Joy of Christmas

Archive for November, 2007

In case you missed Toronto’s unofficial holiday kickoff this afternoon, it’s official, the Sony Centre for the Performing Arts broke the Guinness World Record for Largest Christmas Stocking today on, of all days, the Guinness Book of World Record’s Day. Yes, it’s an actual day.

The stocking’s final length was measured at 27.46 metres (90 feet 1 inch) long and 11.3 metres (37 feet 1 inch) wide (heel to toe), shattering the old record established on Jan. 11, 2006 by shoppers and staff of the MetroCentre in Gateshead, UK which measured 19.25 metres (63 feet 2 inches) long and 8.23 metres (27 feet) wide (heel to toe).

The stocking was filled with toys to be donated to the Salvation Army.

Today is your chance to be a part of the Guinness Book of World Records, make the Christmas of a Toronto child a little more merry and get a free ticket to see Irving Berlin’s White Christmas! Warning, it’s a bit of a zoo. Long lines. I didn’t expect so many people to be in the Christmas spirit this early on a cold rainy day.

This ambitious publicity stunt is going on until 4PM today at the Sony Centre for the Performing Arts (you might remember it as the Hummingbird Centre… or maybe the O’Keefe Centre… anyway, it’s that one on Front Street with all the lights). With the help of Lowe’s they have constructed the “World’s Biggest Christmas Stocking” that is made entirely out of traditional stocking materials. They are hoping to beat the previous record of 64 feet long. Together with breaking the record, they are trying to fill that stocking with gifts. If you happen to be sitting beside a large, unwrapped but manufacturer-sealed toy for children up to 12 years-old that you were thinking about donating to the salvation army this year, well then, bring it down. For your donation you will receive a free ticket to the November 22nd performance of White Christmas (one ticket per person, first 1500 gifts only unfortunately), Sony coupons worth $250 and a souvenir snapshot instantly printed of the “special moment” of you standing beside the stocking with your donation.

Seriously, the bigger the gift the better. They don’t have time for “stocking-stuffer-sized trinkets”! The Salvation Army hopes to help make the Christmases of over 12,000 children in Toronto a little more merry and bright through its holiday toy drives.

FATHER Christmas is moving one of his postrooms from Lapland to a town centre in north Kent.

Children can visit the attraction in Gravesend to write letters to Father Christmas.

It will be staffed by three elves every Friday and Saturday from November 24 to December 22.

Work is now under way to fit out 76 High Street -formerly Mrs Mason’s Sweet Emporium – ready for the opening.

This will coincide with the switching on of the town’s Christmas lights.

On the same day, a mini-panto will be held at the junction of Windmill Street, New Road, King Street and High Street, from 3pm.

Everything in the postroom will be free and youngsters sending their notes to Father Christmas will get a festive receipt.

There will be lots of information on offer, including a world map showing Santa’s sleigh schedule, and clocks will show Christmas Time around the world.

Another feature will be Father Christmas’s practice chimney.

A Gravesham Council spokesman said: “The news comes after months of hush-hush negotiations by Gravesham Council to persuade Father Christmas there are enough good children in the borough.”

Carnaby, famous for its astounding Christmas installations, brings another notable display this year from 14 November 2007. Designed by James Glancy Design the oversized and brightly coloured ‘paper chain’ installations, interlink through the main thoroughfare of Carnaby Street and connecting all twelve streets of the Carnaby area.

This Christmas, Carnaby is proudly supporting Barnardo’s Believe in Children campaign. Barnardo’s is one of the UK’s leading children’s charities working with 115,000 vulnerable and disadvantaged children, young people and families across the UK. The brightly coloured paper chains signify the global accord that is felt for Barnardo’s and are symbolic of a ‘childhood’ Christmas.

Carnaby will also play host to a Barnardo’s vintage clothing store over the Christmas period to help raise vital funds for the charity. The ‘pop up’ store is being launched at 11/12 Carnaby Street on Saturday 1 December 2007 and promises to create a chain reaction of its own.

Legendry songstress Dame Shirley Bassey has donated a stunning selection of her favourites which will be on sale alongside other donations from Barnardo’s celebrity supporters including a coat donated by Lord of the Rings actor Andy Serkis who played Gollum. The shop will also offer specially selected retro and vintage clothes, and a selection of records and books from the 70’s and 80’s.

This year the ‘paper chain’ design will utilise the Carnaby building up lighters to interact at night with the holographic finish of the Christmas decorations, therefore using no extra electricity for the display. Further to this, by using a highly reflective material and extremely bright colours, the oversized ‘paper chains’ will react to sunlight too, which removes the use of electricity during daylight hours altogether.

Simon Quayle, Shaftesbury PLC says; “Carnaby is constantly moving forward and this Christmas we are delighted to announce our support of Barnardo’s. The concept of the paper chains linking the streets of Carnaby and Barnardo’s together is extremely powerful”

An artificial Christmas tree will grace the front lawn of City Hall this year — whether the City Council wants it or not.

City Manager Don Cooper asked city staff to cancel a lease agreement for the tree with Tavares-based Clark Sales Display after council members balked at the $11,750 price tag.

