christmas – Page 4

Christmas Tree Shopping

My family has a fake Christmas Tree. I am not a fan. It doesn’t smell good, it is prickly to touch, and each branch has to be fluffed and primped and twisted to make it look like a real tree. And then when it is time to pack it up in January, each branch has to be smoothed down and folded up, and there are like 500 of them. But our fake tree has its pluses too: it cost us barely nothing as we got it at an after Christmas sale 3 years ago, it can be put up whenever we want, it fits into a box that is easy to store, and it doesn’t shed.

Our kids’ pediatrician made us get it because she says it is safer for the little ones, and I appreciate that, but I still miss going out to get our tree.

I remember a season when we went Christmas Tree shopping, and spent hours looking for the perfect tree. The tree we always ended up with was nothing to write home about, but once we adorned it with lights, ornaments, and candy canes, it immediately became a part of our home, a part of our Christmas celebrations. It was perfect because it was the one we chose, even if it was bare on one side and had a family of squirrels living in it.

For now, our fake tree is the perfect tree for our family. Christmas Tree shopping is a tradition I will share with my kids when they are older. But today, I will send my husband the free Christmas ecard “Perfect Tree” as a little reminder of the tradition we used to share. What are your Christmas Tree traditions?

Christmas traditions bring cheer

Although Christmas celebrates the birth of Christ, even people of other faiths enjoy many of the Christmas traditions. Besides having religious significance for Christians, Christmas season also brings cheer and joy to almost all corners of the world irrespective of the faith. The lights, colors, music and festivities associated with Christmas have a way of lifting one’s spirits even if he belongs to a different faith. I, for one, love the Christmassy look that shops, malls and streets take on. I love to walk around my block, observing the lights on each house and taking note of what’s new this year. I like to visit different malls just to see the different ways Christmas trees are decorated. Although I belong to a different faith, I can relate to and appreciate the feelings that abound, around Christmas time. The spirit of giving, sharing, loving. Family members traveling long distances to be home for Christmas. Parents cutting back on expenses and tighten their budgets so they can keep their promises to their children on Christmas. Christmas brings out the generous streak in almost everybody. It’s not only about shopping for one’s family, but also about giving to the less fortunate. Helping just once a year may not be enough, but at least Christmas is one occasion that drives people to think about lending a hand. This is the perfect time to teach children about giving and helping the needy. Instead of asking Santa for gifts for themselves, why not encourage kids to become Santas for a few less fortunate kids? Even giving away their old toys is a good start. There is so much about Christmas that is universal. So, this Christmas, like every year, I will put up a tree, buy gifts for my friends and kids, watch mushy Christmas movies on TV, volunteer at the food bank and cook a special meal for my family. Oh, and I will definitely be sending out free Christmas ecards from gotfreecards.com to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

Christmas Shrink your to-do List

Well, the elections are finally over, and you know what that means: it’s time to get ready for Christmas!

It seems like we’ve gotten to a point in our society where the period of time between holidays is counted in shopping days, rather than calendar days. It’s easy to get lost, and feel weighed down, by all the stresses that preparing for the holidays entails. You have to buy gifts, you have to wrap them, you have spend gas money going back and forth from home to the mall. You have to order that special present online and hope it arrives by Christmas, and you have to hope you don’t go seriously, seriously over budget.

At gotfreecards.com, we’re doing our small part to make the holidays just a little less stressful. Now, instead of adding the buying, addressing and mailing out of holiday cards to your already-overbooked to-do list, you can check out our free e-cards. Our animated free christmas e-cards don’t require that you make a trip to the department store, and all you need to do is give us the e-mail address of whomever you want to send them to. It’s that easy!

Christmas Carols

It’s funny how we change, as we grow up.

I’ve always loved listening to Christmas music, and as a child, my favorites were the funny, slightly-zany Christmas songs, like “Grandma got run over by a Reindeer,” and, “All I want for Christmas is my Two Front Teeth.” Then, of course, as I grew older, I started to more deeply appreciate the ‘serious’ Christmas songs, like “Silent Night” and “Hark the Herald Angels Sing.”

Now that I’m an adult, I find myself gravitating back toward those sillier songs of my youth. I think the reason why has a lot to do with the beauty of the Christmas holiday itself. Those funny songs remind me of a simpler youth, of the joy of just being around people I cared about, of how much better I could make my day just by smiling.

Christmas, if you think about it, is about the same things. Christmas is about taking joy in simple pleasures of life. It’s about getting together with those that we love. And it’s about smiling, and making other people smile.

So even though I’ll always count “Silent Night” as one of my favorite Christmas carols, songs like “Grandma got run over by a Reindeer” will also hold a special place in my heart—reminding me what the holiday is truly all about.

Chritmas Ecards

It seems that Christmas is always just around the corner, and you never seem to stop scrambling for gifts. But with each year, it gets harder and harder to be original—and to not be boring!

GotFreeCards.com is a great solution to normal holiday gift giving. With our free Ecards, you’ll be sending a gift that not only will make your friend or loved one smile and laugh, but it won’t cost you a dime! That’s because we only have free christmas ecards at gotfreecards.com Just head over to our website, and browse our extensive collection of Christmas ecards.

Plus, all of our cards are animated Ecards. This means that instead of just opening up a card to read a couple of sentences, your friend or loved one will be treated to a fully-animated card! And remember: it’s absolutely free. Just go to gotfreecards.com, find the card you like, and choose who you wish to send it to. It’s that easy!