Top 20 Statements, Comments & Questions At Christmas time
1 This single cream seems to be thicker than the double cream
2 Who's gonna pull this cracker with me?
3 Put your Christmas party hat on, you miserable git.
4 Where did you buy your crackers?, they're really good.
5 Do you want stuffing, Grandma?
6 Calm down you kids, you're all over excited!
7 That was you, you filthy pig!
8 What's your joke, Brian, what did you get in your cracker?
9 It's a shame to throw the paper away, isn't it?
10 The Queen's on in a minute, Mum!
11 I would give it a few minutes before you go in there - phew!
12 You won't eat all that, put a small amount on…you can always come back for more.
13 Chocolate anyone?
14 Does your mum still take sugar?
15 The turkey's lovely, isn't it?
16 Can someone pass the sprouts?
17 Don't you like Christmas pudding? - how strange.
18 You don't like mince pies? - how strange.
19 Who's gonna eat the sixpence from the Christmas pud? - ha ha ha
20 Where did we go last year, love?.
20 Comments, Statements & Questions At Christmas time -
From Children
1 Daddy, can you build this for me.
2 Mummy, can YOU build this for me.
3 Daddy, have you got a screwdriver
4 Daddy, have you got any of this size battery
5 Mummy, Jenny's just done a poo and she didn't wash her hands.
6 Mummy, I want some more
7 Daddy, Jenny's just hit me
8 I DID hit her back, look, she's on the floor.
9 This is the best Christmas I've ever had
10 Can I open another present?
11 What time is Aunty Wilma coming up?
12 Have I got any more presents to open?
13 I didn't WANT clothes
14 Mummy, I've just kicked your drink over - again.
15 I spy with my little eye - um - I don't want to play anymore.
16 Can I have another drink?
17 Mummy, Jenny's just tipped a bowl of custard over the cat.
18 Mummy, Daddy's just swear'd.
19 Daddy, this just broke off
20 Mummy - I feel sick!
About The Author
©2006 Martyn Brown: Writes for many home business newsletters and magazines. To download your free copy of his current 'work from home' magazine, Visit: http://www.WorkingHoursMagazine.co.uk
Amazing personalised gifts for Christmas and other occasions at Aspire Personalised Gift Store UK
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Six Tell-Tale & Funny Signs That U're Addicted to Christmas: By Noel Jameson
In case you didn't know it -- it is possible to be addicted to Christmas. Certainly, some level of excitement over Christmas is normal, but at what point does it border on unhealthy (or even insane)?
For many individuals, a Christmas addiction poses a greater threat than getting run over by a reindeer. If you want to know what the top six signs of being addicted to Christmas are, read on...
#1 -- Boycotting Anti-Santa Malls
If you refuse to shop at a mall that doesn't have a Santa on duty at all times, you're probably suffering from a Christmas addiction. (Reality check: Once you hit the age of 7 or 8, you probably don't need to get your photo taken sitting on Santa's lap!)
#2 -- Spiking Your Eggnog?
If you need spiked eggnog just to make it through your Christmas shopping marathon, it's a telltale sign that you're probably addicted to Christmas.
#3 -- Desperately Seeking the North Pole
If you've tried Googling directions from your house to the North Pole five times and still aren't sure how to get to Santa's house, you are probably addicted to Christmas.
#4 -- Expecting Mail from Santa
If you check your mail everyday hoping Santa sent you a letter, you should seek help to deal with your Christmas addiction.
#5 -- Taking the Christmas Theme Too Far
If you sleep on red and green plaid sheets and wear red and green pajamas with socks and underwear decorated with Santa every night beginning on December 1 until Christmas Eve, you are definitely addicted to Christmas (and you should really keep that secret to yourself).
#6 -- Identity Issues
Finally, if you've submitted a name-change application to legally change your last name to Clause (and you're getting all new monogrammed towels embroidered with a red and green ?S? and ?C?), you have some serious Christmas addiction issues.
What Is the Solution for Christmas Addiction?
Eat two Christmas wreath cookies each and every day until December 25th and call me in the morning. It has been documented that Christmas addiction rapidly subsides at 11:59 p.m. on December 25. Take your cookies, drink plenty of eggnog, and wait it out until then.
About The Author
Noel Jameson LOVES Christmas. Whether you need help finding Christmas gifts or you want tips about Christmas decorations, Christmas crafts, or even Christmas humor, check out her entertaining and impassioned blog at http://www.christmasrants.com.
Great personalised christmas gifts available at Aspire Personalised Gift Store UK
For many individuals, a Christmas addiction poses a greater threat than getting run over by a reindeer. If you want to know what the top six signs of being addicted to Christmas are, read on...
#1 -- Boycotting Anti-Santa Malls
If you refuse to shop at a mall that doesn't have a Santa on duty at all times, you're probably suffering from a Christmas addiction. (Reality check: Once you hit the age of 7 or 8, you probably don't need to get your photo taken sitting on Santa's lap!)
#2 -- Spiking Your Eggnog?
If you need spiked eggnog just to make it through your Christmas shopping marathon, it's a telltale sign that you're probably addicted to Christmas.
#3 -- Desperately Seeking the North Pole
If you've tried Googling directions from your house to the North Pole five times and still aren't sure how to get to Santa's house, you are probably addicted to Christmas.
