Quick and Easy Holiday Decorating

Author : Liz Hekimian-Williams
You're tired. You've worked hard all week. Suddenly, the kids shout gleefully... "let's decorate!" ... in anticipation of the coming holiday. The "let's not" is miraculously not permitted to escape your lips. Instead you take a deep breath while you wonder about how this decorating could become an easier and more fun-filled activity.

Well, it can be!

- First, insist on family members pitching in to help and treat this like a family project. This should not just rest on your shoulders to accomplish and it will be much more fun if you all are making changes and creating memories together.

- Next, pick a day and time you'll all devote no more than one to two hours for a quick holiday makeover at your home (for a major decorating holiday schedule two or three longer blocks of time). It helps if you can set the decorating date about one to two weeks from now, if time still allows for that. This gives you time to gather items together for the project.

- Ask the kids to create one or two new arts and crafts decorations that are suitable to the holiday to have ready for the decorating day. Or, ask them to select ones from among any they may already have on hand, for instance, from school projects.

- Decide on 3 to 4 areas you will focus on decorating this year. Here are some choices: the front door, the front yard, the entry hallway, the kitchen table, the dining room table, the living room, the patio, the bathroom, the bedroom. There are other areas you could consider as well. But if you want quick and dirty, then focus in on only 3 to 4 of the areas for decorating this year. Anyway, you can select other areas next year for a change.

- Keep holiday decorations in separate bags, boxes or baskets in the same closet or in the attic so they'll be easy for everyone to retrieve when they are needed next.

- Buy items you really love when you see them advertised or they may not be available when you later. It's common for seasonal merchandise to change from year to year and also they are not stocked year-round typically. So, your item may no longer be available if you wait too long to decide you want it. Then stash your figurines, statues, wall hangings, and other holiday decorations in your bags or boxes, sorted by holiday.

- Make or buy some snacks or treats to enjoy together at the completion of your decorating time.

Here are some favorite quick and easy decorating areas and tips:

1. The front door- Have a welcome sign that is theme oriented and you can easily change by season or by holiday. You can either hang up a completely new themed sign, or there are some that come with interchangeable pieces you swap in and out representing different holidays or themes.

2. The dining room table or a table that is centrally located but not used that often- Change the table runner or the tablecloth to a holiday themed one. Then showcase your holiday decorations by arranging a combination of your kid's holiday creations and your own figurines or other holiday decor on the table.

3. The mantel or entertainment center- Add a string of lights and if you wish, you can also vary the string of lights by color best suited for the coming holiday theme. Wall hangings can be changed around this area temporarily as well. Holiday accessories, flags, figurines, etc. are easy to rotate in and to view on or around this area of your home.

4. Special areas by kid's choice- Smaller children can help by adding little decorations to windows and glass doors. They enjoy taping up their creations or they can easily put up static cling decorations. Other areas small children enjoy decorating include outdoors, the dog house and their own rooms. Allow them to handle this aspect of decorating while you take pleasure in their big smiles and hugs!

Finally, make your decorating time even more enjoyable by having holiday background music or other favorite tunes playing in the background. Then, when you're done decorating, finish up with a big family hug and munching on tasty snack treats together!

Author Resource Box:

Liz Hekimian-Williams is founder of Giftsprings.com, a gifts and home decor online shop that features personalized gifts, custom engraved stones, holiday decor and special occasion gifts. Visit the gift shop at http://www.giftsprings.com

© 2003, 2004 Elizabeth Hekimian-Williams, Giftsprings

This article can be freely reprinted as long as the copyright notice and author resource byline with active link are included with the article.
Category : Home-and-Family:Holidays

How to Start Home Based Travel Businesses

Author : Randy Wilson

Home based travel businesses are no longer the wave of the
future. Home travel businesses are the hot trend right now. So
if you’re considering becoming a travel agent, this brief guide
will provide you with information you need to know.

First, there are generally two types of home travel businesses:

Referral agencies Booking and selling agencies

Home based travel businesses that fall into the referral agency
category do just that: they refer people to a travel agency.
They may have several agencies they refer people to, but most
generally have one travel agency that they work with on a
regular basis. In return for the referrals from a home based
business travel agent, the travel agency pays a referral fee or
commission percentage on what the travel agency receives from
the supplier. Part-time referral agents can earn up to $500 on
each sale, and sometimes even more.

