Katie Rose Phillips once sang that she saw Mommy kissing Santa Claus, but when I was a little girl I saw him cradling Auntie Cathy’s brand new baby.

The Christmas that falls on a child’s fifth year is special and mine was no exception, old enough to appreciate the rituals, young enough to be utterly suspended in its magic.

This particular season was set to be perfect, my whole family gathered, a little brother to show the ropes to and a bigger one to learn them from. Plus a thick layer of crunchy, snowman-ready snow.

My mother had dressed the house with festive abundance, holly branches draped over all the pictures and a large wreath with pinecones suspended from the front door by a luxurious red ribbon. Everywhere a knick-knack with a story, my brother’s wobbly pottery angel holding miniature candles in her hands, a bauble brought one Wintry day from at tiny shop in London.

Not forgetting the most enormous Christmas tree, that towered above me to the ceiling. It took my father the best part of a morning and (he was quick to add) an afternoon to recover from the exertion of getting it into the hose and ready for decorating. Even my tall Mother had to use a ladder to place the fairy on top.

I handed her the decorations with the care of the keeper of the Crown jewels and with just as much pride. The ceremonial turning on of the lights when the sun had gone down lit me from within too. I was ready for the games to begin.

And so they did. A friends-filled week of mulled wine and mince pies, tobogganing, carol singing and a memorable performance of Jack and the Beanstalk, when the giant pointed to Auntie Cathy’s large tummy in the front row and joked about her not having the baby until the end of the show. Which I couldn’t understand, knowing full well the baby wouldn’t be so silly: we wanted to enjoy Christmas first!

The shaking of the presents occupied every spare minute, whispering and guessing the contents with my brothers. As the ringleader, I was chosen for the task of colouring in my father’s Christmas Day Lunch menu, a tradition that was to continue for many years to come.

I hardly thought we would have room for turkey (with all the trimmings) and a flaming Christmas pudding after consuming all the nuts, Turkish delight and Christmas cake Mum had lain in little dishes on the table next to the log fire, ready for Christmas Day.

But what really intrigued me, the bit I coloured in with extra care in gold pencil, was the ‘Special Guest Appearance’ at the bottom of the menu. I hoped against hope it would be Father Christmas but my parents were giving nothing away; I would have to wait and see.

Luckily, Christmas Eve was so packed I hardly had to time to dwell on I it, with a morning walk in the crystal white fields near our house and a lovely Church service in the afternoon, completed by a tiny nativity scene and a noisy donkey.

Exhausted that night and overcome with the promise of the next day’s excitement I could barely stop my eyes from closing as my brothers and I left the reindeers their peanut snacks under the tree and Father Christmas his glass of sherry.

Of course, I could not unwrap my presents quick enough in the morning, racing downstairs to open the assorted goodies in my hand-sewn stocking before the fun of the day unraveled, all leading up to the moment I had imagined a dozen times already: the arrival of the special guest.

I saw him arrive at the door with his fluffy beard and sack of gifts, bellowing a deep ‘ho ho ho’, bending down to cuddle me in his bright red outfit. He was every bit as impressive as I had hoped, my only disappointment being that Uncle Bill had taken a Christmas gift to our old neighbours next door and was going to miss him!

But just as he was asking if we had been good girls and boys my Aunty Cathy let out a huge moan and there was a flurry of confusion. Suddenly the adults started rushing around and all the children were ushered away to watch ‘A Christmas Carol’ on the T.V.

A commotion filtered through from next door, while in our room my big cousins wanted to know if their Mum was going to be O.K. Eventually, a short silence fell followed by the first cries of a newborn baby.

My mother came to the T.V. room and told us we should come to meet somebody. And there was Father Christmas holding the newest addition to our large family.

‘Is it the baby Jesus?’ I asked, incredulous.

‘No,’ laughed my father. ‘But it is the special guest.’

Christmas is a wonderful time to remember the special people in all our lives; friends and family, near and far. Sending an Ecard is an excellent way to avoid the postal rush, not to mention the seeking out and writing of all those addresses!

At www.katiescards.com I have created a collection of Christmas ecards that are quick to preview and just as easy to send. It’s as straightforward as choosing your favourite E card, personalizing and emailing it, with a low-cost membership to the site that allows you to send Ecards on other occasions also, from birthday ecards to Easter ecards and every special day in-between.

The selection of 20 Christmas ecards includes the telling of the traditional nativity story as well as capturing the season’s mythical charms, with the elves or a magical snow scene, every e-card designed to be a heart-warming greeting to let a loved one know you remember them as they look forward to the New Year.

So why not extend some festive cheer and choose an uplifting Ecard to send to your nearest and dearest this Christmas season?

