Christmas Quotes ~ Longfellow

I heard the bells on Christmas Day
Their old, familiar carols play,
And wild and sweet
The words repeat
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Christmas Quotes ~ Carolyn Wells

I love the Christmas-tide, and yet,
I notice this, each year I live;
I always like the gifts I get,
But how I love the gifts I give!

~Carolyn Wells

Christmas Quotes ~ New York Times

We hear the beating of wings over Bethlehem
and a light that is not of the sun or of the stars
shines in the midnight sky.
Let the beauty of the story take away all narrowness,
all thought of formal creeds.
Let it be remembered as a story
that has happened again and again,
to men of many different races,
that has been expressed through many religions,
that has been called by many different names.
Time and space and language
lay no limitations upon human brotherhood.

~New York Times, 25 December 1937,

quoted in Quotations for
Special Occasions by Maud van Buren, 1938,
published by
The H.W. Wilson Company, New York

Christmas Quotes ~ Calvin Coolidge

To the American People: 
Christmas is not a time or a season but a state of mind. 
To cherish peace and good will, 
to be plenteous in mercy, 
is to have the real spirit of Christmas. 
If we think on these things, 
there will be born in us a Savior 
and over us will shine a star
sending its gleam of hope to the world.

~ Calvin Coolidge (1872-1933)

American president

Presidential message (December 25, 1927)

Christmas Quotes ~ Andy Rooney

One of the most glorious messes in the world
is the mess created in the living room
on Christmas day.
Don't clean it up too quickly.

~ Andy Rooney, American writer, producer, humorist.

Let's Say "Thanks" to our Military

Our friend, Don Williams passed along the information on LetsSayThanks.com. From this site, you can pick out a thank you card and Xerox will print it and it will be sent to a soldier that is currently serving in Iraq . You can't pick out who gets it, but it will go to a member of the armed services.

Don says, "How AMAZING it would be if we could get everyone we know to send one!!! It is FREE and it only takes a second. It’s not SPAM, and it doesn’t ask for your email address."

Wouldn't it be wonderful if the soldiers received a bunch of these? Whether you are for or against the war, our soldiers over there need to know we are behind them. This takes just a few seconds and it's a wonderful way to say thank you. Please take the time to pass it on for others to do. We can never say enough thank you's.

Thanks for taking to time to support our military!

And thanks, Don, for passing on this great site!

Mary's Rosemary Cashews

This fabulous recipe was made by my friend, Mary, and they are fabulous! She says the recipe comes from the bar nuts served at the Union Square Café in New York City. The cashews are the best served warm but you can prepare the rosemary mixture in advance. You can also used mixed nuts, but Mary says the nut guy she met in Temecula said that Cashews are milder and the flavor works best with them.

1 1/4 pound roasted cashews (Most bags are a pound, this isn’t an issue)
2 tablespoons minced fresh rosemary leaves
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 teaspoons light brown sugar
1 tablespoon kosher salt (I tame this back a bit if I am using salted nuts)
1 tablespoon butter, melted (I’ve overdone the butter- don’t)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Spread the cashews out on a sheet pan. Toast in the oven until warm, about 8 minutes.

In a large bowl, combine the rosemary, cayenne, sugar, salt, and butter. Thoroughly toss the warm cashews with the spiced butter and serve warm.

Serves 8

Christmas Quotes ~ Augusta E. Rundel

Christmas - that magic blanket
that wraps itself about us,
that something so intangible
that it is like a fragrance.
It may weave a spell of nostalgia.
Christmas may be a day of feasting,
or of prayer,
but always it will be a day of remembrance -
a day in which we think
of everything
we have ever loved.

~Augusta E. Rundel

How to Set a Holiday Table

Everyone wants to host the perfect holiday party and holiday parties almost always include a meal. But how do you set the table in a cheerful, seasonal way without it looking garish or over the top? It's easier than you think. There is one overall rule to remember, less is more. There must be room on the table for the food, guests must be able to see each other over or under the centrepieces and it must not look crowded. To accomplish this, here are 5 suggestions.