The home based travel businesses that fall into the booking and
selling agencies category usually work with one travel agency.
These booking and selling travel agencies actually do the
booking and planning involved in making all the necessary
arrangements for great trips.

These are people who enjoy attending to all the little details.
They serve, more or less, as facilitators between their clients
and a travel agency. Booking and selling home based travel
business agents earn a lot higher percentage of the overall
commissionâ€"but they DO do a great deal more work. A full-timer
at this, however, can earn $50,000 or more a year.

Some things you want to consider before you decide to open your
own home based travel business are:

Do I need any special training or education? Should
I pursue this part-time or full-time? Is my family
supportive of my decision? Do I have a room in my home where
I can set up an office? Should I get an extra phone line?
What sort of office equipment do I need? What will I do
about accounting? How do I manage my tax needs? Is this
a job I will love? How much money do I want to make?
Should I do any advertising? Do I have the contacts I
need to pursue this business opportunity? If I don’t, how do
I make the contacts I need? Am I willing to put the
necessary effort into this business? Does my state require
me to have a business license? Once you’ve answered all or
at least most of these questions, you will need to make a
business plan, outlining the steps you’ll have to take to
achieve your goal of having your own home based travel business.
And a plan just isn’t any good unless you follow it.

You also need to make sure your business plan is realistic. If
you have to take a course to run the type of travel agent home
business you want to have, deciding to open up shop next week
isn’t reasonable. By being realistic in your business plan, you
will save yourself an untold amount of frustration as you start
and grow your business.

And starting your own business, whether it’s a cruise travel
home business or a European vacation home travel business, can
be frustrating. Be prepared for obstacles to raise their ugly
little heads when you least expect them to, and roll with them
as much as you can.

Your goal is to offer superior, professional travel services.
Don’t let a cranky client get to you. Always keep a pleasant,
cheerful demeanor. You can scream later. Better yet, you have a
laugh or two over it with friends, while sipping a glass of fine
wine that you bought with the money you’ve earned as a home
based business travel agent.

© Copyright Randy Wilson, All Rights Reserved.