But the agreement required the city to cancel its order before Sept. 1, said Budget Director David Pollard. The tree should arrive some time next week in plenty of time for the Nov. 30 tree lighting ceremony.

The council asked city staff to look into buying an artificial tree after the city went through its eighth live tree in eight years last December.

The cost to lease a fake tree was about $4,700 less over three years than the cost to buy one, Pollard said. The lease option also would have left the responsibility to store and maintain the tree with Clark Sales, which supplies the city’s other Christmas decorations.

But in a time of budget cutbacks, Vice Mayor Jack Kelly said $11,750 per year is too much to spend on a tree the city won’t own.

“It should come with a catered party, singers, a band, balloons and everything else for $11,000,” Kelly said. 

ANOTHER North Wales town will be stripped of traditional street lights this year because of new health and safety red tape.

Disappointed Pwllheli town councillors said they will only be able to cover the Maes area with festive decorations because of rising costs.

They blamed tight new health and safety regulations for depriving the town of its usual Christmas street colour lights display.

Councillors said they could not afford new lights to go across streets to meet new red tape standards.

Last month Criccieth town councillors had to abandon their street lights for the same reason, meaning only a Maes area will be illuminated there over Christmas.

Expressing bitter disappointment Pwllheli deputy mayor, Coun Evan John Hughes, said: “Over the past 220 years the council has taken pride in the colourful displays to celebrate the festive season.

“But not any more, because we just cannot afford to comply with the new regulations that would mean spending several thousands of pounds.

“During those years we have worked closely with local voluntary organisations, the result being that our lights attracted praise from a wide area,” he added.

“But in recent years the condition of the lights deteriorated to such an extent that we have been spending heavily to try and keep up with the regulations.

“We have now reached a situation that we cannot afford to invest in new lights because the cost of meeting new regulations is prohibitive.

“It is most important that we convey to local people that it is no fault of ours that the usual streets will not be lit up this Christmas.

“Regrettably the lights will be confined to the Maes, supported by a lit up Christmas tree.

“We find ourselves in a very sad situation indeed, but every effort will be made to light up the Maes, and particularly the tree.

“Tradition is now behind us as far as our street decorations are concerned, as we find ourselves in the same situation as many other towns, including nearby Criccieth, across the country, who have been forced to abandon their Christmas lights.

“As far as I can see there is no way out on this one, bearing in mind the extra fees imposed upon us, coupled with the fact that the cost of insurance is becoming prohibitive.”

Members agreed that a sum of £4,000 would be allocated to cover the cost of lighting up the Maes.

This would include the cost of buying the Christmas tree.

A TOP business figure has threatened to chain herself to railings if a Suffolk council sells off its Christmas lights.

Although the Christmas lights will be shining this year, Bury St Edmunds Town Council has given interested parties until the end of February to come forward and take the town’s Christmas lights off its hands.

If nobody comes forward the lights will be sold. Next year, the town council’s involvement with the lights will end.

Chrissy Harrod, president of Bury St Edmunds Chamber of Commerce said she would be “absolutely appalled” if the council gave the lights away or sold them to the highest bidder and threatened to chain herself to the railings of the council offices in Guildhall Street if it pursued its plan.

“I am not being flippant,” she said. “It is public money which has paid for them and it would be an irresponsible use of public money to sell them off for peanuts or give them away.

“I completely understand why they have relinquished responsibility for the lights. The problem with the lights is they are very expensive – in testing, fixings and insurance. However, the town council took responsibility for Christmas lights and it is a responsibility they hold.”

Mrs Harrod called on the council to seek other organisations, including St Edmundsbury Borough Council, the chamber of commerce, which might be able to work together to lay on the lights in future years.

She added business in the town would be unlikely to want to pay for the lights themselves because many town centre traders were already struggling in the face of high rents and rates.

A borough council spokeswoman has said “A report about Christmas lights will go to the Bury St Edmunds Town Council working party later this year.”

Town council leader Roy Bebbington said the council simply could not afford to keep running or looking after the lights.

He said: “It is just a spiralling expense. Mrs Harrod can do that (chain herself to the railings), but this is a case of needs must. They are very expensive to store and we are not planning to keep the offices forever and alternative storage would be in the region of £5,000 a year.”

He said the second lights had been valued by a number of firms at between about £10,000 and £20,000 but he feared the three-year-old set would fetch considerably less than that.

As a result, he said, it could end up being cheaper to give them away than pay the £5,000 a year storage costs. “The town council was unwise to clamour for these lights when the borough council got rid of them.”

THE tree had been selected and the axe was ready to fall.

But a last-minute change of heart has scuppered plans for a 40ft spruce from Norway to take pride of place at Edinburgh’s Christmas celebrations.

The Norwegian region of Hordaland, based around the city of Bergen, has made an annual gift of a Christmas tree to the Capital for the past 23 years.

Edinburgh grandmother Pauline Wood won an Evening News prize draw to travel to Norway with her three grandchildren to take part in the ceremonial felling of this year’s tree.

