me, but he never ceases to surprise me when he presents me with my most favourite gift. Even though we have been married for a few years now, he still buys me the best and most pleasant Valentines present.

There are times when you may not know their preferences, so you need to make discreet enquiries without letting the cat out of the bag. For example, you can ask general questions about favourite food choices and then include those in the gift basket.

Making the effort to make a custom gift basket, shows the effort you have gone to please the receiver of your gift. Rather than giving the same dull gift as everyone else has given, you have instead given a thoughtful gift that will surprise the recipient.

After all, the best surprises always make the best holiday gift baskets.

To read more Better Tips And Ideas For Holiday Gift Baskets

Eating Better Food To Increase Metabolism

Increase metabolism by eating the right foods and exercising daily. This does not mean you only eat carrots and celery sticks and spend hours in the gym every day. But it does mean that you can make adjustments to the food you eat and increase exercise over a period of time. Making these changes will help reduce your body weight and improve your health and fitness.

You can start by looking at the food you cook in your kitchen. If you like cooking with high calorie foods, then look for low calorie alternative ingredients. For example, rather than adding a high calorie salad dressing to a salad, use a low calorie salad dressing instead. Another popular cooking ingredient is tomato sauce which is also high in calories. There is a low calorie tomato sauce available in food stores and health food shops.

Taking part in a low calorie diet, means you are eating less calories and therefore less calories need to be burned. You can look at your food and see if you can find alternatives that will help reduce your weight.

For example, if you like eating chicken, then remove the skin. Most of the fat in chicken meat is in the skin. You can buy skinless chicken at many butchers and food stores, or remove the skin before you cook chicken.

The same with beef and lamb steaks. Before you cook, remove all the fat and you will have fat free meat. You can also buy lamb and beef with the fat already removed, although the prices are slightly higher, it means less time in your kitchen preparing meat for cooking.

Losing weight and eating the right foods can help to increase metabolism.

To read more Eating Better Food To Increase Metabolism

How To Cook A Quick 30 Minute Meal

30 minute meal is easy to prepare when you have all the ingredients lined up and ready to cook.

The secret to your success is to use easy and quick recipes, with ingredients always available in your kitchen. For example, depending on your food choices, you should always have some meat, vegetables, herbs and seasonings.

Once you arrive home, you are exhausted and do not want to spend two long hours in the kitchen, preparing your ingredients and cooking. You want to serve your family a delicious and nutritious meal, every night.

Especially when you have been told that guests will be arriving in an hour or so and you have nothing cooked. This is your opportunity to cook the 30 minute meal. If you follow the recipe, you should have the meal prepared, cooked and ready for serving within 30 minutes.

Many of the ingredients can be changed, and improved. For example if you want a low fat meal, you can remove the skin from the chicken or buy skinless chicken breasts from the food store. There are also low calorie tomato paste, to use in a low fat meal.

This is the kind of delicious meal, you can make to cook and place on your table within 30 minutes. You can cook for one or the whole family and guests.

These are the times when you want to make a 30 minute meal.

To read the recipe How To Cook A Quick 30 Minute Meal

Increasing Your Variety With A Carrot Salad Recipe

Carrot salad recipe is rather popular in my household. Every time I cook a meal, I like to place a side salad, which almost always includes carrots. A salad helps to make the meal much more enjoyable, letting you enjoy the variety of flavours and tastes, making the overall meal much more edible, especially if the meal contains chicken, roast lamb or turkey.

Carrots contain many useful nutrients and make an ideal addition to any home cooked meal. There are many ways you can cook carrots. They can be shredded, boiled in a stew and added as cut pieces to roasted meat.

I always buy a couple of bagfuls, every time I visit the store. They are always delicious and do not taste as if they have been treated with any chemicals, as they are organic carrots.

There was a time when I stopped buying carrots, because they would smell rather odd, as if they had been treated with some strange chemicals. But when I saw organic carrots at the health food store, I put them against my nose and did not smell any chemicals, so I bought a small number of them for my salads.

