Bs1234 Jessica Simpson

Here are some wonderful Christmas crafts that will WOW your preschooler(and older kids too if they like!)

1. Snowman Christmas cards

Glue a snowman cut-out to the front of a construction paper card. After decorating the snowman, attach the poem below and a small packet of hot chocolate or apple cider to the inside of the card. Have your child tape a candy cane to the front of the card for the snowman's cane.

Poem: To Keep You Warm

Here's a little snowman soup

Complete with stirring stick

Add hot water and sip it slow

It's sure to do the trick

2. Christmas Wreath

Cut out the center of a white paper plate and paint the outer part of the plate green. Glue trios of Cheerios cereal to the wreath. When the glue is dry, dip a paint brush in red paint and dab over the cheerios so they resemble holly berries. Glue on a gift bow to the bottom of the wreath.

3. Milk carton Gingerbread Houses

Supplies Needed:

White icing(store bought or a recipe)

empty, clean 2L milk cartons

graham cracker squares

decorations:a variety of candies, sprinkles, etc.

Have all of your decorations, candies etc. in individual bowls. Prepare white icing/frosting if you are not using store bought.

Cut your milk carton in half width-wise and staple the tops closed. Cut each milk carton to make one or two doors. Secure the milk carton with the white icing onto a paper plate or a sheet of wax paper on top of cardboard. Attach graham cracker squares to sides of milk carton by spreading icing on milk carton and pressing cracker firmly onto carton. Do the same for the roof. For the area between the sides and roof, cut a graham cracker in half on the diagonal to form a triangle and attach the same way.

Once you have your sides and roof attached, use icing to attach decorations and candies to your house.

Rachel Vince is a busy and happy Mom of two young children who feels blessed at having a second chance at life, seeing through the eyes of her children. For more favorite ideas that kids will enjoy visit her web site at http://www.create-kids-crafts.com. This article may be reprinted in full so long as the resource box and the live links are included intact. All rights reserved. Copyright http://www.create-kids-crafts.com.Cheap Car Insurance On Line
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Here comes the holiday season again, gasp! That means chasing all over town searching for that perfect gift for everyone on your list, fighting with the crowds for the latest "it" toy or newest electronic thing-a-ma-jig, right?

Why not try a different approach this year, and give some- thing special to your family and friends? Jigsaw puzzles could be the answer!

My love of jigsaw puzzles comes from my Grandmother.

My grandmother lived in a very small town in northern Minnesota where the moquitos out number the people. It certainly was a boring place to spend a summer vacation as a kid. What was worse I realized, Grandma didn't have cable TV! Out of sheer boredom, I sat down with her while she worked a puzzle.

Grandma was smart, she had an extra chair and some cookies waiting for me to join her.

There is one puzzle I remember clearly, it was a picture of a red and white quilt and it was huge! It must have been 2000 pieces and it took up the entire dinning room table. I was sure there was no way anyone could ever get that whole puzzle put together, it was simply too hard. It took some time but after I found a few pieces and had completed one square of the quilt I was hooked. Every day I looked forward to working on the puzzle, and every piece found was a triumph! It took a few weeks, but we finally finished that puzzle, and all of Grandma's famous sugar cookies too!

I felt proud of what we accomplished and that I was able to help. We left it on the table for a couple of days to admire our work. Soon I discovered the rest of Grandma's puzzle collection and I couldn't wait to dig into a new puzzle!

Looking back on this now as an adult and a mom myself, I realize that this simple pastime gave me many things. At first I didn't think it was possible to complete the jigsaw puzzle, but once it was done I felt a great sense of pride and accomplish- ment. More importantly, the real gift was quality time, great conversation and fantastic memories of my Grandmother. ( And I still have her cookie recipe!)

So before you rush out to buy the latest "batteries not included" flashing light gadget, take a second look at this old fashioned gift. You may get more back then you expected.

Tips to make a jigsaw puzzle a hit this holiday season

Jigsaw puzzles are more fun when they are part of a bigger plan.

Give tickets to your local zoo with an animal puzzle, or tickets to an aquarium with an underwater puzzle.

Find a puzzle of your next vacation destination, or someplace you would like to visit someday.

Start a new family tradition and work a puzzle together.

