Out w/the old: Recycling Christmas Trees {Tips}

January

 ~ Week 1~  

of

::The Holiday Challenge::

Holiday Clean Up

This week as my children return to school I begin packing up Christmas. Many of you may start sooner, but we like to keep the holiday lights and the warmth of Christmas up for New Years. Last year I shared with you how I organize my Christmas boxes which you can see here: Boxing up Christmas (tips). 

This year I have some tips on recycling Christmas trees to share:

Recycling Artificial Christmas Trees: 

• Donate to local church/community organization
• Ask around to see if any friends or family members are interested in it, this can benefit low income loved ones greatly.
• Give away free through Craigslist or Freecycle.
• Re-use the branches to decorated doorways, mantles, and shelves next year.
• Make wreaths for your home or as gifts for others here is a wonderful tutorial on how to do that at  associatedcontent.com.
• If it is still in good shape give to a second hand shop or re-sell it.
• Finding an actual recycling program for artificial trees not very likely as recycling them tends to be cost prohibitive according to this article in the NY Times: A Fake vs. A Real Tree. If you know of a way to recycle these please feel free to leave a comment with details!

Recycling Real Christmas Trees:

• Mulch it: if you have a mulcher (or a neighbor with one) they make quick an easy fresh mulch with add nutrients to the soil.
• Bundle it: Once the needles are gone you can saw off the branches and make small fire starting bundles using cotton twine. You will need to let them dry 'till next winter so that you are not burning green wood and they don't cause an undo amount of creosote build up in your chimney.
• Let nature have it: If you have a very remote area or wooded part of your property you can take it out to decompose naturally which has wildlife benefits. Warning though, it takes several years for a tree to decompose fully. Or, if you own a body of water such as a pond, or have a river that runs through your property, trees sunk into them actually improve water quality and aid fish. Double check the yard waste guidelines and legalities in your area before doing this however.
• Make a bird feeder: You can stand the tree up outside and add a cranberry and orange slice garland to make a bird feeder for winter birds.
• Potpourri: pine needles, pine cones, dried flowers, and other dried bits mixed with essential oils will make a lovely potpourri, and the branches can be made into decorative stick balls. 
• Saw the trunk into thin rounds: coated with modgepodge these can be turned into anything from coasters to steppingstones, to clocks, even buttons if you punch holes in them.
• Twig crafts: Once the needles fall off you can make twig pumpkins, holiday baskets, and other fun twig and branch crafts (the first two links are to two of my posts, the second two links are to google image searches).  
• Or simply recycle it: As real Christmas Trees are biodegradable they tend to be easy to get rid of. Most cities' waste disposal programs will either have a pick up service or a drop off location for your tree. In my area I can just leave my tree by the recycle can and it is picked up and turned into mulch. They request that it is free of all ornamentation and if taller than 6 feet cut in half. This site PickYourOwnChristmasTree.org and ChristmasTree.org both have state by state listings of how you can recycle your tree, or you can try your local chamber of commerce, mayors office, or in some cities even the local boy scout programs.

Holiday Haven's home page.

Ringing in the New Year 2011!

On New Years Day we look ahead at the year to come, make plans, vow to live just a little differently, and wonder what the new year will bring.

If one of your goals this year is to be more organized I would love to share with my system developed after 10 years of stay-at-homemaking to organizing the holidays which is the heart of this site. This system is filled out with fun tips, traditions, craft and decor ideas, recipes, and frugal seasonal shopping ideas.

As a single income, on commission, family we have seen both devastatingly bad and amazingly wonderful paychecks. It was one Christmas, early on, when we saw a paycheck in that first category that I decided to develop traditions that did not depend on money. Ones that created memories and brought lasting joy to my children. Hence, Holiday Haven was started 10 years ago when I began to plan out important dates and transfer them from one year to the next on my family calendar adjusting them and improving them from year to year. 

