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Perhaps the first thought on your mind for the upcoming New Year is, “Which bars and pubs are we going to hit up?” But then you stopped and thought of what will be missing this year. One of your best friends was shipped out on a tour of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Deep down you know the parties just won’t be the same without him. You wish there was something you could do to let him know you were thinking of him just now. The holidays are often the most difficult time for US soldiers and their families, since Christmas and New Years are typically a time of togetherness. But don’t despair because there are many ways you can make a difference.

Over the Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Eve holidays, many Americans like to send care packages as a show of support for our troops. The United Service Organizations Inc. is delivering care packages to US troops around the world for a $25 donation.

The packages include a prepaid phone card, sunscreen, travel sized toiletries, a disposable camera and a message from you. For more information visit www.usocares.org. Operation Gratitude also ships packages containing toiletries, food, entertainment gifts and personal letters to troops in the Middle East.

Visit www.opgratitude.com for more information. Lastly, you can visit www.treatsfortroops.com to donate themed packages or individual items from dozens of online gift shops.

New Year’s Eve holidays are sometimes celebrated with the allowance of a couple beers on base and games of poker. These New Year traditions help the soldiers feel a little less homesick, but it’s hard to deny the pain of being away from one’s family over the holidays.

Whether it’s cards, care packages, letters or text messages — these gestures mean a lot when troops are stranded in faraway lands.

To read more Sending Care Packages For New Year’s Eve Holidays

Marking the dedication of the Second temple by the Jewish people, Hanukkah is a festival lasting eight days in commemoration of the eight days the oil burned when the temple was recaptured.

In proclaiming Happy Hanukkah, the celebration involves special activities, such as giving gifts, like Hanukkah gift baskets, playing games, as well as singing songs. There are special candles for the festival that are supposed to be lit at the onset of darkness on each of the eight days.

The festival forbids activities that are forbidden during Sabbath. This does not mean that it has that status of the Sabbath, since it does not require the closure of schools or missing time from work.

However, the tradition has seen the closure of schools during the festival week and early departures that allow people to go home and light the lamps or candles. Though the Hanukkah decorations saying Happy Hanukkah are traditionally placed at the door near the road to publicize the festival, one is allowed to hide the lamps or candles to avoid persecution. In places that do not allow open flames, like hospitals, bulbs can be used.

The candles are lit at the discretion of the family. Some choose the onset of darkness, while others choose later in the night. Also, the family has a choice of lighting one menorah per family member or one menorah for the entire family. However, the rules of the festival must be adhered to.

Kids especially enjoy the festivities associated with the Hanukkah holiday. Happy Hanukkah.

To read more Time For Proclaiming A Happy Hanukkah

Chanukkah (also commonly spelled as Hanukkah) is a Jewish holiday established to commemorate the lighting of the menorah at the Holy Temple in Jerusalem by the victorious Jews led by Judah Maccabee in 165 B.C.

The festival lasts for eight days, beginning on the 25th day of the Hebrew month Kislev. The duration of the festival corresponds to the number of days the menorah was kept miraculously alight by the oil which was meant to last for only one day.

Hence, today, Jews celebrate the Hanukkah tradition by lighting the candles in a menorah for eight days.

Jews in various parts of the world enjoy traditional foods during Chanukkah, usually with oil ingredients in remembrance of the miraculous oil in the temple at Jerusalem. Jewish Americans have latkes, which are a type of potato pancakes, yet while in Israel, Jews partake of sufganiya, a kind of pastry filled with jelly that has been cooked in oil.

Dairy products such as cheese are also popular fares. For children, there are traditional Jewish games that they can play as part of the Jewish Hanukkah holiday.

One of them is Spin the Dreidel; the dreidel is a four-sided top with an engraving of a Hebrew letter on each side, which are initials of the words in the sentence “A great miracle happened there.” As well as games, traditional Hanukkah songs are sung.

