Hello, I thought this would help as you begin to think Christmas 2011.

The Six Worst Gift Ideas Ever

All of us have heard at one time or another seller or buyer beware - but in this case, the saying now becomes gifter beware. Many of us give with the best of intentions, but never realize that the gifts we are about to give are truly nightmares - or worse - in disguise. No one ever means to make such a mistake, but these do occur and we are here to help you avoid these mishaps. The following are the six worst gift ideas ever to cross our paths.

The first and biggest of the six worst gift ideas ever to give is the item that tries to give a subtle hint for what you consider a needed change in this person's life. We think this is a polite way of doing it, but all in all we cause more pain and trouble than it is worth. Some examples of these types of gifts are things like books for losing weight, an audio book on helping someone with their memory, or even a book on finding the right guy or girl. For the recipient, all they experience is you calling them fat, stupid, and unable to meet good people for relationships. The gift causes pain and depression - the opposite of the intention you had for it.

The second of the six worst gift ideas ever given is giving something that shows how little, if any, thought you put into your gift. This happens more often than people like to admit to, and this is why it is number two on our list. Some examples of these gifts would be giving body jewelry to someone who doesn't even have an ear pierced, an 'I believe in Xenu" T-shirt for a Christian, or even a box of chocolates for a diabetic. If you truly don't want to put your heart into giving gifts, then don't even bother - those you call friends will appreciate it.

The third out of six worst gift ideas ever thought of would be the extremely large books often referred to as coffee table books. The typical thought when giving these books is that the large wrapped item will make the person so much more happy - but upon opening this tome of a book, almost always the person is anything but happy. Books can be a great gift, but remember that in this instance, regular sized or even pocket sized is better than extraordinarily huge.

Fourth of the six worst gift ideas ever attempted is giving a gift that the person has no way to exchange or even be able to give away. We all want the recipient to love our gifts, but we can't get it right 100 percent of the time. So please, do not give a gift from a specialty shop that does not exist in the recipient's part of the country unless you know for sure they want this item in question. If you don't, the person has the potential to be quite angry and disappointed in you and your gift.

Of the six worst gift ideas ever to see the light of day, number five may appear harmless enough, but don't allow it to fool you. We all forget a holiday or special occasion and find ourselves desperate to come up with a gift. We know we don't have enough time to go out and purchase something, and making something is out of the question. So we look through what we own and give the special someone a gift we ourselves were given before, or even something we had bought for ourselves. The problem is the immense guilt you feel after the fact for doing so. Remember, even items that at first appear free to give away - there is always a cost.

Finally, the sixth worst gift idea ever is the one where you buy the item, actually wanting it for yourself, but you figure the recipient will not want it and will give it back to you. Please know this: this type of plan will always backfire on you, and is horrible to attempt in the first place! If you want the item, buy it for you - or you will be ending up buying two when you could have only bought it once.

Always remember the golden rule: Buy for others, then buy for you as well. You will both be happy!

Santa Claus, 

Santa Expert

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Yuletide Days of Old - Ancient Customs of Christmas

Christmas, as a holiday period, was instituted and celebrated at about the same time as other winter solstice festivities, because church leaders at the time believed it would make more people participate in the new holiday period. That objective was achieved, but people also carried over some pagan celebrations and traditions into the religious Christmas celebrations.

As an example, people would attend church and then take part in a raucous, drunken, and carnival-like celebration that has some similarities to Mardi Gras. During this celebration every year, there would be a crowning of a beggar or student as the “Lord of Misrule.” Those taking part in the activities would pretend to be loyal subjects to the Lord of Misrule.

During this time some of the poor would also visit the rich in their houses and ask for some of their best food and drink. Those among the rich who didn't cooperate would be subject to rowdy behavior and mischief by the poor. For their part, the rich used Christmas as the time when they would reach out to the poorer members of society by tolerating them in such visits or by leaving out food and clothing for them.

For many centuries before the birth of Christ and the recognition of Christmas, there had been celebrations in many countries during the middle of winter. During the darkest days of winter for example, the early Europeans were said to celebrate light and birth. The winter solstice was a period of rejoicing for many people because it meant that the worst part of winter was over and they could therefore look forward to having days that were longer with more hours of sunlight.

In that tradition, the Norse peoples in Scandinavia would celebrate a period of Yule from December 21, which was the winter solstice or start of winter, through January. To recognize the re-emergence of the sun, fathers and their sons would take large logs home and set them on fire. There would then be a big feast until the log was completely burned out. That could take as many as twelve days to happen.

The custom also was one of hope for the Norse because there was the belief among them that every spark from the fire represented a new pig or calf that would be born in the New Year. Many parts of Europe also thought that the end of December was a perfect time to celebrate because, during that time, a lot of cattle would be killed to avoid having to feed them during winter. For many people, the end of December was the only time during the year when they had a significant amount of fresh meat. Also, by that time of year, wine and beer that was made earlier in the year would have fermented and would have finally been ready for drinking.

The tradition of Santa Claus has also been an ancient legend with slight differences, or variations, going back to the 1700s in some countries. In Germany and Switzerland, children who were well behaved would receive a Christmas present from Christkind or Kris Kringle. Christkind, which means “Christ child,” was believed to be an angel-like figure that went along with St. Nicholas on his holiday journeys to deliver gifts.

A jolly elf by the name of Jultomten was believed to deliver presents in Scandinavia, in a sleigh that was pulled by goats. In France, Pere Noel is the one who fills the shoes of French children with Christmas gifts, sweets, or treats at Christmas time.

In Russia, there's a legend that Babushka was an elderly woman who gave incorrect directions to Bethlehem to the three Wise Men so that they wouldn't find Jesus. She later felt sorry for doing so but couldn't find the Wise Men to tell them about the error. Today in Russia, it is believed that on January 5, the day before the Epiphany or Three Kings Day, Babushka visits Russian children and leaves presents by their bedsides, in the hope that one of the children will be Baby Jesus and will forgive her.