The result: I do not go through the holiday rush, but spend time playing board games and making home made wrapping paper. We are never bored in the summer because I have made plans to go swimming, or take mini vacations, or have scheduled camp for the children. We have lots of family traditions. And I am able to find time to decorate for the season, and complete some crafts. The seasons never sneak up on me, because I have taken them in hand and am making the most of them!

So today, on the first day of the year, I am re-posing my Holiday Challenge calendar. If organizing is on your list, this challenge is a helpful tool. Maybe your family is different than mine, maybe you do not need to add all of these dates to your calendar, or you prefer to do things a bit differently, whatever your system I think you may find this calendar to be a helpful guide. And if you already have your own tried and true system in place it is my hope that you will enjoy all of our families traditions and tips.

Happy New Year From my Family to Yours!

Holiday Haven's home page.

The Best Sites to Help You Keep Your New Years Resolutions

I think it is exactly 10 days after new years that most of us forget not only our resolutions, but that we even made any in the first place! I AM kidding here, but it is hard to stick with a new pattern when we have lived with the old ones for so long. So this year I gathered together some wonderful sites whose aim is in keeping with some of the most popular resolutions to help keep you (and me) on track.

1.Budgeting -If you goal this year is to budget better, CNBC's website has a wonderful chart. You enter you take home income and it breaks it down into percentages which makes it easy to see where you might be over and where you might be under:HERE

2. Diet and exercise - For this one I have two great sites to share, they have similar goals, but their styles are different. For both you can keep track of you calorie intake, and create an exercise plan. Additionally Sparkpeople.com has a whole section where you can create healthy meal plans while MyFitnessPal.com is more of a journal and great place to find out where you need to make adjustments. These are truly wonderful sites which have been a great help in my family.

3. Organization - This one I am excited about, with a family of 5 I am always looking for ways to be a bit more organized and this year I found a time tracker:HERE. It has an easy and free sign up just your e-mail, username, and password. After that you enter in all the things you do in a day: cooking, cleaning, blogging, facebook, twitter, errands, working, etc. Then you can start a stopwatch to see how long you spend at each thing.

4. Be Debt Free - CNN Money has a wonderful debt calculator you enter the total amounts, interest rates, and monthly payment amounts and it will calculate how long it will take to be debt free. Or there is an option of seeing how much you would have to pay monthly to be debt free in a certain amount of time. See the debt planner HERE.

5. Volunteer to help others - If it is you goal to volunteer more in this next year www.serve.gov is put together by the US government. You just type in how you are interested in helping and your city and state and it takes you to a list of opportunities in your area.

6. Get a Better Job - OK, I am stealing this site idea from my middle schooler's classroom curriculum, but it is quite fascinating even if you are not looking for a better job. It lists occupations and the average gross annual income for each see it here: www.wois.org

7. Quit Smoking - Having come from a family that smoked (most of whom successfully quit) I can tell you that the first step is to admit that as much as you hate the addiction, you also love smoking. And once you have done that, ask for prayer specifically for healing. And then draw on resources. Did you know the U.S. Govenrment has a stop smoking site? www.smokefree.gov. There you can talk to experts for free and find other resources.

8. Daily Bible Reading - DailyBible.com has an awesome daily e-mail program, they even have an app. you can find on your phone or ipod. And they have different options from daily scriptures to a program where you can read the whole bible in a year.

Happy New Years and Best Wishes!


Are you ready to start planning summer?
 See ::The Holiday Challenge::
Holiday Haven's home page.

New Years Punch

1 ORANGE

is all it takes to add a little 

fun

to a New Years punch!

I cut out some numbers, used a regular pen to trace them onto an orange and managed to fit all four numbers on one orange.

Here are the numbers I used if you want to print them out. Just click on the photo to expand it (you may need to click a second time to fully expand it) and then use 'file' and 'print' from the top of this window.

(I added additional numbers in case anyone happens to see this post in the next couple of years and wants to use it).

Next, I cut them out carefully with a paring knife.