Look for a puzzle with a fantastic winter scene, or holiday celebration to get you into that Christmas spirit. Turn off the television and turn on some Christmas music and enjoy some time with your family.

Jigsaw puzzles can add to a collection.

Perhaps someone you know collects dragons, dolphins, or roosters for instance, look for a puzzle with those things and you've got a great gift.

Jigsaw puzzles can be used to decorate your home.

Jigsaw puzzles can be easily glued together and hung up as artwork. Keep the theme of your children's rooms, and your dining room in mind as you look for a puzzle, you can fill your home with art work you made yourself!

Things to look for when purchasing a jigsaw puzzle:

1) Picture :

I think the most important thing to look for when purchasing a jigsaw puzzle is the picture itself. Puzzles are meant to be fun, so find a picture that makes you smile! Have fun!

2) Size and Piece count:

You should pay attention to the piece count, make sure it is appropriate to the age and skill of the puzzler. 500 pieces may be to hard for your 6 year old to do solo, but may be perfect for the family to do together.

The size of the completed puzzle is important. Make sure the area you will assemble the puzzle will hold the puzzle and have extra room for the un assembled puzzle pieces.

3) Quality:

A quality puzzle is well worth the price! Vibrant colors, tightly fitting pieces etc. will make assembling the puzzle more enjoyable.

It is frustrating to have the paper fall off the cardboard of a puzzle piece or to have thin pieces that break easily.

4) Challenge level:

While choosing a puzzle, keep in mind that a puzzle of a solid color or repeating pattern may make it more difficult then a puzzle with a variety of colors. Example, a puzzle of black cat on a black blanket even though it is only 500 pieces may be extra challenging.

Keep this in mind, but remember a puzzle is supposed to be a challenge!

5) Specialty Puzzles:

The first thing that comes to mind when you think of a puzzle may be a rectangle shape with a picture of a field of flowers. If this sounds boring to you keep looking! There are many unique puzzles out there.

Shaped puzzles are puzzles that have a unique border shape.

Such as in the shape of a dog or of an eagle in flight. These puzzles offer a a challenge to those who always work the border of a puzzle first. Round puzzles are some of my favorites to work because of the unusual way the pieces are cut!

Glow In The Dark puzzles look like a standard puzzle but parts of the design will glow in the dark making them a great choice to glue and save!
Tips for getting started:

Now that you have a puzzle, and a place to work it, you are a little overwhelmed by looking at that huge pile of pieces. Now what?

1) Lighting A bright place to work will reduce eye strain and make for a more enjoyable experience.

2) Sort your pieces I like to turn all the pieces right side up first as well as sorting the edge pieces right away. I have also found that using boxes or small containers to sort the different colors into is very helpful! ( The boxes of previously worked puzzles that you have glued together to display are perfect for this.)

3) Enlist help I have found that it is nearly impossible to walk past someone who is working a puzzle without stopping to find a few pieces myself.

Puzzles are a great way to pass time and you may have a wonderful conversation too!

4) Puzzle roll ups If you need to use the dining room table again, and you are not finished with your puzzle yet, don't despair! A puzzle roll up will help you move and store your unfinished puzzle for another day! Puzzle roll ups are available in a variety of sizes.

5) Puzzle Glue Once you have completed your puzzle it can be heart breaking to take it apart again. If you really like the design, or just want to show off your hard work, it is a simple task to glue the puzzle together and hang it on your wall! A good puzzle glue will dry clear so it doesn't distort the beauty of the colors. Puzzle glue is brushed on, and when it is dry you can frame the puzzle, or hang it up as is. Keep the decor of your home in mind when you are buying puzzles, and you can fill your home with art you made yourself!

6) Afterwards...

If you have completed a puzzle and don't wish to work it again here are several ideas for you. Pass it on! Know a friend that enjoys puzzles? Exchange your completed puzzles with them! Donate puzzles to local schools, churches, nursing homes etc.

HTTP://www.thepuzzlezone.net

PuzzleLover liver in Bismarck, North Dakota with her husband and their daughter.Auto Insurance In New Jersey
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A metaphor is a figure of speech that describes one thing, concept, or action in terms of another one. A metaphor interacts with language intimately, creating relationships between things and ideas not recognized before. When a metaphor is the exact opposite of what it describes, it is called a collusion or a collision.

