My Christmas Shopping is Done...Avoid Holiday Stress by Stealing My Tips
Yes, once again Ive crossed off every last person on my
Christmas shopping list before Halloween. Mom, Dad, Grandma, brother Steve, brother Jason, kids, nieces, nephews, even bus drivers, schoolteachers and the mailman. Ive stockpiled hostess gifts, stocking suffers and a few random presents for those surprise exchanges that pop up every holiday. Everythings already wrapped and tagged. Come December, Ill be relaxing in a hot bath with a good book while the rest of the world scrambles to amass ratchet sets, bezel set diamond studs and the latest Tickle Me Elmo.
Why not join me? Besides the smug satisfaction youll enjoy from getting your holiday shopping out of the way early, youll get to actually appreciate the parties, the cookie baking, the egg nog, the mistletoeeven the relativeswithout guilt.
So howd I do it already? With a little advanced planning. You can get your
Christmas shopping done early too, if you follow my lead. Here are my secrets:
Nine Christmas shopping tips (Hanukkah shopping tips too) to make the holidays easier:
Make a list. A little advanced planning goes a long way. Just like you do when you go to the grocery store, make a list. This way youll stay focused and finish the task fast. Before you shop, write down who you need to buy for, what you plan to spend and any ideas you have in mind based on individual tastes, hobbies, etc. Think: Did they mention a great book they want to read? A piece of jewelry they particularly admire? A movie they want to see? An item of clothing they like? A tool they had to have? A play that looked interesting? If youre stumped, look for gift finders online. Many popular web sites have special holiday gift collections broken down by gender, age, tastes, price, etc. If you want to give something truly memorable, think back to the truly memorable gifts youve received. My favorites have been a basket full of little things I love, like books, lotions, bath stuff, etc.; a subscription to the New York Times daily crossword puzzle online; a three-course dinner prepared with all my favorite foods, and a gorgeous black baroque pearl bracelet. Think back to gifts youve given that have been a hit. What were they? Who enjoyed them?
Shop online. This is the best tip of all. Once I got a computer, holiday shopping was no longer a chore I dreaded. It actually became a breeze. Doing your Christmas shopping online saves time, money (with gas prices being what they are) and legwork. Best of all you dont even have to get out of your pajamas. I can breeze through my entire list in under an hour, I have most everything within a week, and its delivered right to my door. And dont worry about security: Shopping online is safer than shopping in stores. Far more credit card numbers are stolen in your presence by waiters, clerks, etc. than are stolen by hackers and phishers.
Narrow your list of sites. Over the years Ive narrowed down my holiday shopping web sites to a few great e-tailers I use over and over. Some let me save my information in a password protected format so I just log in and shop. Once my shopping cart is full, I dont have to retype my name and address, or the addresses I ship to. One caveat: Dont store credit card data. Even though its probably not going to happen, hackers can and do steal your information. Best to retype your credit card number each time to be on the safe side.
The best news about site loyalty is that many sites offer incentives to repeat buyers. One 20% coupon can go a long way toward shaving your holiday gift budget!
Use e-tailers that have something for most everyone. I have one online jewelry site I shop at over and over because they have something for most everyone on my list. Last year I shopped for all the women on my Christmas shopping list in one 20-minute sitting. I got a trendy gemstone ring for my niece; a classic pearl necklace for my goddaughter, an inexpensive but high-quality pearl bracelet for my sons teachers, a pearl pendant for my friend and a pearl jewelry set for my mother. Shopping in one place made it easy to manage my task. I printed my receipt at the end and had a great reference for what I bought and what I still needed to buy.
Search for sites that offer free shipping. Pretty self-explanatory. Shipping can add a lot of hidden and surprising costs to your holiday budget. There are plenty of sties that offer free shipping regularly, and still more that use free shipping to entice holiday shoppers. Search for free shipping coupons on Google or at great coupon sites like couponcabin.com. Sometimes youll find a money-saving code that wasnt obvious on the site.
Search for sites that offer free gifts. This is my favorite tip. Free gifts with certain dollar amounts purchased can save you big bucks. For example, the site I work for offers free pearl stud earrings with purchases over $150. Buy a few presents and youve earned a high quality, free gift to give to someone else on your list or save for yourself.