But just hours before the event it was called off because the owner had stepped in to stop the tree being chopped down.

It is understood there was not enough time to find another suitable tree in Norway and the Norwegians are now expected to pay for a tree to be supplied from a forest in the Borders.

Mrs Wood, 59, from Easter Drylaw Avenue, made the trip to Bergen last weekend with grandchildren, Reece, 16, Kelsay, ten, and Ronan, seven.

Kelsay was due to take part in a symbolic chopping of the tree.

But Mrs Wood said: “There was a call to say the tree felling was not going ahead because the person who had said they could have the tree had changed his mind.

“Everyone was standing by ready – there was a low-loader to take it to the harbour for shipping; the crane was there; there was a guy with a chainsaw; and they had shut off the roads.

“Then, I understand, the owner denied he had given permission. He said we could have the tree next door – but it was a pretty poor specimen by comparison and the Norwegians said no way.

“I understand it was too late in the day to go anywhere else and so the Christmas tree is now likely to come from Scotland.”

But Mrs Wood said she and her grandchildren enjoyed the trip despite the disappointment.

It is the third year running there has been a problem over Norway’s tree gift. Two years ago residents of a council scheme objected to a tree which they had nurtured for 32 years being cut down to send to Edinburgh.

And last year the specialist shipping company which was due to transport the tree ran into financial problems. Bergen was still determined to give Edinburgh’s Christmas tree and so paid for one from woodland near Peebles.

A spokeswoman for Edinburgh City Council said: “For more than 20 years, the people of Hordaland in Norway have gifted a Christmas tree to the City of Edinburgh to light up The Mound during the Christmas period.

“This year will be no different. A tree will be given to the city and it will once again bring joy to the many visitors and residents who visit in the city festive period.”

The tree controversy is a further embarrassment to Norway as it faces a row over plans to close its consulate in Edinburgh. Six jobs will be lost when the consulate closes its doors after 50 years, as part of foreign ministry cuts.

The tree is sent by Norway as a gesture of thanks for the support Scotland gave during the Second World War.

Black Friday. Cyber Monday. The Saturday before Christmas. They’re all coming, and they equate to the busiest shopping days of the year.

Not everyone waits until after Thanksgiving to start their holiday shopping. In fact, some already have finished by the time the holiday rolls around. Here’s what some shoppers had to say: “Why wait?” said Dixie Young of Canton, Ohio.

Christie Phoebus and Josh Clough, both of Baltimore, were hitting the stores while visiting relatives for the holiday, said they were just browsing.

“If we see something we know someone would like, we’ll get it,” said Phoebus, taking a very relaxed approach.Out shopping with her daughter Kristin, Coleen Roska said she already was halfway through her shopping. “I try to get started at the end of October or early November,” she said, noting that her oddest gift this year is a ladder.

At Bed, Bath and Beyond, Chris Dieringer of Dellroy, Ohio was looking at glasses.

“I’m almost done with my shopping,” she said. “We always shop early (for Christmas) to avoid the Christmas crowd.”

Bryan Manser, out shopping with Tiffany Conner, both of Canton, likewise was “just finishing up.” But Conner said that she still planned to be in stores and malls on busy shopping days as Christmas draws near.

“All our shopping will be done,” she said. “I think shopping is fun. It’s fun to see all the sales, and all the people. Besides, there are always little things (to buy).”

So, you haven’t started shopping yet? Here are some tips to help make the holiday shopping experience less stressful:

Make a list. Figuring out who you need to buy for can speed up your shopping trip.

Review the financials. Decide ahead of time how much money you want to spend on each person.

Map out your shopping trail. If you are going to several stores, try to do as much as you can in one group of stores before going on to another shopping area.

Wear comfortable shoes to withstand store floors. If going to a mall, consider wearing a lightweight jacket over your clothes to protect you from the cold outside, but comfortable enough so you don’t overheat while shopping inside a mall.

Guard your plastic. Carry your money or credit cards in a waistpack or backpack rather than a heavy purse. Put all receipts, including credit card slips, in one particular place so you are not searching for them later.

Read all signs. Make sure you read all the print on sales signs. This will help prevent unwanted surprises when you get to the cash register.

Christmas morning will come a little early this year.

That’s the theme of next weekend’s Christmas Gala sponsored by the Junior Civic League.

“This is the largest fundraiser of the year, and we’re all excited about it,” said Kris Ramsey, publicist chairwoman for the 19th annual gala.
More than $450,000 will be given back the local organizations that have donated money for the JCL.

“There will be 36 packages will be auctioned off in the silent auction, which are smaller items compared to the live auction,” said Shawn Benson, co-chair of Junior Civic League. “All the money we make at the auction goes back to the grants and sponsors of the gala.”

The JCL will have a buffet and a musical act to make the night entertaining.

“The Renaissance Singers will be performing for us at the gala,” said Ramsey.

The auction will have items such as fire places, Christmas trees and other items to help get bidders in the holiday spirit.

“We also have the Giving Tree package, which is a very special package,” said Benson.

The Giving Tree package is donated to three low-income families in the community who made a wish list of the things they would like to have for Christmas.

