Holiday Celebrations – There’s One Near You By Ellen Moyer Some say “every day is a holiday,” a time for celebration and joy. Yet some days are more special than others.Two of our best holidays are in November and December: Thanksgiving, declared a national holiday in 1941 by President Franklin Roosevelt, and Christmas, declared a [...]
Full Story »Reducing Christmas Clutter
REDUCING CHRISTMAS CLUTTER By Edree Downing Are you still acquiring holiday treasures? Those charming little knickknacks that once a year need to be unpacked and then packed up again? Maybe it’s time to start distributing some of that collection, which each year becomes more and more of a problem to store. We had [...]
Full Story »PINE CONES FOR HOLIDAY DECORATIONS
PINE CONES FOR HOLIDAY DECORATIONS By Neil Moran One of the more fascinating gifts of Mother Nature is the cones of conifer trees. Conifer cones can be used in many different craft projects, have an interesting seed dispersal method and they smell nice! There are a number of conifers that produce cones, including pines, [...]
Full Story »Unique Gifts for the Holidays
Unique Gifts for the Holidays By Kathryn Marchi Time and time again, the question arises during this gift-giving time of year, “What can I get for someone who has everything?” Aunt Susie has enough scarves, jewelry, perfume and lotions and Uncle Herbie has enough ties, socks and after-shave. It’s safe to say that [...]
Full Story »Celebrate the Season with an Evergreen Centerpiece
Celebrate the Season with an Evergreen Centerpiece By Neil Moran With the rutabagas and onions safely stored under my house and several jars of tomatoes in the pantry, my thoughts naturally turn to doing something related to plants. The best activity I can think of after the gardening season is to start working on holiday [...]
Full Story »TWELVE GIFTS FOR CHRISTMAS
TWELVE GIFTS FOR CHRISTMAS The OutLook staff put together a list of a dozen different but fun gifts, which any of us would love to find tucked under our tree on Christmas morning. To make Santa’s job a bit easier, we’ve even included websites to find some of these treasures. 1. A birdfeeder, preferably squirrel–proof, [...]
Full Story »Gifts for a Home-Bound Friend
Are You Looking for the Perfect Gift for a Home-Bound Friend? By Penelope Folsom Most of us draw a blank when we try to find just the right gift for a friend who is home-bound. Here’s a list that should help with ideas for gifts that anyone would love to find under their Christmas tree. [...]
Full Story »Think Outside the Box
THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX! GET CREATIVE WITH YOUR HOLIDAY GIFT WRAPPING By Louise Whiteside “Oh, it’s too pretty to open!” How often have you heard this sentiment of excitement and delight from a gift recipient? Personally, I must confess, not too often! For the most part, most of my gift wrapping has been [...]
Full Story »Relax: Celebrating the Holidays with Mindfulness
Relax: Celebrating the Holidays with Mindfulness By Pat Jurgens Whatever your cultural or religious tradition, the holiday season will be more enjoyable if you cultivate mindfulness. A powerful Eastern practice founded in Buddhism, mindfulness meditation has attracted thousands in the West who seek peace amidst the complexity of modern living. Many of us meditate [...]
Full Story »Blue Christmas
BLUE CHRISTMAS how to handle the holidays By Leslie Payne Every holiday season I hear a gloomy Christmas song that makes me giggle. Just one note of Elvis Presley’s “Blue Christmas,” and I’m back in my senior year of college with two wonderful roommates. Whenever the song came on the radio, Cindy and [...]
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