Feed: Santa Letter Templates and More Holiday Fun - AggScore: 18.2

Get Help With Your Christmas Letters

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Need some help coming up with a great holiday letter to send out this year? These articles can help you put together a family Christmas letter that you'll have fun writing and your recipients will have fun reading. There are also tips for making your letter look great with colorful Christmas paper, as well as ideas for making the outside of the envelope look festive with special holiday postmarks and stamps. Don't send a boring Christmas letter! Read these articles for help before you start on your annual family update.

How to Write Family Christmas Letters
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Christmas Letter Paper
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Creative Christmas Letter Ideas
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100% Recycled Christmas Paper for Your Holiday Letters
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Green Your Holidays with a Christmas Letter Template
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Add a Fun Santa Postage Stamp to Your Holiday Mail
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How to Get a Santa Postmark from Santa Claus, Indiana
If you're looking for a way to make your holiday mail a little cheerier this year, think about getting a Santa postmark from Santa Claus, Indiana. The po...

Celebrate with Egg Nog

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During the holidays, egg nog may very well be one of the most popular beverages of the season. Both kids and adults love this milk-based drink with spices. It's become such a part of our culture, you may never have stopped to think about its origins, but next time you take a sip of this delicious drink, stop to think about the following information.

The name "egg nog" is a combination of egg and nog, but there's some disagreement over the origins of the word "nog." Some folks believe it comes from noggin, which is a type of ale or a small wooden cup. Others believe it comes from grog, an alcoholic drink made from rum. But whatever the origins of the name, the drink itself is from a popular curdled milk drink called posset, which was popular during the Middle Ages. People believed posset had medicinal value.

But however it began, egg nog has been a popular drink for quite a long time. Legend has it that George Washington was an egg nog enthusiast and developed a recipe that included rye whiskey, rum and sherry. It was reportedly a very strong drink that was enjoyed only by the courageous or those with little sense.

Eggnog is not strictly a holiday drink, but most people typically enjoy it during the weeks from from Christmas to New Year’s Eve. Originally served warm, egg nog has been served cold and without alcohol since the mid 1960s, both of which are major departures from its historical origins.

Modern eggnog usually consists of eggs, milk and sugar mixed together. Other ingredients include spices such as nutmeg, cinnamon, or allspice, and cream is often substituted for some part of the milk, making a much richer drink. These days, it's also available in a soy-based formula for vegans or those with dairy allergies.

Egg nog has long been the drink of choice to toast the holiday season. So hoist a cup and have a happy holiday season!

Year-Round Ideas for Santa Letters

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During the Christmas season, Santa Claus is extremely busy. He's getting ready for his big night, visiting kids at shopping malls around the country and the world, and writing letters to all the good little girls and boys on Santa's Nice List. But during the rest of the year, he has a lot of time on his hands. In fact, he has so much time, it's the perfect opportunity to sit down and write Santa letters to kids around the world. Here are some ideas for year-round Santa letters to help Santa get past writer's block and share some all-season fun with your kids.

Unfortunately, sites offering printable free Santa letters you can't create at home don't usually have options for off-season letters, but if you use Santa letter templates to create your letters from Santa Claus at Christmas, you can also use them to write your letters throughout the year. Or you can get free Christmas postcards online or buy printed all-season Santa postcards from Santa's Official North Pole Mail. Then use these ideas to send one or more letters or postcards throughout the year.

Send a Birthday Santa Letter - Santa Claus has the world's best memory and knows exactly when your child's birthday is and how old he or she will be on their next birthday. So he loves to send birthday greetings! Your birthday postcard or letter or card can congratulate your child on getting another year older and praise them for their good behavior throughout the year (or, if they haven't been good, to remind them that Christmas is coming and they don't want to be on Santa's NaughtyList).

Send a Spring Break Santa Letter - Kids get a vacation during spring, so why shouldn't Santa Claus? You can send the kids a  postcard from Santa on his vacation. Santa's Official North Pole Mail (see link above) has special postcards for this occasion, or you can use a printable Christmas postcard you find online.

Send a Summer Santa Letter - If your kids are already saying, "Mom, I'm bored!" surprise them with a summer vacation letter or postcard from Santa. This is a good time to let them know how many toys the gifts have already made during the year, including some special ones for your child, and to remind them that they need to be on Santa's Nice List so they can reap the rewards of the elves' work.

Send a Halloween Santa Letter - You can have a lot of fun with this one, coming up with crazy ideas for costumes that everyone at the North Pole is wearing. Is Santa dressing up as the Lorax this year? Is Mrs. Claus dressed as a Disney princess? What about the reindeer? Kids will love to hear how Santa is celebrating Halloween.