Always check return policies. Generous return policies are a must for early holiday shoppers. This tip is especially important if youre buying a gift in October that your recipient might want to return or exchange in January. You dont want them to get burned if they only have 30 days to return an item. Look for 90 day return policies at least, and make a note of sites that dont appear to have helpful customer service or easily accessible contact information. You dont want to spend your money at sites that make it difficult for you to contact them after the sale.
Click the gift wrapping option. E-tailers that dont gift-wrap get crossed off my list. Why? Gift-wrapping is time-consuming and expensive. Christmas wrapping paper is about three bucks or more a roll; bows can be a dollar each, and youve got tags and tape, not to mention the time involved to crease perfectly wrinkle-free corners or get the wrapping on that oblong-shaped doll just right. Plus, like me, your might not be very good at it. At $3-$5 per gift, which is what the sites I shop at typically charge, it pays to have items gift-wrapped. Shopping online saves you money on gas, why not put that toward wrapping? Just make sure to have gifts tagged if youve ordered multiple gifts for multiple people or youll have a lot of unwrapping and rewrapping to do.
For last minute stuff, such as miscellaneous stocking stuffers and office grab bag gifts, I grab items at places where I already shop regularly, like the grocery store. Poke around and you can find great books, gift cards, beer, candy, mugs, even office supplies, art supplies, puzzles and flowers. Another great idea is a magazine subscription. (With a monthly subscription, your gift will keep on giving 12 times a year.) Hey, you have to grocery shop regularly anyway. Why not grab what you need there rather than make a special trip? Then you can do like I do and not make one extra trip or spend more than an hour on your holiday shopping, including the gift wrapping.
Ready to take back the holidays from the retailers and celebrate what these special days are really about? I find it far more satisfying to celebrate my spirituality and spend time with family and friends rather than waste my valuable time at some overcrowded mall with crabby, stressed out shoppers. Why not join me this holiday?
A graduate of the Gemological Institute of Americas Graduate Pearls program, Amy Drescher is a fashion writer and accessories buyer for
http://www.moonriverpearls.com. She welcomes your comments and questions. Reach her at
adrescher@moonriverpearls.com.
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Toys R Us Top 15 Toys For The Holidays 2006
Finding that perfect gift for children always seems easier than finding a great gift for adults. Just head to a toy store, pick something out and be on your way, right? Wrong. Unfortunately, its not that easy. Sure, the kids might love the gift right out of the box, but will it get played with months (or heck, even weeks) later?
Thats the question you have to ask yourself each gift buying occasion when shopping for children. Luckily, there are guides and hot lists to help you in your search. For
Christmas 2006, there are a myriad of hot toys. If you dont wait until the very last minute to shop, you should have no trouble finding most of them.
To help us, Toys R Us has released a list of the top 15 toys and has provided suggestions for toys in each age range as well.
The top 15 toys, in no particular order, include:
Doras Talking Cash Register (Fisher Price)
Laugh & Learn Baby Grand Piano (Fisher Price)
ESPN Fast Action Football (Fisher Price)
T.M.X Elmo (Fisher Price)
Kid-Tough Digital Camera (Fisher Price)
Sound City Railway (Imaginarium)
Tap Dancing Mumble (Thinkway)
Wii (Nintendo)
Blue Man Group Percussion Tubes (ToyQuest)
Speed Stack StackPack (Play Along)
Mindstorms NXT (Lego)
Designers World (Tiger Games)
My Scene My Bling Bling Styling Head (Mattel)
Power Rangers Deluxe Manticore Megazord (Bandai)
Pink Nitro Notebook (Vtech)
Now, if you are looking for the best toy buys for each age group, heres a sampling of Toys R Us recommendations.
For Babys First
ChristmasLets Play Together Peek N Play Discovery Dome (Playskool)
This is an interactive toy that lets parents get in on the fun, with peek-a-book curtains. Fifteen Activities are designed to encourage hand-eye coordination
Laugh & Learn Learning Bunny (Fisher Price)
This bunny is plush, but hes no slouch. He can help babies learn how to count to 10, learn their colors and textures and other skills. He also plays music.
Laugh & Learn Baby Grand Piano (Fisher Price)
This is one of TRUs hot picks listed above. It teaches colors, numbers and opposites while also teaching about various elements of music.
