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Giving the Gift of Fitness

Have you ever given anyone a health or fitness related gift, only to have the recipient get offended because they assume you are saying they need to lose weight or get in better shape?  Trust me, it can get ugly.  And the ones who get the maddest are the ones who need it the most!

Here are some tips for healthy gift-giving this holiday season that will help you give a nice gift, while maintaining your relationship with the recipient.

First, understanding the benefits of regular exercise yourself will allow you to share a gift with someone in the true spirit of love and concern for them.  If the recipient can understand you are looking out for their best interest and want them to live a longer and healthier life, the gift will be well received.  A corollary to this first point is to give a fitness gift to someone who already understands the importance of healthy activity in their life.

Second, select a gift that can also be used when the person is not “exercising.”  A nice sports watch, for example, can be worn as a regular digital watch on a regular basis, then kick into timing laps or keeping pace when the person is working out.  Heart rate monitors can be worn without the chest transmitter strap, similarly providing regular sports watch functionality until the user needs that heart rate measurement.

People love high-tech gadgets.  Especially men.  So the third point is to find something that uses new or innovative technology.  In the health and fitness world, there are several products that fit this bill.  Timex makes some incredible speed and distance units that use GPS technology to give constant readouts on speed, distance, pace, and more.  Newer units also come with heart rate monitors and can send all that data to a separate recorder unit that can download training data to your PC.

Perhaps no one puts high-tech into a wrist unit better than Finnish company Suunto.  Their wristop computers are the ultimate in multi-function training devices.  They range from simple functions like time, date, and stopwatch to the more advanced altitude, temperature, and EPOC (excess post-exercise oxygen consumption).  Suunto even makes units that will keep your golf score, and measure the speed of your swing.

Finally, choose something simple that can be a constant reminder to get more regular physical activity than the recipient is currently getting.  A pedometer is a great tool for motivation, as it constantly reminds you to take more steps per day.  Pedometers count steps, distance, calories, time and much more (depending on the model).  A person can clip one on their waistband and go all day-whether deliberately “exercising” or not-and keep track of their effort.

Whatever health and fitness gift you decide to give this holiday season, be assured you are helping the recipient live a better and healthier life.  That’s truly the “gift that keeps on giving.”

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Unique Christmas Tree Themes

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If you are a style maven who is a bit bored with the traditional then you might be interested in unique christmas tree themes. Here are some unique suggestions for christmas tree themes that are sure to be real conversation starters.

The Christmas Cocktail Party Tree

This christmas tree theme looks great on both big and small trees. First, if your tree is not a prelit tree try stringing it with a string of novelty lights instead of the usual egg shaped lights. You can buy plastic novelty lights in the shape of Chinese Lanterns (for a 50′s feel), chili peppers (for that modern martini bar feel) and Pink Flamingos (for that Tikki cocktail party atmosphere.)

Then try decorating the tree with tiny cocktail parasols and multicolored cocktail picks. If your tree is really big you could also decorate it with plastic champagne glasses into which you have glued sequins or glitter.  Miniature chocolates filled with liquor also make nice tree decorations.

The Gingerbread Tree

This most gorgeous of christmas tree themes never goes out of style. It looks best on a green or red tree.  Decorate it with gingerbread man cookies, red glass balls, tons of candy canes, red velvet bows and homemade paper snowflake ornaments. 

This tree looks great accented it with white or gold beaded garland or a bushy red or white tinsel garland. or icicle-look garland. Top it with a Christmas themed stuffed white or brown teddy bear.

The Chocolate and Gold Tree

This is probably the trendiest of the christmas tree themes described here. It looks great on a red artificial tree.  The color scheme in this case is reds, browns and golds. Tiny twinkling gold and red lights look best. Think of the eighties when you decorate this one. 

Decorate this tree with walnuts, pinecones and chocolates wrapped in foil. Gold  coins are a nice touch. Then tie large transclucent gold and red  ribbons, using the kind of ribbon that has bendable wire inside onto the ends of the trees.  The ultimate effect of this tree should be very opulent and lush.

The New Baby Tree

If you are celebrating the birth of a child or a child’s first birthday this is a great tree to honor how happy you are about the new arrival in your home.  The decorations suggested look great on any kind of tree but you could consider buying a small blue or pink artificial tree.  This is a good idea so any toddlers or infants around can’t get ahold of any shed needles. Also if you buy prelit artificial trees then you don’t have to worry about them yanking lights and pulling the whole thing down. If you have lots of toddlers around then you might want to opt for a small ceramic christmas tree until they are old enough not to grab at decorations and xmas tree limbs.

Pink, mint green, lavender and blue frosted glass christmas balls look particularly nice on pink or blue artificial trees. You can also decorate these trees with baby toys, baby bottles filled with candy, teddy bears, baby booties and socks, pacifiers and wooden alphabet blocks. Little stuffed animals look great on this type of tree and a larger teddy bear or soft plush toy makes a great tree topper. If the baby is a girl you might want to consider topping the tree with a doll dressed as an angel.

The Peppermint Twist Tree

This most minimalist of christmas tree themes  looks fantastic on a bright white, prelit artificial tree. The color scheme of this is red and white but you can add a touch of green in the lights that you string around it. Purists however think that keeping the whole thing red and white in every way looks best.

When it comes to the decorations stick with red and white round glass balls. Red and white frosted glass balls look much better than the conical ones. Also festoon the branches with as many red and white peppermint candy canes as you can find. Remember too that you can also stripe red or white christmas balls with white or red glitter by simply adding some glue in a striped shape to the ball and rolling it in the glitter. 