Category : Home & Family

Step Into My Parlour... Easy Ways To Entice The Right People To Your Website

Author : Daegan Smith
Though traditional marketing methods cannot be ignored, having a website is a very effective gateway to getting new business. Not just that, you can maximise sales to existing customers with your website by making it easier for them to do business with you. Now, this sounds really rosy…you put up a website; you become a millionaire. Though that is not such a far away possibility, a lot comes in between the two.Once you put up a website, it is important to market it right and generate tremendous traffic inwards before you can start converting your leads into cash cows. Now, you would ideally want everyone and their cousin to check out your website, right? Isn't that what we mean by 'tremendous traffic'? Think again. No matter how great products or services you sell, you will not start making a profit until you have the relevant people hitting the right buttons on the website. By relevant, we mean people who fall within your targeted segment and who are most likely to buy your products and services. Hard as it may sound, traffic generation should be a top priority for a home business owner. Here are some effective ways to market your website online and not have to pray for fortune to fund them:Register with 'Affiliate Programs': Undoubtedly a great way to market your website would be to get your affiliates to do it for you. An affiliate program is a revenue sharing program where an affiliate website receives a portion of income for driving traffic, sales or leads to your website. Most affiliates use a pay-per-sale model and by far get you the most focused traffic than other methods.Email Promotions: Email is god's gift to the home-based businesses. You can use email to get in touch and keep in touch with existing customers and prospects. Initially, target your existing customers. If you run a weekly newsletter, use the subscribers' email database for your email promotions. One of the easiest ways to encourage visitors to keep coming back to your site is to offer value. Get the word out on discounts on purchases from the website, e-coupons and other attractive promotional offers. Try to resist the temptation of buying email addresses from web companies, for 2 reasons. One is that not all the people on that list may necessarily be part of your target audience. Second, and more important, you could be seen as a "Spammer"! That would not only not give you much sales; it will also spoil your company's reputation.Search Engine Optimization: Free search engines like Google, Yahoo and MSN are 'the' places people go to when they are looking for information. Make sure that your website gets in the top 10 of these websites' result pages. This is a sure shot way to attract quality traffic to your website. Take a four –pronged approach to do this:
Submit your site's URL to these and other free search engines and online directories (www.goto.com, www.altavista.com, www.morpheus.com)
Optimize your website so that it can be easily indexed by search engines. You can also use website optimization and SEO placement agencies for this purpose. (www.proboostgold.com, www.addpro.com)
Make your website's content rich in keywords and pay special attention to keyword placement
Finally, create a content rich site, which actually gives useful information to the customerReciprocal Links: Reciprocal link is a hyperlink you place on your web page with the understanding that the linked web page will do the same for your website. The obvious choice for a partner here is a website that is related to your business but not in direct competition. For instance, if you sell contact lenses, choose websites that sell eyeglasses or related products like cleaning solutions. Another good choice would be websites that give out clinical information on contact lens usage. Reciprocals are a cost-free and effective way of attracting focused traffic to your website.Give away free content: A major online golf publishing company offers visitors syndicated articles on golf and related products. The people who use this syndicated content not just get free content from a credible source, but also visit the company's other websites. Anything 'free' induces happiness; and when it is free content, it gives you delighted customers who keep coming back for more. By offering them free content in the form of articles, information for use in their newsletters, product reviews etc. you are doing them a favor as well as giving more exposure to your website.Get Interactive: Get your customers talking, to you and to each other. Offer advice columns, message boards, and articles relevant to your product and to the industry. Archive these into a separate section where visitors can browse to look for specific information. A good idea would be to include an " email article to a friend" button with these articles. This way your visitors will do some marketing for you. If you offer a newsletter, contests, a 'tip of the day' or other fun stuff, include a " tell a friend" click box with these. People love to share fun stuff with friends. When you see the number of jokes forwarded to you in your email, you'll believe us.Be seen & heard: Build an online identity by networking. Participate in newsgroups, discussion forums and message boards. Starting a Blog is also an idea that is picking up currency. This will allow you to develop a relationship with potential customers and allow them to identify you as a recognizable name. Tools like these will also help you determine, to an extent, what your target segment really needs. For a home business owner not having a website is a little like Robinhood without his bow and arrow. But for a business to have a website without much traffic is like Robinhood with no one to shoot at!
Still the idea is to not just have "everybody" clicking in to your website, but a chunk of the target audience who really need the product you are selling. It is better to have a sizeable number of focused potential customers clicking on your website than to have a whole lot of curious ones who just stumbled on. It is from the potential customers that your conversions will come. Finally, it is bet to use a combination of all the tactics listed above. Put a "tell a friend" button on the newsletters, or include your top keywords in the free content you give away. Think out of the box to use these tactics for traffic maximisation to your advantage.Also see:
http://www.bytestart.co.uk/content/22/22_1/poor-web-page-design-will.shtml

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Category : Business:Traffic-Building

Body Piercing, Is There Anything Wrong With It?

Author : David Kunstek

When you spend a day at the mall, you see people with body piercings. Perhaps you see someone with a nose ring. Another may have a belly button ring. In fact, you may see people with some really crazy body piercing. Is there any reason that people should not have so many body piercings? When it all comes down to it, it is everyone's separate decision to be made, but we must ask, is there anything wrong with it, really?Body piercing is popular, especially among teens. Something that once started as earrings led to the piercing of many other body parts. Do you have your ears pierced? Is there something wrong with people who have their ears pierced? Many teens find body piercing to be a way of self expression and a way to rebel. Today, people get their noses, tongues, eye brows, belly buttons and even other places pierced. You can go into any jewelry store at the mall and find belly button and eye brow rings. The jewelry itself is not tacky or ugly, but can be very regular pieces. So, what makes body piercing so bad, then?People have preconceived notions about people who are different from them. When ladies started to get their ears pierced, that was taboo as well. As time goes on and things become more "normal" the preconceived notions about body piercings will go away as well. As long as the piercing is done properly, in a clean environment and is taken care of properly, then there are no adverse side effects to having body piercings. Again, they must be taken care of and cleaned properly though as infections can spread rapidly this way. So, the next time you are at that mall and see a group of girls walk by with belly button rings, think twice before you judge them. Consider why you don't like that eye brow ring on the boy who is taking your order's face. Think twice when judging others because as you judge them, they may be judging you right back! About The Author Written by David Kunstek, webmaster and author of http://www.piercing-web.com. This article may be reproduced as long as a Live link back to http://www.piercing-web.com is present.admin@piercing-web.com

