A Little Post-Christmas Holiday Spirit
One of the best things about the holiday season is the Christmas spirit. But just because Christmas has passed doesn’t mean you need to give up that joy. To get yourself back into the spirit – and to find some always-needed motivation – check out The Man Who Invented Christmas: How Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol Rescued His Career and Revived Our Holiday Spirits by Les Standiford.
READ MOREPut a Little Levity in Your Life
I’ve been writing New Year’s Resolutions for Early to Rise since 2001. In previous years, I’ve recommended that you make resolutions to improve your health, grow your wealth, become a better person, and shake up your personal life. This year, ETR’s experts have resolutions in all those areas that you can put into action.
READ MOREMy Favorite Holiday Tradition: Making Myriads of Kids Smile
To me, the holidays are all about the kids. At some point, we all reach the age when our parents have to get us up to open presents rather than the other way around. And once you reach this age, the holidays are a lot more fun when there are little kids around.
READ MOREMy Favorite Holiday Tradition: Sharing the Wealth
On the outside, the church looked empty. Inside, it was a buzzing hive of activity.
Men and women formed makeshift assembly lines, popping Barbie dolls and teddy bears and Ninja Turtle pajamas into boxes. Others filled paper sacks with canned yams and string beans, boxes of Stovetop stuffing, and mesh bags full of potatoes. Frozen turkeys were added later.
READ MOREOne of My Favorite Christmas Memories
So there we were – newly married and living in an apartment furnished only by a mattress on the bedroom floor.
We had no money for lights or other decorations – but, hey, it was Christmas Eve! And we were in the middle of the Rocky Mountains (both of us working toward masters degrees at the University of Idaho). “We are surrounded by evergreens – Christmas trees more magnificent than anything you can buy!” we said. “How hard could it be to chop one of them down?”
READ MOREChristmas Eve, Italian Style
I grew up in an Italian/Irish household. That meant Christmas Eve dinner was usually a mouth-watering feast of seafood delights and culinary delicacies. Antipasto (a wonderful assortment of meats, cheeses, and vegetables), shrimp fra diavolo, fried calamari, breaded flounder, baked scallops, homemade rice balls, and, of course, pasta. Lots and lots of pasta. Dessert was even better with 7-layer rainbow cookies, cannolis, and cappuccino.
READ MORE10 Little Things I Love About the Holidays
1. Giving gifts and cards. (Of course, receiving gifts/cards is a great feeling too!) 2. Decorating the Christmas tree. It’s always so much fun. 3. Baking. This is when I can take my time to massively produce baked goodies, like gingerbread man cookies, cranberry scones, and pumpkin pies. Yum. 4.…
READ MOREHow to Find the Jingle Bell Spirit
I used to gripe about the “inconvenience” of the holiday season. Too often, I felt that my work goals suffered because people I needed to get in touch with were simply not available. It sometimes seemed like everyone I wanted to talk to was taking a long lunch break to do Christmas shopping or had left work early to get ready for an office Christmas party.
READ MOREThe Circle of Life
Throughout much of my life, I paid little attention to the miracles that surrounded me. I was too busy thinking about business and money… too busy being annoyed by annoying people. I had no time to think about the real world – the world that matters. Nature and I were perfect strangers.
READ MOREWanting Things
I don’t remember being thankful very often when I was a kid. I remember wanting things – lots of things – all the time.
I wanted toy trucks and cap guns and Lionel trains and baseball mitts. I wanted army men and model planes and erector sets. I wanted everything I saw advertised for boys on television. And everything other kids at school had, including boxed lunches and meat sandwiches instead of peanut butter and jelly in a paper bag.
READ MORE10 Things Edwin Huertas Loves About Thanksgiving
1. It really starts to “feel” like the holidays when Thanksgiving comes around. 2. I start Christmas shopping for my kids, and it is exciting to see all the cool new stuff in the stores. 3. Being a Florida resident, I get to enjoy the PERFECT weather we get this…
READ MOREThrowaway People
A couple of weeks ago, my wife and I had an appointment in Arlington, VA. As we were walking toward our destination, we noticed a thin, elderly lady standing near the street corner. She was exceptionally well groomed, and dressed in a colorful, neatly pressed outfit…
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