How To Save Money On Your Holiday Gift Shopping

by: Robert Landis

With the rising costs of gasoline and heating oil, as well as rising interest rate charges, saving money is at the top of everyone's wish list this holiday season. Here are some tips on getting the most out of your gift shopping dollars this holiday season.

1. Set a budget. This seems like a simple step, but many people fail to do this before starting their holiday shopping. Figure the total amount you can afford to spend on gifts and then divide that number by the total number of people on your list. This gives you the average amount that you should spend on each person. Try and stay within this limit for each person on your list.

2. Compare Prices. With the internet, it is easy to compare prices on most products. Some websites even offer customer comments which can give you valuable information on quality, ease of use, customer service, and overall ratings for many products. Some of the best websites for this are nextag.com, epinions.com, pricegrabber.com, and shopping.com.

The Making of Holiday Events

by: Cyndi Seidler

What's your vision of this holiday season? Creating a memorable holiday is like orchestrating a major production. There are people, props, and agendas involved.

Appoint yourself as the producer and bring together the pieces to transform your vision into a reality.

Start a list of what activities would give you the most pleasure, and then decide what the main event(s) will be.

Are you going to be throwing a party? Having a tree-trimming party? Doing charity work? Going on a light-gazing tour? You might need to do meal planning, party planning, travel planning, and/or gift planning.

Break down your holiday event(s) into action tasks. Set priorities and schedules of the activities that need to be carried out.

Keep Seniors Independent and Involved -Practical Acts of Kindness

by: Ginny Dye

Sometimes elderly people can be fierce about maintaining their independence - some would say downright stubborn. But it is hard to give up taking care of oneself and give the reins over to someone else. It can diminish their spirits to depend on others to do tasks they used to do so easily.

How can you help without taking away their independence?

Following are five ideas from the free e-book, 101 Ways to Change the World. Use them to stir up your own ideas. Let’s keep our seniors involved in life – they are a valuable commodity!

Holiday Planning Tips For Busy Moms

by: Aurelia M. Williams Ahhh, the Holidays…… The Thanksgiving turkey comes out of the oven golden brown, with an enticing aroma that fills the entire house. All the china is in pristine condition and not a single piece in the set is missing. The family is gathered for holiday pictures, the children are poised perfectly; hands to themselves, not a hair out of place and their smiles are shining brightly for the camera. Then just as the photographer is about to capture the shot… you wake up!

Win a Super Shopping Spree and Never Have to Buy a Gift Again

by: ARA

(ARA) - The holiday season ushers in a time of joy and a spirit of giving -- as well as frequent frustration at finding the perfect gifts for the special people in your life. But as the gifts add up, so do the bills. Wouldn’t it be nice to do all your holiday shopping without having to worry about money? You now have a chance to make that dream a reality for all your gift needs.

Lillian Vernon Corporation, a leading national catalog and online retailer, has launched a new sweepstakes. The grand prize is $25,000 of Lillian Vernon products, the first prize is a luxury trip for two to New York City, and the second prize is a year of fresh flowers.

The Power to Succeed

by: Neil Millar

It’s amazing how we fool ourselves... while at the same time believing we are doing what’s best.

Let me give you an example. I overheard a guy telling a group of friends, over drinks, how he had become fed-up with work. Guys being guys, they immediately started to come up with options to fix the problem – ideas like changing company and changing jobs. That was when the guy got all logical…

‘Yeah, but I need to pay the mortgage and my kid’s education and we’ve got a holiday planned for the Bahamas and…’

Flannel -- A Tradition That Never Goes Out of Style

by: ARA

(ARA) - Gadgets are good, books can be beautiful, sweaters can be sensible, and sexy lingerie -- well it’s seductive to say the least. But what would the majority of women (and their daughters) like wrapped up under the Christmas tree? You guessed it -- it’s a fabulous flannel nightgown to replace the thread-bare, worn (and well-loved) one they’re probably wearing Christmas morning.

And because flannel is long-wearing, it's actually become a once-a-year gift giving tradition.