#4 -- Expecting Mail from Santa
If you check your mail everyday hoping Santa sent you a letter, you should seek help to deal with your Christmas addiction.
#5 -- Taking the Christmas Theme Too Far
If you sleep on red and green plaid sheets and wear red and green pajamas with socks and underwear decorated with Santa every night beginning on December 1 until Christmas Eve, you are definitely addicted to Christmas (and you should really keep that secret to yourself).
#6 -- Identity Issues
Finally, if you've submitted a name-change application to legally change your last name to Clause (and you're getting all new monogrammed towels embroidered with a red and green ?S? and ?C?), you have some serious Christmas addiction issues.
What Is the Solution for Christmas Addiction?
Eat two Christmas wreath cookies each and every day until December 25th and call me in the morning. It has been documented that Christmas addiction rapidly subsides at 11:59 p.m. on December 25. Take your cookies, drink plenty of eggnog, and wait it out until then.
About The Author
Noel Jameson LOVES Christmas. Whether you need help finding Christmas gifts or you want tips about Christmas decorations, Christmas crafts, or even Christmas humor, check out her entertaining and impassioned blog at http://www.christmasrants.com.
Great personalised christmas gifts available at Aspire Personalised Gift Store UK
Saturday, December 19, 2009
Bringing Together Old And New Christmas Traditions: by Melanie Smith
Nowadays, you can see a cosmic mixture of the age old Christmas traditions, fresh, current spins on old customs, but regardless of your viewpoint, majority of people have a short breather from the regular day by day pound of daily life, and somewhere within, the spirit of the time of year that connects a lot of people around a distinctive matter of good will is a sentiment we find ourselves hoping we could maintain the whole time of the year.
There is no better method to educate children the spirit of generosity than bringing to their awareness those less lucky ones, for whom Christmas isn’t a trouble free time. For this form of learning and generosity, little troops of children work finest. Let your children call one or two very close acquaintances to help.
Call your local Department of Child Services if you want to ask inquiries about whom to get in touch with or someplace to go to adopt a kid (or family) for Christmas giving, however try to opt a foster child since they are likely to obtain plenty of presents, while further, less fortunate kids may not. Poor families you might identify as being poverty stricken are good option. Once you have chosen the kid or the family you want to take on, take your kids, and with a specific budget in mind let them to help you buy presents. If you can, it is also good to create some easy food presents, such as gingerbread cookies, Christmas chocolate chip cookies, and many others to offer to both your adopted, and the elderly in your neighborhood a unique present to let them recognize you are thinking of them this Christmas season.
As soon as the shopping has been completed, gather all family members including your adopted kid or family to bake cookies, candies, and food presents. Allow the children to help, and even benefit from some hot chocolate and cookies, or try some hot spiced apple juice, a winter weather favorite. Here is a recipe on how to make a hot spiced apple juice.
Hot Spiced Apple Juice Recipe
- Bottled apple juice or cider
- Red hot cinnamon candies
In a nonstick pan, pour the apple juice and add plenty of red hot, cinnamon candies. Heat the pan, stirring constantly, until all candies are melted.
Serve straight away, or pour the mixture into thermal container to preserve heat.
Cookies and candies can be placed into economical Christmas tins or Christmas loot bags. Make sure to keep a supply of snacks within reach, take all the kids in the center of the floor with a stack of gifts, papers, tapes, ribbons, and bows and let them wrap up the gifts. When you all go away to deliver the gifts, take the Christmas cookies and candies with you, and let the kids bring them in and wish the elderly in the area a Merry Christmas.
This is a brilliant moment to have a sleep over, letting other parents have some time to go shopping without their kids. It would also be an exceptional way to educate children that Christmas is a time for generosity.
About the Author: Melanie Smith is a regular article writer at Merry Christmas 24 website, to read more of her articles please visit our website at http://www.merrychristmas24.com. Read more about Christmas traditions by clicking on this link http://www.merrychristmas24.com/traditions.aspx
Article Source: ActiveAuthors.com
There is no better method to educate children the spirit of generosity than bringing to their awareness those less lucky ones, for whom Christmas isn’t a trouble free time. For this form of learning and generosity, little troops of children work finest. Let your children call one or two very close acquaintances to help.
Call your local Department of Child Services if you want to ask inquiries about whom to get in touch with or someplace to go to adopt a kid (or family) for Christmas giving, however try to opt a foster child since they are likely to obtain plenty of presents, while further, less fortunate kids may not. Poor families you might identify as being poverty stricken are good option. Once you have chosen the kid or the family you want to take on, take your kids, and with a specific budget in mind let them to help you buy presents. If you can, it is also good to create some easy food presents, such as gingerbread cookies, Christmas chocolate chip cookies, and many others to offer to both your adopted, and the elderly in your neighborhood a unique present to let them recognize you are thinking of them this Christmas season.
As soon as the shopping has been completed, gather all family members including your adopted kid or family to bake cookies, candies, and food presents. Allow the children to help, and even benefit from some hot chocolate and cookies, or try some hot spiced apple juice, a winter weather favorite. Here is a recipe on how to make a hot spiced apple juice.
Hot Spiced Apple Juice Recipe
- Bottled apple juice or cider
- Red hot cinnamon candies
In a nonstick pan, pour the apple juice and add plenty of red hot, cinnamon candies. Heat the pan, stirring constantly, until all candies are melted.
Serve straight away, or pour the mixture into thermal container to preserve heat.