For children 13 months to 2 years old
Learn & Groove Alphabet Drum (LeapFrog)
LeapFrog always offers innovative toys for young children. This toy introduces the alphabet while also playing music, encouraging physical activity and teaching numbers. Also introduces Spanish!
SmartVille Alphabet Train Station (Vtech)
The train here heads from stop to stop, all while introducing colors, alphabets, numbers, animals and time.
T.M.X. Elmo (Fisher Price)
This new Elmo, which has been flying off toy shelves since its introduction in September, not only laughs, but gets on the floor and giggles until his belly shakes.
Darla (You & Me a TRU brand)
Darla can be woken with a light tap, and will cry for ma ma. Shes a fully interactive doll that also makes realistic feeding sounds.
For children 2 to 4 years old
Kid-Tough Digital Camera (Fisher Price)
This hot pick features big buttons for tiny hands and a rough exterior that helps it hold up to the tough love preschoolers can dish out.
LeapsterTV (LeapFrog)
This console plugs into the family TV for big-screen play. Works with all Leapster software programs and tracks the play of each player, so they can see their progress on the big screen. Good for pre-K to 4th grade players.
Tap Dancing Mumble (Thinkway)
This is based on the main character from the fall-release movie Happy Feet. It dances/taps every time it hears music, or the children talk to it.
For children 5 to 7 years old
Amazing Allysen (Playmates)
This doll is designed to be your childs best friend when her real life friend isnt around. Allysen responds to key commands and comments with lifelike expressions and emotions. She also knows your childs favorites, so she can chat with your child about her favorite things.
Wherifone GPS Locator Phone from Wherify Wireless
This phone will help you keep tabs on your children, as with its GPS capabilities, it tells you the location of your children at all times (assuming the phone is with them).
Pink Nitro Notebook (VTech)
Designed for budding readers, this pink laptop computer reads stories aloud, and has a variety of games designed to help children with literacy and other skills.
For children 8 to 11 years old
Blue Man Group Percussion Tubes (ToyQuest)
Kids can hook their MP3 players up to this toy and manipulate the sounds and play music of their own.
Giga Pets Explorer TV Game System (Tiger Games)
This game that you hook up to the TV takes kids to the Giga World, where they can play games, go on mission and solve the Giga mystery. This also includes a handheld game
Star Wars Ultimate Collectors AT-ST set (Lego)
Kids can build their own AT-ST with the more than 1,000 lego pieces included in this set. TRU exclusive set.
Cathy Franklin is a mother of three and the owner of Toys Store Online. She finds the top family friendly toys for children of all ages that are fun for kids, age appropriate, and inexpensive for any family's budget.
http://www.toys-store-online.com.
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An Old-Fashioned Christmas For Today
You can enjoy the simplicity and beauty of an old-fashioned
Christmas. It can make
Christmas less stressful and more enjoyable.
Do you want to have a Christmas full of joy, instead of a Christmas full of stress? Most people feel exactly the same way that you do, but instead they go through the Christmas season feeling stressed and tired.
You can have a joyful Christmas season. There are many different ways to make your Christmas season more fun and less stressful. The best thing that you can do is to try to simplify your Christmas. If you think about your favorite Christmases from your childhood, you probably remember more times of simple fun, rather than chaotic stress. You only have to plan and prepare to make this a Christmas that you can enjoy now.
Enjoying the simplicity and beauty of an old-fashioned Christmas can decrease your stress level and be very easy. You don't have to go back to no electricity to make your Christmas more old-fashioned and simple. You only have to choose some parts of that time that will make your Christmas more enjoyable. You can help fill your home with Christmas spirit simply by using your three senses.
* Pleasing to the Eye - What do you think of when you think of when you consider an old-fashioned Christmas? If you are like most people, candy canes, popcorn strands, and homemade Ginger cookies on the Christmas tree come to mind. Making a popcorn strand is very simple and it can be a fun, quality family project that your kids will love and enjoy making. Using cookies as a decoration may not be very functional, but you could just use the cookie cutters on your tree or use them as a napkin ring.
* Pleasing to the Ear - "Sleigh bells ring. Are you listening?" Adding sleigh bells to your home can help create a pleasant Christmas sound to the ears. If you don't have a reindeer out in the yard then hang them on your doorknob. This is a great way to welcome your holiday guests.
