Personalized Christmas Stockings

The Philippines has a notably long Christmas season. Unofficially, Christmas in the Philippines start with the “-ber” months, September through December. Indeed, radio stations throughout the country start playing Christmas songs as early as September. Officially, however, the mostly Catholic Filipinos start their holiday season on December 16, with the start of the Misa de Gallo or Morning Masses and ends it on the Epiphany.

Filipino Christmas Traditions

The Misa de Gallo or literally, the “rooster’s mass” is a nine-day novena wherein Filipinos wake up at dawn to hear mass at church for nine consecutive days, culminating on Christmas eve. This is considered to be the most important Christmas tradition for Filipinos.

Families also gather together to have a midnight feast on Christmas eve called the noche buena. After this feast, comes the gift giving and opening of presents for some families, while others wait until Christmas morning to do these.

Christmas parties are also a big part of the Filipino Christmas, with most schools, offices and stores holding their Christmas parties on different nights once December rolls in. These parties are peppered with parlor games, contests, food and sometimes, production numbers prepared by employees or students.

Christmas carols are usually sung during the Christmas season, with young and old carolers regaling households with their repertoire of Christmas songs. Filipino children go from house to house to regale their occupants with songs. In return, the listeners give them coins, candies and other inexpensive gifts for their efforts.

Christmas Symbols

A country of roughly about 75% Catholics and Christians, the Filipinos put special emphasis on the symbolism and importance of Baby Jesus even in its Christmas symbols. A common Christmas decoration is the Belen (nativity scene), which depicts the manger scene with Joseph, Mary, the Baby Jesus and the whole cast of characters like the Three Wise Men, stable animals and angels.

Another common decoration is the parol, a star-shaped lantern that symbolizes the star of Bethlehem.

But the Philippines also have Western-inspired decorations. No house in the country celebrates Christmas without a Christmas tree. Friends also exchange holiday cards on top of gifts. Further, every child in the country knows who Santa Claus is. Some carols even have imagery of snow, while some decorations depict snow even if the Philippines does not have snow.

But Christmas in the Philippines is mostly about family. MerryStockings.com recognizes this. If you want to wow your friends and family in the Philippines, send them truly personalized gifts of you and your family, like these holiday greeting cards or photo ornaments!

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What do these people have in common: Isaac Newton, Humphrey Bogart, Anwar el-Sadat, Rod Serling, Barbara Mandrell, and Barry Pearson all have in common. At first glance, there is nothing that a noted scientist and thinker, an actor, an Egyptian president, a scriptwriter, a singer and a football player would have shared in common right?

Wrong. All of them were born on Christmas day.

Kathy McGinty who works as a nurse at the NorthShore University Health System in Illinois relates that they average eight to ten babies born on Christmas day.

There are a lot of things to be said about being born on Christmas day. Some find it a curiosity. Some attach a special meaning to it. Those who share the same birthdays as Newton, et. al. actually think that it is cool as no one ever forgets their birthdays and they get double gifts (one for their birthdays and one for Christmas). While there are others who whine that they get one less special day in a year, having both their birthday and Christmas bunched together. Some parents have a hard time trying to make their baby’s birthday special with all the Christmas cheer going around.

So how do you make your baby’s birthday special? MerryStockings.com offers these three tips!

1. Celebrate it a week before or after Christmas. It depends on what your tradition is, but you could plan on celebrating your baby’s birthday on the weekend before or after Christmas. This will ensure that your baby would have his or her special day apart from Christmas day itself. For older Christmas kids, you might want to throw a party before his or her friends go off for the Christmas vacation, or after they come back. This is to make sure that all his or her friends are there at the party.

2. Double the gifts. Do not scrimp on the gifts. It is very tempting to give just one gift for your child and have it as both a Christmas and birthday gift. Remember that to a child, receiving a gift is very exciting.

3. Make your baby the center of your Christmas celebrations. You could send out personalized holiday cards to friends and family with his or her picture on it. This would help people remember that your baby has a birthday coming up while at the same time extend your holiday greetings for them!

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Christmas shopping does not have to be stressful. Well, not if you follow MerryStocking.com’s tips!

1. Make a gift list and stick with it.

Before even entering the mall, make sure that you have a list of people that you’d give gifts to. This would make sure that you do not end up buying something out of impulse.