Category : Kids - Teen

In Search For Wealth

Author : Nasri Bale
My eldest son phoned me the other night to let me know that he and his partner was going to have a baby. When I got the news, I was more excited then he was. He seems to be in a state of shock trying to come to grips with the can of worms that had just opened.For me the news was a mix of joy and a realization that time was catching up with me and that the *financial* success I have crave for, for so long is still a dream. I, like so many others out there are looking for that pot of gold to make life more comfortable. I use to consider *money* as a gauge to determine my success in life. I and like many of you; have tried over and over again to increase my earnings to provide a better life style for my children. I was determined not to grow up like my parents, always struggling.Don't get me wrong, I had I good childhood except I never saw much of my dad. He was always working. I did not realize until I had my own kids the reason he worked so hard. When Justin was born, I made a personal commitment to provide my children with the quality time that I missed with my dad and at the same time tried to be a financial success.My wife Tracee and I have seven children, three boys and four girls. We agree early in our relationship that I would be the main bread winner and she would stay home and care for the children. As the kids were growing up, we would encourage them to play sports and I would help coach their team. This would give me the opportunity to spend more time with them.My pursuit for financial success still eluded me; I have tried nearly everything to be rich. I have tried most of them and still going through the process. It did not occur to me until recently that the efforts I put in raising my children had produced its rewards. My kids are well adjusted, they are healthy. Justin is going to be a dad at the age of 25, when he was born when I was 20. Jasmin, the eldest daughter is a school teacher. Ashley, my number two son has just settle into an apprenticeship as a panel beater. Sharee, who had just turned eighteen, is a free spirit. She has a job but no ambition, nothing seems to faze her and I worry about her a bit. The other three children, Alysha, sixteen, Crystal, fourteen and Jordan who is our baby boy will turn twelve in September.I now look at success with different eyes, I might not be rich when it comes to money but I am very rich and very successful and I am going to be a granddad. Hoo! Hoo! Life is wonderful.Copyright 2005 Nasri BaleNasri Bale, novice writer and father of seven children would like to share his life experiences he has had with his kids. He hopes that the articles will touch and inspire, also to let other dads know that they are not alone. You can contact me at, nazri04@hotmail.com
Category : Self-Improvement:Inspirational