Hearing the squeals of laughter occurs quite frequently during the Christmas season. From opening presents to decorating your home, the holidays are a source of great fun and laughter for every member of the family. You may want to consider using toys for decorating your home.
* Pleasing to the Nose - Some of the favorite scents of the holidays include spices, baked goods, evergreen, and bayberry. You can find Christmas decorations that fit both your eyes and nose. For example, fir branches with a red bow would look beautiful above a doorway. Scented candles will look great in your windows. Cooking cookies also helps to add a delicious smell to your entire home.
Having an old-fashioned Christmas does not mean that you have to sacrifice your worldly goods. It simply means that you want to have a more simple, enjoyable Christmas, without many of the stresses. Isn't that what you desire?
Adam Peters contributes adding content to
http://www.home-decorating-reviews.com . A website with tips on ornaments at
http://www.home-decorating-reviews.com/christmas/christmas-gift.html.
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Ride The Rails For A Novel Vacation
Looking for a unique travel idea that travel industry insiders say is the modern-day counterpart of a 20th century steamship cruise? You might want to try rail cruising, which pairs enthusiastic travelers with classic luxury trains riding the rails through some of America's most beautiful countryside. Taking anywhere from just a few days to more than a week, these train trips offer well-appointed furnishings, gourmet dining and first-rate service to a small clientele that in most cases is limited to just a hundred or so passengers.
If you watch TV's Travel Channel, you may already be familiar with rail cruising from a travel show about one of these tour trains, the American Orient Express (AOE). The train, which was recently renamed the GrandLuxe Express when AOE's parent company changed its name to GrandLuxe Rail Journeys, is made up of polished, bullet-like lounge and dining cars originating from the 1940s and 1950s. Inside, mahogany and brass give the cars and compartments a chic art-deco touch that definitely suggests the Golden Age of train travel.
GrandLuxe Rail Journeys sends its trains on excursions that offer passengers views and experiences never dreamed of by 20th century patrons of steamship cruisers. One of the most breathtaking must be National Parks of the West, a 10-day luxury pleasure trip that starts its south-to-north leg in Albuquerque, New Mexico. From there, the train winds its way to Santa Fe, Sedona, the Grand Canyon, Las Vegas, a choice of Bryce Canyon or Zion National Parks, Salt Lake City, Yellow Stone National Park and finally, Wyoming's Grand Teton National Park. There's also a version of the excursion that starts in Wyoming and then heads south (instead of north) to finish up in Albuquerque.
Another noteworthy trip must be the 9-day journey that visits four of the Pacific Northwest's most stunning national parks. For those who choose to start their trip with the eastbound leg of the Great Northwestern National Parks tour, the trip gets underway in Seattle, Washington, and heads first to Mt. Rainier National Park, where train passengers can enjoy a stunning view of the Cascade Range's highest peak (14,410 feet). From there it's on to the Columbia River Gorge, beautiful Coeur D'Alene, Idaho, pristine Glacier National Park, Helena, Montana, and finally Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks. Westbound travelers start at Grand Teton and wrap up their excursion in the Emerald City of Seattle.
Remember, these are high-end tours that offer outstanding comfort and five-star cuisine in a truly unique environment, so expect to pay accordingly. Fares for the 2008 season, which includes eight separate departure dates between early May and late June, start at 5,250 dollars per person for the National Parks of the West Tour. The Northwestern National Parks tour starts at 4,710 dollars per person. Included in the fare is the cost of travel, some of the best food on rails and on board sleeping accommodations in two-person, original Pullman sleeper cars. Taking advantage of early booking can cut the cost of the trip by an average of about 250 dollars.
If fares like these are just too steep for your wallet, you can still enjoy the luxury of rail cruising. GrandLuxe Rail Journeys also offers rail trips that are significantly easier on the pocketbook. For example, you can journey from Chicago to Los Angeles for 1,599 dollars or take one of many 789-dollar trips that link cities like Washington, D.C. and Miami, Denver and San Francisco, Denver and Chicago, and Chicago and Washington, D.C.
Matthew Paolini is
http://Citybook.com's communications manager for the Greensboro, NC business Yellow Pages division.
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Travel In Buenos Aires: A Quick Barrio Guide
Cross the street and everything changes. Buenos Aires, more than most cities of a comparable size, gives you the feeling of a patchwork quilt city a city which is defined by its neighborhoods (barrios).