I felt like a child with a new toy. I decided to start using carrots in my cooking and salads immediately. They tasted rather delicious and seem to have added more natural flavours and introduced a rather new taste to my salads.

I now seem to add organic carrots to almost all my salads, these days.

To read more Increasing Your Variety With A Carrot Salad Recipe

Organic Fair Trade Coffee Is Helping Farmers Receive A Fair Price

Organic fair trade coffee is now available in some specialty coffee shops and in selected food stores. As most people know, most coffee originates from poor countries in Africa where farmers are struggling to make a living, when they sell their coffee beans to large corporations at very low prices.

A relatively new concept has now been developed where people can choose to buy fair trade coffee beans and even fair trade chocolate, to support farmers develop their farming business and receive fair prices for their produce.

To label a product fair trade, it will have to be independently certified, to confirm the farmers received a fair price for the product.

There are not many places selling organic fair trade coffee. I have seen organic fair trade chocolate being sold at some supermarkets, quite often high up, on the top shelf, and you have to search for it.

Some specialty coffee shops sell organic fair trade coffee beans, but most often you have to place a special request for it. My specialty coffee shop always has some for me, cause they know I will buy it at least once a month.

As I always buy organic food from the health food store around the corner, I am not fazed by the slightly higher price for organic food, as I know I will be getting quality food. The health food store is rather large, has a number of cashiers and has plenty of organic food, including fresh fruit and vegetables.

When making my coffee in the morning, I know I am helping farmers in poor countries, by purchasing organic fair trade coffee.

To read more Organic Fair Trade Coffee Is Helping Farmers Receive A Fair Price

Balancing Your Diet With Fruit And Vegetable Ideas

Fruit and vegetable are essential food ingredients for a balanced diet. You can grow your own fruit and vegetables in your garden, to pick fresh off the branch produce and eaten on the same day.

If you need some herbs for your cooking, you can run outside to your garden and pick some fresh herbs and use them in your cooking on the same day.

Once you start using fresh produce from your garden, you will realise all the natural flavours you have been missing. A tomato fresh from the plant, tastes so much better than one bought from the store that was picked days, weeks or even months ago.

Much of the produce you buy from the food store may have been refrigerated for long periods and waiting for the demand to pick up, losing all the natural flavours in the meantime. This is often the reason why tomatoes, apples and other produce bought from a food store are often rather tasteless and without natural flavours

By growing your own herbs, fruit and vegetable you will enjoy more natural flavours and better tasting food, especially when you use them fresh from your garden and eaten on the same day.

When considering food, you also need to consider dietary needs and food allergies. There may be one or two diabetics in your family and you need to be careful how you make food that will be enjoyable but without a high sugar content.

For example, there may be a birthday party coming up and you need to arrange for a cake suitable for a diabetic. Many cake shops these days, make cakes that are without sugar, or with an extremely low sugar content. The cake will taste just as delicious, but without the high sugar content.

Having a member of the family, with special dietary needs, is an often difficult process to manage, but once you develop a pattern and know which food ingredients will not adversely affect their health, then you will know the perfect choice of ingredients when cooking meals.

After all, many dietitians recommend that diabetics eat plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables.

To read more Balancing Your Diet With Fruit And Vegetable Ideas

Surprising Your Best Friends With Wine And Cheese Gift Baskets

Wine and cheese gift baskets are rather popular these days, especially among drinkers of fine wines. Gift baskets can be given on almost any occasion. It may be Thanksgiving, Christmas Day or a graduation from college. Any excuse to celebrate with a glass of wine and cheese!

If you are thinking about presenting a gift to a friend and do not know what to give, then you can make a few enquiries without giving away the aim of your questions.

Based on the answers to your questions, then you may look at constructing a customized food gift basket. If one of the answers to your questions, include favourite choice of wine and cheese, then you can include one or two bottles of the favoured wine and cheese with a couple of wine glasses.