And attached them together with pieces of toothpicks

Fun little addition to a new years punch!

Another idea: You could also float extra numbers all around the new years numbers instead of the mandarin orange slices I have shown here.

Happy New Years!!

Holiday Haven's home page.

December 29th is Tic Tock Day!

With two days left in December, today is: 

national Tick Tock Day! 

That is, there are only two days left to accomplish any goals, tax deadlines, etc for this year. 

So... 

Tick Tock... 

this (most likely unofficial) holiday 

is here just in time to remind you that you have 

one last chance to get it all done! 

Ten possible things to do before year end:

1. Donate stuff to a charity - A tax deduction, and a cleaner home for the new year.
2. Are there any tax credits expiring this year (such as the energy one), now may be the time to purchase something for your home.
3. Cash out left over vacation days
4. And do you have any other 'use it or loose it' plans such as a flex account? Now might be the time to spend it!
5. Look over last years resolutions, how did they go? Is there any you can still accomplish?
6. Or how about your e-mail box, maybe it is time to dump one that gets tons of spam even though you try to maintain it.
7. Look over your to-do list and 'declutter' it! Ask for help with anything that has been there more than a month.
8. Contact someone you have been meaning to get back in touch with.
9. Let go of grudges, you don't need to take them into a new year anyway.
10. Make your new years resolutions list!

Are you ready to start planning summer? See ::The Holiday Challenge::
Holiday Haven's home page.

New Years Free Printable Banner

A fun and festive free printable banner for New Years!

The last one with out words can be printed a couple of times to go between each of the worded ones and on the ends. You can see an example of how to assemble a banner here: printable autumn banner.

To print: Click on each of the banners above to open in a new window, click again to make sure they are fully expanded. Then click on 'file' and 'print' from the menu at the top of the window. If you have any trouble try selecting the 'landscape' option or 'page set up' and customize before printing. You can also save the files to your computer and print as you normally would print a photo.

(Personal use only)


Are you ready to start planning summer?
See ::The Holiday Challenge:: in the menu bar.
Holiday Haven's home page.

New Years Eve Traditions

 New Years is just around the corner. So I have gathered together tradition ideas!

Click links under the photos to view the full post.

First is our small way of celebrating new years with a Full Moon Festival. It is a wonderful way to connect with our family and share memories.

With children home from school we set like to set up a Family Game Table.

And how about dancing a waltz and midnight, or eating 12 grapes, here you can find: New Years Eve Traditions from around the world.

 Holiday Haven's home page and view the most recent post.
And a new section of ::The Holiday Challenge:: is about to begin. Visit the Challenge page to see plans for Spring and Summer.

Merry Christmas!

I hope you have a wonderful Christmas!

Merry Christmas,

 from my family to you and yours.

May it be 'merry and bright'!

 Holiday Haven's home page

Are you ready to start planning summer? 
See ::The Holiday Challenge:: 

Cranberry Christmas Tablescape

 Cranberry Christmas Tablescape set for my family. This year we have the honor of sharing Christmas at my Mother's home so I have set this 'before Christmas' scape for my family. Tablescaping is such a wonderful way to bless your family with beauty. It gives an ordinary dinner special meaning. And it can be done inexpensively with second hand pieces and a little creativity.

Cranberries and a candle on a decorative glass plate.

A candle lit spinning centerpiece.

A closer look at the centerpiece, top level.

The next two levels are shepherds with sheep.

And a creche with wise men at the bottom level.

Surrounded by a lovely wreath gifted by my thoughtful mom 'in love'.

A snowflake Christmas ornament as a coaster.

Sparkling cranberry cider to go with the meal.

Once the candles are lit and the cider pored I set the decorative top plate to the side and the napkin on top of the plate before calling everyone to the table.

The decorative plate now becomes part of the table decor.

Merry Cranberry Christmas

What are the 12 days of Christmas?