Cookies and candies can be placed into economical Christmas tins or Christmas loot bags. Make sure to keep a supply of snacks within reach, take all the kids in the center of the floor with a stack of gifts, papers, tapes, ribbons, and bows and let them wrap up the gifts. When you all go away to deliver the gifts, take the Christmas cookies and candies with you, and let the kids bring them in and wish the elderly in the area a Merry Christmas.
This is a brilliant moment to have a sleep over, letting other parents have some time to go shopping without their kids. It would also be an exceptional way to educate children that Christmas is a time for generosity.
About the Author: Melanie Smith is a regular article writer at Merry Christmas 24 website, to read more of her articles please visit our website at http://www.merrychristmas24.com. Read more about Christmas traditions by clicking on this link http://www.merrychristmas24.com/traditions.aspx
Article Source: ActiveAuthors.com
Here are some amazing personalised gifts for Christmas: Aspire Personalised Gift Store UK
How Christmas Changed My Life: by Genevieve Dawid
How Christmas Changed My Life - By A Dyslexic
When I look back, I was quite a privileged child in more ways than one. I had a wonderful family and friends, lived in a lovely house with a large garden to play in. We went on marvelous family holidays by the sea, and traveled abroad, something I adored. I didn't have a private education but went to a local school that was "state of the art". However, for all this idyllic childhood, and the wonderful new facilities the school had to offer, learning was a nightmare for me as a child; I just hated trying to learn and so school was a place where I didn't achieve. I had no idea how other children knew the answers to questions and understood figures and numbers. I kept the same school reading book for weeks on end; one of my worst struggles was with writing my name.
Then one Christmas, my elder brother, who was a great artist, received a drawing set. He would do a drawing and then show Mum. When it came to my turn, instead of trying to create a picture, I took the note pad and drew each of the letters of my name over the whole page - but not in the right order nor in a straight line, as I didn't know how.
When showed Mum what I had drawn, she looked closely at it. "Well look at that, you do know the letters of your name, don't you?"; she said, and then asked me if I could put the letters in the right order, and in a straight line. I shook my head.
Mum took a ruler and wrote the letters in order, in a row. Instantly, I could now see each word. Using a ruler I copied the letters in order, again and again, until I got it. I had finally learnt to spell my name! Next Mum got my school reading book and used a card over the page, revealing one word at a time. I could now make sense of it. We progressed to me holding a card under each word to separate them so I only saw one word at a time. In this way, during the school holidays, Mum taught me to read.
I returned to school thrilled that I could now read and write and was instantly taken out of the additional remedial class. However, the teachers were furious with my parents and accused them of interfering with my learning! Despite the fact that for the first two years at that school their methods hadn't worked for me, they didn't like it that my parents had found a way to help me.
With practice at home, within weeks I could read any book for a child of my age. It was like a miracle. I continued to have some difficulty with spelling and grammar, my mathematics was poor and every new thing that I had to learn was incredibly difficult, but my parents had proved to me that there was always going to be a way. They just needed to help me identify the problem and together we would find the answer by finding an alternative way to learn. This was a revelation to me.
That Christmas, a simple plain sheet of paper and pencil allowed me to transcend what was in my mind - to see a solution to something that I knew was a problem, but couldn't explain.
From then on I always had an exercise book and pen nearby, and using the page like a mirror to reflect what was in my mind, the problem was copied as a visual image on a page. Seeing it on the page enabled my parents and me to identify and resolve the problem.
You have to know your own mind to identify the problem, before you can go forward, and then you will go forward with speed.
Gradually my mother found many ways of teaching me, and these things I included in my book, The Achiever's Journey. As I got older, I started interpreting my mind through writing and drawing. Interestingly, many other people found this useful, including those without any learning difficulties. I couldn't believe it, what a revelation to find out that others didn't really know their own minds either.
As my education continued, I still found the school's teaching methods virtually impossible to learn and virtually gave up. I learned in secret at home and to cure my boredom whilst at school, I started to share the benefits of transcending the mind, and spontaneous words and drawings using paper and pencil, with my classmates.
About The Author: Genevieve Dawid is a published author and highly successful consultant, mentor and lecturer for dyslexics, individuals and corporations. Her book "The Achievers Journey" is a partial biography and explains how she mastered her dyslexia and dyspraxia. http://www.theachieversjourney.com.
When I look back, I was quite a privileged child in more ways than one. I had a wonderful family and friends, lived in a lovely house with a large garden to play in. We went on marvelous family holidays by the sea, and traveled abroad, something I adored. I didn't have a private education but went to a local school that was "state of the art". However, for all this idyllic childhood, and the wonderful new facilities the school had to offer, learning was a nightmare for me as a child; I just hated trying to learn and so school was a place where I didn't achieve. I had no idea how other children knew the answers to questions and understood figures and numbers. I kept the same school reading book for weeks on end; one of my worst struggles was with writing my name.
Then one Christmas, my elder brother, who was a great artist, received a drawing set. He would do a drawing and then show Mum. When it came to my turn, instead of trying to create a picture, I took the note pad and drew each of the letters of my name over the whole page - but not in the right order nor in a straight line, as I didn't know how.
When showed Mum what I had drawn, she looked closely at it. "Well look at that, you do know the letters of your name, don't you?"; she said, and then asked me if I could put the letters in the right order, and in a straight line. I shook my head.