You may have received a box of chocolates and you may find this a rather predictable gift to give to someone else. By making an effort to create a surprise gift, shows you have thought through the idea and came up with a pleasant surprise with wine and cheese gift baskets.

To read more Surprising Your Best Friends With Wine And Cheese Gift Baskets

Creative Ideas For Birthday Cakes

Birthday cakes are often the center of attention of many birthday parties. On the cake, there may be birthday candles, icing, a birthday wish and even unique decorations with photos and favourite themes.

The theme may depend on the birthday person. For example, if your princess has graduated from college, then you may include her graduation photo, or an image of her first day at school, or at a very young age. You may even include a series of photos, contrasting her physical changes over the years, showing a series of her life in pictures.

If you are looking for more ideas for a birthday cake, there are plenty of ideas online. Alternatively, you can browse at the cakes at your local cake shop or bakery. At a dedicated cake shop you will have a larger range of choices and if you have specific requirements, many cake shops will bake a cake to your instructions.

For example, if your princess loves ice cream, and is a keen ice skater, then you can request a birthday cake made of ice cream with ice skating decorations. The cake shop may have images of the cake you are looking for or you may have images of the cake that you like to have for your princess on her birthday.

The best ideas, are often the basis of unexpected themes for a cake, so if you show your ideas at the cake shop, then you will get the cake to please your princess and all her friends at her birthday party.

After all, there are many children who love ice cream in their birthday cakes.

To read more Creative Ideas For Birthday Cakes

Keeping Your Bread Fresh With A Ceramic Bread Box

Ceramic bread box helps to prevent your fresh bread from going stale and moldy by providing a cool dry place, away from sunlight. As water and sunlight are the natural enemies of fresh bread, then you can help keep these elements away from your fresh bread by using a quality bread box.

You can buy a bread box online, from supermarkets and many department stores. I like to see exactly what I am buying so I like to buy my kitchen tools from department stores.

I hear many stories of people buying a kitchen item online and then being disappointed as the item looks different from the image they saw online. Even though there may be a guarantee, the hassle of sending something back and seeking a refund may not be worth your time and effort.

If your main aim is to keep your bread fresh and away from sunlight then you cannot lose with a ceramic bread box. You may cook your own bread with a bread machine, or buy freshly baked bread from the hot bread shop, but keeping the bread from going stale and moldy is best achieved with a quality bread box.

It may take a while to eat a whole loaf of bread and you need to ensure that all the natural flavours are maintained whenever you sit down for a family meal. Keeping your bread in a cool dry place helps to keep your bread fresh.

One of the best solutions is a ceramic bread box.

To read more Keeping Your Bread Fresh With A Ceramic Bread Box

Preparing Your Coffee With A Coffee Grinder

Coffee grinder loaded with your favourite whole coffee beans, is grinding away to make the best full flavoured freshly grounded coffee. You can then take your grounded coffee and place it in the pot of a coffee maker to make a full flavoured most delicious cup of coffee. You have not tasted a real cup of coffee, until you have tasted a full flavored freshly grounded coffee.

There are not many places where you can buy whole coffee beans, as many people do not want to bother with grinding coffee, but these people miss out on most of the flavours you are rewarded by grinding your own coffee. A little known fact, is that it only takes a few seconds to grind your coffee beans with a good quality coffee grinder.

You can find whole coffee beans in specialty coffee shops and in some of the larger department stores. But I find the best coffee beans in shops dedicated to selling the best coffee beans to use in a coffee grinder.

Taking a few seconds to grind the coffee beans, before placing the freshly ground coffee in the pot of a coffee maker, is not too much effort, when you are rewarded with the best full flavoured coffee every time.

Now you know the best steps you can take, to make a delicious cup of coffee every time. Another step you can take, to keep a warm cup of coffee when you need it, is to have a range of insulated coffee mugs, to help keep your coffee warm all day.

You can make your coffee with your coffee maker in the morning and pour the coffee in a number of coffee mugs, and drink from one coffee mug in the morning, another coffee mug at work and another insulated coffee mug when you arrive home. All coffee is maintained at the same temperature as long as you use insulated coffee mugs.