“We have already selected the families that will get the package, and they will get the tree, clothing certificates and other things,” Ramsey said.

JCL will help the children as well as the parents with the packages.

“We’ve included things for Mom and Dad to have that was on their wish list,” Benson said.

The 18th annual toy run was a huge success with approximately 450 bikes taking off from the Legends In Concert parking lot, in Branson, to carry the toy donations to the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 5168, in Forsyth, on Sunday.

When the riders took off with Santa Claus (Randy Stovall) at the head of the line, traffic on 76 Grand Country came to a halt.

Law enforcement officials from the Branson Police Department and Taney County Sheriff’s Department assisted in traffic control as bikes streamed down the highway and out onto the Ozark Mountain High Road on the way to VFW Post 5168.

At least 800 people were served a ham and bean dinner at the VFW post after the run, Lucy Terrebrood, VFW coordinator for the run reported. Each bike that rolled in carried at least one toy to place on the two tables set up at the entrance to the post. One veteran brought in two full bags of toys.

“This is such a great thing. The children will be amazed when they see their gifts. It gives us a good feeling to be able to make a difference in these children’s lives,” said Ronnie Hall, of Branson, one of the many bikers who brought toys.

Forsyth Volunteer JROTC students bagged up toys in 30 gallon trash bags. When they finished, 30 bags of toys were stacked up and will be given to local children at Christmas.

“It was a great success this year. We had people coming in off the street, bringing toys. We also received about $200 from individual cash donations,” Terrebrood said.

Tracy Davis, president of Freedom of Road Riders, who co-sponsored the event said including the $200 at the post, they have received at least $1,000 in donations in addition to the toys.

“The point of all this is to help needy children in this area. It’s nice to do our community a service and have some fun, too. The nice weather really helped,” Davis said, adding that last year, because of the weather, the run had only about 150 bikes involved.

Robert Sarver of Hollister said that people have a misconception about bikers and that events such as the toy run show how much they care about children.

“A lot of children, who might not have the chance to get many Christmas gifts, will have happy holidays,” he said.

If you like snowmen, you’ll want to see what Debbie Wolfe has to offer during Christmas Around Sabina Town. A Sabina resident, she will set up in the Mercer-Hartley Building.

The annual craft show will be held from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Friday and 9 a.m. to5 p.m. Saturday.

In addition to snowmen, Wolfe will have Christmas crafts, painted wood and glass ornaments, gift baskets, luminaries and tree toppers.

“Everything I do seems to turn into a snowman,” Wolfe said. “I go through a lot of antique white paint.”

Wolfe began a tradition for her two daughters when they were little and continues it today with a little different spin. “When my own girls were young I had an Advent calendar made out of the small match books. I would stick a treat in there every day,” she said.

Today, she continues the tradition but puts the treats in Christmas tree ornaments on her “Frostie’s goodie tree” which she puts up in her kitchen. “I wanted to do something different for my grandkids. Hopefully, they’ll remember that when I’m gone.”

Debbie and her husband Randy have three grandchildren, Anna, 5, Alex is 2, and Keiana is 1 1/2.

Wolfe said she takes the tree to shows and displays a variety of ornaments on it. “I don’t do any shows after Thanksgiving, so Thanksgiving evening we put that tree in a corner in the kitchen,” she said.

Decorated baby food jars and decorated tin cans, mittens with pockets and other ornaments are put on the tree and filled with candy and snacks. “We put candy and snacks in the ornaments for the grandkids or anyone else who comes into the house can help themselves. If they want a treat, it’s there. That’s why I call it Frostie’s goody tree.”

In addition to ornaments with snowmen, she also has santa claus, angels and skates, to name a few.

Wolfe said at different shows people want to buy different things. “At Christmas Around Sabina Town, they want to buy decorations and ornaments and things like that. Then I do another one later and they seem to want other things. Maybe they’ll have to have something for a gift.”

For several years Wolfe has made snowmen out of pint and quart canning jars and gallon pickle jars. She paints the jars to look like snowmen. On some of the jars she has lighted Christmas trees. “Others I put a little wire handle on them and you can put a tea light down in that. It will glow. Or you can put wrapped candy in them. I had a woman buy some of them and put potpourri in them,” Wolfe said. “I’ve sold a lot of them and I’m thinking about not doing them anymore. I think everyone in three counties who wants one has got them.”

Wolfe received a special order for one of her jars. “A woman at one of the shows asked if I could do a quart jar she wanted to put on her husband’s grave. “It dawned on me that I would need to seal the jar so it didn’t get water in it and break. So, I put caulking around the lid. And I had to preserve the painting on the jar. I don’t know how many coats of polyurethane I put on that jar,” she said.

Wolfe said she conveyed her concern about the paint on the jar holding up. “I told her I was worried about the surface of it,” she said.

“My father died right before Christmas and every year I would always get down. Then a couple years after I sold her the jar I heard from her. It was Christmas eve. I got my mail in and there was a Christmas card from her and she told me it was doing fine. That made my Christmas. It made my Christmas because she took the time to write me that Christmas card. I felt privileged that she wanted to put it on her husband’s grave. I don’t know if he liked snowmen or trees or what.”