Mum took a ruler and wrote the letters in order, in a row. Instantly, I could now see each word. Using a ruler I copied the letters in order, again and again, until I got it. I had finally learnt to spell my name! Next Mum got my school reading book and used a card over the page, revealing one word at a time. I could now make sense of it. We progressed to me holding a card under each word to separate them so I only saw one word at a time. In this way, during the school holidays, Mum taught me to read.
I returned to school thrilled that I could now read and write and was instantly taken out of the additional remedial class. However, the teachers were furious with my parents and accused them of interfering with my learning! Despite the fact that for the first two years at that school their methods hadn't worked for me, they didn't like it that my parents had found a way to help me.
With practice at home, within weeks I could read any book for a child of my age. It was like a miracle. I continued to have some difficulty with spelling and grammar, my mathematics was poor and every new thing that I had to learn was incredibly difficult, but my parents had proved to me that there was always going to be a way. They just needed to help me identify the problem and together we would find the answer by finding an alternative way to learn. This was a revelation to me.
That Christmas, a simple plain sheet of paper and pencil allowed me to transcend what was in my mind - to see a solution to something that I knew was a problem, but couldn't explain.
From then on I always had an exercise book and pen nearby, and using the page like a mirror to reflect what was in my mind, the problem was copied as a visual image on a page. Seeing it on the page enabled my parents and me to identify and resolve the problem.
You have to know your own mind to identify the problem, before you can go forward, and then you will go forward with speed.
Gradually my mother found many ways of teaching me, and these things I included in my book, The Achiever's Journey. As I got older, I started interpreting my mind through writing and drawing. Interestingly, many other people found this useful, including those without any learning difficulties. I couldn't believe it, what a revelation to find out that others didn't really know their own minds either.
As my education continued, I still found the school's teaching methods virtually impossible to learn and virtually gave up. I learned in secret at home and to cure my boredom whilst at school, I started to share the benefits of transcending the mind, and spontaneous words and drawings using paper and pencil, with my classmates.
About The Author: Genevieve Dawid is a published author and highly successful consultant, mentor and lecturer for dyslexics, individuals and corporations. Her book "The Achievers Journey" is a partial biography and explains how she mastered her dyslexia and dyspraxia. http://www.theachieversjourney.com.
Friday, December 18, 2009
The Story of Santa Claus
Another Christmas Story for you..
Santa Claus is the most important and precious symbol for the celebration of Christmas. There is no evidence to prove whether St.Nicholas ever existed as a human or not. There are however some facts which indicates that the life story of Saint Nicholas was simply taken form those of Pagan Gods. His legends seems to have been mainly created out of myths attributed to the Greek God Poseidon, the Roman God Neptune, and the Teutonic God Hold Nickar. The Christian church created a fictional life history for St. Nicholas.
St. Nicholas became the subject of many legends. He loved children and threw gifts to make them happy from their windows. He also saved a sailor who fell overboard. The saint walked on water, retrieved the sailor and carried him back to the ship. He also gave away all of his inherited wealth and traveled the countryside helping the poor and sick. One of the ebst story about St. Nicholas is the one in which he saves three daughters of a poverty strickn family from being sold out in prostituion. To save them, he crept in the house and thre bags full of gold coins from their wondow. And for the third daughter he threw a bag of gold down the chimney into her stocking. Its from this that the tradition of putting stockins on the eve of christmas came over. He also rewarded children who studied catechism & behaved well.
Over the course of many years, Nicholas's popularity spread and he became known as the protector of children and sailors. His kindness and reputation for generosity gave rise to claims he that he could perform miracles and devotion to him increased. St. Nicholas became the patron saint of Russia, where he was known by his red cape, flowing white beard, and bishop's mitre.
It was basically in America, with the Dutch inspiration that St.Nicholas was transformed to SantaClaus. In the early days of Dutch New York, "Sinterklass" became known among the English-speaking as "Santa Claus. In 1809 Washington Irving, a member of the New York Historical Society (which promoted a Dutch Saint Nicholas as its patron saint), created a tale of a chubby, pipe-smoking little Saint Nicholas who rode a magic horse through the air visiting all houses in New York. The elfish figure was small enough to slide down chimneys with gifts for the good children and switches for the bad ones.
Thus we got our Santa Claus, credit to which goes to the works of Clark Moore and the cartoons of Thomas Nast. In 1822, Dr. Moore from New York wrote a Christmas poem, "A visit from St. Nicholas" to read out to his children on X'mas Eve. The following year one Ms Harriet Butler read the poem and requested a copy from him. Later she sent it without Dr. Moore's consent for publishing to Troy, New York Sentinel. Consequently it was published and became popular. In 1938 Dr. Moore revealed that St. Nicholas was his creation. And since then it has appeared countless times.
Last but not the least in response to the 8-year old Virginia O' Hanlon's query whether there really was a Santa Claus, editor of New York Sun replied "Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus', and made Santa living for ever to the kids.
Source: Christmasbuzz.com
Find great unique personalised Christmas gifts for your dear ones at
Aspire Personalised Gift Store UK
Santa Claus is the most important and precious symbol for the celebration of Christmas. There is no evidence to prove whether St.Nicholas ever existed as a human or not. There are however some facts which indicates that the life story of Saint Nicholas was simply taken form those of Pagan Gods. His legends seems to have been mainly created out of myths attributed to the Greek God Poseidon, the Roman God Neptune, and the Teutonic God Hold Nickar. The Christian church created a fictional life history for St. Nicholas.
