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Holiday Cheer Part III: Boxing Day, American Style

12/18/2014

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Hanukkah* is here; Christmas is about to arrive, which means new things to replace the old under the tree and around the menorah.

In the spirit of not just getting, but giving, today's guest contributor, Jean
Long Manteufel, owner of Long Moving (a North American Van Lines moving company) specializing in senior transition services, and author of www.TransitionsWithJean.com blog, introduces an annual "re-gifting" idea that can become the happiest part of your holiday season.

Make Box-It Day Your New Holiday Tradition
Over the years, people get new goodies at the holidays.  But, when we get new things, we don’t take the old items out.  It goes on year after year, until one day, we have so much stuff that we don’t know what to do with it all.

Keeping stuff is a habit - one that started when we were little kids. The kids already have so many toys, that it is a big job when Mom tells them to clean their room; we have tons of sweaters, ties, pajamas, and more.  After the holidays, they will have even more things to pick up; we will have even more stuff, unless….

We could start a new tradition, you and me.  For every new gift we get for Christmas, let’s put something in a box.  We’ll fill the box and give it to people who aren’t as blessed as we are.
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In Canada, Australia, England, and Ireland, there is a holiday called Boxing Day.  It is December 26, the day after Christmas. It’s called Boxing Day because the kings and lords used to box up their Christmas left-overs and give them to their serfs and the poor.

Lets borrow from their idea; we also will do it on December 26, but let’s call it Box-It Day.

It’s easy.  Get a box, then when your grandkids get all of their new toys, remember, before they put them away, let’s put some old toys into that box, so they can give them to other kids; take your things like old shoes and books, and put them in the box.

Then, on Box-It Day, let’s go together and deliver them to Goodwill or St. Vincent de Paul or wherever.  You pick.  It is a good feeling.

It isn’t easy to let go of things that you’ve enjoyed.  But on the days that we are getting new things, let’s let go of some of the old.


We are so lucky.  We have so much.  Let’s share.
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What a terrific idea, Jean - I'm starting this year!
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Before I go, here's one more nifty gifts idea for those living with disabilities...
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You have been officially alerted.
*Correction: I was duly enlightened by our Jewish listeners that I was off by one on the dates for Hanukkah; it began at sundown on the 16th, not the 17th as I stated last week. 
Sorry about that, and Happy Hanukkah!


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Holiday Cheer Part II: This Year's Nifty Gift Ideas

12/11/2014

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Again this year, Christmas and Hannukah are quite close on the calendar: Hannukah begins Wednesday, the 17th of December, and ends on Christmas eve.

So just in time for holiday gift buying, Christian and Jewish, we've gathered a bunch of groovy ideas from the finest sources for your discerning giving palate.


Giving a technology device to a Boomer?  Here's 5 tips for doing it right from technologytell.com
(use the link to read the full article):
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  1. Purchase it from a brick and mortar store. You may get a better deal online, but the eventual headache for the recipient isn’t worth it. Most Boomers are going to have a ton of questions, only answerable by store personnel

  2. Get the extended warranty or service plan. Often the extended warranty is a rip-off, but it will put your Boomer recipient at ease so they will actually dare to use the thing

  3. Go for the low-end model.  Research shows that Boomers (including me...) use only about 10% of the features. So don't waste money on advanced user functions

  4. Make sure it has buttons. Nothing sends a Baby Boomer into a tizzy faster than soft menus. Many of us just don't get the concept, let alone understand how to navigate them. Whatever the device – GPS, camera, tablet – it needs to have at least four physical buttons

  5. Go to the company website, print out the user manual, and include it with your gift. Nothing comes with a manual anymore because corporations won’t spend money on printing, and boy do we Boomers love our manuals!

And...From our Santa's helpers at grandparents.com, here's just a few of their....
14 Fun Gift Ideas for the Difficult-to-Buy-For on your list
(use the link to see the entire list)

"Struggling with what to give your new daughter-in-law or coworker? Trust our gift guide to impress - nary a generic gift card in sight."
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For A Female Coworker
Don’t know much about your coworker (except where she works)? Add a personal - and pretty - touch to her desk. A calendar filled with portraits of great women leaders would inspire any lady to achieve more at work.

For That Forgetful Person
If you can lose it, Tile can find it. This clever device affixes to anything and syncs up to your phone using Bluetooth technology.  Lost your keys?  The corresponding tile helps you locate 'em from up to 100 feet away!

For Your Zen Friend
Yogis and stylish would-be-yogis-alike will agree that famed British pattern maven Orla Kiely’s yoga mats are the cutest thing to hit Bikram.


For Your Incredibly Messy Two-Year-Old Grandchild
Gift them something delightfully gross — that mom and dad will still approve of. Brookstone’s “Sand” looks like your average beach variety, but bends and smushes unlike anything you’ve built a castle with. Best of all, it leaves no mess.


For Your Mailperson/Handy Man
Provide warm drinks in a mug that brings them even greater warmth...inspired by the classic wool blanket design, this Thermos takes tasty to a whole new level.

You have been officially, and cheerily, alerted.
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What We Can Learn from Rudolph

12/4/2014

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"All of the other reindeer...used to laugh and call him names...they wouldn't let poor Rudolph join in any reindeer games..."
(eg: shunned due to what was apparently an unacceptably large & very shiny proboscis)...

"Then, one foggy Christmas eve, Santa came to say; 'Rudolph with your nose so bright, won't you guide my sleigh tonight?!'"
Now all the reindeer loved him...shouted in glee...you know the rest
So...let's get this straight...
  • shunned & mocked because he had a big, shiny beak (that's it?...all it took was a somewhat robust schnoz?!), 
  • behavior that Santa blithely ignored for who knows how long, BTW...
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  • he then, in a quick reversal, suddenly became all the rage once his "deformity" was determined to be an asset that Santa could use to his advantage...
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As children, the moral of this story was:
the underdeer wins out in the end.

Looking at it now with my (quasi) adult's eye, however, I see something better we can take from this holiday classic:
  1. folks can be pretty mean about the silliest "differences"
  2. don't count on those in a position of authority to do anything about it unless it serves their purpose, but
  3. once that "difference" is viewed as something everyone can cash in on, you're golden.

Thus, the new moral of the story is:
Don't suffer through others' lack of appreciation of a "difference" while those in charge sit back and do nothing; take charge, & turn that perceived deficit into an asset.


Don't be a Rudolph, waiting for Santa to figure out just how valuable you really are.

You have been officially alerted.
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