With all of the retail outlets displaying holidays decorations a month or more before the holiday, it’s sometimes difficult to get into the spirit of the season by the time it arrives. This is especially true of those who work in retail outlets because by the time you look at holiday decorations all day long, by the time the holiday arrives, you’re tired of looking at the decorations and would prefer if it just passed right by you.

Avoiding decorating may be a solution to some of the holidays, but it’s difficult to avoid Christmas and Halloween, especially if you have young children. Easter the children are content with an Easter basket full of candy and/or toys, and some may not even care much about Halloween decorations as long as they have their costumes and Trick or Treat bags, but Christmas is just not the same without decorations throughout the home.

What do you do when you just can’t get into the mood to decorate? What can you do to build the momentum and get into the spirit of the season? When it comes to Christmas, one thing that tends to put people in the mood is seeing decorations in homes and businesses. This does mean the decorations that stores put on display for sale, but the decorations that are delicately placed by homeowners, tenants, or business staff. Another momentum builder is visiting holiday villages such as Bethlehem, Pennsylvania’s Christmas Village with all of the many displays, many showing decorating ideas that have been used for centuries. Taking a walk through holiday villages such as this one with the lights shining, decorations displayed for viewing, and the sound of music radiating through the air is enough to make one feel the spirit begin to engulf them. Even better when it comes to Christmas is to see the snow falling upon the beautifully decorated trees and glistening among the many brightly lit holiday decorations.

Mrs. Party… Gail Leino is the internet’s leading authority on selecting the best possible party supplies, using proper etiquette and manners while also teaching organizational skills and fun facts. Holiday Party Decorations, free games, menus, recipes, coloring pages, and activities to help complete your event.

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As most everyone who has ever cooked for a large Thanksgiving Day gathering knows, the key is planning and pre-preparation for as many dishes as possible. If you have family members willing to brink desserts, or their favorite dish, it helps too, because you can focus on things like decor, expanding the eating area, if you have large gatherings, and making sure everything is perfect for your guests.

If Turkey and stuffing (or ‘dressing’ in the south, where it is made with cornbread instead of other bread) are on the menu, try this simple suggestion: Rather than cooking the stuffing inside your bird, boil and bone a chicken the day before, bake cornbread (or get the bread ready that you intend to use) completely prepare the stuffing according to the recipe you like best, and put it in the refrigerator in a baking pan, ready to pop into the oven the next morning.

If you find turkey dry, or bland, simply take 10 chicken bullion cubes, a diced onion, minced garlic cloves, 2 Tablespoons of soy sauce, 2 Tablespoons of seasoned meat tenderizer, red pepper to taste, and two quarts of water. Cook until only one quart remains. Strain this cooled liquid through a cheesecloth, or fine wire strainer; use the onions and garlic in your stuffing or mashed potatoes, and buy a meat injector (looks like a giant syringe with a huge needle, and inject the spicy mixture into your thawed turkey.

This can be allowed to marinate overnight, but it actually works best if injected right before cooking the turkey, because it tends to drain out some if left over night. This method works for fried, baked, or smoked turkeys. Prepare all desserts the night before, and things like veggie trays, salads, cranberry sauce can be done the night before as well.

Bake or buy muffins that can be eaten by hand for breakfast, so you don’t have to worry about breakfast, or a breakfast mess, and you can even have your table set and decorated the night before.

Be certain to have plenty of relaxing activities, like movies for the post dinner lethargy that we all seem to have after eating Thanksgiving Dinner, but remember to have activities to keep the children entertained as well. They enjoy movies, for relaxing, but will have plenty of energy left.

Marshmallow Straw Contest

This is a new version of apple dunking. Take a large plastic bowl, fill it half way with ice water, and float full size marshmallows in it. Each child has a straw, cut in half. (Shorter straws are easier to suck and hold the marshmallow) Then have a contest to see who can get the marshmallow picked up in the shortest amount of time. Do this with only one or two children at a time so there will not be too many kids trying to catch the marshmallows at once. They can even eat the marshmallow when they capture it.
Pumpkin Bowling

Knock over the bowling pins. Make a strike or a spare. Select several miniature pumpkins for this game. You need extras in case a few split or break. Place plastic soda bottles, with dried beans in the bottom to weight them just a bit, as bowling pins several feet away on the lawn or floor of the room.
You can let the kids decorate the soda bottles with Halloween objects before the game. Measure off several feet. Give each child two tries to knock down the pins. I strike is worth two pieces of candy. A spare is worth one piece of candy.

Mrs. Party… Gail Leino is the internet’s leading authority on selecting the best possible party supplies (http://partysupplieshut.com), using proper etiquette and manners while also teaching organizational skills and fun facts. The Party Supplies Hut has a huge selection of free party games, coloring pages, word find, word scramble, printable baby and bridal shower activities. Thanksgiving Party Games (Thanksgiving-Party.com), holiday party planning tips, recipes, menus, printable activities and free coloring pages.

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