While she has enjoyed making and selling the decorated jars, this summer Wolfe said she needed some jars and didn’t have them. “My husband has a garden and now I don’t have any canning jars. I painted on all of them,” she said.

She also decorates coffee cans. One has a coffee mug on top. “I put hot cocoa inside along with a gourmet chocolate bar. This wil probably be the last year I do these because Maxwell House is going to plastic containers.”

What does she call her creations? Wolfe said she wants her work to be country but she’s not sure what to call it. “It’s not exactly country. it’s not exactly primitive. I watch a lot of home and garden shows. I guess we can call it eclectic.”

Wolfe said she will have a lot of other ornaments and wood items. “I have a lot of them painted, then two weeks before the show I start putting them all together.”

Christmas stamps go on sale today: six special editions featuring angels in the snow and portraits of the Mother and Child.

Royal Mail could be forgiven for breathing a sigh of relief this year after the fuss of 2006 when it was accused of taking the Christ out of Christmas with its secular images of Santa Claus and snowmen.

This year is a religious one according to its policy of alternating between secular and religious themes and so Christian groups should be pleased — for another 12 months at least.

But in an increasingly multi-faith Britain, is Royal Mail right to concentrate solely on Christian themes. Has the time come to issue stamps to coincide with other religious festivals widely observed in Britain — like Ramadan?

Junior Girl Scout Troop 2624 gathered at Lincoln Street School in Exeter last week to show support and encouragement to troops overseas by assembling care packages to be shipped for the holiday season.

The project of assembling the care packages for the troops began with a donation of Christmas stockings. After considering several options for using the stockings, the girls made several additional stockings by hand and decided to fill them and send them to troops in Iraq.

Troop leader Patty MacDonald was very enthusiastic about the idea and said it is important for the girls “to realize that other people need things.”

Donations from other area Girl Scout troops and funds earned at a yard sale back on Sept. 29 were used to fill the stockings with “comfort items” such as socks, toiletries and snacks.

Bonnie Rice, family program coordinator at Pease Air National Guard Base, focuses on taking care of military families. She advised the girls on items to purchase for the stockings and said she was pleased with the project. “It just means the world to (the troops) to know that people are thinking of them back home,” she said.

Students at the Cooperative Middle School made cards filled with personal messages of support and encouragement. The cards will be sent along with the stockings. Girls Scout Troop 2624 also made decorative paper stars adorned with messages such as “You’re our star.” These will also be sent with the stockings.

Abby Sanderson, 10, was happy to help with the project. “I know they’re really lonely where they are and this will show that people care about them while they’re far away,” she said.

Becky Roberts, 9, thought the project was fun. “(The project) is good because it will help them a lot,” she said.

MacDonald explained that half of the funds earned at the fall yard sale were used to purchase supplies for the stockings and shipping. The other half of the funds will be used to assist some of the “families that were left behind” when their loved ones left for Iraq. Christmas gifts for the children of soldiers overseas and restaurant gift cards for the families are some possibilities.

The show of support doesn’t end there. MacDonald hopes to arrange for her Girl Scout troop to be able to personally greet some of the troops as they return home.

1. Set a budget. Before going to the malls and bazaars, sit down first and determine how much money you can afford to spend. If you have been diligently saving over the past months for this time, then you won’t have a hard time coming up with an amount that can cover gifts and celebration expenses. Try not to spend your Christmas bonus or 13th month pay if you can; invest it instead.

2. Make a gift list. Create three lists: family, friends and work contacts (officemates, clients, suppliers). See which ones you would like to give a gift to, and which ones can benefit from a simple yet sincere Christmas card. Sometimes a sincere note may mean more than a store-bought gift.

3. Determine an amount for gifts. From your budget, set aside a total amount for gifts. You can then decide how much you can afford per gift. Don’t go overboard.

4. Set aside money for celebration. Kris kringle, exchange gifts, potluck parties, and Noche Buena costs have to be budgeted too. These don’t have to cost much; for instance, instead of a lavish feast, try a simpler buffet spread for Noche Buena.

5. Consider giving group gifts. Trim down your gift list by giving one gift to a whole group or department. For instance, instead of giving small gifts to the accounting personnel you always transact with, give a whole bilao of pancit they can have for merienda. This also works the other way around: partner with a friend or officemate and buy one gift for a common friend.

6. Go homemade. Give gifts a personal touch by making them yourself. You can do scrapbooks, photo mosaics, and other craft items. Or whip up something yummy in your kitchen, like cookies, paté, and cakes. Your recipient will appreciate the fact that you made the gift yourself. It will even cost less.

7. Try shopping online. You will save time, effort, and parking fees if you do your shopping online. There are a number of stores in the Philippines who already have online stores too. And worth checking out are virtual shops put up by young and new entrepreneurs. You can choose items at your convenience and compare items right away. The goods can be delivered to your home or office or picked up at seller’s outlet. Deal with reputable sellers or those referred by people you know.

