all about Christmas

Article Navigation

Click Here for more articles

6 Christmas Shopping Tips You Must Know

by: Rosie Fletcher

There are a variety of opportunities for holiday shoppers, including stores, catalogs and the internet. Below are 6 Christmas Shopping tips that should:

Christmas Shopping Tip #1: Shop Early

If you�re heading out to the mall this year, have your shopping list ready. It�s a good idea to shop early in the season because, if you wait too long, that perfect gift may already be under someone else�s tree.

Christmas Shopping Tip #2: Be Polite

Always remember to be polite. The holidays are extremely busy and store employees are working overtime, so be patient as you wait for assistance.

Christmas Shopping Tip #3: Layaway

If you have a big list, but not quite a budget to match, consider a layaway. Many stores offer a convenient layaway plan, which would allow you to make payments up until Christmas. It saves you from having to charge up credit card bills or spend a lot of pocket money all at once, so consider a layaway if you have a big shopping list.

Christmas Shopping Tip #4: Shop Online

If you do decide to shop on the information superhighway this year, it will save you a lot of time standing in line at the mall. You can literally shop worldwide with the click of a button. Browse photos, compare prices, read customer reviews and see a huge variety of products without having to leave home. Best of all, in some cases, you won�t even have to pay sales tax on internet orders. Some stores offer free shipping, quantity discounts and all kids of other incentives to lure you into their site. In addition, several televised shopping networks have websites in which they offer an easy payment program on select items. This means that you make one payment, using a credit/debit card, and the product ships out to you immediately. The remaining payments are billed to your credit card, until the item is paid in full, for the specified number of months.

Christmas Shopping Tip #5: Place Your Catalog Orders Early

If you�re shopping from a catalog this year, be sure to place the order early. The most popular items sell out first, so get your order placed and on its way as soon as possible. There�s no need to wait for a catalog to arrive in the mail because you can log on to the internet and find many catalog companies online with product photos, descriptions, size charts and special �internet only� sale prices.

Christmas Shopping Tip #6: Buy in Bulk

If you have a lot of people to buy for, and aren�t exactly certain of their taste, consider buying in bulk. You can purchase a nice package of scented candles, divide them up into multiple gifts and present them with a beautiful bow wrapped around the glass jar. These types of gifts are ideal if you have teachers, doctors, co-workers or other special people that you want to wish a Merry Christmas. Another terrific idea is to purchase small Christmas tins and several bags of assorted miniature candies. Divide the candies up into each tin and present them with a beautiful bow on top. These are ideal gifts because they are thoughtful, but also budget conscious. You can purchase a pre-designed tin similar to the one described, but you will get a much better deal if you make your own. As an added bonus, you get to decide which candy to include, which isn�t always the case with pre-packaged gifts.

Happy shopping!

About the author:
For more great Christmas related articles and resources check out

Circulated by Article Emporium

Read Articles:

Tips for Christmas Shopping for Babies and Infants

How to Organize Your Christmas Baking Without G...

The Many Faces of Santa

What Gift Can I Give A Bird Lover This Christmas?

Buy Discount Candles Online or Make Them Yourself

Holiday Gift Guide for People Who Enjoy �Must S...

Christmas Trivia

Santa Claus: The True Story

How to sell Santa�s slip-ups

Your Winter Wedding

Holiday Craftts - Thanksgiving and Christmas De...

How to Make Sure Holiday Card Writing is Not a ...

Americans are Turning to Traditional Gifts for ...

Greeting cards are great to give and to receive

Christmas Gifts For Dolphin Lovers

Wedding Budgeting Tips

Christmas Customs Around The WorldMake your pan...

What Is It About Nautical Gifts For Christmas?

The Cat in the Hat Gets More Famous Each Day --...

Save Time and Money when Gift Shopping For The ...

The Cat and the Evil Parakeet

Scrapbooking Ideas for Kids

Air Purifiers Are They Worth It?

20 Tips to Keep Love Alive

Use Your Photographs to Create Unique Christmas...

Finding Delicious Cookie recipes!

Dog Morsels Pet Food

So, you have a crockpot. Now you'll want crock...

Three Steps to Reduce Holiday Stress for Your K...

Gift Giving Made (A Little) Easier

Turn Dinner Time into Quality Time with Your Fa...

One of This Year's Hottest Holiday Gifts

Gift Baskets - Create Simple Easy Gifts For the...

What's Happened to Halloween?

Finding Birthday Gift Ideas

Chicken recipes that everyone enjoys!

The Great Baby Name Debate

So, you have a crock pot , now you want crock p...

Tickle Your Senses With Yankee Candles!

Guide to Easy, Affordable Baby Shower Decorations

More Article Pages 1 - 2

Music for the Christmas Holidays
by: Tony Wiseman

In our multi-cultural societies today the run up to Christmas is experienced in many different ways. The commercial version pioneered by Coca Cola's magazine advertisements which established the red suited Santa Claus image, washes over us all through the TV advertisements and the decorations in the High Streets and shopping Malls. They built on and reinforced the Victorian version of Christmas celebrations which was dramatised by Charles Dickens in 'A Christmas Carol' which established many of the associated food and garland rituals in the public imagination - and helped Coca Cola promote their winter beverage sales. Much of this is accompanied by 'seasonal' music in the form of carols and hymns - often coral arrangements but sometimes instrumental - especially brass bands and the dreaded sentimental Christmas pop songs.

Music is often a subtle way of getting under the radar and evoking emotional responses from our subconscious. The commercial focus on Christmas seeks to convert these feelings into purchases - sometimes in crude direct appeals to consume but often in a more indirect atmospheric ways. While the committed Christians concentrate on re-telling the Christmas story through as many media as possible, including music - using the Advent season to recharge their spiritual batteries and encourage others to join them. Their tunes and some times even the words are often hijacked by those who wish to evoke a warm hearted relaxed atmosphere for the sale of their particular goods.

Much of this activity assumes a common Christian heritage and must strike those who do not share that background very oddly, not to mention the truly seasonal issues for those in the Southern Hemisphere who celebrate Christmas in mid summer rather than the deep mid winter. There is also the rival celebration of New Year which is a predominantly secular affair with a very limited musical repertoire - mostly of Scottish origin for some reason and this eclipses Christmas in many countries. Christians adopted the pagan Winter Solstice celebrations as part of their missionary progress but those ties were loosened by the reformation and the French, American and Russian Revolutions amongst others.

The seasonal hit at Download2MP3.com is Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker Suite with its Sugar Plum Fairy which fits neatly into the Victorian Christmas story telling context. While Debussy's Children's Corner with it's 'The Snow is Dancing' (Northern Hemisphere Christmas/Mid Winter associations) is another favourite and forms the backbone of our Children's Classics Collection which includes several of our shorter and lower priced recordings. Other beneficaiaries include our instrumental versions of the Hallelujah Chorus from Handel's Messiah and Gounod's Ave Maria

Recordings like these are an ideal way to personalize those iPod or MP3 player gifts for a few dollars more - perhaps introducing children to the classics in an accessible, amusing and memorable way.

This Static Spot is open for sponsor

This Static Spot is open for sponsor