If you ask a porteo, one of Buenos Aires residents, where hes from, he wont say Buenos Aires hell give you his neighborhoods name. And if you ask him which barrio is the best, any self-respecting porteo will tell you that his barrio is.
Its best to take this advice lightly and sample a handful.
The barrios commonly visited by tourists and travelers include, in descending order of popularity:
1) Recoleta. Buenos Aires equivalent of New Yorks Upper East Side or Londons Knightsbridge. Fancy, ornate and posh. A quick list of things to see and do include the cemetery, the lobbies of the five star hotels (of which the Alvear is the most ostentatious), and Avenida Santa Fes shopping.
2) Palermo. Known for its parks as well as its restaurants, bars and colorful little shops. When Palermo is mentioned as the best place in Buenos Aires to go out, its probably Palermo Viejo and Palermo Hollywood (two micro-barrios) that are being referred to. Theyre BAs hippest places to be seen at the moment, where you can take part in the citys crazy nightlife that doesnt even begin to slow down until the suns already risen. (A proper Buenos Aires night out should finish with breakfast.)
3) Downtown (Microcentro). This is where Buenos Aires suits go on a business day. Its the center of the nations economy, a place of high rise office buildings, narrow crowded streets, and exhaust fumes. For the tourist without business concerns, its almost entirely devoid of interest (though you wouldnt know it from the large numbers who flock there). Towards San Telmo, in the older part of the downtown area, there are sites to be seen, however: the Plaza de Mayo, the Casada Rosada (the Pink House, Buenos Aires equivalent to the White House) and the Manzana de las Luces are all worth a visit.
4) San Telmo. A barrio of cobblestone streets, antique stores, and colonial area mansions. In the early days of Buenos Aires, the Spanish and upper-crust criollos established themselves in this area and built grandiose buildings with interior patios. When those moneyed citizens fled San Telmo and took off for Recoleta to escape cholera epidemics in the late 19th century, the mansions were abandoned to squatters and San Telmo was transformed into the center of Buenos Aires bohemia. Recently, interest from visitors, foreign and Argentine alike, has brought gentrification to the barrio. This means security, once a sore spot, has improved, but prices have shot up as well.
5) One place where it is still best to watch your wallet though is La Boca. As a matter of fact, its really only recommendable to visit the tourist area of El Caminito where the Argentine Federal Police have been stationed to watch your back. This little street, with its bright colored houses, has very nearly been touristed to death. Still, no visit to Buenos Aires is complete without a visit to the fabled street of garish colors. On game days, the soccer stadium in La Boca is another major reason to visit the barrio.
When you come to Buenos Aires, though, do yourself a favor and try to break out of the established tourist routines, if only for a little while. Just a few recommendations of the lesser visited barrios, where your fellow-citizens and fellow travelers are less likely to be tagging along with you, include:
Las Caitas in Belgrano. Restaurants, restaurants, restaurants galore (plus, its a stone throw from Palermo).
Almagro. What San Telmo used to be, Almagro still is: Bohemian. Check newspaper listings for tango concerts, independent theatre and other events in the area. Meanwhile, the cafe Las Violetas, on the corner of Rivadavia Avenue and Medrano street, is amongst the most beautifully restored historic cafes in the city.
Mataderos, an outlying barrio where the citys butchers still ply their trade, is also a find, not so much for the barrio itself but for the Sunday afternoon market which takes place in the barrios main square. This market is not to be confused with the markets in San Telmo or Recoleta. Its bigger, better, with a greater variety of authentic hand-craft goods leather and silver amongst others. In the spring and summer months, gauchos from the nearby countryside perform rodeo displays at the market as well.
Scott Ferree is a translator and English instructor, as well as the study abroad coordinator for the Interhispanica Language School in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The Interhispanica Spanish School is located in the barrio of Recoleta:
http://www.interhispanica.com.ar.
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Mother Love
"The love of awakened motherhood is a love and compassion felt not only towards one's own children, but toward all people, animals and plants, rocks and rivers-a love extended to all beings."
