Christmas Gifts For Dog Lovers
August 20, 2008
Let’s admit it, the US and UK are both countries of dog lovers, and dog owners love to indulge their dogs like children. You only have to listen to a dog owner call out to their dog, playing in the park or field, to realise how devoted they can be. Being devoted, dog lovers, and their friends, like to give dog gifts.
Dog lovers often refer to their dogs as “baby”, or to themselves, when talking to the dog, as mummy or daddy. It’s no surprise then that dog toys are a big market, and can make excellent dog lover gifts.
Choosing the right dog toys can be more difficult than you may think. The problem is, you probably “think” in a human way. Dog lovers, and those buying gifts for them, love to buy cute, squeaky toys for the dogs, or give them stuffed animals which they can chew on and carry around. That’s really the human thinking in baby terms. The result is likely to be a dog lover gift for the dog lover, not the dog.
If you are buying a gift for a dog lover, or are a dog lover buying for your own dog, then try to remember that dog toys have no need to be cute to look at. A dog does not appreciate cuteness, so if you want a real dog gift, rather than a dog lover gift, then look for something practical, fun for the dog, durable, and safe.
The Best And Safest Toys For Dog Lover Gifts
An important consideration with gifts for dogs is size. Kongs, balls, and other common dog toys must be small enough that the dog can chew them and also carry them. However, they should not be so small that they can become lodged in the dog’s mouth or throat.
For the same reasons, durability is an important factor, particularly for a dog that loves to chew. A toy that will break apart easily can become a hazard as the small, sharp parts of the toy can be swallowed, caught in the dog’s throat, or they could cut the mouth and gums. A hard rubber Kong, easily one of the best dog toys ever conceived, is a great choice for a dog lover gift.
If you, or the dog lover you are buying the gift for, has a gentle softie of a dog, then you can consider softer toys, like the popular "squeak" toys made of thin plastic and full of air. These are good for dogs that are that bit gentler. Such dogs are unlikely to chew through these softer toys, so again these can be good dog lover gifts if chosen with the type of dog in mind.
A good ol’ tennis ball can be a good choice, but are great for some dogs, and poor choices for others. This is likely to depend on size. If the dog is too small to fit a tennis ball all the way into its mouth, then it can be an excellent toy, one which the dog will love but will cost you very little. If the dog is a large one with a large mouth, and the tennis ball fits all the way in, then the tennis ball becomes a choking hazard. Your dog lover friend or relative may not thank you for buying a box of tennis balls that endanger the dog and land him with emergency vet bills.
This gift for dog lovers article was written by Roy Thomsitt, owner author of the Gifts For Xmas website, and the Xmas ornament website: http://www.xmas-ornament.com
Ideas For Toddler Halloween Costumes
August 16, 2008
Depending on the age of your little ones, you may want to keep ideas for toddler Halloween costumes on the simple side. Since most of the very youngest trick or treaters are only going out to amuse the grandparents and immediate neighbors, it needn’t be terribly complicated to still bring a lot of smiles.
For infants, and those who get tired of walking, animal costumes work very well, can be done in minutes, and don’t require great sewing skills.
Turn your toddler into a cow, with a white hooded shirt, white sweat pants, black wool and some black felt. Cut cow-type "splotches" out of the felt, and either use double-sided tape or easily removed basting stitches to attach to the shirt and pants. Remember to keep two triangular pieces of felt to tack ears onto the hood. A dozen pieces of wool, cut to about 18", can be braided to make a tail for pinning to the seat of their pants. If the toddler is slightly older, and not likely to "bust your balloon", buy one disposable glove at the drug store, tie off the thumb so no air can get in it, then inflate the glove, tie it off at the wrist, and pin to the belly of their shirt.
Cats and dogs are equally as simple, using the same matching shirt and pants combo, with a few accessories. For the dog, you can buy rubber/vinyl noses, or you can create your own hound dog face with a little makeup to match the shirt, and then draw on a black nose, and a black ring around one eye. Use felt to make a couple of oval-shaped ears, cutting one round end off, and tacking them to the hood of the shirt. The tail can be as easy as a piece of rope or cord, or you can sew a tube of felt and stuff it with quilt batting or lint from the dryer! For the finishing touch, cut down an old belt to create a "collar" and glue on some rhinestones.
Black cats are not only easy, they are delightfully charming ideas for toddler Halloween costumes. Get a matching black sweat pant and hooded shirt, plus black felt for the ears. Make sure you have a little pink felt as well, to glue to the inside of the black ear, to make it more realistic. Use make-up to draw on the nose and whiskers, and give your toddler black mittens, and black socks to wear over their shoes. You’re at the end of the job when you make a matching tail out of black felt, or a length of black cord from the curtain shop. A narrow black dress belt with rhinestones glued on, and a tiny bell, makes your kitten, purrrrrfectly divine.
Visit http://www.MalcolmsWeb.com and sign up for free weekly tips that will take the mystery and fear out of parenting your precious little one.
Christmas and New Year Celebrations: How Significant?