St. Nicholas became the subject of many legends. He loved children and threw gifts to make them happy from their windows. He also saved a sailor who fell overboard. The saint walked on water, retrieved the sailor and carried him back to the ship. He also gave away all of his inherited wealth and traveled the countryside helping the poor and sick. One of the ebst story about St. Nicholas is the one in which he saves three daughters of a poverty strickn family from being sold out in prostituion. To save them, he crept in the house and thre bags full of gold coins from their wondow. And for the third daughter he threw a bag of gold down the chimney into her stocking. Its from this that the tradition of putting stockins on the eve of christmas came over. He also rewarded children who studied catechism & behaved well.
Over the course of many years, Nicholas's popularity spread and he became known as the protector of children and sailors. His kindness and reputation for generosity gave rise to claims he that he could perform miracles and devotion to him increased. St. Nicholas became the patron saint of Russia, where he was known by his red cape, flowing white beard, and bishop's mitre.
It was basically in America, with the Dutch inspiration that St.Nicholas was transformed to SantaClaus. In the early days of Dutch New York, "Sinterklass" became known among the English-speaking as "Santa Claus. In 1809 Washington Irving, a member of the New York Historical Society (which promoted a Dutch Saint Nicholas as its patron saint), created a tale of a chubby, pipe-smoking little Saint Nicholas who rode a magic horse through the air visiting all houses in New York. The elfish figure was small enough to slide down chimneys with gifts for the good children and switches for the bad ones.
Thus we got our Santa Claus, credit to which goes to the works of Clark Moore and the cartoons of Thomas Nast. In 1822, Dr. Moore from New York wrote a Christmas poem, "A visit from St. Nicholas" to read out to his children on X'mas Eve. The following year one Ms Harriet Butler read the poem and requested a copy from him. Later she sent it without Dr. Moore's consent for publishing to Troy, New York Sentinel. Consequently it was published and became popular. In 1938 Dr. Moore revealed that St. Nicholas was his creation. And since then it has appeared countless times.
Last but not the least in response to the 8-year old Virginia O' Hanlon's query whether there really was a Santa Claus, editor of New York Sun replied "Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus', and made Santa living for ever to the kids.
Source: Christmasbuzz.com
Find great unique personalised Christmas gifts for your dear ones at
Aspire Personalised Gift Store UK
The Story of Christmas Stockings
Since the Christmas season is upon us, I will be adding a few interesting stories about Christmas or stories related to this great occasion, in the coming days. Here is the first one..
The stockings were hung by the chimney with careIn hopes that Saint Nicholas soon would be there"There was a kindly nobleman whose wife had died of an illness leaving the nobleman and his three daughters in despair. After losing all his money in useless and bad inventions the family had to move into a peasant's cottage, where the daughters did their own cooking, sewing and cleaning. When it came time for the daughters to marry, the father became even more depressed as his daughters could not marry without dowries, money and property given to the new husband's family. One night after the daughters had washed out their clothing they hung their stockings over the fireplace to dry. That night Saint Nicholas, knowing the despair of the father, stopped by the nobleman's house. Looking in the window Saint Nicholas saw that the family had gone to bed. He also noticed the daughters stockings. Inspiration struck Saint Nicholas and he took three small bags of gold from his pouch and threw them one by one down the chimney and they landed in the stockings. The next morning when the daughters awoke they found their stockings contained enough gold for them to get married. The nobleman was able to see his three daughters marry and he lived a long and happy life.
Children all over the world continue the tradition of hanging Christmas stockings. In some countries children have similar customs, in France the children place their shoes by the fireplace, a tradition dating back to when children wore wooden peasant shoes. In Holland the children fill their shoes with hay and a carrot for the horse of Sintirklass. In Hungary children shine their shoes before putting them near the door or a window sill. Italian children leave their shoes out the night before Epiphany, January 5, for La Befana the good witch. And in Puerto Rico children put greens and flowers in small boxes and place them under their beds for the camels of the Three Kings.
Source: Christmasbuzz.com
Find great unique personalised Christmas gifts for your dear ones at
Aspire Personalised Gift Store UK
The stockings were hung by the chimney with careIn hopes that Saint Nicholas soon would be there"There was a kindly nobleman whose wife had died of an illness leaving the nobleman and his three daughters in despair. After losing all his money in useless and bad inventions the family had to move into a peasant's cottage, where the daughters did their own cooking, sewing and cleaning. When it came time for the daughters to marry, the father became even more depressed as his daughters could not marry without dowries, money and property given to the new husband's family. One night after the daughters had washed out their clothing they hung their stockings over the fireplace to dry. That night Saint Nicholas, knowing the despair of the father, stopped by the nobleman's house. Looking in the window Saint Nicholas saw that the family had gone to bed. He also noticed the daughters stockings. Inspiration struck Saint Nicholas and he took three small bags of gold from his pouch and threw them one by one down the chimney and they landed in the stockings. The next morning when the daughters awoke they found their stockings contained enough gold for them to get married. The nobleman was able to see his three daughters marry and he lived a long and happy life.