Although a metaphor is quite like a simile, it does not use words of resemblance such as "like" or "as" when it describes something.

Metaphors are either plain or implied. A whirlwind of ideas is a plain metaphor. The numbers rained on him, His smile sinned when he looked at her, and Jane knifed my wound are implied metaphors. Implied metaphors are cherished by poets and writers more than the plain ones. Since they are usually made with verbs, they bring life and excitement to an expression. Yet, plain or implied, all metaphors can be overused or abused like other good things.

At the beginning, when I tried to write poetry, I had a run-in with metaphors, only because I loved metaphors a lot. I thought they worked wonders, and since I believed metaphors were my strength, I used them too often and too indiscriminately.

Imagine a Christmas tree with decorations building up to a single shining star, which has a beautiful meaning in its fundamental nature. Well, my Christmas tree had many stars all around it with all of them fighting with that star on top for brightness, so much so that my poems became disorientated in a traffic jam of metaphors.

I stopped my romp with metaphors when a wonderful teacher pointed out to me, ever so gently, what I had been doing. I will forever be grateful to her as long as I use metaphors. She told me to use one master metaphor, and if I felt like adding extras, I should make the additional metaphors work under that one master.

Now, I go with her formula especially in a short poems; one central metaphor with all the other less significant ones building up to it. In other words, for each Christmas tree there needs be only one very bright star on top.

With a metaphor one can express an idea more pointedly and more delicately than one can express by using a roomful of adjectives and adverbs. For example, an amateur could be saying this:

"When he moved the position of his cap, it was visible that his head was covered by white hair, which was holy, sacred, saintly, distinct, untainted, not dirtied, much adored, spiritually aristocratic, and shining brightly with a circular light."

Here is how a great poet has said it with a metaphor so eloquently.

And white the unpigmented
Halo of his hair
When he shifted his cap:
from Night Game by Robert Pinsky

Let us look at the word metaphor. Meta means across, phor means carry something like a ferry. So, a metaphor must carry across a meaning by using a physical image which stands for an abstract thought.

The poet Jane Yolen--in an interview--said:
"In Greece the word metafora is a kind of moving van and so as you drive around, you see trucks with METAFORA on the side. They are shifting a lot of stuff under the watchful eye of the stone-draped ladies of the Parthenon. There's a poem there."

Jane Yolen was so right. Where there is a good metaphor that is wisely used, there is a poem there.

Joy Cagil is an author on http://www.Writing.Com/ which is a site for Poetry. Joy Cagil's education is in foreign languages, linguistics, psychology, and humanities. Her portfolio can be found at http://www.Writing.Com/authors/joycagBlack Christmas Review Yahoo
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Finding that perfect gift for children always seems easier than finding a great gift for adults. Just head to a toy store, pick something out and be on your way, right? Wrong. Unfortunately, its not that easy. Sure, the kids might love the gift right out of the box, but will it get played with months (or heck, even weeks) later?

Thats the question you have to ask yourself each gift buying occasion when shopping for children. Luckily, there are guides and hot lists to help you in your search. For Christmas 2006, there are a myriad of hot toys. If you dont wait until the very last minute to shop, you should have no trouble finding most of them.

To help us, Toys R Us has released a list of the top 15 toys and has provided suggestions for toys in each age range as well.

The top 15 toys, in no particular order, include:

Doras Talking Cash Register (Fisher Price)
Laugh & Learn Baby Grand Piano (Fisher Price)
ESPN Fast Action Football (Fisher Price)
T.M.X Elmo (Fisher Price)
Kid-Tough Digital Camera (Fisher Price)
Sound City Railway (Imaginarium)
Tap Dancing Mumble (Thinkway)
Wii (Nintendo)
Blue Man Group Percussion Tubes (ToyQuest)
Speed Stack StackPack (Play Along)
Mindstorms NXT (Lego)
Designers World (Tiger Games)
My Scene My Bling Bling Styling Head (Mattel)
Power Rangers Deluxe Manticore Megazord (Bandai)
Pink Nitro Notebook (Vtech)

Now, if you are looking for the best toy buys for each age group, heres a sampling of Toys R Us recommendations.