Amachi
Mother love needs to be cultivated for the good of mankind and for the wellbeing of our sacred planet. The potential for this all-embracing maternal consciousness lies within all of us, male and female. Very often, it is when we hold our first child in our arms that the flame of mother love is ignited. Once burning, it cannot be extinguished. Throughout history, women have acted to bring the love and compassion felt for their own children into their community, their country and their world. Passionately expressing a mother's love, they have worked to create a better world for future generations. Their work has left a legacy for us to follow.
To the women who contributed to the inception of Mothers Day, the connection between mother love and the fight for social and economic justice and peace seemed self evident. To Anna Reeves Jarvis, Julia Warde Howe and Anna Reeves, (the daughter of Anna Reeves Jarvis), Mothers Day was much more than a recognition of individual mothers. It was an opportunity to use mother love as a powerful force for peacemaking, reconciliation, and community cohesion.
The History of Mothers Day:
Anna Reeves Jarvis
In the 1850's Anna Reeves Jarvis organized Mother Work Day Clubs that focused on providing medicine for the poor and on improving sanitary conditions. Then, during the Civil War, Mothers Day Clubs cared for all soldiers-irregardless of which side of the battle they had chosen. After the war ended, Anna Reeves Jarvis continued her peacemaking by working to bring people together to heal the deep wounds of those who had been divided by the war.
Julia Ward Howe
In the 1870s, Julia Ward Howe began organizing "Mothers Peace Day." After the blood bath of the civil war, she focused on voting rights for women and world peace. When war broke out between France and Prussia, she wrote an impassioned plea to mothers saying, "Our sons shall not be taken from us to unlearn all that we have been able to teach them of charity, mercy and patience. We, the women of one country, will be too tender of those of another country to allow our sons to be trained to injure theirs." At the end she implores, "In the name of womanhood and humanity, I earnestly ask that a general congress of women without limit of nationality may be appointed and held to promote the great and general interest of peace." Following unsuccessful efforts to pull together an international peace conference, and while the Franco Prussian war was still in progress, she began a global appeal to women. She implored women to speak out for peace asking, "Why do not the mothers of mankind interfere in these matters to prevent the waste of that human life of which they alone bear and know the cost?" For the next thirty years, Americans celebrated Mothers Day for Peace on June 2nd. During this time, mothers played a leading role in the abolitionist movement to end slavery and launched campaigns to protect children and to improve the working conditions of women.
Anna Jarvis
Anna Reeves Jarvis' daughter, Anna Jarvis is generally credited with the establishment of Mother's Day in America. She tirelessly organized a letter writing campaign so that the work that her mother waged for peacemaking would not be forgotten. In 1914, her efforts paid off when Congress passed the Mothers Day resolution, appointing it as a national holiday to be celebrated annually on the second Sunday in May.
Mothers Day Today
Today Mother's Day is a time for honoring and thanking our own mothers for giving us life, raising us and being a source of emotional support and love. It is that rare day to enjoy breakfast in bed, cards, and flowers from our own children and husbands. Mothers Day is an opportunity to celebrate mother love, the life-affirming value that is inherent to us all. And most importantly, Mothers Day provides us an opportunity to put this love into action in the defense of the sacredness of life.
Today, our greatest threat is from an indifference and irreverence for human welfare and the health of our planet. But mother's hearts are not indifferent. Heartbroken by the suffering and death of their own sons or daughters or those of another mother's child as a result of war, women around the world are gathering to fuel the flame of mother love, urging women to speak up, to say no to war and to work for peace. Together, our mother love is powerful.
Organize your own circle of women to fuel the flame of mother love in order to protect our children and the planet.
Help your children to discover and maintain inner peace, compassion and acceptance. Peace starts with each individual. Each child whose heart is filled with inner peace, compassion and acceptance will grow up to become a beacon for peace on Earth.
When we feel what others feel, our understanding will be real
Differences will disappear, loving kindness will be here
Every day, every night, show you care
Every day, every night, say a little prayer
Every day is a holy day
Every night is a holy night
(excerpt from The
Christmas Dream, by Patti Teel)
Dubbed The Dream Maker by People magazine, Patti Teel is a former teacher and the creator of an award winning relaxation audio series for children. Her book, The Floppy Sleep Game, gives parents techniques to help their children relax, deal with stress and fall asleep. She is a popular speaker and presents innovative workshops for parents, children, and health professionals. Get R&R tips and sign up for her newsletter at
http://www.pattiteel.com.
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