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[H102]Have A Great Christmas

by Phil Sikes, Phi

Our world, a constantly busier and more stressful place to live, has slowly but surely lost many once treasured Christmas traditions. That can change, however, by using the Christmas season to take a little break and bring back the spirit of the holiday by celebrating a more traditional, old-fashioned Christmas.

1. Decorations

Essential to any true Christmas celebration, decorations are a big source of Christmas spirit. By choosing the right decorations, you can help the entire family get into a festive mood.

Start with an old-fashioned Christmas tree. Traditional decorations were all hand-made. Take a day early in December to get the whole family together to create the decorations such as stringed popcorn and chains made from colorful paper. Play Christmas music, serve eggnog and get everyone into the spirit.

Make an outing to an area antique or thrift store and try to hunt down some traditional decor. Old-fashioned ornaments made from blown-glass or wax can often be found for an excellent price. Christmas tins will add a traditional touch as fruit or candy dishes as well.

2. Baking and Cooking

After the Christmas tree, nothing says Christmas is here more than the scent of baking and cooking. Hot cider, fresh baked cookies, and delectable pies are key elements of an old-fashioned Christmas.

Just because not everyone can bake doesn't mean that they can't all be involved. Kids can get into the action by cutting out Christmas shaped cookies from the dough and then adding decorative sugar and sprinkles after baking.

3. Christmas Day

There is no shortage of traditional fun to be had on Christmas day. For example, have someone dress up as Santa Clause and personally deliver the family's gifts.

Make the gift exchange time special. Don't just tear into them en mass, give everyone a chance to open them separately. This gives everyone a better chance to show their appreciation, and people get to watch their reactions.

A white Christmas is a special treat, since you can engage in some great old-fashioned activities. Go outside and have a snowball fight or go sledding. Then come home for a heart warming mug full of hot cider or cocoa.

Make these fun traditions an annual part of your family's Christmas celebration. As the years go by, add extra bits of old-fashioned flavor to the holiday and enjoy the spirit of a truly traditional Christmas season.

The guest list. Are you hosting the Christmas dinner? Before you decide upon details of dinner menu, have a correct idea about the number of guests you want to invite. The first thing you want to do is set your guest list. Write out all your family members, and don't forget their children! Keep in mind that extra people, such as boyfriends and best friends, who might arrive and want to eat. Invite everyone at least a month ahead. You don't even have to have written invitations, a quick phone call will do. Make sure to let people know early so that they don't already have plans on the night of your Christmas dinner.

Consider where the table will go. No doubt you will need a fair bit of space to seat everyone comfortably. Check throughout your house looking for the best place to set up your Christmas dining table. If all of your guests can eat Christmas dinner in the same room, that's the best plan. If this is not an option, consider making a table for the kids in a separate room in your house. Make sure that you have enough chairs for everyone who will be attending.

Select your menu. After these tasks, you can start thinking about what you will serve for your Christmas dinner. You need to have your menu worked out about two ahead, particularly if you need to put in an order for ham or turkey. If you assume that each guest will consume between one and two pounds of food, you can plan accordingly. Other foods to think about serving are potatoes, a few different kinds of vegetables, cranberry sauce, and homemade pies.
Before you go shopping for the Christmas food, clean out your fridge. Having Christmas dinner at your house requires plenty of space in the refrigerator. Before going shopping for Christmas dinner, make as much room available in your fridge as you can. To allow room for extra food in your refrigerator during the Christmas season, clean out and discard expired food and relocate items that are not needed at present to another refrigerator, if possible.

Go to the market. Before your Christmas dinner, perhaps a couple of days ahead, you should buy all of the food you'll need at the grocery store. The best approach is to have a clear list made out before you leave so that you don't forget anything. Don't forget the details like paper holiday napkins and a beautiful focal point for the dinner tables such as a centrepiece or candles.

Do as much as possible beforehand. Try to have as much food (not the hot foods) ready ahead of time as possible. Baked goods can be ready a day or two before and pies can be done the day before. The night before Christmas dinner, prepare the vegetables. This means slice carrots and peel potatoes and be sure to leave them soaking in cold water until it is time to cook, so that they don't discolor.

Begin early. On the actual day of the dinner, begin by dealing with the meat. Aim to have it going in the oven very first thing in the morning. Then later you can deal with the vegetables. Set the dinner table with all the fine details, finish up the cooking, get dressed and you'll be ready for a wonderful Christmas dinner.

Article Source : Family Railcard Co Uk

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Both Phil Sikes & Tiffany Provost are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.

Phil Sikes has sinced written about articles on various topics from Babies, Halloween Costumes and Family Concerns. Trying to come up with some creative for your kids this year? Visit the. Phil Sikes's top article generates over 74000 views. to your Favourites.

Tiffany Provost has sinced written about articles on various topics from Travel and Leisure, Careers and Job Hunting and Careers and Job Hunting. Tiffany Provost writes about and f. Tiffany Provost's top article generates over 22200 views. to your Favourites.