Tips for a Stress-Free Christmas

From Woman's Day

It's the most wonderful time of the year-but also one of the most stressful! Make the season more enjoyable by stopping stress in its tracks with these 31 expert tips.

Here are five.  Click the link below to view the entire list.

- Make a change. Take one task that drives you crazy during the holidays and tackle it in a new way. A fresh approach just might make a difference. For example, if you dread having to send out holiday cards, enlist your husband and split the list.

 - "Don't always go for bigger and better," when planning your holiday, advises Loretta LaRoche, author of Life Is Not a Stress Rehearsal. "Does the tree have to be bussed in from the hinterlands of Alaska?" she quips. "Isn't a little bush enough?"

- That massive pile of holiday cards needs to get mailed ASAP, but just the thought of it gives you writer's cramp? "Refocus on what's most important to you," says life coach Linda Hedberg. "If you're overwhelmed with dozens of cards to send out, ask yourself, Which are the 10 most important ones?" Send those and put the rest on the back burner. Or just send cards electronically with a service like SendOutCards to everyone on your list. Bonus: It's eco-friendly!

- Donna Wallace of Shawano, Wisconsin, found that adding, rather than deleting, something from her to-do list made her Christmas feel less hectic. One year, she joined her church choir for the express purpose of singing with others in praise and celebration of the season. "It grounds you to acknowledge the spiritual side," says Donna.

- As you take part in trimming the tree or preparing the Christmas or Chanukah cookies with your kids, take a deep breath and savor the moment. Give yourself permission to forget about all those tasks still left on your to-do list.

Click Here to read the entire article and read all 31 tips. 

 
Your comments are welcomed and appreciated.  

Wishing You and Yours a Very Merry Christmas and a Very Happy Prosperous New Year,

Annette

Painted Lady Enterprises

'Helping You and Your Business Look Good'

 

  Your comments and feedback and welcomed and appreciated. You may also provide feedback on our Facebook page

History of Greeting Cards

Sending greeting cards to friends, lovers and family is a tradition that goes back over 200 years. While the first greeting card actually dates back to the early 1400's, greeting cards became popular in the mid 1800's when the cost of color printing dropped, and cards could be delivered for just a penny.

Sir Henry Cole is credited with coming up with the idea for the first mass produced greeting card, which turned out to be a Christmas card he had created by his good friend, John Calcott Horsely. That year, Cole was late sending his usual holiday greetings letters to all his friends and relatives for Christmas. He contacted Horsely to ask if he was able to hand colour and engrave a thousand cards for him with a seasonal message which could then be sent to everyone. Horsely accommodated him, and thus began the tradition of sending holiday greeting cards.

And so the first modern Christmas card was born. It depicted a young boy with a red scarf and the greeting 'Merry Xmas and a Happy New Year'. Sir Henry was delighted with the result. He even sold the left over cards in Old Bond Street for a shilling each! With the help of the penny post, which had been introduced in England a few years earlier, the practice couldn't help but catch on and grow.

By the 1860's, Americans were importing most of their greeting cards from Germany, but in 1906 a gentlemen from Cleveland by the name of Jacob Sapirstein started his own greeting card business. With a $50 loan acquired at a local bank, Sapirstein began selling penny postcards greeting cards at local drug stores, and quickly became a success. After his death in 1918 his son and wife continued the business and grew it to enormous success.

As the concept of greeting cards grew, people found many occasions to send them, including holidays, birthdays, or just to say hello. The greeting card then became a fixture in American culture, and has continued to grow ever since.

In the 1980's the greeting card market was growing by 10% per year. Small publishing houses were establishing themselves and specialist card shops, also selling giftwrap and associated gifts were springing up on nearly every high street and shopping mall.

By the 1900's the Post Office was having to handle an extra 11.5 million letters in Christmas week alone.

Today, the greeting card business grosses over $7.5 Billion dollars per year, with literally millions of cards sent annually. All of that adds to the wonderful feelings we hold for our friends and family members and we reach out to let them know how we feel about them!

Information taken from Make Loyal Customers

How many greeting cards will you send out this year? What type will they be? i.e. Custom, family photo, handmade, specialty, business, etc.?

I love to send greeting cards all year and especially for the holidays. I would love to help you with your card sending.

In gratitude,
Annette
Painted Lady Enterprises
"Helping You and Your Business Look Good"

How Do You Choose to Celebrate

Image by Getty Images via Daylife

The holiday season is here. We received our first greeting card yesterday. Every where we turn we are bombarded with constant reminders from every possible angle. Given the past year's tough economic state, lots of people are finding creative ways to celebrate the holidays. How are you celebrating this year? What traditions are special for you?

