Personalized Christmas Cards Ala Turkey

Be honest. You are thinking now about all things Christmas, not Halloween anymore, and not so much Thanksgiving. Come on...it's true, you know it. Halloween was fun, and we have this Fall Back weekend to take down our Halloween Decorations, but our minds are now racing full steam ahead to Christmas and the holiday season.

Poor Thanksgiving. It really is a wonderful holiday, but somehow it gets a barely an aisle (maybe only half) in all the stores, while Christmas takes over the shelves. Ah, what are we to do? It is so hard to stay focused on the orange and brown tablecloths, wreaths, and napkins while the twinkling lights, Santas, and gorgeous ornaments are calling to us. I admit it, I am ready to pull out the Christmas boxes and start singing the Christmas Carols. But I'll wait. I will be good and do the turkey thing.

But I will sneak in Christmas too. After all, it is less than 60 days away now! So my first official Christmas activity will be working on my Personalized Christmas Cards. I love doing the Vista Print thing when it comes to my cards. They have an awesome selection, and being able to handle everything online is wonderful. All I really need to do is decide on the picture I'll use, and get them ordered. Sweet. The one thing I know about me is that if I don't get the Christmas Cards handled early, I will more than likely not get to them. Know what I mean? There have been the unfortunate Christmases past where I did not get my Christmas Cards sent out, and I was so sad! So now I make sure to work on my Christmas Cards early and before any other Christmas preparations.

So bye for now ghosts and goblins, And with an excited but controlled anticipation for all things Christmas, welcome turkey, football and Fall leaves!

Should You Use That Artificial Christmas Tree This Christmas?

Yes, I know we have not even gotten past Halloween yet, but Christmas is on your mind anyway, am I right? If you are one of the lucky ones that can stay focused on one holiday at a time, I am jealous but may I remind you, gently, that you will be thinking of tinsel and gifts soon?

So in the spirit of everything Christmas, have you thought about the Christmas Tree you will put up this year? My parents always had a real tree for us kids, and my hubbs and I always have gotten a real Christmas Tree every year too. My daughter would never have it any other way. But I have thought many times of getting an artificial tree for reasons like less mess, instant set-up ( some trees even come with lights already attached?!), no drying out and loose needles falling about, and we could put it up earlier and leave it up longer, if we wanted to. But like I said, my daughter would never ever let an artificial tree enter our house...so we stayed with the real thing each year so far.

But now with all the latest news about the health hazards associated with the plastic PVC, which has been called the most toxic plastic, I am so happy my daughter kept us on the real Christmas Tree program. So this year before you decide on what kind of Christmas Tree you'll put up, remember that older artificial Christmas Trees are most likely made with PVC plastic.

At Healthychild.org, an article discusses the potential dangers associated with PVC and artificial Christmas Trees. PVC contains significant amounts of lead as a stabilizer. Foundation E.A.R.T.H. has discovered that, as plastic artificial Christmas trees trees age, they release lead dust, which can collect on tree branches and even on the floor beneath the tree. Most of the plastic trees come from China and may exceed U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission recommendations for lead levels in consumer products. We all know how toxic Lead is, and that it has the potential of producing long-term behavioral and brain damage, even at low doses.

If you do use an artificial tree, don't let your children touch or handle a plastic tree or crawl underneath it. Don't keep presents underneath it either, as they will collect any lead dust that falls. And think about buying a fresh tree this year—it's a renewable resource that can be recycled!

More tips on keeping children lead-free can be found at Healthychild.org.