You can also accent this look with red and white ball shaped peppermint candies.  A large lollipop with red and white striping and surrounded by a sunburst bouquet of candy canes makes a great tree topper.

The Sea Side Tree

This most unusual of christmas tree themes looks best on artificial trees in aqua or light blue colors. However it would also suit any tree that has a coral color such as light orange or pink.

This tree is decorated with treasures from the sea including seashells, sea horses, and ornaments made from aquarium decorations (treasure chests, coins and corals.) Strings of pearls can be used as a garland and novelty lights shaped like seashells or even fish can be strung to enhance the aquatic theme.
The Snow and Ice Tree

This is one of the most unusual of christmas tree themes as it is white and icy blue instead of the more familiar red and green. First decorate it with a garland of novelty lights shaped like icicles or snowflakes. Your decorations should be made of see through plastic or crystal so it looks like the tree is dripping with frozen, glittering shapes. Instead of cotton batten, drape the tree with faux spider webs or cotton shreddings to simulate boughs heavy with snow. You can even mound this cotton at the ends of the bough so it looks like it has been clumped there.

Your final step is to spray the whole thing down generously with flocking. Flocking is simulated snow that comes in an aerosol can. You can spray this stuff on just about any kind of tree including artificial prelit christmas trees and ceramic trees to make them look frostier.

This treatment is stunning on a white artificial tree but it also looks great on red, purple, blue or other artificial trees as all of the white provides a nice contrast to the tree’s original color.

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A Christmas Story – The First Christmas Lights

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One would think that Christmas lights have been around for as long as Christmas itself.  Can any of you imagine Christmas without lights?  How would the children find their way in the dark, so early on Christmas morning without them?  The history of Christmas lights is intricately tied to the dawn of the modern era, when houses began to be supplied with electricity.

As you are likely aware, Thomas Edison invented the first functioning light bulb back in 1879.  A few years later, in 1882, an associate of his first employed the use of lights on his Christmas tree.  Edward Johnson was the first to electrically light his family Christmas tree in his New York home.  His home was located in one of the first sections of the city to be wired for electricity.

A visiting reporter from Detroit reported the following in “The Detroit Post and Tribune”:  “Last evening I walked over beyond Fifth Avenue and called at the residence of Edward H. Johnson, vice-president of Edison’s electric company. There, at the rear of the beautiful parlors, was a large Christmas tree presenting a most picturesque and uncanny aspect. It was brilliantly lighted with many colored globes about as large as an English walnut and was turning some six times a minute on a little pine box. There were eighty lights in all encased in these dainty glass eggs, and about equally divided between white, red and blue. As the tree turned and the colors alternated, all the lamps going out and being relit at every revolution. The result was a continuous twinkling of dancing colors, red, white, blue, white, red, blue—all evening.”

In 1890, Edison published a promotional brochure which may have been the first mention of commercially available electrically powered Christmas lights.  It stated that “There are few forms of decoration more beautiful and pleasing than miniature incandescent lamps placed among flowers, or interwoven in garlands or festoons; for decorating Christmas trees or conservatories…”

From there, the popularity of Christmas lights exploded.  Before long, every family had them and they became synonymous with the Christmas tree.  It’s hard to imagine Christmas without Christmas lights.  I tip my fuzzy red cap to you, Mr. Edison.  You have given us all a gift we will always cherish!

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Ancient Celebrations Of The Christmas Holiday

Christmas may very well be the oldest holiday that is shared across the many cultures of the world; it is traditionally celebrated during the winter season (or even the warm summer season if you count Australia, where Christmas is celebrated as an official holiday).

Before Christmas began to be celebrated, people were finding time to celebrate in Europe during the winter holiday before the birth of Jesus Christ!

The Winter Solstice has always been a time to celebrate and rejoice; it is celebrated on December 21 in the northern hemisphere and it was after the Winter Solstice that the worst part of the year was behind them. It was at that point during the year that the days began to get longer, giving the people more time to spend outside on their crops and tending to their animals.

In Scandinavia during the Winter Solstice, men and their sons used to go in to the woods to cut a tree down. After the tree had been felled, a nicely sized log was cut out of it, and the men would carry the log back to the home. This log was dubbed a Yule Log, and the Yule log was burned in the fireplace. The entire time the Yule log burned, the family would feast. Often times the Yule log might burn for a whole twelve days!  Of course, as the Yule log burned it sent sparks out of the hearth and as the sparks flew out of the fire place, the family would count the sparks and each spark stood for a farm animal (a cow, a goat, a pig, etc) that would be born on their property that year. It is important to note that farm animals were signs of wealth back then.

Saturnalia is a celebration of the Winter Solstice that occurred in ancient pagan Rome. Saturnalia was celebrated in honor of the god of agriculture, who was named Saturn. During the time of Saturnalia, the entire Roman empire is in a state of social disarray. Servants and peasants spend time with and celebrate the holiday with people of higher classes, which was a rarity back then.

The Saturnalia festival in itself can last as long as an entire week in Rome. During that time, people rejoiced all over the country of Rome. The phrase ‘eat, drink, and be merry’ was played out to its fullest. Shops and businesses are closed during the Festival of Saturnalia. Following the first week of Saturnalia, the festival itself usually ends, but the Saturnalia period itself does not end.

In addition to Saturn, the Roman god of agriculture, the Romans also worshipped an infant type god named Methra, who was carved out of a rock. On Mithra’s birthday, people also rejoiced, just as they did during Saturnalia. The day of this rock god’s birthday was one of the most sacred days of the year for the Roman people. It was a time for celebration and togetherness, and for family.

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