The 12 Days of Christmas 

begin on Christmas Day

 &

end January 5th.

As the season of advent draws to a close, advent being the anticipation of Christ which is fulfilled by the baby Jesus on Christmas day, the 12 days of Christmas are then celebrated beginning on Christmas day and ending on January 5th. They are the days between Christmas and Epiphany. Epiphany celebrates the Magi's visit of the baby Jesus. Commonly the Feast of Epiphany is held on January 6th.

You can see a full year of these celebrations in a post I wrote last year entitled: The Christian Year

The 12 Days of Christmas (the Song):
This year I was thrilled to learn some interesting meanings behind the SONG  The 12 Days of Christmas. Did you know that there are meanings to each of the verses in 'The 12 Days of Christmas'? After a little research I found that there is a widely held debate about the meanings in this song and if there was truly a code written into the song from the beginning, or if the code was it was added to the song in later days. Either way, here are the meanings that are now a wonderful part of this song:

(Quoted from Wikipedia):

• A partridge in a pear tree: Jesus
• Two turtle doves: The Old and New Testaments
• Three French hens: The three theological virtues faith, hope and love
• Four calling birds: The four Gospels
• Five gold rings: The Torah or Pentateuch, the first five books of the Old Testament
• Six geese a-laying: The six days of Creation
• Seven swans a-swimming: Seven gifts of the Holy Spirit
• Eight maids a-milking: The eight Beatitudes
• Nine ladies dancing: Nine fruits of the Holy Spirit
• Ten lords a-leaping: The Ten Commandments
• Eleven pipers piping: The eleven faithful [emphasis added] Apostles
• Twelve drummers drumming: The twelve points of the Apostles' Creed [14]

Regardless of the history, it is a wonderful way of remembering many of the core principals of Christianity. So, this year we are adding this song with the meanings to our family's traditions, spending a little time each day looking at each of the the things above, and have a feast on the 6th to celebrate the magi's visit. I love adding new traditions.

: Holiday Haven's home page.

Are you ready to start planning summer? 

See ::The Holiday Challenge::

Sugared Orange Slices {Recipe}

Candied Fruits have long been a Christmas Tradition around the world.

This year I set out to figure out how to make Sugared Orange Slices.

And it was no small task!

If these are cooked too long they burn, and if they do not get dry enough they are too acidic to eat, but when you get them just right, they are truly a Christmas delight.

First prep the oven. Place your top rack on the second slot from the top. (i.e.., the slot between the top and middle ones). And preheat the oven to 275 degrees F.

Slice 2-3 oranges so you have about 9 rounds from a softball size orange.

Lay them in a single layer on a baking sheet and place in oven.

Sugared Orange Slice Recipe:

Baking time 2.5 hours

(Note it is important to follow this recipe exactly)

After the oven is preheated and rack moved to the slot just under the top slot:

1. Bake at 275 (F) for 45 minutes. (I set a timer to make sure I did not over cook them).
2. After 45 minutes turn orange slices over and return to oven for another 45 minutes.
If your orange slices start to brown in either of these first two steps turn your heat down 25 degrees, use a higher rack in the oven and reduce cooking time in the next steps.
3. Remove oranges from oven, let cool to the touch, and then coat them on both sides with sugar and return to pan.
4.Bake for an additional 30 minutes.
5.Remove from oven allow to cool to touch. Coat both sides again with sugar and place them back in the pan. Set any that have started to brown and have skins that have dried completely on a separate plate. Most should still be orange and not yet browned.
6. Return pan to oven and cook for an additional 20-30 minutes.
7. Remove from oven when they are browned and the sugar is slightly 'bubbly'. They are done when the skins are dry, making a cracking sound when you break them, and are dry in the middle.
8. Let cool to the touch, then coat them again with sugar and leave them on a separate plate to cool completely.

(Copyright A Holiday Haven 2010, although you are welcome to share this recipe in its entirety, to include photos, provided a clear link and credit is provided back to this site.)