For Babys First Christmas

Lets Play Together Peek N Play Discovery Dome (Playskool)
This is an interactive toy that lets parents get in on the fun, with peek-a-book curtains. Fifteen Activities are designed to encourage hand-eye coordination

Laugh & Learn Learning Bunny (Fisher Price)
This bunny is plush, but hes no slouch. He can help babies learn how to count to 10, learn their colors and textures and other skills. He also plays music.

Laugh & Learn Baby Grand Piano (Fisher Price)
This is one of TRUs hot picks listed above. It teaches colors, numbers and opposites while also teaching about various elements of music.

For children 13 months to 2 years old

Learn & Groove Alphabet Drum (LeapFrog)
LeapFrog always offers innovative toys for young children. This toy introduces the alphabet while also playing music, encouraging physical activity and teaching numbers. Also introduces Spanish!

SmartVille Alphabet Train Station (Vtech)
The train here heads from stop to stop, all while introducing colors, alphabets, numbers, animals and time.

T.M.X. Elmo (Fisher Price)
This new Elmo, which has been flying off toy shelves since its introduction in September, not only laughs, but gets on the floor and giggles until his belly shakes.

Darla (You & Me a TRU brand)
Darla can be woken with a light tap, and will cry for ma ma. Shes a fully interactive doll that also makes realistic feeding sounds.

For children 2 to 4 years old

Kid-Tough Digital Camera (Fisher Price)
This hot pick features big buttons for tiny hands and a rough exterior that helps it hold up to the tough love preschoolers can dish out.

LeapsterTV (LeapFrog)
This console plugs into the family TV for big-screen play. Works with all Leapster software programs and tracks the play of each player, so they can see their progress on the big screen. Good for pre-K to 4th grade players.

Tap Dancing Mumble (Thinkway)
This is based on the main character from the fall-release movie Happy Feet. It dances/taps every time it hears music, or the children talk to it.

For children 5 to 7 years old

Amazing Allysen (Playmates)
This doll is designed to be your childs best friend when her real life friend isnt around. Allysen responds to key commands and comments with lifelike expressions and emotions. She also knows your childs favorites, so she can chat with your child about her favorite things.

Wherifone GPS Locator Phone from Wherify Wireless
This phone will help you keep tabs on your children, as with its GPS capabilities, it tells you the location of your children at all times (assuming the phone is with them).

Pink Nitro Notebook (VTech)
Designed for budding readers, this pink laptop computer reads stories aloud, and has a variety of games designed to help children with literacy and other skills.

For children 8 to 11 years old

Blue Man Group Percussion Tubes (ToyQuest)
Kids can hook their MP3 players up to this toy and manipulate the sounds and play music of their own.

Giga Pets Explorer TV Game System (Tiger Games)
This game that you hook up to the TV takes kids to the Giga World, where they can play games, go on mission and solve the Giga mystery. This also includes a handheld game

Star Wars Ultimate Collectors AT-ST set (Lego)
Kids can build their own AT-ST with the more than 1,000 lego pieces included in this set. TRU exclusive set.

Cathy Franklin is a mother of three and the owner of Toys Store Online. She finds the top family friendly toys for children of all ages that are fun for kids, age appropriate, and inexpensive for any family's budget. http://www.toys-store-online.com.Nightmare Before Christmas Jack
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Are you an extravert? Is your Auntie bonkers? Is your Granny Christmas mad? We have the perfect Christmas gift idea, which will definitely get them noticed.

Presenting The Fairy Lights and Bells Umbrella so named because it is an umbrella with some unusual Santa's grotto features. Fairy lights, Christmas baubles and some tinkling bells to ensure the user of the brolly jingles all the way.

To make this Christmas brolly you will need...

An umbrella, felt fabric, Christmas baubles, small cable ties, some bells (the larger the bell the more 'Sleigh bell' they sound, whilst tiny bells sound like fairies and pixie dust). You will also need a packet of battery operated multi-colour lights.

Open the umbrella and sit it upside down on the table. You will notice that along each spoke of the metal part of the brolly, the umbrella fabric is stitched to the frame. At this point sew a couple of stitches on top of one another to finish off.