1. Use your regular, white or plain dishes instead of holiday dinnerware. Add a touch of holiday colour through your tablecloth, runner or place mats. The look will be elegant and uncluttered. The simple dishes will also help to showcase the colour and preparation of your feast.
2. Have one tall, thin centrepiece, such as a tall fluted vase with holiday appropriate flowers, fruits or candies inside. It will draw the eye up, away from the table. It will leave you plenty of room for food and place settings on the table and your guests will be able to converse and see each other easily around it.
3. Place simple tea lights in the centre of the table for interest but draw the eye to your guest's place with a holiday place card. At Christmas, you could write each guest's name on a Christmas ball; at Thanksgiving, on a gourd; at Easter, on an egg.
4. Use your holiday dinnerware. So many homes own a spectacular set of Christmas dishes. Highlight them, show them off! Choose a colour tablecloth or runner that will compliment your plates, rather than add interest on its own. Use simple centrepieces or none at all to ensure all attention is paid first to your dinnerware and then to the delicious food you will place on it.
5. Mix and match. Use your creativity and mix your holiday dishes with regular. Mix up the shapes and sizes. Use different styles or sizes of centrepieces on each end of the table. Use a different ornament, gourd, coloured egg etc. on each plate. This may take a little more time to make it look just right but it is useful if you don't have quite enough of the same dishes, centrepieces or silverware to go around.

In the end, it is not any more difficult to set a table for a holiday party than it is any other day. You do, however, have a lot more options and likely many more props around the house to help you out. Just remember, keep it simple. You want a hint of holiday cheer rather than a cluttering of everything the holiday stands for.

Check out the DinnerwareGuide.com for tips and advice on how to choose the right dinnerware for your party.

Article by: Amy Mitchell, Ezine Articles author

Christmas Quotes ~ Erma Bombeck

There's nothing sadder in this world
than to awake Christmas morning and not be a child.

~Erma Bombeck,
I Lost Everything in the Post-Natal Depression

Drive Time Devotions

Do you ever wonder why we do all that we do during this time of the year? Who in their right mind would sit down to plan all of this! Can you imagine us saying to one another, "Let's plan one time of the year when we'll have 80% of the parties we'll have all year... if we work it right we'll have to make 8 or 9 in one evening so that we can't enjoy any of them. And how about this... during that same time of the year let's entirely redecorate our houses inside and out! Oh... and here's an idea... let's think of everyone we've ever met and send them a letter. And let's bake as much as we can... when else do you bake? And how about if in the middle of all this we let the kids out of school for two weeks!" None of these things are bad.... in fact they're all great. Our problem is there's just too many great things to do during this time of the year. I sure don't want to give you "one more thing to do." Instead, I hope that these devotions help to focus your heart and mind on the one priority that brings real joy during the Christmas season.

You can go to drivetimedevotions.com and either listen online or download the devotions to your iTunes or phone. It'll take you about five minutes to listen each day, and will prayerfully focus your heart on God's hope, peace and love.

From Pastor Tom Holladay, Saddleback Church, Lake Forest, California

Track Santa's Journey from the North Pole

Track Santa's journey from the North Pole at Norad starting December 1st.

Strategically Preparing For Holiday Houseguests

Whether it is family or friends that are visiting, it is important to make them feel at home and not like they are in your way. There are challenges and rewards to hosting a guest during what is the most strenuous time of the year. However, with a few early preparations, you can create an enjoyable guest experience as well as enjoy the holidays.

First of all, if you are not feeling ok, then before beginning any type of preparation, take care of yourself. You could be suffering from a back ache or migraine headaches that, if left unchecked, could wreak havoc on the entire holiday season. Holiday entertaining is serious business. One year, my back went out due to a stressful time at work, and it was no small picnic to get everything done in time.

The next thing to do is to thoroughly clean your house, especially the areas that get frequent traffic, such as the kitchen, bathroom, and living room; and of course, the guest bedroom. If the intended guest bedroom is in somewhat disarray and disrepair and cannot be remedied in time, then consider offering your bedroom to the guest while you stay in the other room. Sometimes simply decluttering a space makes a huge difference. It is about the guest feeling welcome, after all. It is also about keeping you sane. You do not want to spend a lot of time renovating a guest room that will not be used for another year.

Religious Christmas Photo Cards

With the commercialization of Christmas, it is getting harder and harder to find religious Christmas greetings on Christmas Photo Cards.

This is only one of 20 religious verses to choose from at Announcingit.com. Pick your favorite verse from their collection or create your own religious greeting to be custom printed on the inside of your family's photo Christmas cards.

See all the Religious Christmas Photo Card Verses

Shop all Christmas Photo Cards

Christmas Quotes ~ P.J. O'Rourke

Christmas begins about the first of December
with an office party
and ends when you finally realize
what you spent,
around April fifteenth of the next year.

~P.J. O'Rourke, Modern Manners