Holiday Stress Tips

The holidays are here and with it, comes all of the excitement and cheer. For many people, this season is filled with all of your typical day-to-day tasks, on top of the decorating, gift shopping, multiple holiday parties, glamorous meals, wrapping, ice skating, potlucks, and so much more! This can lead to the undeniable stress that comes each holiday season. With some helpful tips from Casper, here are some ways you can make this season a little bit easier so you can enjoy the best parts of this time of year!

Ask for help

Your to-do list may look overwhelming, but the big benefit of having close family and friends is that they can help! You’ll be surprised how willing people are to help if you just ask. Hosting a big holiday dinner? Suggest some dishes or drinks for your guests to bring. This way, it reduces the prep time and ensures you don’t have everyone bringing a bottle of wine!

Plan, plan, plan

There are never  enough hours in the day, but you can help free up some time by planning ahead. Set a schedule to plan out the days you need to get the big stuff done. Start with the required tasks, like family holiday parties or holiday shopping, and then fill in the other holiday activities around them. If you’re making a big holiday meal, make sure to create an extensive shopping list before to ensure that you don’t have any last-minute scrambling on a full day of cooking! There are really great apps out there that let you easily create a list.

Stick to a budget

A budget will become your best friend after the holiday cheer wears off and you’re entering the new year looking at your finances. Before you go gift or food shopping, it’s important to lay out how much money you can afford to spend. Not only will you keep your finances in check, but you’ll have a list of everything you need to get for gift and food shopping.

Be prepared to say no

The more friends and family you have, the more holiday activities you’re going to be invited to. Accepting every invitation can be overwhelming and make each event unenjoyable. The people close to you will understand that it’s impossible to make every single holiday event this season. Take time to balance, schedule, and decide what events are most important. For the invitations you can’t accept, just reach out and respectfully decline. There’s always next year!

Try a nap

A short nap can be the perfect break to a busy season and a great opportunity to take some time for yourself to reduce stress. If you’re having trouble falling asleep because of the millions of things running through your mind, just make sure you create the best sleeping environment you need to get those necessary zzz’s. A poor night’s sleep can create even more unnecessary stress. Try looking into the mattresses from Casper, if you’re looking for a comfortable spot!

Since it is National Cocoa Day, try taking your break with your favorite cup of hot cocoa! Ultimately, when in doubt, just take a deep breath and remember these tips. With each year coming and going, it’s important to enjoy special holiday moments with your family and friends.

Top Fun Ways To Keep Teens Entertained Over The Summer Holidays

Photo credit: irishexaminer.com

Many teenagers seem to spend most of their free time either playing video games or complaining about being bored, so how can you keep them occupied and engaged this summer?

E-readers
If you’re heading off on a long road trip this summer, then backseat boredom will hit your teens pretty fast. With an e-reader, they can take all of their favourite books with them without having to worry about heavy bags. Although it might look like yet another gadget, remember that they could just as easily be reading Shakespeare in preparation for their A-levels instead of Twilight again - in theory, at least!

Volunteering
If your child has a hobby or favourite sport they're losing interest in, try persuading them to help out as a teacher or coach for younger children. Not only is it valuable for university applications and future CVs, it's also a great way to re-engage with something they used to love. They could volunteer in a library, help out as a football coach or even work with animals. Most clubs will be more than happy to let them help out, just remember to invest in some new Kickers shoes and boots if they're going to be on their feet for a long time!

National Citizen Service
Organised by the government, this scheme lets teenagers take part in things like horse-riding and dry-slope skiing as well as learning the importance of teamwork. Programmes are usually 3 weeks long and are for 16 and 17 year olds only. They usually include some residential time away from home and around 30 hours of volunteering at community projects: perfect for building independence and confidence.

Let them plan a trip

Hand over some of the responsibility for your holiday to the children to give them a sense of ownership, as well as an idea of the organisation involved! Whether it's a day trip or your choice of hotel, chances are your teen will complain less if they've had an input into the decision making process. Let them help with everything from booking travel to stocking up on holiday essentials. Just keep an eye on the shopping cart to make sure they stick to the budget!

Give the Gift of Experience Next Holiday Season

The Christmas season is now well behind us, and we still have another 10 months before we start to frantically shop for gifts.  Admit it, often when you buy a gift, aren't you just buying it because you feel obligated to?  You may not know what to get some people on your list such as your parents who have everything they need or your best friend who can buy anything she needs.

If you routinely struggle with buying the perfect gift (and who doesn't?), why not vow to do something different next holiday season.

Instead of buying "stuff" that your friends and family may or may not appreciate, why not give experience gifts?

What Are Experience Gifts?

Experience gifts are when you pay for your gift recipient to have a fun adventure on your dime.  There are all sorts of experience gifts from the safest (such as taking a cooking class) to the exhilarating (such as riding with a race car driver on a race track) to the awe inspiring (such as visiting the Grand Canyon skywalk).

Experience gifts are likely to touch people emotionally more than other gifts because you must listen to people and know their interests, hobbies, wishes and dreams to pick the perfect experience gift.

A Gift That Won't Soon Be Forgotten

Think.  What gifts did you receive for Christmas 2011?  My guess is that you can't remember.  What about Christmas 2012?  That holiday is only a few weeks removed, but you may still have trouble remembering what gift you received.

The gift of experience is different.  Give someone a gift of experience, and they won't soon forget it.  In fact, they may remember it for the rest of their lives.

