Celebrations and Holidays

Who Wants To Party???

Everyone loves celebrations. Birthdays, New Year, Christmas, religious festivities, customary holidays and anniversaries are days set apart for the not-so ordinary stuff. It’s on days like these that families get together to share a great meal, exchange gifts, go on picnics and outings together or just spend time with one another.

Did I tell you that my cousin is getting married in September? I can imagine all the excitement she’s going through right now; planning her dress, and that of the entire bridal troupe. There’s so much work that goes on behind the scene in organizing a wedding… and I’m already planning what I’ll wear when I meet up with her. Lucky for us Helium has a lot of suggestions to help with weddings, and oh well… with any celebration for that matter.

Since its summer… let’s walk over to Charlotte Howard and ask her about creative summer solstice party ideas.; some that might have been take into consideration last month. Notice how she works her way around Shakespeare’s romantic comedy to lighten the mood and enhance the settings. Whoever thought Shakespeare would be connected with a summer party… but there you have it. Creative, don’t you think so?

It’s the holiday season. Schools are closed for the summer and kids enjoy themselves with a lot of added outdoor fun. Holidays can be chaotic with no regular time schedules followed. You wouldn’t want something to go wrong during the holidays, least of all a fire to happen. W. Diane Van Zwol lends her suggestions on ‘How to keep fire exits clear during the holidays’. In fact, I think we need to be aware of these suggestions for any time a fire is to happen, holiday or not.

I know Mother’s Day is over. Even then, we could all make use of these lovely ideas that Lokemun Magar has put forward for ‘Things to do with mom on Mother’s Day’. Perhaps it could also be a day you set aside to make mom feel special and happy.

Talking about gifts, here’s another interesting article on gifting: Christmas gifts for the man who has everything. Surely, if he has everything he needs, it could be quite a task finding the right gift for him. Thanks to Diane Quinn, we now have a few solid leads to follow. This article in fact made me think of the movie ‘Shall we dance’.

Now this is something I really enjoy: birthday parties. Birthdays can always be a blast. Take for example M.J. Joachim’s article - Milestone birthdays: Party favor ideas for age 40. See how creative she gets with her suggestions of gifts and food. I especially loved the ‘Forty-fied foods’ idea. Brilliant.

From birthdays to Thanksgiving, many of us are familiar with the Thanksgiving dinner and what would be served. How about switching over from a traditional dinner to something different? It shouldn’t be difficult, as Rex Trulove has done much of the homework on figuring out Food ideas for a non-traditional Thanksgiving dinner. You’d think this would be odd, but think about it, a non-traditional dinner would only make the day more memorable. You are sure to cherish it for many years.

Let’s not forget the animals that we cherish. Surely animal lovers too have their special ways of celebrating the holidays with their pets. And animal lovers feel for their pets, especially when it’s Thanksgiving and the table is laden with all kinds of delectable dishes. Conny Manero lends her voice in favor of animals with her article ‘Thanksgiving from an animal lover’s point of view’. I wonder if you will give a second thought to the turkey that’s served on the table right in front of you at Thanksgiving.

While it is still summer, there are many who choose to marry during this flowery and sunny period of the year. However, when the actual impact of the workload falls upon them, they begin to panic. One such activity during the wedding preparations is inviting guests. Doreen Martel has the right advice on creating a guest list for your wedding. As married folks will always tell you, it isn’t that simple. Take her advice and create that perfect guest list that will impress many and disappoint none, (well, unless you do not want to really invite somebody).

Thanksgiving, Christmas, Birthdays, New Year and some much loved holidays are days that are constant on the calendar. You can plan for such events way in advance. But what happens when you have to plan something at short notice. These things do happen. Ask Robin Tidwell and she will tell you how to plan a wedding in one month. Boy, oh boy! One month!!! Imagine the confusion it can cause… but these events can happen and are planned on short notice if you follow Robin’s advice. She has laid out the plan clearly for all those ‘we must get married now’ couples.

My sister got married within a couple of months of meeting her groom. Before we knew it, she was also out of the country with him. Talk about weddings happening before you can say Jack!

Weddings on short notice… now you have it figured out. How about budget-controlled weddings? Oh don’t we wish we wouldn’t have to spend so much on just one day. Yes, one day. How about we take a look at Vickie Gross’ article - Cheap wedding ideas: Tips for getting married in your own backyard. Now this is something that has actually been followed for many years before community halls and town halls came into existence. And it isn’t a bad idea too, as it deducts the costs of hiring a hall and outsourcing a lot of the work. Think of how much you can save.

While we are still on the subject of Weddings, Kristen O’Riorden talks about the best jewelry gifts to give to your bridesmaids. As Kristen advices, it could be based on what they are going to wear or how the bridesmaids are going to set their hair. A lot of the ‘looks’ factor can be taken into consideration.

Writer for the week

Olivia Bredbenner needs no introduction. From nursing to Creative Writing, Olivia has also spent a considerable amount of time contributing to the Celebrations & Holidays Channel. She is a versatile and talented writer who goes to no ends to make you comfortable, welcome and cherished as a fellow-writer and friend.

Some of her notable contributions to the Celebrations & Holidays Channel are:

Reclaim the holidays

Helping your kids write a letter to Santa Claus

New Year’s resolutions for a better life

This is a pic of my grandparents. They celebrated their Golden Wedding Anniversary on Jan 12, 1998. Now that's what I call a celebration; 50 years of togetherness, companionship and love. Something worth remembering.