8. Hit the bazaars early. Good unique finds that are affordable can be had at village bazaars and tiangges. Most of them accept credit card payments too. Go to a bazaar early on a weekend morning so you can finish your shopping before the crowds come. Try to do all your shopping in one place.

9. Buy supplies in bulk. Gift wrapping paper, scotch tape, ribbons, boxes, and gift cards can all be bought in bulk at one time. You’ll get a better price too.

10. Choose affordable party venues. If you and your college friends are planning a reunion this season, or your office department is going to have a Christmas lunch or dinner out, pick a restaurant that would not cost so much. It would even be better if the event can be done in a home and guests can just bring a potluck dish. Or if you prefer to have food catered, get quotations from various caterers and pick one that’s within your budget.

11. Look out for sales. Read the newspapers for ads about sales in department stores, bookstores, and malls. You may get good bargains. Just come early to avoid getting caught in traffic.

12. Pay your bills on time. In the rush of the season, people tend to overlook their bills. Pay them on time to avoid interest charges and late payment fees.

13. Keep it simple. From gifts to celebrations, you don’t have to overspend to impress. One of the strategies to financial success is to live simply. This goes for Christmas spending too. Make a running list of expenses and make sure you don’t bust your budget.

14. Give to others. “Give and it will be given back to you,” says The Bible. Make time to give to those who cannot give back, such as people affected by the recent typhoon, children in orphanages, or senior citizens in homes for the aged. A heartfelt gift and sincere prayer will be well appreciated and go a long way.

15. Plan for next year’s Christmas. To avoid the financial stress, start saving for Christmas expenses in January. If you save a little amount every month for Christmas, you’ll be stress-free next holiday season.

(INQUIRER.net and Citibank invite readers to ask questions regarding financial matters. Send your questions to personal_finance@inquirer.net or comment through our personal finance blog called MoneySmarts)

*Disclaimer: Readers are solely responsible for their own investment decisions and should thus conduct their own research and due diligence and obtain professional advice. INQUIRER.net will not be liable for any loss or damage caused by a reader’s reliance on information obtained from our web site. INQUIRER.net receives no compensation of any kind from companies or industries or funds that are mentioned here.

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A 60-year-old Norway spruce from Shelton will be heading to New York City as this year’s Rockefeller Center Christmas tree.

The 84-foot-tall tree in Joseph and Judy Rivnyak’s backyard is being prepared to make the trip to the Big Apple next week. The Rivnyaks have lived at the home on Soundview Avenue for 32 years and say the tree was planted in 1947 by the home’s first owner. Judy Rivnyak says her husband wasn’t too enthusiastic at first about the spruce being taken, but he has warmed up to the idea.

The couple will be staying overnight at a hotel for the Nov. 28 tree lighting ceremony, courtesy of NBC.

Four of the past nine Rockefeller Center Christmas Trees have come from Connecticut, including Norway spruces from Ridgefield last year, Manchester in 2003 and Killingworth in 1999.

It’s still early November, but the Christmas spirit has already filled the Crown Expo Center in Fayetteville.

The Holly Day Fair, where you can find Christmas decorations, buy a few gifts or just take in some of the sights and smells of the season.

The event is in its 41st year, and it features about 200 vendors selling crafts of all kinds. Event officials say it is a great way to kick off the holiday season.

“It just picks up your spirits because you know it’s going to be a great event, a great time, and it benefits everyone,” said Leslie Saenz, event chair.

The Holly Day Fair started on Thursday and lasts until Sunday afternoon. It costs $7 to get in, and all proceeds benefit the Junior League of Fayetteville.

A shopping center in Britain has instituted a Santa Claus Boot Camp to press the importance of getting in shape over the holiday season.

The decision was made after a report was released in early November that said by 2050 more than 50 percent of British people will be obese, The Daily Mail reported Monday.

Fiona Campbell-Reilly, spokeswoman at the Bluewater shopping center in Greenhithe, Kent, said, “Santa has been around for years, but society has changed and our Santa needs to reflect this.

“Bluewater’s Santa Boot Camp is getting Santa in shape and setting a good example to children who idolize him,” she added. “He will still be the same lovable jolly man, but will be fitter and healthier.”

Christmas Lights Planner lets the family join in the fun of designing a Christmas light display for your home.

Load a digital image, shot in the daytime, of your house onto a PC.

Open Christmas Lights Planner and the image of your home.

When your home is visible on the screen, a computerized image of a front door will appear.

Size the computerized door according to your front door to get the exact dimensions to start designing with lights — every type of light imaginable is included, along with decorations.

Once your creative masterpiece is completed, print out a shopping list that includes an estimated number of lights and decorations needed. Software program supports all sorts of lighting including energy-efficient LED lights.

See Christmas Lights Planner

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas at the Caswell House in Downtown Austin.

The Austin Junior Forum takes holiday flair to a new level with its annual fundraiser. Every inch of the historic mansion is decked out with something sparkly that’s for sale.

Two items that are popular this year are the wine-aritas (like margaritas, but with wine) and flameless candles. Their ever-popular cookbook, a throwback to the 1970s called “Changing Thymes,” is only $5.