For me each holiday season is a time to be with family that we don't get to see often enough. It is a time to reflect on how truly blessed we are to live in this country and to have the freedom to celebrate however we choose. Let us especially be thankful for those past and present who have helped to give us the gift of freedom.

Listed below are the holidays, besides the obvious ones, for the upcoming month according to the Earth Calendar. We have also included the quirky ones from Wellcat.com.

December Events

December-5	Day of the Ninja
December-7	Pearl Harbor Day
December-10	Human Rights Day
December-10	Nobel Prize Day
December-12	Poinsettia Day
December-15	Bill of Rights Day
December-16	Boston Tea Party
December-20	Louisiana Purchase Day
December-21	Forefather's Day
December-23	Festivus
December-25	Christmas Day
December-26 to December-31	Kwanzaa
December-31	New Year's Eve

Month Observances

Occasion Link

Safe Toys and Gifts Month Prevent Blindness America
National Stress-Free Family Holiday Month Parenting Without Pressure
Universal Human Rights Month International Society of Friendship & Goodwill

First Full Week
Occasion Link
Aplastic Anemia Awareness Week Aplastic Anemia & MDS International Foundation

Third Week
Occasion Link
Human Rights Week United Nations
International Language Week International Society of Friendship & Goodwill

From WellCat.com - The Quirky Holidays

Dec 1	Bifocals At The Monitor Liberation Day -- Our hearts fill with compassion today for co-workers stuck wearing bifocals at the PC. Shed a tear as their heads bob up and down, in and out, trying to read the monitor, trying to decide which set of lenses to use.
Dec 5	Bathtub Party Day -- Almost everyone nowadays takes showers, so here’s a day to recall some of the luxury of days gone by. Invite a few friends.
Dec 13	Pick A Pathologist Pal Day -- Pathologists and coroners are an especially jovial lot, and befriending one of them offers an ongoing reminder than “tomorrow” is not necessarily a guarantee.
Dec 15	Cat Herders' Day. If you can say that your job, or even your life, is like trying to herd cats, then this day is for you, with our sympathy.
Dec 16	Barbie and Barney Backlash Day -- If we have to explain this to you, you don’t have kids. It’s the one day each year when mom and dad can tell the kids that Barbie and Barney don’t exist.
Dec 21	Humbug Day -- Allows everyone preparing for Christmas to vent their frustrations. Twelve humbugs allowed.
Dec 29	Tick Tock Day -- Time runs out! All those dreams you've had, all those fantasies? It's time, friend. Do it!
Dec 30	Falling Needles Family Fest -- Now that the Yuletide tree’s been up for weeks and hasn’t been watered since a couple of days before Christmas, gather the gang around and watch the needles gently fall one by one. Live it up! Dance barefoot.

We wish each of you and yours a Happy Stress Free Holiday Season.

Sincerely,
Annette
Painted Lady Enterprises
"Helping You and Your Business Look Good"

Whoosh.......

Whoosh…..

Did you hear it? It was the sound of the holidays coming and going or you could say the whole year. I thought it was just me, but I heard a number of people say that this year just flew by.

I love the holidays. I wish they didn’t come and go so fast. I spoke to a client the day after Christmas and asked her how she enjoyed her holidays and she said fine, but she was glad it was over. To me that is so sad. It is the one time of the year that I get to see most all of my children and family all at one time even if it is for only a couple of hours. Yes it’s a lot of work to get everything ready, the house cleaned, the decorations up, gifts bought, etc. etc., but to me it’s worth it. I just wish it lasted a little longer. It makes me want time to just stand still for a little while.

My oldest daughter stayed an extra day and we went to see a movie which was fun and relaxing. As I watch my grandchildren grow up so fast, I wish I lived closer to them so I could see and be with them more often. Maybe it wouldn’t seem like they grow several inches when I do see them.

Now it’s time to start making plans and goals for the New Year. To try and make each day count. To look back and reflect on last year and make plans to do better and keep the resolutions that didn’t quite see fruition this past year. To work smarter, not harder. To enjoy life…each and every minute. To make time for the important things so that this time next year we don’t hear that giant Whoosh and wonder what happened to the year.

This past year was a great year. I cannot complain. It was jammed packed and I have some great memories to cherish. Here’s to continuing to Thrive in 2009!

Happy New Year!

In gratitude,
Annette

Resolve to Simplify Your Card Sending this year. Log on and find out how to create, personalize, and mail your cards with just a few mouse clicks. Send them a REAL greeting card with my compliments Painted Lady Greeting Cards

Gifts, Greeting Cards, and Promotional Products

www.PaintedLadyEnterprises.com

"Helping You and Your Business Look Good"