Using insulated coffee mugs, means that you do not need to keep making a new cup of coffee or reheating your pot. By grinding your coffee beans with a coffee grinder and then making the coffee with your coffee maker only once a day, helps to keep the taste and natural flavours of your coffee and avoids overcooking your coffee.

There is nothing better, than a hot cup of full falvoured coffee whenever you need it!

To read more Preparing Your Coffee With A Coffee Grinder

Start The New Day With Coffee And Norwegian Cookies

Norwegian cookies with coffee is the tradition among many Norwegians in this country. The cookie crumbles in your mouth, and the flavours are so delicious, you feel the coffee is the antidote to the sweet taste of the cookie.

Although some people drink tea with their cookies, the Norwegian tradition is to enjoy a cup of coffee with their delicious cookies.

You can make your own cookies, as the recipe is rather simple with basic ingredients like almonds, butter and cardamom. It is the simplicity of the recipe that makes for such a delicious reward for effort. If you do not have the time to bake your own cookies, you can always buy them from gourmet food stores.

The quietest part of the day, looking at the morning light coming through your window, can be enjoyed with a freshly brewed cup of coffee and a couple of Norwegian cookies.

To read more Start The New Day With Coffee And Norwegian Cookies

Fresh Strawberries For A Strawberry Shortcake

Strawberry shortcake is a delicious dessert, given after a main meal. There are not many excuses to give out something so delicious, as something that includes fresh strawberries, especially when strawberries are in season. I slice my strawberries, from my own organic garden, freshly picked on the day of cooking.

When my strawberry patch is full of strawberries, there are not many excuses I need to find, to make a number of delicious desserts with strawberries. If strawberries are out, then I use strawberry syrup, which is always available at my favourite gourmet food store.

When the time comes for a family celebration like a birthday or a graduation, we always like to offer a dessert of strawberry shortcake, after the main meal. We also make a second smaller cake and offer the low calorie version to satisfy those on a low calorie diet. Quiet often, both cakes are eaten rather quickly and none is left over for the next day, especially when we have invited guests.

As long as you use the main ingredients of light cake, strawberries and whipped cream, there should be no limits on additional ingredients to make strawberry shortcake.

To read more Fresh Strawberries For A Strawberry Shortcake

Buying Organic Wholesale To Reduce Your Organic Food Costs

Organic wholesale is an option when you are looking to purchase organic food at a reduced cost, than buying from a food store or a healthy food store. Many people complain about the relative high cost of organic food, but there are ways you can reduce your health food costs.

One option is to grow your own produce in your garden and use the produce to create meals with better nutrition and more natural flavours. More and more people are taking this option, to grow fresh, organic food to use in their cooking.

Maintaining a garden can be difficult, especially if the soil and climate conditions are extremely harsh.

But, there are solutions to almost every problem. For example, there may be an area in your yard with heavy clay soil. You can contact a local nursery for advice on how to change the composition of your soil.

If the climatic conditions are extreme, you can always arrange for the installation of a greenhouse in your backyard and grow all your organic produce inside a greenhouse.

Another option is to travel outside your town, where you will see signs outside farms, to buy local organic produce. For example, you may see a sign for organic oranges, freshly picked off the tree that morning. Unlike the oranges you buy at the store, which may have traveled in refrigerated transport over long distances and picked weeks or even months ago.

For those who do not have the time to look after their own garden, they can always purchase their organic food with organic wholesale.

To read more Buying Organic Wholesale To Reduce Your Organic Food Costs

Enhancing Your Recipes With Potato Chips

Potato chips are popular on many dinner tables around the world. There are even shops selling only fish and chips and make a roaring trade. Your options are to make your own chips in the kitchen, buy frozen chips from the food store or buy cooked chips from the fish and chips shop.

I like to cook my own chips, starting with whole potatoes, slice them, add a few herbs like oregano, sprinkled with hot pepper powder and I have a delicious side serving of hot chips, placed next to the salad. You can even make a version of a potato salad using potato chips as your potatoes.

