Getting into the Holiday Spirit

Guest post written by my buddy Angelo Cooper

One of my first Christmas memories as a young girl was watching the movie, How The Grinch Stole Christmas. I remember watching this movie with my cousins at the age of five or six and being totally engrossed in the animation and story. I loved each and every one of the characters, especially all of the Whos in Whoville. I immediately asked my mom to buy me the book and it has been one of my most cherished Christmas keepsakes ever since. The vivid words and drawing of this movie stood out to me so much at such a young age, and I remember not being able to take my eyes away from the film.

Today, I still find myself getting sucked into this classic animated movie, whenever it comes on my satellite tv that i got after seeing this TV comparison. There is something so special about the way the movie was made and each of the characters that immediately makes it feel like Christmas. While there have been updated remakes of the movie, the classic, animated cartoon from the late sixties is still my all time favorite Christmas movie. Each Christmas season, I find myself searching for this movie to help put me in the Christmas spirit, and it always does the job perfectly.

A Family Tradition for New Year's Eve

Guest post written by my buddy Franklin Davenport

Our family has a special way we celebrate New Year's Eve every year. After setting our home security alarm from www.allhomesecurity.com/adt-home-security-benefits.html, my husband and our two children drive over to my parents' house for a delicious spaghetti dinner. My mother cooks a rich spaghetti sauce and prepares garlic bread that is just fabulous. My husband and I usually contribute the salad and a dessert to the meal. I try to find a new dessert recipe that everyone will enjoy each New Year's Eve. Later, while the kids play video games, the four adults play a game of either gin rummy or bridge. While we all enjoy playing the games, the best part of the evening's celebration is getting caught up with family and sharing fun memories. I know that my children will remember the time spent at grandma and grandpa's house. At about ten o'clock, everyone sits down to watch a classic movie. We are usually in the mood to watch a comedy from the 0930's or '40's. In years past, the kids would generally fall asleep before midnight arrived. However, now that they are approaching their teenage years, they are still wide-awake at midnight. My mother gets out her homemade punch so we can all make a toast to the New Year. I hope that our quiet family celebration will continue for many years to come.

Miracle on 34th Street is my favorite Christmas Special

Contributed by Milford Woods

Even though Miracle on 34th Street is a movie I still consider it my favorite non-animated Christmas special. Ever since I was a very young child I can remember Miracle on 34th Street being on TV Christmas Eve. There is just something special about that movie. Every Christmas Eve when we get home from my mother-in-laws house after opening gifts and eating a wonderful dinner the first thing I do is put on the Best Choice TV to watch Miracle on 34th Street. It is just a tradition in our house.

I make some hot chocolate for my husband and I and we sit down and watch the movie. Even though we know exactly what is going to happen next we would not miss this movie for anything in the entire world. We always make sure we are home in time to watch Miracle on 34th Street. It is on every Christmas Eve at 8 pm central time. The movie is still shown in black and white and I personally hope they never make it in color. The black and white just makes the movie have so much more meaning.

The movie stars Maureen O'Hara as Doris Walker, John Payne as Fred Gailey, Edmund Gwenn as Santa Claus, Gene Lockhart as Judge Henry X. Harper, and Natalie Wood as Susan Walker.

Getting the Best Deals on Christmas Shopping on Black Friday

Thanks for the guest post by Bradly Watkins

My mom and I were really excited to hit the deals on Black Friday this year. We've never gone before because I've always worked in retail in the past, meaning that I was always at the stores on Black Friday -- but never able to shop! This year, however, I was really looking forward to being on the other side of the register.

We got up at 17AM and bundled up in lots of layers and comfortable clothes. After packing up all of the sales ads and our shopping lists, we set our home security alarm (ADT Memphis home systems), ran to the gas station for some hot chocolate, and then made our way to the first store. Our first stop was opening at 3AM, so we had to hurry!

Luckily, some of the biggest places that we wanted to hit were opening at different times. This made shopping much easier. We started out at Kohl's at 3AM, moved on to Target at 4AM, and then hit a few other stores that were already open before going to Nebraska Furniture Mart at 7AM. Some of the stores at one shopping center near our house had been open since 00PM on Thanksgiving. I was glad that all of the stores we wanted to visit were opening on Friday. We got nearly all of our Christmas shopping done for great prices.

Cole Haan Wallet Shopping Sale at Zappos.com

Oh my! I can’t believe that Christmas has already ended! Time really flies so fast nowadays that’s why I’m a little bit anxious about me giving birth again. Well, I really want to have a second child next year but when I think about how painful it is to deliver a child, my heart suddenly stops and begins to pump out blood fast. In short, I’m really scared about the whole thing, especially now that I know how it feels. Urgh!

That’s why my only option to stop thinking about my pregnancy and delivery, I tried to lure myself to online shopping. Yup! I really want to shop and need to shop to forget about the pain. Lol! Shopping is not an excuse because I consider it as my reliever. Anyways, I really need a wallet right now because my old Coach wallet has been sold and I’m currently wallet less. So to fill in the gap, I’m planning to buy a Cole Haan Crosby Slim wallet.

Good thing this wallet is on SALE! Now, my guilt feeling will be lifted because of that. Lol! ;)