You might have other ideas for year-round Santa letters, too. Perhaps he will send a letter to mark a special occasion such as getting on the honor roll or getting a new puppy. Maybe he'll write to congratulate your child on scoring a winning goal in a soccer game. Or he may want to send a quick note to remind them to watch their manners. Santa knows all, so have fun creating Santa letters as often as you want! They'll become great keepsakes in years to come.

Remembering Popular Kids Christmas Songs

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What Christmas carols for kids do you remember from your childhood? Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer? Santa Claus is Coming to Town? Frosty the Snowman? Many of us grew up listening to these wonderful Christmas songs food kids as the holiday approached.

Much has changed in the world since we were kids, but these songs remain popular. We may have listened to them on vinyl LPs, while today's kids listen to them on iPods and computer speakers. But these songs continue to be loved by children around the world.

“Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” and "Frosty the Snowman" were such popular songs they were made into animated TV specials and these programs are still watched and loved by millions. Kids still love hearing how Rudolph overcomes the taunting of the other reindeer to become the hero who saves Christmas by guiding Santa's sleigh with his shining nose. And I'm sure today's kids love to listen to "Frosty the Snowman" and imagine dancing in the streets with a talking snowman just as much as kids did 40 years ago.

Other favorites, such as “Santa Claus is Coming to Town?” and “Jingle Bells” also continue to be popular.

All of those classic Christmas songs we knew and loved as children played an important role in shaping our memories of this cherished holiday, and they're continuing to shape the memories of today's youth. So when Christmas rolls around, be sure to sing along with your kids or grandkids and share those precious holiday memories.

Writing Great Christmas Letters Doesn't Have to Be Hard

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Many people enjoy sending annual Christmas letters to their family and friends during the holidays, but are stymied by what to write and how to write it. Here are three simple suggestions that will help you create a great holiday letter.

1. Have fun.
The first rule of writing great Christmas letter is to have fun. If you’re not enjoying it, your readers won’t enjoy reading it either. So relax! Be yourself! Don’t try to match some imaginary rules about what a Christmas letter SHOULD be like. The best letters are the ones that are conversational and "sound" like you. If you have a voice recorder, grab it and try condensing your year into a two minute synopsis. Imagine you're talking to a friend you haven't seen in the past year. Record your two-minute “conversation” and then play it back. Does it sound natural? Good! Now type it up. This will help your “voice” come through in your writing. If you edit it on paper, read it out loud again to see if it still “sounds like you.”

2. Make it bright.
A picture is worth a thousands words, and it's a great saying to keep in mind when creating your Christmas letter. People LOVE looking at pictures. Scan some photos into your computer and put them into your letter to make it more colorful and fun. This is easy to do on your own with word processing programs like Microsoft Word, or you can buy digital Christmas letter templates online that already has the design laid out for you.

3. Add a personal note.
No matter how fun and colorful your annual Christmas letter is, your friends and family will still enjoy seeing a person touch. Try to finish your letters in plenty of time before the holidays so you have time to add a quick one- or two-line note to the bottom of each one. It will let your readers know you care.

Finally, just remember that you don’t need to impress your friends and family. Just have fun, and they will, too!

Save Money with Christmas Coupons

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Everyone likes to save money. Why spend more when you can get the same thing for less? This is particularly true during the holidays, when you want your money to go as far as possible.

A lot of people clip grocery coupons from the Sunday newspaper to save money when they shop offline. But those same people often forget that you can also save money online with coupons.

One reason online shopping is so popular is because you can buy almost anything on the web, and you're not limited to the stock on hand at your local store. In addition, you often don’t need to pay sales tax, unless the retailer has employees, stores or warehouses located within your state. Those are two great reasons to shop online. But you don't need to stop there. You can also save even more when you look for online promo codes or discount coupons.

To use old-fashioned printed coupons, you have to clip the coupon and remember to take it to the store with you. Online discount codes are even easier to use. You don’t need to cut anything. Rather, you just type in a coupon code – usually a word or sometimes a number – at the checkout page, and your discount is automatically applied and will show up on your screen. Discount coupons are particularly helpful during the Christmas season for buying personalized Christmas cards or ornaments that you can't find in your local stores.

There are many coupon sites on the Internet that can help you save money. Some, like Christmas Coupons 365.com, even specialize in finding and sharing sales for the holidays, from Thanksgiving through Christmas. To find savings, just visit your favorite coupon site, search for a store or category of products (like gifts or Christmas cards), and then click the link provided on the site or copy the promo code if required.

It’s easier than clipping grocery coupons and it’ll save you money during the holidays when you need it most.