Despite being a relatively minor holiday in the Jewish calendar, Chanukkah enjoys a degree of prominence, especially in North America. In view of the sizeable population, secular Jews wanted a Jewish alternative to Christmas gift-giving, which is also celebrated at roughly the same period.

Though giving “gelt” or coins to Jewish children remains a Hanukkah tradition, many Jewish children are also being given other gifts so that they do not feel being left out of the Christmas gift giving merriment.

To read more Chanukkah Food Traditions

The Victorians are who you should thank as you celebrate the joyful customs and festivities of Christmas with your friends and family. They were the first to come up with the idea of giving to charity and gift giving in general.

If you are looking for great ideas for Christmas parties, then you may want to consider stepping back in time and having a Victorian Christmas party, focusing first and foremost on the church and children, complete with a big family dinner and a visit with friends.

If you have a fireplace, then cover the mantel with boughs of greenery, and include pineapples, oranges, pomegranates, berries and apples together in clusters. Get several of the larger pillar candles of varying heights and group them with like colors, wrap some greenery around them and small white lights concentrating around the candles to give them a light glow.

The Victorian Christmas parties usually included decorating the staircase as well with lavish displays of garland and wide burgundy colored ribbon and bows as a way to complete the Christmas party decorations.

Your Christmas party theme idea would not be complete without serving an authentic menu, which would include raw oysters, fried smelts and sweetbread pate to start. The main course would either be pheasant, roasted goose, turkey or venison, or sometimes a combination of all of them.

Side dishes at Victorian Christmas parties would include potatoes, peas and rice croquettes, with mulled wine to wash it all down. For desert there would be rice pudding, fruit or possibly plum pudding.

To read more Better Ideas For Christmas Parties

Since Thanksgiving is about giving thanks and sharing with others, you may want to consider making or buying a Thanksgiving Day gift.

If you want to present a token of your appreciation to the family member who is going to host Thanksgiving this year, then how about creating something that can be shared at dinner? Make something edible and perhaps start a new Thanksgiving Day tradition.

A Thanksgiving gift can also be in the form of a fruit basket, and perhaps the more traditional Thanksgiving food of apples and oranges would be in order. You could always add packets of spiced cider so that the oranges can be used as a garnish or caramel in which to dip the apples.

If you want something a little more unique, perhaps creating a new family Thanksgiving Day tradition, then fill a fruit basket with more exotic fruits, like papaya, figs and kiwi, or anything similar.

Of course Thanksgiving gifts do not have to be edible to be appreciated; you can create something from your own garden that makes it even more special. Have you been growing pumpkins or squash in anticipation of the big day?

Then start a Thanksgiving Day tradition by creating a special centerpiece from your vegetable garden. Or, flowers are always a great idea; again, something from your garden would be fantastic.

Even if you do not have a garden, you can create some great centerpieces by visiting your local florist or farmers market to pick out some special items indicative of the season.

To read more Thanksgiving Day Tradition With Better Gift Ideas

Coffee is often grown in poor countries where the farmers are exploited and underpaid for their produce. You can now buy organic fair trade coffee where the farmers are certified to have received a fair price for their produce.

Rather than sending a donation to help people in the developing world, you can buy fair trade coffee to help farmers maintain autonomy and develop their business. Receiving fair payment can also help their families and send their children to school.

Next time you visit a coffee specialty store, ask for certified organic fair trade coffee beans. If they are not available, request to place an order, to buy coffee where the farmers are rewarded for their efforts.

To read more Ensuring Farmers Receive A Fair Price With Organic Fair Trade Coffee

The best gift is a surprise gift. Something unexpected. If you know your friend is on a diet and you want to give food basket that will help with dieting efforts, then a snack gift basket may be the ideal solution.

Snacks are eaten in between major meals, like breakfast, lunch and dinner. To continue your metabolism, to stop food being turned to fat, you may eat a small snack in between your main meals. An apple, a small amount of nuts or even wholegrain crackers. You can include all these options in your snack gift food basket.

