HOLIDAYS, CREATE HAPPINESS

…HOLIDAYS, CREATE THE HAPPINESS.

Holidays are special and we are responsible for creating the mood and success of it all. Today many people find themselves with a different picture. There are homes where loved ones are in service, far away, there are homes with economic stress and many families endure illness, members who do not cope with life and situation that demand extra care and compassion.
Remember the first rule. Every holiday can be made simpler, convenient for the people involved and need a careful plan for it to be joyful and fun.
Firstly decide on what the focal point will be. Is it in the home, garden, destination place or a mountain hike or beach scene? This will enable you to plan the meal, when to give the gifts, who should take the photos, how to plan sleep overs and baby nap corners and a bed for older folks to rest. Now plan the meal.
HOLIDAY MEALS
I usually go backwards here. I feel we have more people to cope with and a longer time of entertaining. So I plan the desserts, cakes, coffee and teas . First I bake the cakes and cookies.Cookies and cakes last longer and dessert puddings can be frozen.Nuts, dried fruits, marzipan, nougat, halva, and fun nash and energy bars
can be placed in appropriate plates unopened and on the day empty them onto the plates. I make a table ready with self service cool drinks, cups, straws, ice cream cones and serviettes. Then another corner close to an electric point with coffee, teas, hot water and the milk, sugar and serviettes . It is there all day as a self service corner..
Some guests walk in and ask for a drink. A young mother who spent three hours with the kids in the car, a husband who drove with all that noise, might need a cup of coffee.
Then I plan the table and décor. I make a menu that has some items related to the festival and a great main dish. Have the right vegetables for kids and older folks. Not everyone likes cooked carrots. Go for the popular items. Make heaps of roast potatoes and yams. Have large bowls of rice and vegetables. Nothing goes to waste as it can be eaten the next day or converted into something else. Make bowls of tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuce and other salad ingredients separately and only combine them when you need them. The salad dressing can be made ahead and kept in the fridge.
Decide on the soup item. Make it a basic vegetable or minestrone. If your family like tomato, pumpkin or exotic soups, you can make those ahead too.

Wrap a little chocolate for each guest with a bow and leave it with the serviette. It screams Welcome and everyone feels special.

Buy practical gifts as the situation needs sober thinking. Cutting back, means more thinking, careful shopping and less money spent. IT CAN BE DONE WITH EASE,
I love writing paper, small notebooks, a CD, DVD, a few magazines, a novel or a box of chocolate. You can give your grand children a subscription for National Geographic. It is inexpensive and they receive a magazine that features the best photography and articles for the whole family. A gift voucher for your parents to eat out once a week is fun, a voucher to a sports club, or massage, or a video at home is a fun gift.
Candles, soaps, towels, face cloths and men's toiletries are great gifts. Gourmet cooks love new gadgets and these are easy to find, Wrap it in a dish cloth and tie it with a bunch of herbs.A basket of herbs , a garden fork and gloves is a welcome gift. Kids love card games, books on magic and new computer games. Mom might like a voucher for the coffee shop around the corner where she could meet her friends, or a bunch of flowers that ariives once a month. Dad might appreciate a new wine opener or a foot stool at the TV chair. A glass that is chilled in the freezer is great for his beer.
foot stool is a good idea and a beer glass that is chilled in the freezer.

You could ask grandpa to chat into a recorder every day and tell the family the story of his and grandmas life. This keeps him busy and gives you a precious record of people you love and times gone by.

People ask how we can help others. Take every new item out of your closet. Wrap it in see through paper and give it to a charity to share with others. Your helper in the home, the service people who pop in to your home, the guy at the garage who helps you, the lady at the dry cleaner, all like a card or packet of cookies given with a smile and thanks.

Thanks for reading my blog. I love the feed back I receive and I plan to give you many healthy, easy ideas in the coming year. I have a booklet ready on TOFU and one for PASSOVER. These can be posted to you.

Have a good Holiday. Let light fill our homes, love fill our hearts and let us care to be gentle to each other. The world around us needs compassion and respect for each other. Love the earth, appreciate what we have and find time to think about tomorrow.
Love and light from the faraway, nearby
RONA