Children all over the world continue the tradition of hanging Christmas stockings. In some countries children have similar customs, in France the children place their shoes by the fireplace, a tradition dating back to when children wore wooden peasant shoes. In Holland the children fill their shoes with hay and a carrot for the horse of Sintirklass. In Hungary children shine their shoes before putting them near the door or a window sill. Italian children leave their shoes out the night before Epiphany, January 5, for La Befana the good witch. And in Puerto Rico children put greens and flowers in small boxes and place them under their beds for the camels of the Three Kings.
Source: Christmasbuzz.com
Find great unique personalised Christmas gifts for your dear ones at
Aspire Personalised Gift Store UK
Monday, December 14, 2009
10 Tips for Becoming a Great Boss: by Wally Bock
Here are ten tips that tell you what to do if you want to become a great boss.
1. Manage behavior and performance. Behavior is what people say and do. Performance is the measurable result of work. Forget about managing attitude. Forget about motivating others. Instead, use what you say and do to influence the behavior and performance of the people who work for you.
2. Set clear expectations. Your people can't do what you want if they're not clear about what you want. Learn to give good directions. Check for understanding. Set reasonable expectations. Ideally, you want to set goals that force people to stretch just a little bit, but that are still within their grasp. Try to help your people grow through a series of small wins.
3. Check on performance regularly. That's the only way you'll know how people are doing. Check more frequently on people who are learning a task or who are doing it again after a long layoff. Check less frequently on people who have demonstrated their competence in a task.
4. Give helpful feedback. Do this in four steps. Describe the behavior in non-judgmental terms. Describe the outcome of the behavior. Pause and allow for subordinate reaction and comment. Then determine how things will be different the next time.
5. Keep things interesting. Workers won't stay engaged unless they find their work interesting. Sometimes the work itself has intrinsic interest. But, more often, the way to keep people interested is to help them keep learning and developing. Tell people why their work is important. People want to be part of something that is bigger than they are. Tell them how their work contributes to the team and to team success. Tell them how the performance of the team contributes to the success of the company or how it helps achieve a big goal.
6. Describe and deliver the consequences of performance. Consequences are what happens to people because of their behavior or performance.
Positive consequences (like praise) encourage people to continue something new or difficult. Most managers don't use positive consequences enough. Positive consequences should be delivered frequently, but inconsistently. In other words, look for opportunities to praise behavior or performance, but don't praise every good thing you see. Negative consequences (like punishment) encourage people to stop or avoid doing something. Negative consequences should be delivered consistently. In other words, if you tell a subordinate that a certain behavior or performance level will result in a negative consequence, make sure you deliver the consequence if it's justified.
7. Be fair. People perceive a workplace to be fair when consequences and performance match up. A trainee of mine once put this is quasi-Biblical terms: "The just should be rewarded and the unjust should be punished in accordance with their deeds."
8. Give your people the maximum control possible over their work life. Let them make as many basic decisions about their work life as is reasonable and possible. So, what's reasonable? A worker who has the skill to do the job and who regularly pitches in to help (what we call an engaged worker) can be trusted to make more work decisions than a less experienced or less engaged worker. Match your willingness to grant freedom to the worker's ability and willingness to do the job.
9. Show up a lot. This is the single defining behavior of great supervisors. When you show up a lot you get to know your people and they get to know you. And every contact is an opportunity for you to coach, counsel, encourage, and correct.
10. Play the odds. You can't win them all in management or in life. But you can follow this advice from the American writer Ring Lardner. "The race may not always be to the swift, nor victory to the strong, but that's the way to bet."
There's good news and bad news here. Let's do the bad news first. You can't win them all. No matter how good a job you do, there will be people who won't do what they're supposed to. There will be situations that don't work out well. Now for the good news. If you do the basics consistently and well, over time you'll be the person with the greatest impact on a work team's productivity and morale. And that's something to feel really good about.
1. Manage behavior and performance. Behavior is what people say and do. Performance is the measurable result of work. Forget about managing attitude. Forget about motivating others. Instead, use what you say and do to influence the behavior and performance of the people who work for you.
2. Set clear expectations. Your people can't do what you want if they're not clear about what you want. Learn to give good directions. Check for understanding. Set reasonable expectations. Ideally, you want to set goals that force people to stretch just a little bit, but that are still within their grasp. Try to help your people grow through a series of small wins.
3. Check on performance regularly. That's the only way you'll know how people are doing. Check more frequently on people who are learning a task or who are doing it again after a long layoff. Check less frequently on people who have demonstrated their competence in a task.
4. Give helpful feedback. Do this in four steps. Describe the behavior in non-judgmental terms. Describe the outcome of the behavior. Pause and allow for subordinate reaction and comment. Then determine how things will be different the next time.
5. Keep things interesting. Workers won't stay engaged unless they find their work interesting. Sometimes the work itself has intrinsic interest. But, more often, the way to keep people interested is to help them keep learning and developing. Tell people why their work is important. People want to be part of something that is bigger than they are. Tell them how their work contributes to the team and to team success. Tell them how the performance of the team contributes to the success of the company or how it helps achieve a big goal.
6. Describe and deliver the consequences of performance. Consequences are what happens to people because of their behavior or performance.
Positive consequences (like praise) encourage people to continue something new or difficult. Most managers don't use positive consequences enough. Positive consequences should be delivered frequently, but inconsistently. In other words, look for opportunities to praise behavior or performance, but don't praise every good thing you see. Negative consequences (like punishment) encourage people to stop or avoid doing something. Negative consequences should be delivered consistently. In other words, if you tell a subordinate that a certain behavior or performance level will result in a negative consequence, make sure you deliver the consequence if it's justified.