You can serve potato chips as savories at a dinner party. Some guests may be vegetarians and cannot eat the roast lamb, but may gravitate to a couple of bowls of hot chips, made much more delicious with herbs and spices.

The success of your party depends on appealing to the tastes of all your guests. This is why you need to place a number of bowls of delicious salads, with a little card, stating the content of the salad. Some people may be on a diet and cannot eat certain ingredients in food due to their diet guidelines, so you need to ensure you cater to their dietary requirements.

Potato chips are often, the most popular food in many parties and family gatherings.

To read more Enhancing Your Recipes With Potato Chips

Expanding Your Variety Of Meals With Traditional Mexican Foods

Traditional Mexican foods are rather popular around my area. There are so many Mexican restaurants, and Mexican foods available in many food stores, that people are looking at ways to make their own Mexican meals using Mexican food ingredients. Many of the ingredients in Mexican food recipes are available in many food stores and are often rather inexpensive.

You can use simple ingredients like tomatoes, peppers, garlic and oregano in your Mexican dishes. Many of these ingredients can be grown in your own garden, in order to use garden fresh ingredients in your salads and meals. There is nothing more delicious, than adding freshly squeezed lemon juice on almost any salad, to make a bland salad much more exciting.

You can increase the variety of meals cooked in your kitchen, by using Mexican recipes to create delicious meals with ingredients that are easy to find in food stores and grow in your own garden.

A lot of these ingredients can also be grown in a greenhouse, to grow vegetables in climates where conditions are often harsh, like extreme weather and bad coil conditions. If you have heavy clay soil, you can seek advice from your local garden nursery, to improve the quality of your soil.

Keeping your own garden, can be hard work, but you are rewarded with fresh ingredients whenever you need them. You do not have to rush off to the store to buy some vegetables or herbs that were picked weeks ago. You can use garden fresh ingredients picked from your garden, on the same day.

As you can see there are many ways you can use fresh ingredients to make traditional mexican foods.

To read more Expanding Your Variety Of Meals With Traditional Mexican Foods

Tips And Ideas To Make A Vegetable Platter

Make a vegetable platter to please your guests. Apart from the usual, cheeses, dips, crackers and corn chips, a vegetable platter may be the best crowd pleaser at your party. You can purchase organic veggies from a food store or use your own vegetables from your garden.

If you know a number of your guests are vegans, then you may look at making a raw vegetable platter. I have seen people who are definitely not vegans, eat almost all the vegetable platter, nibbling all night until the platter is completely empty.

Apart from raw vegetables, you can also place another platter with pickled vegetables. I make my own pickles with cucumbers, green unripened tomatoes and peppers.

I even pickle some of my cabbages. I try to avoid the strong vinegar taste you get when you buy pickles from the store, by reducing the amount of vinegar in my pickles.

Knowing my guests love vegetables, I usually supply vegetables from my organic garden whenever I make a vegetable platter.

If you are looking for more ideas to please your guests, you may think about the expectations of your guests. You can find out, without the need to ask directly, what you will place on your platter. You may find out one of your guests loves cucumber, so do not forget to place pieces of cut cucumber and a cucumber dip nearby.

You may place a selection of crackers and corn chips near the dips, for your guests to use with their dips. Many people love cheese with their vegetables, so place a selection of low fat to normal fat cheeses with a little card nearby describing the type of cheese.

Of course, you do not have to place only vegetable and cheeses on your party platters. You can make another platter, with meat selections including sliced salami and small pieces of cooked meat.

The main aim of your party is to meet the needs of all your guests. Some guests are vegetarian, most are not. Even those who are not vegetarian, may gravitate to the vegetarian platter. Knowing the expectations of your guests can go a long way when you make a vegetable platter.

To read more Tips And Ideas To Make A Vegetable Platter

Creative Party Planning Ideas For Halloween

Party planning ideas include the party theme, party decorations and enough food to feed all your guests. If you are holding a dinner party, where the food is the main event, then you need to consider the needs and requirements of your guests.