Christmas at the Caswell House offers Christmas decorations, clothes, jewelry, gourmet food, art and gift baskets for sale. The event runs through Nov. 10. Tickets are $5.

The Austin Junior Forum hopes to raise $100,000 that they will give to other local non-profits through its grant programs.

Some beneficiaries this year are Any Baby Can, Heart House, Manos de Cristo, Hospice Austin and Settlement Home.

While shoppers lolled on the beach or camped under the stars this summer, it was holiday time for more than a few online retailers.

The shopping sites were running simulations to see what would happen over the holidays if customers showed up at their Web doors in numbers far beyond their wildest dreams – or nightmares.

“Most sites don’t make it through the test,” said Ben Rushlo, senior manager of competitive research at online measurement firm Keynote Systems in San Mateo, Calif.

Better a practice crash on a slow day than a real one the day after Thanksgiving, something that happened to Wal-Mart last year.

“We saw lots of sites last year where they got more traffic than they could handle,” Rushlo said.

Online shopping is projected to grow from $220 billion last year to about $259 billion this year. Over the holiday season, a survey for the National Retail Federation found consumers plan, on average, to do 30.2 percent of their shopping online, compared with 28.9 percent last year.

The reliability and sophistication of shops on the Web have improved in recent years, but there are still problems.

A Shop.org survey of 150 retailers conducted by Forrester Research Inc. found half of retailers’ Web sites are available most of the time – but not all – and fewer than half use performance tools to understand what their customers experience as they shop.

That’s not good enough for customers who have come to see online stores as part of their shopping routine.

Too many slow loading pages and cumbersome checkouts, and pretty soon they’re clicking on a competitor’s site – and they don’t even have to use gas getting there.

Many retailers have been scrambling to smooth the way through their Internet stores, trying to avoid bad designs and foul-ups that can result in a pile of half-full electronic shopping carts abandoned in disgust.

The Forrester survey found 53 percent planning to improve checkout procedures and that 33 percent of the participating retailers were planning to invest more in live chat services that give consumers a way to ask questions from a real person. Some are even interested in proactive technology that would let a retailer send questions to consumers who appear to be stalled out.

That might be a little too much for some shoppers, said Jeanette Thomas, president of Web design and marketing firm Tachyon Solutions in Sewickley, Pa.

Even if people are aware that retailers can watch them click their way through the store, it might feel a little Big Brotherish to be approached during a shopping session.

There’s little room for error in such basics as having the checkout working.

Both Keynote Systems and Gomez regularly track the performance of major retail Web sites down to the tenth of a second. The tracking companies use tens of thousands of computers set up in various geographic locations to test the sites.

It might not look like a big deal if the same task takes 2.26 seconds to perform on Wal-Mart’s site and 6.62 seconds on Comp USA’s site, as a Gomez response time rating found in September. But every second spent waiting adds up. The test computers might even underestimate the average customer’s experience.

“What we’ve found is, from the home, it’s almost three times slower,” Flinn said.

Extra loads around the holiday can exacerbate the problem, as can colorful images of sweaters in four different shades and extras such as video clips and music.

Then, if the marketing team comes up with a great deal offering, say, 200 free iPods, one with every $500 purchase over two days in December, that can send even a solid Web site over the edge, Flinn said.

“That’s going to generate more traffic than they may have expected,” he said.

Web store operators have learned to have backup plans. If off-peak simulations show they need more computer capacity to handle a rush, many work out deals with outside vendors who rent cyberspace on an as-needed basis, Thomas said.

In a sign of how much this season matters, clients of Gomez have asked the company not to tinker with its measurement network of computers until the Christmas shopping season is over.

They don’t want any false alarms.

For those who didn’t already run tests to help brace for the best/worst-case scenarios, Rushlo said there might be only one thing to do.

“Grab your rosary beads and hope the site doesn’t crash,” he said.

A procession of more than 100 schoolchildren will march to Queens Square for the switching on of the christmas lights.
Former Eastender and star of this year’s panto Michelle Gayle will turn the lights on and the ceremony will be followed by live music.

The procession will take place as part of the annual Illuminati Festival which celebrates cultural diversity and community using light and colour as its theme.

Taking place on Thursday November 22 in Hastings Town Centre the processions starts at 5pm with 150 schoolchildren being accompanied by stiltwalkers heading from the rear of Priory Meadows, up South Terrace to the junction by M&S.

After that the marchers will turn right and continue down to Queens Square to by the Cricketer.

Here the Christmas lights in the town centre will be turned on.

The children will carry umbrellas lit from within, which they will design and decorate themselves in the build up to the event, working alongside local community groups, Radiator Arts, and the WRVS cultural heritage project.

The umbrellas are designed to reflect cultural festivals of light and colour from around the world, such as Diwali, Tihar, Eid, Chinese New Year, Dashain, Holi and of course Christmas.

Organisers are expecting a crowd of more than 3,000 peopl

Santa Claus was doling out kisses and teddy bears to daycare children this morning as the plans for this year’s annual downtown parade were unveiled.

