This dog is so special I’m sure he keeps his family entertained for hours. Enjoy!

Here are ways to say “Happy New Year” in such languages as Arabic, Chinese (Cantonese and Mandarin), French, Hebrew, Korean, Swedish, Vietnamese, and more.

Happy New Year!

I know many of us have things that they do together as a family and this is one that I feel is very special for the kids.  Today Tracy at Having Fun Saving has a fun tradition she and her family wanted to share with us all today.

Each year they deliver baked goods to the neighbors in their subdivision.  They get together with friends and bake  and decorate everything from cookies, breads, muffins, to chocolate covered pretzels!

You can put everything in tins or on holidays plates and wrap them up nice and then get ready to spread some Holiday Cheer!

You can have the kids deliver the cookies – that way they also learn how good it feels to make someone smile…especially around the holidays.

The holidays are a time of giving, and I think that sometimes in the hustle and bustle of the holidays we forget about the true meaning of the holidays.  Spread some Holiday Cheer!

Thanks to Tracy at Having Fun Saving for the Winter Wonderland information!

Click here to learn how you can make a child’s Christmas wish come true.

I know we have talked some about the horrible tragedy that happened in Connecticut, and if you find yourself wanting to help in some way there are various funds you can donate to and organizations set up, (there is a nice list on CNN.com), as well as a mailing address to accept cards and letters.

The Connecticut PTSA is requesting that Snowflakes be made and sent in order to create a Winter Wonderland for the temporary middle school that will become the home for Sandy Hook Elementary students and teachers for now. It’s a small request, it is definitely something that children can participate in and perhaps open the line of communication for those of you who have decided to tell your children.

If you would like to participate with Winter Wonderland – send your snowflakes to:

Connecticut PTSA
60 Connolly Parkway
Building 12 Suite 103
Hamden, CT 06514

Please pray for the victims and keep them in your hearts and minds during this Christmas season.

Thanks to Tracy at Having Fun Saving for the Winter Wonderland information!

“A friend is a gift you give yourself.” ~ Robert Louis Stevenson

“You give but little when you give of your possessions. It is when you give of yourself that you truly give.” ~ Kahlil Gibran

“it is not what we take up, but what we give up, that makes us rich.” ~ Henry Ward Beecher

“He who cannot give anything away cannot feel anything either.” ~Frederich Nietzsche

“The gift of giving is worth more than the gift.” ~ Unknown

“The best thing to do with the best things in life is to give them up.” ~Ambrose Bierce

“Make new friends, but keep the old; one is silver and the other is gold. Purchase not friends by gifts; when thou ceasest to give, such will cease to love.” ~ Thomas Fuller

“Let your heart feel for the affiliations and distress of everyone, and let your hand give in proportion to your purse.” ~George Washington

“If yo give money, spend yourself with it.” ~Henry David Thoreau

“Hands that give also receive.” ~Unknown

“We are rich only through what we give and poor only through what we refuse.” ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

“Give what you have to somebody, it may be better than you think.” ~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

“I have always thought of Christmas a good time; a kind, forgiving, generous, pleasant time; a time when men and women seem to open their hearts freely, and so I say, God bless Christmas!” ~ Charles Dickens

Do you like to solve puzzles? Do you want to challenge your children or grandchildren this year? Have them guess what each item in the song would cost in to-days dollars and then Google each item to find the current cost.

Hint: There are several internet sites that will list these prices but it is part of the hunt for them to find this information on their own.

This is a great challenge in that it involves:

1. Research
2. Addition
3. Multiplication

Lyrics:

On the first day of Christmas,
my true love sent to me
A partridge in a pear tree.

On the second day of Christmas,
my true love sent to me
Two turtle doves,
And a partridge in a pear tree.

On the third day of Christmas,
my true love sent to me
Three French hens,
Two turtle doves,
And a partridge in a pear tree.

On the fourth day of Christmas,
my true love sent to me
Four calling birds,
Three French hens,
Two turtle doves,
And a partridge in a pear tree.

On the fifth day of Christmas,
my true love sent to me
Five golden rings,
Four calling birds,
Three French hens,
Two turtle doves,
And a partridge in a pear tree.

On the sixth day of Christmas,
my true love sent to me
Six geese a-laying,
Five golden rings,
Four calling birds,
Three French hens,
Two turtle doves,
And a partridge in a pear tree.

On the seventh day of Christmas,
my true love sent to me
Seven swans a-swimming,
Six geese a-laying,
Five golden rings,
Four calling birds,
Three French hens,
Two turtle doves,
And a partridge in a pear tree.

On the eighth day of Christmas,
my true love sent to me
Eight maids a-milking,
Seven swans a-swimming,
Six geese a-laying,
Five golden rings,
Four calling birds,
Three French hens,
Two turtle doves,
And a partridge in a pear tree.

On the ninth day of Christmas,
my true love sent to me
Nine ladies dancing,
Eight maids a-milking,
Seven swans a-swimming,
Six geese a-laying,
Five golden rings,
Four calling birds,
Three French hens,
Two turtle doves,
And a partridge in a pear tree.

On the tenth day of Christmas,
my true love sent to me
Ten lords a-leaping,
Nine ladies dancing,
Eight maids a-milking,
Seven swans a-swimming,
Six geese a-laying,
Five golden rings,
Four calling birds,
Three French hens,
Two turtle doves,
And a partridge in a pear tree.

On the eleventh day of Christmas,
my true love sent to me
Eleven pipers piping,
Ten lords a-leaping,
Nine ladies dancing,
Eight maids a-milking,
Seven swans a-swimming,
Six geese a-laying,
Five golden rings,
Four calling birds,
Three French hens,
Two turtle doves,
And a partridge in a pear tree.

On the twelfth day of Christmas,
my true love sent to me
Twelve drummers drumming,
Eleven pipers piping,
Ten lords a-leaping,
Nine ladies dancing,
Eight maids a-milking,
Seven swans a-swimming,
Six geese a-laying,
Five golden rings,
Four calling birds,
Three French hens,
Two turtle doves,
And a partridge in a pear tree!

Click here to learn how you can make a child’s Christmas wish come true.