Make Allergy Triggers Disappear Part -2

Author : Abigail Franks

Hello again. Last time we were talking about two very common allergy triggers found in most homes. These were mold and dust caused by dirty furnace and air conditioner filters. There is also some information on the importance of having the right humidity in your home to make the air as comfortable as possible for someone who suffers from allergies or even asthma.A trigger is simply something that may irritate the bronchial tubes were respiratory system of someone who is predisposed to having difficulty breathing. Anything that may irritate the breathing tubes of someone with even a somewhat compromised respiratory system should be considered a trigger. So think of a trigger as the event that starts an allergic reaction or an asthmatic attack and you can easier understand the importance of limiting exposure to these triggers.While wall to wall carpet is a great feature in a house it can harbor massive amounts of dirt and dust along with pet hair, dander and yes, even mold. If you have a family member that seems to have more difficulty breathing at night, you might want to consider removing the carpeting at least in the bedroom. No matter how well you vacuum carpet some debris will inevitably be trapped. If you consider this only as a last resort, your next option is to make certain you have a high quality vacuum cleaner with a HEPA filtration exhaust system. Although not inexpensive, and high quality vacuum will have more suction and be better able to remove more of the collected dirt in the carpet than a typical lower and vacuum. The only real way to be certain that the carpet is not causing breathing difficulty is to remove it. There are some very nice, high quality, hardwood floors that can be used along with an area rug is a nice decorator touch. Just be certain the area rug can be removed and cleaned regularly. Be warned that some hardwood floors are installed on a foam floating bed. If enough water is able to seep between the foam in the flooring material, mold could grow and you may have traded a dirt allergy trigger for a mold allergy trigger.Dust mites are a very typical allergy trigger found in most bedrooms. These can be controlled by placing pillows mattresses and even box springs and special dust mite proof covers. Wash bedding on a standard schedule in hot water.Select curtains and blinds that are easily washable and preferably made of synthetic fibers. This will cut down on dust from natural fibers. Ideally, replace horizontal blinds with easy to care for vertical ones that can be wiped down weekly. Another option is a simple rollup or Roman type shade that can be taken down regularly and washed.The key to making life for an allergy or asthma sufferer more tolerable is to limit the number of potential asthma attacks and allergy reactions. By limiting exposure to the triggers, at least in their own home, it's possible to lower the potential of the serious respiratory attack. For more information on other ideas to eliminate allergy and asthmatic triggers in your home, visit the website below and request the free report. Abigail Franks has done extensive research into Asthma,Allergies, and their triggers. Learn more about other asthma triggers in a free report and learn about more how your allergy can spark an asthma attack .

Category : General Medical: Asthma

Coming In To Sudden Money: How Fun Would That Be?