7. Be fair. People perceive a workplace to be fair when consequences and performance match up. A trainee of mine once put this is quasi-Biblical terms: "The just should be rewarded and the unjust should be punished in accordance with their deeds."
8. Give your people the maximum control possible over their work life. Let them make as many basic decisions about their work life as is reasonable and possible. So, what's reasonable? A worker who has the skill to do the job and who regularly pitches in to help (what we call an engaged worker) can be trusted to make more work decisions than a less experienced or less engaged worker. Match your willingness to grant freedom to the worker's ability and willingness to do the job.
9. Show up a lot. This is the single defining behavior of great supervisors. When you show up a lot you get to know your people and they get to know you. And every contact is an opportunity for you to coach, counsel, encourage, and correct.
10. Play the odds. You can't win them all in management or in life. But you can follow this advice from the American writer Ring Lardner. "The race may not always be to the swift, nor victory to the strong, but that's the way to bet."
There's good news and bad news here. Let's do the bad news first. You can't win them all. No matter how good a job you do, there will be people who won't do what they're supposed to. There will be situations that don't work out well. Now for the good news. If you do the basics consistently and well, over time you'll be the person with the greatest impact on a work team's productivity and morale. And that's something to feel really good about.
About The Author
Wally Bock is an author, speaker, consultant and coach who helps leaders improve the performance and morale of their teams. This material is adapted from Wally's latest book, Performance Talk: The One-on-One Part of Leadership (http://www.performancetalk.com). He also writes the Three Star Leadership Blog (http://blog.threestarleadership.com/). You'll also find tips and resources about all aspects of leadership at the Three Star Leadership site (http://www.threestarleadership.com/).
Wally Bock is an author, speaker, consultant and coach who helps leaders improve the performance and morale of their teams. This material is adapted from Wally's latest book, Performance Talk: The One-on-One Part of Leadership (http://www.performancetalk.com). He also writes the Three Star Leadership Blog (http://blog.threestarleadership.com/). You'll also find tips and resources about all aspects of leadership at the Three Star Leadership site (http://www.threestarleadership.com/).
Monday, December 7, 2009
When Parents Disagree: by Toni Schutta
You’re right in the middle of disciplining your child. Emotions are running hot. You give your child a consequence for the misbehavior and your spouse steps in and disagrees with how you’re handling the situation. You feel criticized, unsupported and upset. The whole thing goes downhill from there.
It would be impossible for two parents to agree 100 of the time on how to handle misbehavior, so let’s just agree that you’re going to disagree sometimes. You may have different parenting styles, different hot buttons and different expectations than your spouse. That’s understandable. You were raised by different parents and have absorbed certain values and discipline methods that helped shape who you are.
Yet, every day you’re called upon to make decisions regarding your children. So how can the two of you show a united front when it’s necessary, give each other the support that you need and prevent your child from playing you against one another?
This will take a little work, but it’ll be worth the effort. Your children will be your children for many years to come, so taking the time to establish some guidelines now will result in better parenting, less frustration and clearer expectations for your child.
Here are eight tips to guide you.
Tip #1: Reach an agreement to support each other publicly (or at least remain neutral).
You’ve heard about the importance of presenting a united front so your child can’t divide and conquer and it’s true. It’s confusing to your child when you argue about consequences in front of them. Children with a manipulative nature will use the situation to their advantage. Usually what happens is that you get embroiled in your own debate and the discipline action gets forgotten. It also undermines your spouse’s parental authority in front of your child, which is something you
don’t want to do.
Tip #2: Develop a signal.
Let’s say that you strongly disagree with the other parent’s choice of discipline. Agree ahead of time on a signal that you can give that means, “Take a break. Let’s talk about this.” Perhaps making a T sign with your hands to signal a time out would be a good choice.
Tip #3: Talk privately about the child’s offense and how it should be handled.
There are few discipline actions that can’t wait for a few minutes. Taking the time to leave the room and talk privately with your spouse about how to handle the situation is a respectful way of communicating to your spouse that there may be other options to consider. Regardless, you are setting a much needed boundary that this is an adult matter and that the two of you will handle it accordingly.
Tip #4: Check in with the other parent to see if they’ve already made a decision.
Many children will use the one liner, “Dad said that I could” to get what they want. When hearing this line from your child, a wise thing to do is to actually ask the other parent if s/he has already given approval to your child’s request. Again, this demonstrates to your child that as parents you are united and will support each other. Usually your child starts back peddling if s/he is trying to manipulate you.
Tip #5: Develop 3 4 family rules that you can agree to follow up with consistently using the same discipline method.
One of the best methods for two parents to be consistent is to develop a few family rules for behaviors that are most important in your family. For instance, all families should have a rule that “No one’s body will be hurt by hitting, kicking, biting, etc.” A consistent discipline action should be applied by both parents when physical aggression occurs. For complete details on creating family rules and consequences refer to this article:
http://www.familiesfirstcoaching.com/newsletter_november2007.htm
Parents will never agree on how to handle all offenses, but if parents respond consistently to the top three behaviors, it will make a significant impact.
Tip #6: Agree that smaller offenses can be handled at the discretion of the parent in charge.