What's the Best Camera for Pictures of Kids?

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Parents love photos of our kids. We take them at birthday parties, sleepovers, camping trips, school, and just around the house. We pay for professional photographers to take portraits and for the kids to have their pictures taken at school every year. It seems we can’t ever get enough pictures of our kids. But if you want to take great pictures of your own kids, can a camera help you get those shots you want? The answer is a resounding yes. The best camera for pictures of kids is a DSLR. It will help you capture those special moments that you might miss with a compact point-and-shoot.
The reason a DSLR is the best camera for pictures of kids comes down to one word – speed. Digital SLRs are also capable of producing higher quality images and they give you more creative control over your photos, but for parents, the biggest difference between a DSLR and any other camera is the fast response time.

When you turn on a compact digital camera, it usually takes a second or more to warm up and be ready to take photos. With a DSLR, there’s virtually no waiting. When you turn it on, it’s ready to go to work, and when you press the shutter button, you don’t have that annoying shutter lag time between the moment you press the shutter button and the moment the camera actually takes the picture. That short delay can cost you the photo of a lifetime. It’s the difference between getting a photo of your child diving or jumping into the swimming pool alone for the first time or getting a photo of the big splash after he disappeared under the water.

Years ago, you needed to understand things like f-stops and film speeds to use an SLR. Today, however, DSLRs are so automated that they’re as easy to use in auto mode as a point-and-shoot camera. If you want to learn how to use all the bells and whistles, you can, but you don’t need to. That’s why there’s no question that the best camera for pictures of kids is a DSLR. It’s an investment you’ll never regret.

What's Better Than a Photo of Santa in Your House? A Video of Santa!

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Technology is amazing, especially the things we can now do with the Internet. We can look up answers to virtually any question or problem, share news and photos with our friends and family, and now use it to bring the magic of Santa Claus right into our homes.

With the help of companies like Capture the Magic and The Santa Video, you can now get a picture of Santa in your house or a video of Santa in your house. All you need is the ability to upload a photo and a few minutes of time. You don't even need to wait for Santa's visit - if you have your house decorated for the holidays, you're ready to go.

What you'll need is a photo of the room in your house where Santa will be leaving presents. Ready? Take several photos of the room from different angles, keeping in mind that Santa Claus will be added to the picture.

To capture a photo of Santa in your house, take the image to Capture the Magic and select from one of the hundreds of Santa poses available. Drag your favorite one into the preview showing the photo you uploaded, and adjust the size, brightness and other variables as desired. You'll have a great photo of Santa in your house in minutes! You'll be able to print it out at home and amaze your kids on Christmas morning.

If you'd like to create a video of Santa Claus in your house, the process is very similar. Take the photo of your house and go to The Santa Video.com and let the magic begin. Just upload your photo and select one of the video clips showing Santa with his bag of toys, sneaking into your room and even eating cookies and drinking milk. Then watch the preview showing Santa right in your house and select whether you want to include optional music in your video. Satisfied? Checkout and you'll get your video instantly by email.

Keeping your kids believing in Santa Claus has never been so easy.

3 Ideas for Saving Money on Your Christmas Gift List

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Want some tips for saving money this Christmas? Here are 3 easy ways to pare your budget to something manageable without sacrificing a lot.

Find Christmas discounts online
Going to your local mall during the holidays is great if you enjoy looking at the decorations and listening to holiday music while shopping, but you're more likely to make impulse purchases because it's tempting to pick up what you see. So do yourself a favor and shop online, where you're less likely to make impulse purchases and you can almost always find Christmas discounts to defray or eliminate shipping costs. To save when you shop, look for stores with free shipping for Christmas or offering promo codes online. Sites such as Christmas Coupons 365.com can help you find free shipping offers and coupons specifically for holiday shopping.


Get Personalized Gifts
It's not that personalized gifts are really cheaper, but many people put more value in a personalized gift, so you may feel comfortable buying a less expensive gift that is personalized rather than an impersonal gift that costs much more. Zazzle is a great place to create and buy personalized gifts.You can upload your own photos, artwork and/or text and create anything from mugs and mousepads to personalized iPhone skins, aprons, skateboards and much more. You can start with one of the thousands of designs available or create your own from scratch. If it's the thought that counts, you'll get extra points for giving a personalized gift.


Give Fewer Gifts
This is obvious and you may want to toss out the idea without really considering it, but in this economy, many people will understand if you decide to give less expensive gifts or no gifts at all. If you exchange gifts with every member of your family or everyone in your office, suggest that you change the tradition so that everyone draws the name of one person and only buys one gift. This may actually allow you to save money while buying a higher-quality gift for one person. And you might be surprised to discover that you're not the only one who is happy to have fewer gifts to buy.

