Search Results for: blog christmas music

Christmas Morning Part I

After all our frugal preparations for Christmas, I was particularly excited for Christmas morning this year.  Our son was really excited about Santa Claus bring presents to put under the tree.  Our daughter, who had just turned one, was far more interested in opening presents and listening to Christmas music this year than last year.  We were excited and interested to see how she would react to the lit tree with presents beneath. I went to bed on Christmas Eve excited for the morning.  Little did I know that it would come sooner than I expected. At four thirty on … Continue reading →

Three Gifts for Christmas

Three Gifts for Christmas Have you ever found an extra stash of Christmas gifts after Christmas? I’m embarrassed to admit that I have. Nestled in a corner of our bedroom closet was a bag of a couple of items that I had bought for Christmas and then completely forgot about. A growing tradition in many families takes its prompt from the three gifts that the wise men, or magi gave to the baby Jesus. Here is what the tradition of giving gifts the way that the wise men did, and how it can be very meaningful for your family, too. … Continue reading →

Finding the Christmas Spirit

  Sitting on Santa’s lap is not the only way to get into the Christmas spirit.  There are dozens of affordable travel opportunities that will help you get into the holiday mood, including: Indiana:  Gather the kids and head to Santa Claus, Indiana.  The town celebrates Christmas all year long, but during the month of December things really hit a fever pitch.  In addition to snapping photos of your kids with St. Nick, your entire clan can tour a Santa Claus museum, shop at Santa’s Candy Castle or enroll in Santa Claus training workshops to learn the find art of … Continue reading →

Free Christmas Apps for Android

An easy way to get into the holiday spirit is by playing around with a Christmas themed app. Every year, there are some interesting, and free, Christmas apps for Android. They are great for keeping small children happily occupied while you are waiting in line by the registers. Christmas Games is a free app for Android. It has five Christmas themed games for children (and adults) to play. There is a jigsaw puzzle and a shape puzzle. It has connect the dot, a memory game, and a scratch game. The connect the dot game fills in a detailed cartoon image … Continue reading →

Free Christmas Apps for iPhone

December is a month that requires a lot of extra shopping. Need something to do while waiting in a long line at the register? Try some of these free Christmas apps for iPhone. Instead of being bored and frustrated from waiting you could be increasing your Christmas spirit! A Talking 3D Santa is a free app for iPhone, iPod touch and iPad. It requires iOS 3.2 or later. It is an interactive Santa. He talks, delivers gifts, jumps down the chimney, eats cookies, and even calls Rudolph. Press different parts of Santa, or his environment, to make things happen. Tap … Continue reading →

Freebies for Coffee, Christmas, and More!

After the chaos that come with shopping on Black Friday, (or on Thanksgiving day), it is nice to have some time to relax. Pick up a few of these freebies, before they disappear. You can do it from the comfort of your own home, and without having to fight the crowds. This time, I found freebies on coffee, Christmas items, and more! Seattle’s Best Coffee has a free sample of their coffee. To get this freebie, you must click “like” on their Facebook page. Next, go to the Coffee Break tab and grab a free 1.75 ounce sample of Seattle’s … Continue reading →

Christmas Decorating

It’s the tradition in my home. The day after Thanksgiving I start pulling out the Christmas decorations. Then I take the rest of the day off and save the actual decorating for Saturday. I absolutely love the day of Christmas decorating. A hot mug of coffee, Christmas music playing and my living room is transformed. This is also the perfect opportunity to get in some cleaning. Because I have to move furniture in my living room to fit the Christmas tree, I take advantage of this by wiping down the baseboards and getting on my hands and knees to scrub … Continue reading →

Christmas Gifts for Your Irish Relatives

This year, give your family members a gift that reflects their heritage. A gift that reminds people of their heritage, and the country that their ancestors came from, will be more meaningful than a gift card could ever be! Here are some great gift suggestions that genealogists can give to their Irish relatives. Christmas is closer than you might think! Now is the time to plan out the gifts that you intend to give to relatives. Get started on the handmade gifts right away! Keep in mind that gifts that you purchase online will require time for shipping. Here are … Continue reading →

Disney Christmas Day Parade Filming Dates

Big news first: I know the filming dates for the 2012 Disney-ABC Christmas Day Parade. This is an elusive event where the tickets go on sale and sell out almost immediately. This year I have an inside line on the taping; the daughter of a friend of mine is going to dance in the parade. They’re taping the last week of November/the first weekend in December. The big day should be Saturday, December 1. I couldn’t verify this information online, because Disney hasn’t posted anything official about it yet. They probably won’t until November. But I can guarantee that the … Continue reading →

Music and Movement: Entertainment at the Animal Kingdom

My earliest Disney memory that doesn’t have to do with the movies is of the Disney World Christmas Day Parade. That’s what I knew about Disney parks before I processed the whole theme park thing: I thought of parades featuring Disney characters. Of course now that I know more about Disney World I realize that my early assumptions about what the park meant weren’t so far off base; there are daily parades with various characters all over Disney World, and they’re not limited to the Magic Kingdom. The Animal Kingdom has in fact two of its own parades: Mickey’s Jammin’ … Continue reading →