Once you have your family rules in place, try not to sweat the small stuff. It can be beneficial for children to learn different methods of problem solving and communication, so if your spouse parents a little differently, it may actually benefit your child. For instance, some parents are better at using humor to move through tough situations and if you’re open to it, you can learn what works more
effectively with each child.
Tip #7: Never say, “Wait ‘til your father (or mother) gets home!”
When a statement like this is made it undermines the authority of the parent who says it and makes the other parent the “bad cop.”
It’s important that you both share equally in disciplining your children.
Tip #8: Use positive discipline methods that work.
Many parents use time outs, yell or take away privileges as their top three discipline options. If those methods aren’t working for you it can be frustrating and lead to more arguments if you’re not feeling successful. If you feel like you’ve tried everything and nothing seems to work, you can learn 10 positive discipline methods that work by checking our this resource:
http://www.getparentinghelpnow.com/DisciplineAudio.htm
About the Author: By Toni Schutta, Parent Coach, M.A., L.P. Visit http://www.getparentinghelpnow.com to receive a free copy of “The 7 Worst Mistakes that Parents Make (And How to Avoid Them!). Tune in to “Real Parents. Real Solutions” radio show here: http://www.tinyurl.com/realparentsrealsolutions.
Article Source: ActiveAuthors.com
It would be impossible for two parents to agree 100 of the time on how to handle misbehavior, so let’s just agree that you’re going to disagree sometimes. You may have different parenting styles, different hot buttons and different expectations than your spouse. That’s understandable. You were raised by different parents and have absorbed certain values and discipline methods that helped shape who you are.
Yet, every day you’re called upon to make decisions regarding your children. So how can the two of you show a united front when it’s necessary, give each other the support that you need and prevent your child from playing you against one another?
This will take a little work, but it’ll be worth the effort. Your children will be your children for many years to come, so taking the time to establish some guidelines now will result in better parenting, less frustration and clearer expectations for your child.
Here are eight tips to guide you.
Tip #1: Reach an agreement to support each other publicly (or at least remain neutral).
You’ve heard about the importance of presenting a united front so your child can’t divide and conquer and it’s true. It’s confusing to your child when you argue about consequences in front of them. Children with a manipulative nature will use the situation to their advantage. Usually what happens is that you get embroiled in your own debate and the discipline action gets forgotten. It also undermines your spouse’s parental authority in front of your child, which is something you
don’t want to do.
Tip #2: Develop a signal.
Let’s say that you strongly disagree with the other parent’s choice of discipline. Agree ahead of time on a signal that you can give that means, “Take a break. Let’s talk about this.” Perhaps making a T sign with your hands to signal a time out would be a good choice.
Tip #3: Talk privately about the child’s offense and how it should be handled.
There are few discipline actions that can’t wait for a few minutes. Taking the time to leave the room and talk privately with your spouse about how to handle the situation is a respectful way of communicating to your spouse that there may be other options to consider. Regardless, you are setting a much needed boundary that this is an adult matter and that the two of you will handle it accordingly.
Tip #4: Check in with the other parent to see if they’ve already made a decision.
Many children will use the one liner, “Dad said that I could” to get what they want. When hearing this line from your child, a wise thing to do is to actually ask the other parent if s/he has already given approval to your child’s request. Again, this demonstrates to your child that as parents you are united and will support each other. Usually your child starts back peddling if s/he is trying to manipulate you.
Tip #5: Develop 3 4 family rules that you can agree to follow up with consistently using the same discipline method.
One of the best methods for two parents to be consistent is to develop a few family rules for behaviors that are most important in your family. For instance, all families should have a rule that “No one’s body will be hurt by hitting, kicking, biting, etc.” A consistent discipline action should be applied by both parents when physical aggression occurs. For complete details on creating family rules and consequences refer to this article:
http://www.familiesfirstcoaching.com/newsletter_november2007.htm
Parents will never agree on how to handle all offenses, but if parents respond consistently to the top three behaviors, it will make a significant impact.
Tip #6: Agree that smaller offenses can be handled at the discretion of the parent in charge.
Once you have your family rules in place, try not to sweat the small stuff. It can be beneficial for children to learn different methods of problem solving and communication, so if your spouse parents a little differently, it may actually benefit your child. For instance, some parents are better at using humor to move through tough situations and if you’re open to it, you can learn what works more
effectively with each child.
Tip #7: Never say, “Wait ‘til your father (or mother) gets home!”
When a statement like this is made it undermines the authority of the parent who says it and makes the other parent the “bad cop.”
It’s important that you both share equally in disciplining your children.
Tip #8: Use positive discipline methods that work.
Many parents use time outs, yell or take away privileges as their top three discipline options. If those methods aren’t working for you it can be frustrating and lead to more arguments if you’re not feeling successful. If you feel like you’ve tried everything and nothing seems to work, you can learn 10 positive discipline methods that work by checking our this resource:
http://www.getparentinghelpnow.com/DisciplineAudio.htm
About the Author: By Toni Schutta, Parent Coach, M.A., L.P. Visit http://www.getparentinghelpnow.com to receive a free copy of “The 7 Worst Mistakes that Parents Make (And How to Avoid Them!). Tune in to “Real Parents. Real Solutions” radio show here: http://www.tinyurl.com/realparentsrealsolutions.
Article Source: ActiveAuthors.com
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