Saving money on Christmas gifts doesn't mean you're a Scrooge. If you put some thought into your gifts, you can still give great presents and save money, too.

Best Popcorn Poppers

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http://www.squidoo.com/best-popcorn-poppers (via shareaholic)

Free Santa Videos

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My kids are still young enough to believe in Santa Claus, and I'm trying to prolong this magic period of believing for as long as I can. In some ways, keeping kids believing in Santa is harder these days because they can just log on to, say, Yahoo! Answers and ask if Santa is real. On the other hand, today's high-tech world has come up with some pretty cool ways to keep your kids believing.

Last year ago I learned how to catch Santa at home and I purchased personalized Santa's Nice List ornaments for the tree.

But the crowning glory was the free personalized Santa message videofrom Portable North Pole.tv. This amazing site has personalized Santa videos that are so real they might make YOU start believing again. And believe it or not, you can create and send your video for free. Of course, if you want to keep a copy of it, you'll need to pony up some cash, but if you're short on money and simply can afford to buy a keepsake, you'll still be able to share your child's delight watching this video.

Portable North Pole allows you to add personal information such as your child's name, state and desired toy for Christmas, and you can upload a photo, too. Santa then uses the information to deliver a personalized message that will blow your socks off.

If you're looking for a way to keep your kids believing, be sure to check this out.

Do-It-Yourself Santa Letters

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You don't need a college degree to write a kids Santa letter, but you do need a little imagination, some colorful artwork and the ability to write and spell. After all, you don't want your child to receive a letter from Santa Claus with spelling and punctuation errors.

Many parents want their kids Santa letters to be just perfect, so they're daunted by the idea of writing a Santa letter on their own, but on the other hand they don't want or can't afford to spend a lot of money on a letter from one of the professional companies offering this service. Some of these sites charge $10 or more for a single letter.

So what's a do-it-yourself to do? Go to the Internet, of course! There are a number of websites that can give you just the right amount of help you need to create a wonderful printable Santa letter for your kids at home in minutes.

For instance, at SantaLetterTemplates.com, you'll find high-quality printable Santa letter templates online that already have Santa's message and a Christmas image included in a Microsoft Word document that you simply need to download and edit. The great thing about this type of printable Santa letter is that you don't have to order it weeks in advance - you can purchase your letter, then download and edit it in just minutes. Just as Santa can defy time on Christmas Eve, Santa letter templates help you get St. Nick's message done on time every time, and there's no worry about writer's block.

For more places to find do-it-yourself Santa letters, see 10 Places to Get Printable Santa Letters.

Printable Letters from the Easter Bunny

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Easter is the biggest holiday of the spring season and an important Christian holiday. But for kids, it's all about the Easter Bunny. Every year he comes hopping down the Bunny Trail hiding chocolate rabbits and colored eggs so children must go on an Easter egg hunt to find them all. The mysterious rabbit is rarely seen, except, perhaps for photos at the local shopping mall, but he does like to send Easter Bunny letters to little kids.

These days, it's easy to create your own printable Easter Bunny letters at home. High-quality inkjet and laser printers have made it possible for virtually anyone to print great-looking letters in only a few minutes. And kids love 'em! If you're writing your own message, be sure to include details about your child that the Easter Bunny would know - such as their name, hometown, age and perhaps the name of a sibling or best friend. Then you can ask the child about certain events in their life (for instance, did they start kindergarten this year?) or congratulate them on an accomplishment (such as learning to tie their shoes or being nice to their siblings).

You can also find templates online that already have sample text that you can edit and/or colorful Easter designs. No matter which option you use, your child is sure to love it!

Santa Letter Templates

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Christmas is a festive season that brings joy to one and all, especially to the little members of the family and neighborhood, as they get a break from school and their normal routine, as well as a chance to spend time with friends and other family members without the worry of homework. Children also look forward to a visit from Santa Claus. They anxiously look forward to his arrival and finding gifts under the Christmas tree. The anticipation of his arrival is heightened by the receipt of a Santa letter. If Santa notes how good they've been and encourages them to continue behaving this way, this motivates them to be good citizens in the future.


How does Santa know what every child is doing? And how does he make sure they each get a letter? Parents are the secret. They help him send out his messages, often by using The Santa letter templates that are available on the internet. There are many colorful designs and letter options that parents can use to help Santa Claus send a message of cheerfulness to the young ones. The parents and friends can make use of these printable Santa letter formats and pass the good message to their children. When children get the news from the North Pole, it adds fun to the whole occasion. Santa letter template certainly make it easy to share Santa's happiness with everyone.