Good planning means you take into account allergy and dietary needs of your invited guests. There may be a number of vegetarians, people on low fat, low carb diets while other guests may have an allergy to certain food ingredients like nuts and wheat.

This is why you need to contact your guests, prior to the dinner party, to confirm their dietary requirements. Knowing how to please your guests, is one of the main ingredients of successful party planning ideas.

It may be your little princess is about to turn three years old and you want all her friends from her playgroup to come and celebrate her birthday. Childrens parties are usually held in the afternoon, so be prepared for parents bringing their children early, and be prepared to be ready with everything, early.

If the theme is a Halloween party, then you need to supply Halloween party themed decorations, games and food. Good ideas may include scary candy, painting their faces with Halloween monsters, reading ghost stories, hunting halloween treasures(Halloween candy) all over the house and scary childrens’ Halloween movies.

Be prepared for parents to be at the event, waiting to take their children home. They may be in a separate room where they can sit and discuss adult matters with other parents.

You can place platters full of crackers with a variety of savories, and adult drinks can be served as required. As the parents will be driving their children home, alcohol may not be served on this occasion, to ensure parents and children arrive home safely.

Of course, there may be some parents who will be surprised at your creative party planning ideas.

To read more Creative Party Planning Ideas For Halloween

Hot Coffee All Day With Insulated Coffee Mugs

Insulated coffee mugs are what I use to keep my coffee warm during the day. I make my coffee in the morning and then pour the coffee into insulated coffee mugs, to keep the coffee hot all day long.

It may be the icy cold breeze of winter, or the driving rain of the summer, but you can sit in your car, by the side of the road and take a break with your favourite hot coffee from an insulated coffee mug.

When I arrive home, I do not have to brew another cup of coffee, as I have an insulated cup of hot coffee waiting for me. Making my coffee in the morning, and drinking from several mugs throughout the day and night, helps me save money and time waiting at a regular coffee shop for a stale cup of coffee. By the time you get to your car, the coffee has gone cold.

This is why I have switched to insulated coffee mugs.

You can buy insulated coffee mugs online or at many retail stores. I buy mine from the specialty coffee shop, where I buy my coffee beans. So, if some of the coffee mugs are aged and overused, or broken while washing, then I can run to the specialty coffee shop and I can buy my mugs on demand. They always have them on the shelves.

Through the years, I have coffee gifts sets presented to me, where the coffee was delicious, but the mugs included with the gift set did not last long. Meanwhile, my insulated coffee mugs have lasted for years and I have bought custom coffee gift sets with insulated coffee mugs for my friends.

To read more Hot Coffee All Day With Insulated Coffee Mugs

Easy To Make Iced Coffee

Make iced coffee for your family to enjoy over the summer months. You can continue to enjoy iced coffee over the colder months too. Look, it may be cold outside and everything is covered with snow, but you can still enjoy your favourite choice of coffee, whenever you are on a break, to help you relax during the day and night.

Although some people avoid coffee at night, if you are staying up to do some work or watching a late night movie with your family, then you may need coffee to help you stay awake. If you are having an early night, then you avoid coffee for the night.

During summer time, it is always relaxing to sit in a comfortable chair on the patio with your family and enjoy an iced coffee.

It is now the time to experiment with different flavours and different brews of coffee, so you can enjoy the best tasting iced coffee over the next summer. In our family we like to brew our coffee in the morning and enjoy a number of cups throughout the day.

We buy our coffee, from the specialist coffee shop, where we can buy our syrups and cinnamon to increase the flavour in the coffee. Making the coffee ice cubes, is a delight among the younger members of the family, who cannot believe you can make ice cubes with coffee.

They think we place a bag of coffee in the freezer and voila! Out come the ice cubes. One day, I decided to show them how I make the coffee ice cubes and they were amazed at the easy procedure involved.

Now the family knows how to make coffee ice cubes, when summer comes around, we can again enjoy to make iced coffee.