In a similar way, sew a Christmas bauble to the end of each spoke where the umbrella fabric is sewn to the tip of the spoke.

To attach the lights to the umbrella frame, you need to make a little 'pocket' to hold the lights battery compartment.

Cut out a piece of felt that is half a centimetre bigger than the battery compartment all the way around. Cut out a second piece, but this time as well as the half a centimetre all around, also make an increase in the length of the rectangle by 3cm, this will give the pocket a 'tab' at the top.

Put the two pieces of felt together as sewn along the two side edges and the bottom. You will be left with a pocket with a tab.

Fold the tab over one of the spokes of the open umbrella, be careful to avoid any joints because this will prevent you from closing the brolly later.

Sew the tab to the back of the pocket to hold the pocket in position. Do not sew the pocket closed. Insert the battery compartment into the pocket.

Use the cable ties to attach the fairy lights to the other spokes of the umbrella in a circular fashion, again avoiding any joints in the umbrella's framework. Pull the cable ties firmly and trim off any surplus.

Now switch on the lights. As an optional extra plastic mistletoe can be hung from the spokes at the centre part of the umbrella. Bonkers Christmas brolly or what?

S. Roberts has more Christmas ideas than you can shake a reindeer at, visit http://www.santaspostbag.co.uk/homemade-christmas-gift-ideas.html for more Christmas gift ideas. Get a free personalised email from Santa to your child this Christmas at http://www.santaspostbag.co.uk/your-letter-from-santa.php SantasPostbag is in association with www.bigboystoyz.com Together keeping Christmas Magical!Christmas Tree Light For Sale
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One of Santas favorite traditions around Christmas timeand surely a favorite tradition of men everywhere during Christmas is that of mistletoe. When a man catches his wife or special someone under the mistletoe, he gets to plant a kiss on her. Of course, with all other Christmas traditions, this wonderful habit is almost as old as the snow that falls around Christmas time.

It actually all started with an ancient myth from the Nordic people of Scandinavia and Northern Europe. Hundreds of years ago, the goddess Frigga had a son named Balder who was killed by an arrow made of mistletoe. Frigga was so sad that her son died, that she cried and cried, but instead of tears, white berries poured down her cheeks. These were no ordinary white berries, and they actually worked to bring Balder back to life by stripping the poison from the mistletoe. That made Frigga so happy that she blessed all mistletoe, and anyone walking underneath it was given a free kiss.

Of course, the Nordic folks were not the only ancient people who used and believed in the magical powers of mistletoe. The ancient Druids of the United Kingdom were big fans of the evergreen plant, and would distribute it to all the people in their villages. They would hang the plant over the front door of their homes, because they believed that the plant would protect them from evil spirits, goblins, and even thunder and lightening. Druids also believed that mistletoe stood for peace, so if Druid warriors ever met underneath a patch of mistletoe in the forest, they could not fight. They would call a truce and meet somewhere else to fight.

Put all of these traditions and beliefs togetherand then mix in the traditions of Christmas and Santa Clausand you have what would become todays modern tradition surrounding mistletoe and kisses.

It was not that simple for guys and gals and the magical mistletoe in the 1700s. Back then, kissing was a very serious thing to do with a girl. There was no spin the bottle or truth or dare. If you kissed a girl under the mistletoe, you meant business. Basically, a kiss under the mistletoe meant you were prepared to marry her. On the flip side, if a girl stood under mistletoe at Christmas time and no man kissed her, that meant she would stay unmarried for the entire next year. But the lucky man who would be brave and kiss her could expect a lasting friendship, a deep romance, and happiness with the lucky woman.

We cannot know for sure if this is how good old Saint Nick got proposed to Mrs. Claus, but we can be sure that the jolly old man hangs a piece of mistletoe in his home in the North Pole. Come to think of it, he probably also hangs a bunch of mistletoe in the reindeer barn, the toy factory, and anywhere else Mrs. Claus might find herself!

Thomas Easterday is the Director of Marketing for Letter By Santa. Letter by Santa offers memorable letters from Santa Claus that help keep the Christmas spirit alive. For more information about Letter by Santa and to purchase letters from Santa please visit http://www.letterbysanta.com/.Christmas Light For The Yard
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