Author : Glory Borgeson
Wouldn’t it be great to start off a new season with a boat load
of cash? I mean the amount of cash you could use to pay all debts,
put your kids through any college (and grad school), buy the
home of your dreams and a vacation home, and still have enough
money left over to give generously and then live off the interest.Probably the best get-rich-quick scheme that has made people
into instant millionaires is the lottery, in most U.S. states.
Have you wondered what you would do with all that money if
you won the lottery? Well, most likely you would pay off all
your debts, put some away for the kids to go to college, buy
a larger house, buy a second house, buy a few really nice cars,
and then live peacefully off the interest. Yes, that would be
great, especially the peaceful part. That’s how those lottery
winners live their lives, right?Not according to Susan Bradley, who wrote Sudden Money:
Managing a Windfall. Bradley found that lottery winners
and others who come into new cash will either keep the money
and lose family and friends, lose the money and keep family
and friends, or lose both. Very few lottery winners keep the
money and keep family and friends.As I researched lottery winners and their lives post-winning,
I found this is true many times. Regardless of whether people
kept the money or lost most of it, I was interested in why
many do not keep family and friends. For most, it was because
people wanted the lottery winner to invest in their business
ideas, and the new millionaires refused (and the family or
friend dropped them), or the new millionaires invested, and
it was a bust (and the millionaire dropped the family or friend).
For some, it was because people wanted the winner to support
them or give them free stuff.Janite Lee won $18 million in 1993 in Missouri. She generously
gave money to charities, schools, politicians, and education.
Eight years after winning, she filed for bankruptcy. She had
$700 left.Billie Bob Harrell won $31 million in 1997 in Texas. He was to
receive $1.24 million annually for 25 years. It was great at
first. He bought a ranch. He bought homes and cars for himself
and family members. He gave generously to his church and to
people in need. A lot of people came to him requesting money.
But the giving, lending, and spending got out of control.
His wife left him a year later, and in 1999 he killed himself.Sometimes just being a relative of a lottery winner is bad
news. In 2004 in Illinois, a teenage girl whose grandfather
won the lottery a couple years earlier overdosed on drugs,
which she was able to buy because her grandfather supplied
the money. Other teens who knew she had a lot of money pressured
her to buy the drugs and use them.Just like when psychologists say that love and hate run closely
together, so do sudden wealth and sudden loss. People who come
into money quickly, such as lottery winners and people who receive
large inheritances, usually make decisions too soon. They put
their house on the market and buy a new one right away.
They buy several cars, quit their jobs, and invest in ideas
that sound great.So what can a person do to protect themselves when they suddenly
find themselves with a lot of money?The first is to proclaim a moratorium on decision-making. They
should put the money into safe investments for the time being
and then take some time (say, 3 to 6 months) before taking any
action on money decisions. The 3- to 6-month timeframe is a
planning stage.The next thing they need to do is to get organized and focused.
They need to list the major life decisions they’ll need to make
in the next 5 years. Then they should list their assets and debts,
and review their current insurance coverage.During the 3- to 6-month planning stage, they should write out
how they’re going to live during this stage. What will their
expenses be? Where will they get their income during this time
(and how much)? How long will this planning stage last?Beyond the planning stage, they need to review their income
for the following 12 months and beyond. They should plan out
their taxes and what is leftover. They need to plan out what
they want their life to look like in the next 5 years. (For
example, where will you live? What will you do every day? What
will you be involved in? How extravagant will your life become?)
They need to ask themselves what future expenses are coming,
such as college education, retirement, and really great trips.
Plus, they need to plan for how much philanthropy they want
to be involved in, for at least the next 5 years.During the planning stage, a new millionaire will also want
to find a financial advisor, accountant, and estate attorney
(and perhaps a wealth psychologist). They can ask for referrals
and then interview each professional to get a good idea of
compatibility.I know people who play the lottery regularly. I told them if they
win to come talk to me and I’ll give them some decision-making
advice (without asking for handouts).In addition, I've read that people who come into sudden money notice
their phone ringing a lot more often, as people they don't even know
find out about their new money, find their phone number, and start
calling asking for investment money and handouts. (This is in addition
to the family members and friends who start calling a lot more often.)
This would be a good time to either drop the home phone number completely
(even if that number has been the home number for years) or get a new
home number. Likewise, getting new cell phone numbers would probably
be a good idea. (Then only tell select people the new numbers.)What about those friends and family you might lose if you come
into sudden money? You know what? You can’t control other peoples’
responses when you choose not to invest in their business ideas
or give them loans or handouts. You have to make the best decisions
you can with your new money and let the other chips fall where
they may.I’ve realized that when I’ve gone through difficult times, I’ve
found out who my real friends are. The same principle applies
to sudden money. If you get it, you will know who your real
friends are within one year.If you ever find yourself the recipient of an influx of cash,
keep your head on straight. Don’t go to extremes. Give yourself
quarterly reality checks. Expect that you are going to lose some friends
and family members. And get advice from several qualified professional
people regularly.© 2005 Borgeson Consulting, Inc.Glory Borgeson is a business coach and consultant, and the president of
Borgeson Consulting, Inc. She specializes in helping small business owners
(of 500 employees or less) to increase their Entrepreneurial IQ, which
leads to increased profit and decreased stress. Whether an entrepreneur is at the top
of his game like any top athletes you can think of today, or a rookie just
starting his business, Glory works with the entire spectrum of entrepreneur.
Top athletes have a coach; why not you?Click here for Borgeson Consulting, Inc.This article was originally published in The Business Express, Borgeson's
free monthly ezine. You may subscribe by clicking here:Ezine
Category : Wine

Rent Games Online for the Kids

Author : Jay Coleby
It’s risky business allowing your children to play games online. I know that may sound funny but I have a good argument to back up my opinion. If you continue reading I will share it with you.I work from home on my computer; my computer is my livelihood and it is how I make my money. Allowing my kids to play on my computer also makes my computer susceptible to ad aware, spam and the like. For someone that works from home, this can be a very big problem if my computer ends up infected with a virus! Every single time I go to a cheat code site for my son, I have to go remove the entire ad aware I just picked up. Not to mention that due to my working, I can’t always let him sit and play his games and we were both frustrated.We than saw an ad to rent games online, we have been happy ever since! I have the games shipped to my house, there are no late fees and the monthly fee is a flat rate for unlimited rentals. As you can see, this a win/win situation for us! He gets to play all games he wants and I get to keep my computer.Rent games online will also save you time and money! No longer will you have to go wait in line to rent a game, you can now have them sent to your door â€" I have to tell you, this is my favorite part. Along with saving money of course!Jay Coleby is a writer that specializes in informational articles on various topics. His most recent projects include articles on cell phone batteries, rent games and
noni juice. Jay can be contacted if you need an article written on a specific topic.
Category : Weight Loss