Free
Christmas ecards are rivaling their paper counterpart by
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Many free Christmas ecard senders like the convenience of
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The holiday season can be much less burdensome, more fun and
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hearty season’s greeting! “And she brought forth her firstborn
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this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the
Lord.” (Luke 2:7a,11)

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 Ha ha ha, la la la and ho ho ho are just some of the sounds that remind us that Christmas is just round the corner. Irresistible sales, shopping escapades, giggling kids, fun and frolic, loads of parties, king size feasts and long cozy holidays are just some of the exciting aspects of Christmas.

Christmas is a day to commemorate the birth of Jesus Christ. On the Christmas Eve, people offer prayer at the churches. They light candles and seek blessings of Jesus Christ.

On this festive day, “Merry Christmas” and “Happy Christmas” echoes from all the directions.

During this time around, everybody is busy in serious shopping; busy buying Christmas Gifts for their family, friends, peers, associates and acquaintances. Christmas is a festival associated with the exchange of gifts. With the arrival of the Christmas, people start planning for Christmas shopping and preparing a list for Christmas gifts. Although, it is quite a daunting task to find a right gift for your loved ones, various store and online websites offer interesting and unique Christmas gift ideas. Christmas corporate gifts, gift baskets, Christmas greeting cards and ecards are just some of the options available there.

On the onset of the winter festivity, people hunt to find a Xmas tree for their house. The tree is said to be the partner of your happiness and excitement. All the members of the family decorate the Christmas tree with beautiful ornaments like baubles, shining stars, lights, bells, confetti and streamers, and pile some gifts under it.

Family members circle around the Christmas tree and sing Christmas carols like “We Wish you a Merry Christmas” or Jingle Bells” to enliven the spirits of Xmas. Christmas carols are an integral part of this festivity. Families hymn it and sing along with the church chorus, which sets the festive mood. Carols reminds everyone that it’s Christmas again! – A time of singing, dancing, enjoying and merry making. It’s said, at the time of Jesus’ birth, the angels sang various songs when they encountered the shepherds in order to tell them the news of Jesus’ birth. This practice is followed till date and it is a tradition to sing carols on Christmas.

Christmas is very popular amongst all age-groups especially, with the kids. On the Christmas Eve, kids wait top receive gifts for the Santa Claus. St. Nick is a very popular figure and the X-Mas Day many people impersonate Santa Claus. They can be seen with a big pot belly, white bread and a bag full of gifts on the streets distributing gifts.

On Christmas people decorate their houses using centerpieces of angels and doves, new tableware, kitchenware and flowers wreath. Stockings filled with gifts and goodies are placed near the fireplace. For yummy treats, chocolate cookies and cakes are prepared at home to serve the guests.

Christmas is the time to be simply happy and greet everyone all and sundry. Christmas wishes are exchanged verbally with friends and loved ones to express you love, care, appreciation and gratitude. Dgreetings

It’s almost a custom these days to wish ‘Merry Christmas’ with Christmas gifts. The current tradition of giving gifts on Christmas came into popular practice following the Three Wise Men’s (Magi) gifts to baby Jesus. Gift-giving during Christmas is primal to the age-old tradition of Christmas, and this took larger proportions slowly through the years with the rise of consumerism. Now if you come to think of it, today’s Christmas is really impaired without those big boxes in colorful wrappers tied up with glistening ribbons and piled up at the foot of the Christmas evergreen, those red stockings chock-a-block with Santa’s givings, those warm cards displayed on the mantle and many more sweet Christmas surprises. Evidently Christmas gifts have become integral to our Christmas holidays ! Every Christian bears the spirit of giving and sharing on Christmas. So what are you planning to gift your dear ones this Christmas ? Here are some Christmas gift ideas for you to check out:

Christmas gifts can be anything from some pretty flowers to a chic jewelry. So then, you can never fall short of ideas when it comes to Christmas gifts. Flowers are wonderful gifts for all occasions. And they can brighten up days on Christmas too !

Christmas gift baskets are wonderful ideas for Christmas presents as well. You can make one yourself or buy one for your friends, siblings or sweetheart anytime. A gift basket stuffed with cookies, chocolates and other little surprises would surely make the difference to your loved ones’ days !
Gift certificates for Christmas won’t be bad ideas either. So send all your wishes and good cheer in a piece of envelope and fly them to your dear ones on Christmas.

Christmas decorations can be good Christmas gifts too. A box of Christmas ornaments would instantly set the sparkles in the hearts of the receivers on the holidays.

How about some stunning necklace, pendant or earrings for the women folk this Christmas ? For all their proverbial craving for “all that shines”, they would simply slobber over these well-chosen Christmas gifts of yours !