August 13, 2008
I remember vividly as if it were yesterday when I was only a little boy; I looked forward to Christmas and New Year holidays with an air of relief, satisfaction and relaxation. Relief, because I had the rare chance of putting a pause to the hectic and daily school schedule; satisfaction because it was a time to show off that cloth that ‘daddy’ bought for me and relaxation because I would go out with my family and friends to have a nice time.
As I cracked open the hard shell of childhood and emerged into adulthood, I discovered there was more to Christmas and New Year celebrations than just frolicking, chewing the fat and having a good time. The significance of these festivities cannot be overlooked, cannot be disputed and cannot be buried into the ground.
Christmas may be a celebrated festival by Christians but its origin shows that it is more than just an ordinary celebration for Christians. Though it is believed that Jesus Christ was not given birth to on the 25th of December, this date was picked by the early Church because it was a day when pagans celebrated their god. They did this with the hope and intention of converting pagans to Christianity.
The date fixed for the commemoration of our Lord and Saviour does not really matter much, what matters is that a redeemer was borne, a rabbi who took a human form in the quest of changing humanity positively. He came so that humanity can be saved, so that sin can be wiped out, so that darkness can be totally separated from light.
Christmas is a time for somber reflection, a time to make up with the creator, a time to relive the birth of Jesus Christ of Nazareth which took place over 2000 years ago, a time to put a pause to evil and darkness and embrace good and light. It is a time to count our numerous blessings and say a big thank you to God.
January 1st, the beginning of every year is without doubt a memorable and significant day which goes to show why it is accepted and celebrated in such grand fashion.
By midnight on the eve of January 1st, shrill shouts of ‘Happy New Year’ could be heard in almost every nook and cranny of the world. Fire crackers go bang as happy youth throw them in midair. There is always an extraordinary chill in the heart of everyone as the clock strikes 12.00am; everyone alive is a year older or has witnessed a New Year roll in. There is always high hopes and people pray intently to God for blessing, prosperity and better health. New Year resolutions are muttered or announced publicly by those who believe in it. Old characters are quickly striped off and thrown in the dustbin while new and better characters are quickly embraced.
Calendar systems are based around major historical events and calendars have continually been altered and corrected and sometimes completely rewritten. Fortunately, stability in the alteration of calendar was reached in the year 525AD. It was conceived by a monk named Dionysiux Exiguus. The beginning of the year then was celebrated randomly, in England it was celebrated on 25th March but after the year 1752 it was moved to 1st January.
January is named after a Roman god ‘Janus’ who is depicted as a two-faced god as he looked in opposite directions. One face looked forward while the other one looked backwards. He is said to be ‘the god of all going out and coming in to whom all places and entrance and passage, all doors and gates, were holy’. He is also depicted as carrying two keys, one of them was a silver key and the other was gold to unlock the seasonal gates of the winter and summer solstices.
Literally, this means that the month January allows us to look back on the past years we have spent on earth and forward to the future years we will spend. The question January tends to ask us is; ‘how rewarding was the past years? Did we achieve anything worthwile or did we just sit down and watch it pass by us? How do we hope to approach the next year, with relaxed ease or with a burning desire to achieve more and better things?’
Only a fool would be content with what they have. If we think we have done enough, what have we given to the poverty-stricken people in our world? What contributions have we made to alleviate the sufferings of so many orphaned children? How about the disabled among us, what is their fate?
These are food for our thought, let us reflect on them and do the right thing.
Stress-Free Party Planning
August 9, 2008
It’s a fact; most of us feel immediately stressed and harassed at the thought of having to organize a party or special dinner.
We spend hours trying to make everything perfect, preparing the most elaborate dishes, struggling over fiddly, expensive decorations, spending more money than we can afford to impress our guests…
And then the outcome is we are too tired, stressed and worried about things going wrong to actually enjoy the event and the company of our friends, relatives and colleagues.
Wouldn’t you like to be that host or hostess at a party who seems to sail through everything effortlessly, remains calm, never looks stressed, and always provides wonderful food, good conversation and a relaxed atmosphere?
In “101 Best Party Recipes,” Edith M Barber says one of the keys to a successful party is that the hosts enjoy the event. This makes a lot of sense; after all, if your guests sense you are feeling hassled their enjoyment will be lessened.
Here are just a few simple rules to ensure your party is a success without the stress:
- plan your event well in advance
- attempt only what can be carried out successfully and with apparent ease
- be realistic about your skills
- ensure that your time at the party is not occupied by long spells in the kitchen
- never be afraid to ask for help - use the skills of those around you
- keep notes
- always look for the easy way to achieve something
- above all, keep things simple!
Follow these guidelines and you will be well on your way to becoming a successful party host.
Lisa Hartwell is a writer, broadcaster and voiceover. She is the publisher of “101 Best Party Recipes” (http://www.bestpartyrecipes.com) and webmaster at “Ultimate House and Home” (http://www.ultimate-house-and-home.com)
The Origin of the Christmas Tree
August 6, 2008
Have you ever wondered why we decorate a tree for Christmas? What sense does it make? We cut down a perfectly good tree, bring it in the house, decorate it with glass balls, twinkle lights, embarrassing arts and crafts from our youth and put a big star on top - why? No one knows for sure. But the Christmas tree does have a long, if not mythological, history.
