Enjoying the Holiday Season

Hi All,

So I wanted to write a blog entry about the holidays but I didn't want to write about how to shop on Amazon or how to get the best deals at WalMart or how to get the most for your money at the end of the holiday shopping season...no.  I wanted something a bit different than the same old, same old holiday post.

So, without further ado...how to enjoy the holiday season and not stress over presents, parties, feeling that you left somebody out on your list or any of the myriad of other ways people are stressed during the holiday season.

 Urbanest - How to Relax at Christmas and Start the New Year with Energy

WikiHow - How to Cop with Post Holiday Syndrome 

WikiHow - How to Relax During the Holidays 

Inc. - 10 Unique Ways to Relax and Recharge During the Holidays 

Health.com - 25 Ways to  Fight Holiday Stress

Simple Family Finance - 14 Ways to Simplify Christmas and Enjoy the Holidays 

NukNuuk - 5 Ways To Relax and Enjoy the Holiday Season 

Eventbrite - Beating the Holiday Blues, How to Relax and Enjoy the Holidays 

So there you have it - 8 sites that will help you relax and not stress over the nearly here holiday season!   Enjoy the links and hopefully you won't stress over the holidays!

Regards,
Stu

Avoiding Holiday Shopping Scams and Fraud

Hi All,

Its that time of year for holiday shopping.  As of the day of this writing Christmas is 12 days away and Hanukah is....tonight.  Start the wrapping and the getting the gift bags out!!!

But with the holiday season comes fraud and scams and other holiday shopping problems.  How to avoid these unfortunate events you ask?  Read on.   We'll have a baker's dozen plus one links to help you navigate through the holiday season with no problems - hopefully at least!

How to Avoid Holiday Shopping Scams and Fraud - AARP

Online Holiday Shopping Scams to Watch Out For - CNNTech

6 Holiday Shopping Scams and How to Avoid them - NBC 

Fake Amazon Gift Cards...and other Cyber Scams Tempt Holiday Shoppers - Detroit Free Press

Holiday Shopping Scams to Avoid - Experian  

14 Dangerous Holiday Shopping Scams - Inc. 

4 Scams To Avoid While You Do Your Holiday Shopping - Motley Fool

How to Spot Fake Fingerlings and Other Holiday Shopping Scams - Forbes 

Don't Fall For These Holiday Shopping Scams - Lifehacker 

Holiday Shopping Scams: How to Identify Fake Sites - WFLA.com 

Holiday Shopping Scams - Tis the Season For Data Protection - TrendMicro

6 Tips For Avoiding Phishing, Malware...and Hacks While Holiday Shopping Online - TechRepublic 

How to Avoid Online Holiday Shopping Scams - Consumer Reports 

Hope the links won't be needed - but if they are you can at least be a little prepared.

Happy holidays!
Regards,
Stu

Hi All,

The library is hosting a program on Monday, December 15th from 7pm-8pm on 'Healthy Holiday Eating'.  The formal blurb from the newsletter is "Join Ashley Olivieri, Nutrition Coordinator at Syosset Hospital, Registered Dietitian, and Certified Diabetes Educator for his lecture about transforming favorite holiday recipes into healthier ones by using some simple tips. A food demonstration will be done to show how easy it is to make healthy, tasty holiday treats. Preference given to UFSD #22 residents."

And that is all very, very well and good...but here are a few online resources to help you eat better and healthier during this upcoming holiday season. 

From the American Heart Association comes this entry called 'Holiday Health Eating Guide'.  Note that this is a pdf document from Adobe Acrobat and opens automatically.   And from Real Simple (Life Made Simple) comes this article titled '9 Healthy Holiday Eating Strategies'.  From a site called Sutter Health comes this article called 'Tips For Healthy Holiday Eating'.

Finally, for those of you who like to go to holiday parties, you might want to visit Eatright.org's website.  They have an article called 'Helpful Tips For Healthy Holiday Parties'.

Happy holidays and happy eating...and here's to eating healthy!

Regards,
Stu

Getting Ready For the Holidays

Hi All,

It is that time of year again...we are between Thanksgiving and the Christmas/New Year's Holidays - and that means parties, holiday gift giving, shopping, invitations to mail out, wrapping, cards to send and much, much more...

How is a person supposed to make head or tail from all the anxiety that this season begets?  Easy, click on the following links and you'll be well on your way to holiday season bliss.

Click on this link that will relieve you of the stress any time you have guests coming over during the holiday season.    For another perspective on simplifying the holidays, you can click on this link so that you can be organized this holiday season - and celebrate the season to boot!

From Styleathome.com comes this article entitled, '99 Ways To Get Ready For the Holidays'.  Yes, this is a long article, and yes it is an actual list - from 1-99 - on how to prepare for the holidays.  Cool stuff!  Especially number 12, 46 (who would have thought!) and 85.

Well, if you are having guests over, you will probably have to vacuum, or at least get rid of some of the clutter.  Click here to learn just how to do that....one room at at time.

Finally, click on this link - from MyWell-Being.com - which will, like the other links above, help you get ready for the holidays. 

Enjoy the holidays - hopefully they'll be stress-free, relaxing and filled with classic family get-togethers.

Regards,
Stu