Wines and cigars as Christmas gifts are bound to strike the right chord for the men folk. These would sweep them off their feet and you can’t help spot that glint in their eyes once they get the sleek wine bottle or the splendid cigar-case as Christmas presents.

Candle-stands, photo-frames, doormats, wall hangings, nice paintings, flower vases, garden accents, personalized plaques—all these could just be your choice for this Christmas season. What’s unique with these is that these are good gift ideas for your boss, colleagues, teacher, Reverend, neighbors and other acquaintances too. Home decors always make cool Christmas gifts. If you want to sebd free Christmas ecards you can check out some free card sites like 123greetings.com

DVDs, music CDs, music accessories, audio books and musical instruments would be perfect Christmas gifts for your music lover buddies. So why not drop them these surprise gifts this holiday ?

Sports goods for sports nuts, electronic gadgets for the gizmo buffs, or may be some fitness equipment for the health freaks—choose your Christmas gifts wisely and well in advance to avoid the rush of the Christmas shopping season.
Cool Christmas toys—mini Santa, reindeer sledges, little elves, musical trees, Christmas story books, puzzles, Christmas games, pretty dolls, macho trains and cars—are all peachy Christmas gift ideas for the kiddos that are waiting to be picked !

Christmas lights and lamps are yet some more glowing ideas for Christmas gifts. And these are all the rage during this season too.

Christmas decorations are one inseparable part of the Christmas holidays, without which Christmas would lose all its color, spirit, warmth and charm. And it’s also great to get together with all in the family or the whole gang of friends for the Christmas decorations. Isn’t it a joy untold to watch the hand-crafted stars or bells hung up on the Christmas tree or on the wreaths ? Don’t you feel the festive tickle to see Christmas-themed table-spreads, curtains, napkin-holders, or carpets ? Ideas for Christmas decorations are plenty to satiate the festive craving of all and sundry. And the stores dish out a huge array of Christmas decorations too. You can either buy them home or decorate your home yourself with your own ideas and designs. Here’s enlisted a few for you to get started with your Christmas decorations and Christmas planning.

The easiest and simplest of all Christmas decorations—get empty boxes or cartons and wrap them up in red, green, blue colored papers or colorful Christmas wrappers. Tie ribbons around some and leave them sporadically around the base of your Christmas evergreen or on the mantle.
Hanging cute Christmas stockings make good decorations too for your Christmas d?cor. You can cut out papers or fabrics in shapes of stockings or candy canes, have them colored by the kids and stick them all around the room to add that festive touch on Christmas.

Umpteen stores sell battery-operated candles especially for this holiday and these look radiant in and around your home as also on your Christmas tree. Anyone would like to go for these hassle-free Christmas decorations and give their interiors a total face-lift for the occasion.

A fetching idea for your Christmas decorations would be to deck up your house plants with little stars and bells and to place them on window sills.

Get holly boughs and mistletoes home. Hang them around and watch the magic of Christmas unfold before you. These Christmas decorations are traditionally passed down through ages and never fall out of the hall of fame.

How about this ? Take a pin-up board and pin Christmas-related images or messages on them. You can also fix Christmas cards that you get for the year. This Christmas decoration would be best for your office cubicle or room. So bring your colleagues in the spirit of the holidays instantly as they step into your holiday ‘den’.

Now here’s another to rev up your Christmas decorations—take a white table-spread and stick little paper or fabric pieces in shapes of stars, bells, candy canes, gift-boxes, Santa hats and more.

Deck up your halls in Christmas streamers (bought or homemade) or in Christmas wreaths. You can hang a bunch of bells on the doorway too. Won’t it be sweet to hear the jingles every time anyone enters during the Christmas season ?

Decorate white slender candles with red and green ribbons. Tie them into a bow or just spiral it around. They would swell for sure if placed in a cluster on your Christmas dinner table or over the mantle. Don’t forget to leave a bell carelessly at the base. Your friends, folks or sweetie pie would surely love the shine and shimmer of the bell in the candlelight and you may collect few kudos for such thoughtful Christmas decorations.

For outside decorations, get some Christmas lights home. Glowing bulbs or lighted candles that run on battery would just suit fine outdoors. You can place a big cutout of Santa to welcome your dear ones too. Or you can let loose your own festive ideas.

Play Christmas numbers for the background scores to complement the tree, table and hall decorations. Well chosen Christmas songs are just the right fill for the holiday ambience.

Create cute bows for the special day and have them stitched to curtains or tied to door-knobs or around the glasses on the Christmas table. These Christmas decorations won’t take much time and would be fun to do too. So get on with these.
Well then, welcome the season of joy and brace up to make merry with friends and family—it’s Christmastime folks ! The merriest time of the year is here. So leave your worries behind, deck the halls with wonderful Christmas decorations and share the warmth and joy of the season with all far and near.