Perfect for Any Event

While you may just think of giving a gift of experience for Christmas, they are also well-suited for Mother's Day, Father's Day, birthdays and anniversaries. 

If you can afford it, you may challenge yourself to give a gift of experience each year or for each major present giving occasion in a calendar year.  Your friend or family member will look forward to your gift more than any other.

While friends and family may seem to love the traditional gifts you give, chances are, they are probably indifferent or dissatisfied with your gift.  Next year, give the gift of something they have always wanted to do, and they won't be able to stop telling you how much they loved their gift.

Creative Christmas Gifts

My creative juice is not yet back but I am really trying hard to get the groove back in my arts and craft projects especially now that it is the "ber" month. That means, Christmas is just around the corner. That means too, I have to start making my Christmas list as we are spending the holidays back home.

I want to be creative this time with my gifts. Last time we bought things that are a necessity to the recipient. I am thinking of making accessories like necklaces and bracelets to my female relatives and friends. I can check bead suppliers here in Dubai for some nice, chic and funky beads and I can probably start working on the project.

If the accessories does not materialize, I am still thinking of getting personalized items to my family and friends. It will be an interesting Christmas gift list this year. I wonder if I can finish all that I plan to do before we go home.

Easter Greeting 2011

(Photo credit: 21cartoondrawings.com)

In the bonds of Death He lay

Who for our offence was slain;

But the Lord is risen to-day,

Christ hath brought us life again,

Wherefore let us all rejoice,

Singing loud, with cheerful voice,

Hallelujah!

~Martin Luther

Happy Easter everyone!

4 Days Off

My weekend starts now! I am so happy to have 4 consecutive days off because of the holiday announced tomorrow and on Sunday. This does not happen very often so we Dubains enjoy the non-working holidays as much as we can by travelling, relaxing, going out of town, malling or simply hibernating at home to recharge.

We are not travelling this time although we considered for a while to have a quick trip to Bangkok. However, my husband has to report for work tomorrow so it's not fun going on my own. So, I decided to just use the days off to recover for the lost time and catch up on my much needed sleep.

So, I will enjoy the 4-days holiday and praying that another kind of public holiday like this happen next year so we can plan a trip else where.

Happy weekend everyone!

Give Thanks

I may have shortcomings and misgivings but I am sincerely thankful for the blessings, great or small. I thank the Lord for the bountiful blessings He gives me every single day. I am also thankful for the family who embraces me with love, for the friends who make my life so much fun and for the foes who make me strong and wise.

Happy Thanksgiving to all! 

And to all that we do (and have), give thanks to the Lord.

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Loooooong Weekend Ahead

I did not spell the long wrongly :) I am just stating a very happy fact that we will have 5 days straight holiday due to Eid Al Adha. So, tomorrow's the last day of work and I am cooking up nice ideas and projects to make over the weekend.

Speaking of projects, my handmade cards are making a buzz in my circle. Some people are already asking for custom-made handmade cards and managed to sell most of my work already. I am still having a hard time figuring out how much to charge because I am doing this for the sheer fun and passion but at the same time, I want something to at least support the passion.

I have no plans of travelling this week or the coming month. I decided to cancel everything and just focus on some "me" time.

Well, I can't wait for the weekend so I can dig in my paper craft. I have orders to fulfill!

Happy days ahead! Have fun everyone!

What a Dismay!

Uh-oh! I knew I have been very bad with my eating habits the past few weeks because of the holidays. How can someone resist mom's home-cooked meals since the nearest decent meal I can prepare is popping an instant meal in the microwave and that's it! I know, I am bad. Like I earlier conveyed, I never liked cooking so if someone cooks the kind of meals I love very well, who am I to resist???

With all the gorging happened during the holidays, I was so dismayed to see how my measurements shoot up like a NASA rocket ship going to space exploration. I am not kidding but I can call myself "Little Miss Piggy" now...hahahaha. I cannot believe the figures right before my eyes as my daughter laughs her bum off on how big the numbers are on my body measurements. As in B-I-G! Coming from an ex-super-skinny person like me, yup, the numbers are way too big for me to fathom. Wow! How can I ever, and not just ever, successfully at that, lose weight for good? I have lost and regained and lost again and when I lose it, I just want it to stay that way. Any tips??? I am desperate now and this calls for serious measures. Not gastric-bypass. I think I am still skinny for that but I need healthy habits to kick-in again. I need proper food to eat at proper times. I know that when you speed-eat, you tend to gorge more. I think I have to stop that.

Oh my, and I have a wedding to attend to and I need to look fab in a long, formal gown. Help!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Seriously, like the Beatles sang, "Help!!!!!"

Special Gift Ideas this Holiday

My head is already spinning thinking about what to give my family and friends which can be very useful and functional at the same time. Last year, my gifts were smorgasbord of items and I was not even sure if they actually used them or not. I want to re-invent the art of gift-giving in tune with the sign of the times. This time I want to go techie.

I am sure a lot of us would have a good use for a nice storage where we keep our important documents in one place. With the advent of high-technology process and the demand for a secured place to keep documents and important files are the common concern of almost everyone, I just have the right personalized holiday gifts for Christmas.

Pexagon is the right place to find these cool and functional gift gadgets for the holidays. There are 4 gift ideas to choose from: Wooden USB flash drives, Business card flash drives, personalized thumb drives and pens. I think these are cool items to give away and they are offering a 20% discount up to the end of this year. So, even after the holidays and you need some catching up to do with gift-giving, then you can still avail of their good offer. The receiver will surely like these gifts since you can also personalize it for free!