The Santa Claus parade will take place Saturday Nov. 17 beginning at 11 a.m. and run east along Ste. Catherine St. from Fort St. to St. Urbain St.

Fifteen floats, marching bands, clowns and entertainers of all kinds will be there to enchant children and adults alike.

As Toys For Tots celebrates its 60th anniversary nationally this year, McLean County Toys for Tots has an ambitious goal.

“The goal is to collect 30,000 toys and gifts,” said Matt Drat, local coordinator of the McLean County program.

The organization, affiliated with the U.S. Marine Corps Reserves, collected more than 28,000 toys in McLean County last season to give to needy children at the Christmas holidays.

Drat is confident the community will respond to the higher goal. The collection continues through Dec. 19.

“I’m confident. They know what’s at stake. It’s the kids,” Drat said. The goal was announced Monday at the Children’s Discovery Museum.

The program collects new, unwrapped toys and gifts that are distributed through social service organizations such as The Salvation Army.

The public can donate at more than 90 drop-off locations throughout McLean County, including retail stores, restaurants and government agencies.

Toys also will be collected at special events: 1 p.m. Saturday at the Illinois Wesleyan University home football game; 10 a.m. Dec. 1 at the Jaycees Christmas parade; 7:30 p.m. Dec. 1 at Big Bad Voodoo Daddy Wild and Swingin’ Holiday Party at the Bloomington Center for Performing Arts; 7:30 p.m. Dec. 8 at the Suzy Bogguss Christmas Holiday Show at the BCPA; and 8 p.m. Dec. 14 at the Illinois Symphony Holiday Pops Concert at BCPA.

The Toys for Tots program was established nationally in 1947 to provide Christmas toys and gifts for needy children ages newborn to 16.

Drat said 2007 will provide a challenge in making sure toys recalled for safety reasons are not distributed.

“We will monitor the toys we get and make sure none are on the list,” he said.

Port St. Lucie City employees tried to cancel plans for an $11,750 fake Christmas tree today after city council members balked at the price tag but were told it’s too late: the faux fir has already been ordered and is scheduled for delivery to city hall next week.

“It’s just Christmas in Port St. Lucie,” sighed Parks and Recreation Director Chuck Proulx, who signed a three-year, $35,250 contract to rent a 30-foot artificial evergreen for the city’s annual tree-lighting event.

City Manager Don Cooper instructed employees to cancel the rental contract earlier today after reading a story in The Palm Beach Post quoting council members angry by the steep rental cost.

Budget Director Dave Pollard reviewed the contract and said the cancellation deadline was Sept. 1. Even if the city axed the tree now, it still would have to pay the $11,750 rental cost, Pollard said.

The costly tree will adorn the front lawn of city hall where eight real Christmas trees have died of mysterious causes since 1999.

The city’s annual tree-lighting is set for Dec. 6, but earlier today Cooper said he was unwilling to rent the tree given council opposition.

“Maybe we should just go to Wal-Mart and get a tree,” Cooper wrote in an email to city council members today. “I do not know what this does for the tree lighting (or even if there will be one) given the late date.”

Thanksgiving is more than two weeks away, but that hasn’t stopped stores from stocking their shelves with holiday decorations.

At Mark Knox Flowers, store manager Nancy Wilson and her crew spent Halloween putting finishing touches on their store.

But they weren’t hanging green-faced witches or glow-in-the-dark ghosts.

Instead, their walls were covered with snowmen, cowboy Santa Clauses and even fully decked-out Christmas trees.

“We’ve been working (on Christmas decorations) since the first of October,” Wilson said.

The push to get holiday merchandise in the stores seems to come earlier every year.

“It’s crazy,” Tara Pope said. “(Stores) try to push Christmas too early.”

Pope was shopping at Target looking at Halloween costumes Wednesday, just one aisle down from a display of artificial Christmas trees.

Target employees worked overnight last week clearing out their Halloween merchandise to make room for their winter holiday products.

“We already have people looking at Christmas stuff, wondering why we don’t already have decorations up,” Sheila Knight, in Target human resources, said.

Knight said stores often compete with each other to try and get their products out first.

“Wal-Mart already has theirs up, and if we don’t have ours up, we’re losing sales,” Knight said.

Some shoppers don’t seem to mind the early arrival of tinsel and garland.

“I think it’s good timing,” shopper Eva Vargas said. “I can get all the good stuff first.”

Getting the “good stuff first” is also what drives Wilson to have all her decorations out and ready for her customers.

At her store on 1209 E. Eighth St., oversized ornaments dangle from the ceiling over Christmas trees and holiday wreaths.

Many of them have red tags tied to them, showing they have already been purchased.

What drives people to buy their holiday trimmings so early may have more to do with inclination, than strategic planning.

“I think a lot of it is impulse,” Knight said. “I don’t think they go out and ‘major’ shop until Thanksgiving.”

Which rings true with at least one shopper.

“I start (Christmas) decorating the week after Thanksgiving,” Pope said.

Once Christmas has passed, workers will be cleaning out the leftover stockings and Santa hats to make room for chocolate hearts and teddy bears.

After all, there will only be 50 shopping days until Valentine’s Day.