For Everything that is Christmas

Christmas Conversation Rules

host — 2005-07-19T12:12:33Z

There is one rule. Keep it pleasant. That's all you have to worry about. This is a festive holiday site that tries to promote good will. Please help keep it that way.

One of the best things...

John Allen — 2006-11-25T23:15:53Z

One of the best th8ings my wife and I ever did to improve the holiday season was to slow down and cut back. It is so easy to fall into a 'rat race' mentality. Spend more than you can afford. Do more than you have energy for. A couple of years ago my wife and I took a hard look at the way we were celebrating Christamas. And it was a little disconcerting to realize that plain old materialism was at the core of our celebration. We decided to cut back the next year. Our plan was to increase each child's birthday gifts, while cutting back for Christmas. So through the year we made each child's birthday a 'blow out.' And this part of our plan was a hit with our family. Then as Christmas approached, we (somewhat nervously) explained to our kids that this Christmas would be less material oriented and more service oriented. As Christmas came closer, my wife and I were a lot less frazzled. We were not out all hours searching for just one more gift. Our shopping was done early on. But we were worried if the kids would go for a simpler Christmas. With the extra time we had, we involved the kids in Christmas service projects: cookies for the elderly in our neighborhood, Secret Santa projects, visiting shut ins. And you know what? We all felt the Christmas Spirit more than ever before. There were the tradition Christmas morning gifts--but not to excess. So I offer this idea to anyuone who would like to try it. It worked for our family. Best holiday wishes --John 'http://www.byjohnallen.com'>www.byjohnallen.com

Book born of grief...offers comfort

John Allen — 2006-11-25T22:41:27Z

Hi, my name is John Allen and I just wanted to share some information about my holiday novel 'Christmas Gifts, Christmas Voices.'

Mark Victor (“Chicken Soup for the Soul”) Hansen has characterized my book as having “messages of love and wisdom to make your heart sing with the recognition of the miracle of life.”

My book is also about the fragility of life and the one source of peace available to us all…

I would not have written this book were it not for a terrible tragedy. We all know there are times you sit down and intend to write something. But then there are those times you HAVE to write. There are feelings and ideas you’ve simply got to get out of your system. Such was the case with “Christmas Gifts, Christmas Voices.”The book, published by HCI Books, began as an outgrowth of a terrible tragedy I witnessed just a few days before Christmas. My family and I had moved temporarily to a small western town so that I could work on an intensive technical writing project that required I work on the business premises with other writers. We loved small town life. We became close to a wonderful family consisting of several children. I became particularly close to two teenage sons from that family. These boys were an example of everything that great about youth. They were active in their church. They were high achievers in their high school. They loved music. And they were active in scouting and community affairs. They were the essence of everything that’s great about youth. Just before Christmas they were on their way to sing a special number at church meeting. Riding with them were two teenage girls. (The four young people were to sing a quartet.) On the way to church they rounded a bend, came upon an unexpected icy patch on the road, and skidded into a river that ran parallel to the road. All four young people were lost in this terrible accident. It was hard for me to conceive what the parents must have been going through. The next evening my wife and I went to offer our condolences to the parents of the two boys. Words failed me. I held the father in a bear hug and shed some tears with him. When the tears stopped, he told me that he was at peace. He knew their sons were in a better place. And he knew that the Savior had made it possible that he would see his sons again.Talk about faith...From that point on I did some serious soul searching. I also became a better parent, and more appreciative of my wonderful daughters and wife. The unthinkable had happened to my friend. But his faith made him survive the ordeal. At that point, the story for my book began to take shape. The book deals with a man who suffers a terrible loss just before Christmas. Then it shows how he ultimately finds peace through a few simple acts of kindness. I appear in the book (in the guise of Brent Watkins) and express my thoughts about the tragedy. 'Christmas Gifts, Christmas Voices' is definitely a sobering story. But the ending gives the reader a sense of comfort and peace. And that there IS something out there bigger and more lasting than this temporary, sorrow-filled life…And it shows that good things can incredibly come from tragedy.

If anyone is interested, the book is available on Amazon, hcibooks.com and several other internet sources. I’d be interested in what you think about the story. “Christmas Gifts, Christmas Voices” is more than a book about Christmas; it’s a book about loss, grieving, overcoming, and ultimately finding peace and comfort…all of which just happens to be set during the holiday season. I humbly recommend the book to anyone who has suffered a loss, or whose faith could use some recharging--as mine did.Best wishes, John Allen

www.byjohnallen.com

Letters to Santa...

Johnny Christmas — 2005-09-22T12:11:41Z

It might be a good idea to get an area on this site where kids can send letters to Santa. It's cheaper than finding a stamp and would be awfully cute to see their letters.

New Recipe

Johnny Christmas — 2006-06-12T10:40:24Z

A new '/content/CookieRecipes/ChristmasFudge/tabid/171/Default.aspx'>Christmas Fudge recipe was just added.

Crazy Christmas Lights

Johnny Christmas — 2006-03-16T17:02:55Z

I'm not sure if this was actually pieced together or acutally where in synch. It's pretty cool regardless.

You can't go wrong...

Johnny Christmas — 2005-12-14T13:46:23Z

You can't really go wrong if you buy something from 'http://www.tiffany.com'>Tiffany's for your girlfriend. My personal suggestion when in doubt is to keep it simple without too much flare. Don't get me wrong, Tiffany's is way overpriced (or premium priced if you don't like the word overpriced). However, when your girl sees that little blue Tiffany's box. BAM!!! You'll hit it out of the park.

Post your Christmas Gift Ideas

Johnny Christmas — 2005-12-01T13:05:12Z

If you have a unique and WORTHY product or Christmas gift idea, you really are doing yourself and the Christmas community an injustice by not telling everybody about it here. If it truely is good I bet it would even get featured on this site.

The Top Ten Christmas Search Phrases

Johnny Christmas — 2005-11-14T15:22:35Z

Here's a list of the top ten Christmas related search phrases (as reported by word tracker).

'/'>christmas	10,321.00	/day
'/'>nightmare before christmas	8,223.00	/day
'/'>the nightmare before christmas	4,001.00	/day
'/'>christmas cards	3,547.00	/day
'/'>christmas gifts	2,664.00	/day
'/'>christmas crafts	1,990.00	/day
'/'>christmas decorations	1,790.00	/day
'/'>christmas songs	1,590.00	/day
'/'>christmas trees	1,477.00	/day