2. Buy quality products.

Think about the person you are giving the gift to. What do you think he or she would like or want? Then seek out inexpensive but durable gifts. Same thing with Christmas cards, you should make it apparent that you wanted to impress the recipient and make them feel special and remembered.

3. Shop early.

There is no rule that says that you can not buy gifts early on. Buy gifts months or weeks before can certainly save you from the hassle of elbowing your way through the aisle, the horrendous traffic and the mad rush for a parking space. What is more, you can get more discounts when you shop early. It also helps when you are ordering personalized Christmas gifts. Advanced shopping ensures that your gift will arrive on time to the recipient.

4. Avoid the rush. Shop online.

If you find yourself still needing to buy gifts and you hate the thought of the Christmas crowd, then you should shop on a weekday morning, where the crowd is the thinnest. Or you can shop online. Just be sure that the site you are buying from is a reputable and secure site.

5. Keep the receipts.

Do not throw away your receipts before your recipient has opened the gift and you see that it is perfect. You might find that a toy you gave your son has a missing part, or a sweater is too big for your sister. It is always good to be able to have these replaced.

MerryStockings.com has a wide array of Christmas cards, Christmas ornaments, Christmas stockings that could be the perfect gift for friends and family. Make them feel special with a personalized gift this Christmas!

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It is your baby’s first Christmas and you want it to be perfect. Your baby deserves the best so you should take time out to choose your ornaments, decorations and other stuff to commemorate this special milestones.

What is more, you are not only marking a milestone for your baby and your family, you are also building a tradition.

MerryStockings.com has these suggestions to making your baby’s first Christmas truly memorable.

1. Personalized stockings. A beautiful felt applique Christmas stocking that bears your baby’s name would be an eye catcher! Not only that, these personalized Christmas stockings may be re-used over the years, so that even as your baby grows into a toddler or into childhood, he or she will have a beautiful personalized stockings to peer into come Christmas morning!

Nativity Baby. Give your Christmases a special meaning, as it depicts the manger scene with felt, embroidery floss, sequins and beads!

Princess. If you have a darling little daughter, go ahead and splurge on her with a Princess designed personalized stocking.

Our Family. You can also go family friendly with the Our Family Bucilla Felt Applique Christmas Stocking Kit, featuring Mr. and Mrs. Snowman and their precious little baby!

2. Personalized ornaments. At MerryStockings.com we take pride to have products that are beautiful and enduring, making it easy for you to start and perpetuate Christmas traditions, especially for the newest addition to the family! Take a look at this Christmas photo ornament that features your baby’s picture!

3. Tell the world with a personalized holiday card! A personalized holiday card that depicts your baby is a great way to update your family and friends as to how baby looks like right now. This is great for friends and family who live from afar and would be pleasantly delighted to see just how cute your baby is. Especially if he or she was recently born. A baby’s smile never fails to warm hearts and bring a chuckle or sighs of admiration to those who see it. What a great way to greet your friends and family a Merry Christmas!

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Please see part I here.

7. I’ll Be Home for Christmas. Christmas is a time for family and friends. But there are people who work or live away from their families. I’ll Be Home for Christmas has become some sort of anthem for these people. First recorded by Bing Crosby during the Second World War, it was meant to be dedicated to the men serving in the war away from their families. A more recent recording by Josh Groban comforted the families of men and women serving in the wars in the Middle East.

6. Jingle Bell Rock. Widely considered as the first Christmas song to fall under the rock and roll genre, Jingle Bell Rock enjoyed six appearances on the Billboard charts since it was first recorded by Bobby Helms in 1957. Released just two days before Christmas, it went straight up to Number 6 during its first year. This has sold more than 120 million copies to date!

5. Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas. First heard in the 1944 movie, Meet Me in St. Louis, this Judy Garland original was used in the movie to comfort a five year old girl in the movie.

4. The Little Drummer Boy. While it was written in 1941 and popularized even further by an animated TV movie in 1968, this song gained more prominence after Bing Crosby and David Bowie sang it in a 1977 Christmas special.

3. Christmas Shoes. Not all Christmas songs are lively, joyful and happy. Christmas Shoes is one of these sad songs that tells the story of a boy who wanted to buy the perfect pair of shoes for his mother who is dying. The poignant images of the 2000 Christmas song by Newsong touched a lot of people that it became an instant hit and was made into a TV movie starring Max Morrow and Rob Lowe.