Get beyond the commercialism and secular nature Christmas has become and get down to the symbolism Christmas trees represent and you will get closer to the actual truth. The fir tree, the first tree widely used throughout Europe as a Christmas tree, was originally chopped down and placed indoors in an effort to promote good cheer and hope. When everything else on the horizon is dead and covered with mountains of snow, the Evergreen color reminded us of good things to come?the rebirth of the Earth at springtime.
In 1882 however, Thomas Edison’s assistant decided to use his boss’s invention to add a more “twinkly” effect to the Christmas tree - lights that ran on electricity. This innovation made outdoor Christmas lights possible as far back as the early 1900s. And don’t you just know, even then, there was that one annoying neighbor down the street who refused to take his Christmas lights down until long past Easter.
But what about the tradition of the ornaments we decorated the tree with? You know what I am talking about… all the little doodads, candy canes, and the embarrassing arts and crafts your parents “insist” on putting on the tree every year - where did that tradition originate. Simple - all of those ornaments morphed from eight distinct decorations.
- The Star - symbolically means, “The shining hope for all mankind.”
- The color red - red is used not just on trees, but also on nearly every other piece of Christmas decoration to come down the pike since the beginning of time. Red symbolizes Jesus Christ’s sacrifice for all.
- The Fir Tree - green, the second color of Christmas symbolizing everlasting light and life. The needles point up to Heaven.
- The Bell - actually symbolizes the ringing of a bell more than the bell itself. The bell rings out to guide lost sheep back home.
- The Candle (and later electric lights) - symbolizes our thanks to the star of Bethlehem.
- The Bow - is tied as we should all be tied together in the bonds of goodwill forever.
- The Candy Cane - symbolizes the shape of the Shepard’s crook, used to bring lost lambs back to the fold.
- The Wreath - symbolizes everlasting love with no beginning and no end.
But that still doesn’t explain the embarrassing decorations we are forced to look at year in and year out. Where did that tradition come from? Simple - parents have been embarrassing their kids for generations - why should Christmas be any different.
Allen Shaw is a successful author who provides information on Christmas and Christmas trees. “I am the news director at USA News Network and have been working as freelance writer for 2 years. I’ve been published in a few magazines, newspapers and websites and my specialty up to this point has been movie and music reviews.”
Is Labor Day Passe
August 2, 2008
In a word, yes !
Labor Day, which started in 1882 to honor "the working man" or "little guy," has dengenerated into one of many meaningless paid employee holidays, and it is celebrated now by sailboat races, family picnics, and shopping sprees.
Labor Day is a marker, signifying that summer is supposedly over, even if it’s still 90 degrees outdoors.
Pools must be drained, boats winterized, and summer clothing put away until July 4 next year, Independence Day–the marker indicating the official beginning of summer.
The 1800’s leaders of the Central Labor Union and Knights of Labor, initiators of the Labor Day concept, would be horrified to experience Labor Day 2005, especially people buying affordable, Chinese made clothes at Wal-Mart.
Clearly, today’s shoppers do not "look for the union label" or even know what it is.
The Industrial Revolution brought many abuses of employees, and labor unions were an excellent short-term remedy.
Kenny Rogers’ song lyrics, "you gotta know when to hold them, know when to fold them" applies to unions.
They’re folding due to their own self-destructive approaches as well as workplace developments they cannot control.
Apparently, somebody failed to tell union leaders that the Industrial Revolution had ended and we’re returning speedily to the historical normalcy of nearly universal (about 80% plus) self-employment.
As a result, labor unions are outliving their usefulness and relevance. They’re anachronisms with little clout, far fewer members, but lots of money (provided by members) for political mischief, funding election campaigns of unelectable candidates.
This is their Forrest Gump, "stupid is as stupid does" unsuccessful political strategy.
Union membership has shrunk-and continues to shrink dramatically. And, in most cases, employees vote resoundingly against union representation, and even worse for unions, the number of union elections is plummeting, too.
So, since Labor Day is passe, since unions are moribund, since more than 100,000 jobs in America per month are being eliminated, since Chinese factories pay 68 to 88 cents per hour, and since few new "good jobs" are being created in America, since only 27% of people with jobs like them, and since job security is now just an illusion, what’s an ambitious, serious hardworking person to do?
Self-employment, that’s what. There are more small business owners now than union members in America.
And that’s the happy ending to this article– growing, glorious, wealth-building self-employment. This is a joyous return to historical normalcy.
The Industrial Revolution and the concept of secure lifelong employment have ended. Many people are not fully aware of this or are in deep denial, still craving “dream jobs,” which are bad dreams or nightmares of 3.5 years duration these days.
Working for yourself is even better than ever now, thanks to the Internet, globalism and the rise of home based businesses. Start up costs are very low, as is risk.
John J. Alquist owns and operates Alquist Enterprises, which advances self-promotion through its professional services and also by two network marketing opportunities.
John had 24 years of corporate marketing management experience in large firms, mainly in banking, and has been self-employed since 1987 as Alquist Enterprises.