You may need to check with the receiver to see if there are any food allergies, to ensure you do not include those options in the gift basket. For example, if he has a nut allergy, then do not include any snack with nuts or includes traces of nuts as an ingredient.

You can buy ready made snack gift baskets, or use your artistic talents to make your own snack gift basket. Your gift will be better appreciated, if you make the effort to create a snack food basket.

To read more Surprise Gift Idea With A Snack Gift Basket

Bored with giving the typical tie as a Fathers Day gift? Finding just the right present can be a trial if you wait until the last minute.

In the rush of scouring through racks of Fathers Day cards and making restaurant reservations, shopping can fall to the bottom of the list and we end up buying the first cologne gift set we can get our hands on. Instead of breaking out the Brut, try something a little different this year.

If your dad is a sports fanatic, then the possibilities for a great Fathers Day gift are endless. For a sports fan, there’s nothing more thrilling than seeing your favorite team in action. Tickets to sports events can be expensive, so check the newspaper and internet for people selling tickets before you head for the ticket office.

Another great Fathers Day present for the sports fan is a cable TV “Game Package.” With this gift dad can watch every single game that his favorite team plays. Check with your cable TV provider for information on pricing and special offers.

All dads will agree that the greatest gifts for Fathers Day include spending time together. Why not reserve some time at a golf club for a Fathers Day golf game?

If your dad is an outdoorsman, rent a boat, treat him to a new tackle box and spend the day together on a Fathers Day fishing excursion. Your dad will love any Fathers Day gift that gives him the chance to relax and spend quality time with his kids.

To read more Fathers Day Gift For The Sports Mad Man

A father is one of the most important people in a child’s life. He nurtures, loves and teaches his offspring to become healthy, happy adults. This Fathers Day is the perfect opportunity to say thank you for everything he does. In this article, we’ll share some ideas for unique Fathers Day gifts for the most important man in your life.

If your dad loves this outdoors, you can make this Fathers Day very special with some fantastic camping and fishing gear. If your dad is dragging around an awkward tackle box, then get him a fishing vest designed to hold all of his gear.

He’ll love being able to easily move around while still having his lures and hooks readily available. To guarantee a great catch, consider getting your dad a fish finder this year. These sonar detectors identify fish and outline the bottom of a body of water.

The best way to thrill your dad this Fathers Day is with a gift or activity that really lets him know that you love him for who he is. If he’s a music lover, treat him to a concert.

For the car buff, a do-it-yourself detailing kit packed with top of the line products is the perfect gift. Yet no matter what your dad is a fan of, the most important things to give him are your love and time, so have fun and enjoy this special family day.

To read more Making Him Happy On Fathers Day

Father’s Day is a chance to lavish your dad with love and attention. After all, he works hard for his family! Instead of settling for the annual family barbecue, get everyone together for some fun Fathers Day activities that everyone can enjoy. In this article, we’ve got some tips for unique and affordable ways to celebrate this special day.

The ideal Fathers Day present is time spent together as a family, so plan a day packed with your dad’s favorite activities. Nothing could mean more to him than sharing the things he loves with the people he loves. Start the day right with a great breakfast complete with homemade pastries and dad’s favorite coffee.

Then choose an activity that you know your father will enjoy but doesn’t indulge in often. Take a family trip to a museum, planetarium or zoo. If he’s a fan of the outdoors, then pack a picnic lunch and spend some time hiking through some scenic caves.

If your dad loves the links, have a themed day that includes a Fathers Day golf game and a few gifts associated with his favorite pastime. Knowing that you care enough to share Fathers Day activities with him will be the best present of all.

To celebrate the contributions your dad makes to the family, organize Fathers Day activities catered to his tastes. If you’re really stuck for ideas, come right out and ask him what he really wants.

Whether your dad opts to spend Fathers Day in his pajamas in front of the television or wants to go wild and crazy on a family white water rafting trip, it will be a great Father’s Day as long as his loved ones are with him.

To read more Better Ideas For Fathers Day Activities