2. All I Want for Christmas Is You. This is just one of the “new songs” we have on this list. First heard on Mariah Carey’s Merry Christmas album released in 1994, the song has become a widely received Christmas hit selling more than four million copies worldwide.

1. O Holy Night. Probably the oldest Christmas song in this list, O Holy Night was written bye Adolphe Adam in 1847 and has been recorded by artists such as N’sync, Jewel, Placido Domingo and Jim Brickman, over the years.

O Holy Night also holds the distinction as the first music to be broadcasted on radio after Reginald Fessenden played the song on his violin on Christmas Eve in 1906.

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Christmas songs enliven your spirits during the holiday season. Think about it, even as you go out of shopping malls tired and exhausted from all the Christmas shopping you have just finished, or shuttling from one party to another, just singing carols or hearing these songs played on the radio is a great way to pick up your mood.

As children, we have been taught the words to these songs. We sang them out loud even as we grew into adulthood. Who would forget the many Christmas nights when their whole family would gather around the fire and just sing.

It does not matter if you do not have a great voice, or if you sing out of key, these Christmas songs brought the family closer together. It makes you feel the season in your heart and helps you to celebrate.

There is, however, a disagreement as to what songs are to be considered the top Christmas songs. Ask 10 people what their favorite Christmas songs are, and chances are you would get a list long enough to rival the Christmas wish list of 10 children!

MerryStockings.com has its own list of great Christmas songs. Here they are:

10. Happy Xmas (War is Over). John Lennon made this classic Christmas song during the many wars of that time. Recorded in 1971, it is a combination of a call for peace and a Christmas song.

9. The Christmas Song. This is probably the best Christmas song that Nat King Cole has ever recorded, and certainly one of the best known song in the United States. Who would not know its first lines: Chestnuts roasting on an open fire.

8. Santa Claus Is Coming to Town. This 1934 Christmas song has been recorded and re-recorded by a lot of artists and musicians over the years. Rock music aficionados, however, treasure the version recorded by Bon Jovi and Bruce Springsteen in 2003.

Tomorrow, we bring you the rest of our Top 10 Best Christmas Songs!

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With all the parties and Christmas dinners during the season, food is abundant and your family might find it tiresome to eat Christmas leftovers a week or two after the holidays. Do not throw these leftovers away as you can easily turn these into sumptuous meals.

MerryStockings.com shows you three simple ways to help you deal with Christmas leftovers.

1. Whip up a creamy and nutritious soup. Leftover meat like ham, chicken and turkey could be used as a nutritious and yummy soup base. After Christmas, you can dice these up and boil them. Add in some vegetables such as potatoes, carrots, asparagus, tomatoes and let it simmer. Add evaporated milk or cheese to make it creamy. Season to taste.

You now have delicious hot soup that is perfect for the chilly Christmas weather!

2. Meat pies and meat rolls. If you like to bake, you can easily turn leftover meat, turkey stuffing and vegetables into nutritious meat pies or meat rolls. Prepare the crust and just throw them all together while adding cream, cheese or beaten eggs.

3. Use them as garnish. If you are cooking vegetables, you might want to use the leftover meat as garnishing. This would make the vegetable dish you are preparing more flavorful and would improve the appearance of the dish.

An all-time favorite is getting cooked macaroni, mix it up with mayonnaise, fruits, and raisins. This would be a great fruit salad made even better if you put in shredded chicken, turkey or ham in it.

Of course, you could always look up recipes online to help you come up with a delicious dish. There are countless of recipes available out there. But if you simply do not have the time or you fear that the leftovers would spoil, then these tips can help make sure that you do not throw anything away!

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How to Have a Budget Christmas

Christmas has always been associated with spending money.  From extravagant parties to flowing food to expensive gifts, we have all been programmed to treat Christmas like there was no tomorrow.  But the realities have changed.  The whole world is experiencing a recession, and many are out of their jobs and unable to find one.  Does that mean that Christmas should not be celebrated?

NOPE!  But there will be changes to the way one should celebrate Christmas.  Do not worry, Christmas on a budget would not be any less fun!  In fact, in some ways, it brings you closer to your family and friends!  MerryStockings.com shows you how!