To read more Easy To Make Iced Coffee

Parents Managing Food Portions For Their Children

Food portions for your children are always problematic. You do not want to feed your child more than you are feeding yourself, maybe, the food on the plate should be about half the size on your plate. You do not want to let your child go hungry, but you do not want to overfeed and see your child become another statistic in the epidemic of childhood obesity.

Just like every parent, you want your child to grow up and be a healthy adult. You need a plan of action to ensure your child does not eat the wrong foods. Your first step will be to avoid giving him junk food, as you want him to learn to eat healthy food.

If your child is overweight, there may be a medical reason. To confirm any medical conditions you should take your child to a medical doctor who will arrange tests to confirm a medical diagnosis. If your child is obese, the doctor may arrange a visit to a dietitian who will devise a nutrition plan to help change the eating habits of your child.

If you child adheres to the nutrition plan, then your child may grow to be healthy and never be obese again. There may be times when the child may stray from the nutrition plan, but your dietitian will advise you how to manage the situation.

For example, you may think of a reward system, where if your child sticks to the nutritional plan then he will be rewarded with a trip to the beach or a new toy.

The promise of a reward will help motivate your child to stick to the nutritional ideas and limit his food portion sizes.

To read more Parents Managing Food Portions For Their Children

Entertaining Friends With Your 12 Cup Coffee Maker

12 cup coffee maker is ideal for meetings and where a group of people gather to enjoy a cup of fresh coffee. It may be a social club meeting in your home or an afternoon gathering on the patio, enjoying the view of your yard and feeling the cool breeze against your face. There is always an excuse to enjoy a fresh cup of coffee.

You may have a small capacity coffee maker, for your own use, when you need only one or two cups of coffee. It may be early in the morning, and you want to clear your mind, before you are off to work. You can turn on your coffee maker and a few minutes later, you have a cup of delicious, hot coffee. This may be the quietest part of the day, before you join the noise outside your door.

On a lazy Sunday afternoon, when you are thinking about the great week you have had and do not want to know about the problems of the world, you can have a small gathering of your friends and enjoy drinking fresh cups of coffee, from your 12 cup coffee maker.

You can search online for the different type of coffee makers available. You can also visit your favourite department store and coffee specialty shops that sell your favourite coffee and coffee makers. It is better to know and see as much as possible, rather than make a rash decision and buy a coffee machine you may not like.

If you are a member of a book reading club, then a 12 cup coffee maker may be ideal. You can all have a cup of coffee while you are discussing the book you have read in the last week. You may also need to cater to different tastes of memebrs.

If you know some members like freshly ground coffee, then you may need to get a coffee grinder. Other members may not like coffee and would rather have tea instead, so you may need to find out the type of tea they like and ensure it is available at the next meeting.

Knowing the needs of your guests and members of your book reading club, will make you a popular host when you have a 12 cup coffee maker.

To read more Entertaining Friends With Your 12 Cup Coffee Maker

Improving Your Digestion With Good Bacteria And Yogurt

Bacteria and yogurt are the perfect combination to assist your digestion. There are plenty of food products we eat and cannot digest without the assistance of good bacteria. Bad bacteria may give you infections and make you ill, but if there is a predominance of good bacteria, then the bad bacteria will lose out.

The next time you go to the food store, walk past all the fruity yogurts and look for the live culture or plain yogurts to select the yogurt most beneficial to your health.

Some of the smaller food stores may not stock these yogurts, as many people would rather eat the fruity yogurts. Your option is to go to a larger food store, or head for a health food store, where you will find organic yogurt and live culture yogurt.

You can eat yogurt as a snack, with a piece of fruit, helping to boost your metabolism and the good bacteria in the yogurt will assist your digestion. If you are looking for a dessert after a main meal, yogurt may be one of the better options, to help your digestive system digest your meal.

Now you know why the better combination for your digestion, is bacteria and yogurt.

To read more Improving Your Digestion With Good Bacteria And Yogurt