1. Homemade Gifts.  When working within a tight budget, your first instinct is to cut on the number of people who you are going to give gifts to.  While this may work, it might be uncomfortable receiving a gift from Mrs. O’Grady down the corner while you crossed her out of your list.  Home-baked cookies and brownies are a good way to get around this.  Ingredients are relatively inexpensive and you can save more by cooking in batches.  All you need is some nice cellophane paper, some ribbons and you are good to go!

2. Do a Good Deed.  In lieu of gifts, offer to do a good deed to your family and friends.  Take your sister’s dog out for a walk for a whole week, or mow your parents’ lawn every week for a month.

3. Invite friends over for a great time.  If you are into some kind of craft, then you can invite your friends over for craft time.  You can also host a movie night and spring for pop corn.  This would take the place of an elaborate Christmas party and yet be no less memorable!

4. Christmas Food.  While you may have had a feast last year, it is time to plan your Christmas dinner this year.  If you can afford it, do not scrimp on food, but do plan out how much food you are going to prepare.  Limit Christmas dinner to close family members.  On Christmas morning, be creative with the leftovers.  You can use leftover Christmas ham for sandwiches, or you could turn it into nutritious and delicious soup.  If you have family nearby, it might also be a good time to take them up on their invitation to have Christmas dinner with them.

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It is an exciting time of the year as you prepare to spend your first Christmas as husband and wife. There are a lot of things to do and a lot of things to figure out such as what to do on Christmas day or where to spend Christmas eve.

Admittedly, it is a time of adjustments. Sometimes you are thrown into a dilemma as to how to resolve things such as getting invited by both families on the same night for Christmas dinner, or how to get closer to in-laws. But nothing could spoil the fun you two want to have on your first Christmas together.

Being newly-weds, you want the world to know of the momentous decision you made to share your life with somebody forever. How do you do that? MerryStockings.com shows you how to share your love this Christmas.

1. Personalized Holiday Cards. A good way to reconnect with old friends and share with them the great news is to send them personalized Christmas cards. Nowadays, you could select your favorite photograph from your wedding or other scenes in your life together to create a homey and affectionate card. You could then fill in a greeting yourself or ask them how they were after detailing how your life has been as a married couple.

2. Personalized Holiday Ornaments. Another way to share your love this Christmas is by sending out personalized photo ornaments that features you and your spouse. This would make a very unique statement that would surely excite your friends enough to call you and ask how you are.

3. Invite friends and family over for dinner. Throw a lavish Christmas party at your new house or apartment. This would help your friends get to know your spouse and you to get to know your spouse’s friends. It could also put you in a good position to get to know your in-laws better.

The good thing with spending your first Christmas together is, that if done right, all these could very well set the stage for beautiful and enduring Christmas traditions for the future. So think about what you are going to do for this first Christmas together and do it well!

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In this day and age when Christmas is equated more to gifts rather than love and family, it is necessary to make a conscious effort to make Christmas more meaningful for each member of the family.  MerryStockings.com gives you five tips on how to make Christmas more significant for your family.

1. Play Christmas songs.  A good way to get everybody in the spirit of Christmas is to play Christmas songs around the house every day.  It could be a nightly ritual where everyone sits in the living room to listen or perhaps even sing to Christmas songs.
2. Visit family members.  Christmas season is usually a down time for most people at work, this would leave your weekend free.  Consider driving out of town or across it to visit some family member that you may not have seen for a long time.  This would give you and the kids the chance to reconnect with family.

3. Go reminiscing.  Take out old Christmas cards and share a story about the year you received them or about the person or family who sent the cards out to you.  Talk about past Christmases, how you celebrated it when you were young, or how you and your spouse celebrated it the first time.  Talk about how you celebrated your kids’ first Christmases.

4. Good Deed on Christmas Day. Have everyone in the family list 20 to 30 simple things that they want done.  It could be as simple as “having my bicycle fixed” or as backbreaking as “cleaning out the garage” or “help painting my room”.  Post this list in your living room, while instructing each member of the family to pick out one good deed that they should do for each family member before or on Christmas day.

5. Gather everybody up for the Christmas photo.  Have everybody wear their best clothes in a Christmas color (i.e., red, green, blue, white, silver, gold) and gather them up for a photograph.  It could be done professionally in a studio or you could ask a friend to take the photo for you.  This photograph could then be used for your family’s personalized holiday cards or Christmas ornaments!

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