Christmas hubs all in one

An interview with my teenage daughter about christmas

I was thinking how hard it is to think about what to get for my teenagers christmas. so i had a brainwave and thought i know...... i will interrview my daughter about what kind of stuff she would like and the talk of trends she talks about with her mates. so i sat her down and had a lengthy discussion and here are the results......

what do you want for christmas

I want a touch screen phone because all my mates have one and i think they are cool also i would like too keep in touch with my mum and dad while i am out.

what touch screen phone would you like

I want the iphone because you can do lots of stuff on it and its cool

apart from the iphone what else would you like

I love doing my hair so please can i have some hair accessories and i also want lots of makup.

What would your ideal christmas be like

I would like to spend our christmas in london..... why i thought and than she told me because i think london is cool and i want to stay in a posh hotel and for it to snow so we can have a snowball fight.

Do you know what christman means

Durh... thats easy it means the day jesus was born and a day of forgiveness where i get to spend more time with my family.

What would be your christmas humbug

To wake up to no presents

Are you looking forward too christmas

yes... very much

What kind of food would you prefer to eat on christmas day

First i would eat my breakfast cerial then i would have my christmas dinner with lots of vegetables and mint sauce and then i will eat my chocolate selection boxes

I asked her to write a list of wat she wants

1: Touch screen phone

2: MP3 player

3; Hair sets

4: Makeup

5: Hair straighteners (G.H.D's)

6: Clothes

7: Nike air max trainors

8: Hair dye (always read instructions)

9: D.V.D's

10: Perfume

Well thats her christmas list now for more questions

Would you prefer to have money

Definetly not..i would rather have gifts because i would spend money all on rubbish.

What gift would you buy your mum if you had £50.00 pound

Oh it would have to be a gold chain with mum on it and a nice bottle of perfume...................

and your dad..!

 a gold ring with dad on it also a deodarant set and pyjama and slipper set.

What about your brothers and sisters

 I am not buying them nothing they will get enough as it is

Whats your best christmas song

 Definetly "Jingle bell rock" because its on home alone

What about best christmas film

 Home alone its so funny

What type of games do you like to play on the day

 I dont cos i have too much to do and presents too play with

Do you like sprouts

 Yes but they make you fart

What are your last thoughts on christmas day

 Hope i get everything on my list and bring on the new year

 So there you have it an interview with my teenage daughter hope it gives you all some ideas on what teenage girls want. Have a good XMAS.

Decorations need not be expensive

Christmas lights come in different sparkling colors that improve the look and atmosphere of your home. there's several places where you are able to put them strategically to generate a magical atmosphere. It can be placed around your windows and doors, hanged by the porch and put around the railings of the stairs. Those are not pricey but twinkling lights brings a great deal of excitement to the children.
Christmas season is highlighted with decorations and blinking lights. It heightens the atmosphere of festivities. Decorating your home can become pricey if you are going to go into details and extravagance. However, if budget is of concerns then you might consider options that can save you currency but generate an equal effect. Here are the following tips that you are able to use in decorating your house without costing much.
Wrapping boxes is also a nice idea. It comes with varying sizes and you must buy different wrappers and ribbons to generate a different look on each. This is most probably the simplest on the pocket when it comes to adding decoration for your home. It does not cost much and it does not take long to wrap boxes, so this is definitely a nice idea. you are able to also surprise your children by putting on top of these boxes the letter Santa has sent for each one of them. During Christmas Eve, you are able to have a miniscule game in finding their respective letters from Santa.
Christmas balls come in different sizes and colors. Filling some glass bowls and vases can make an stunning display. Putting them in several places can extend the look of Christmas in every corner of your house. Making your personalized Christmas balls is also a nice idea. You need some ordinary balls, glue and glitters, then you are off to a nice start in making a pleasant set of décor.
While you are trying to do all these things, get your children to have a break in writing their individual letter to Santa. tell them that Santa would be more willing to grant their wish, knowing that they help their mom preparing the house for Santa's coming. This is one way of getting your children involve in decorating your house.
Presence of Christmas cards around the house is also promoting the spirit of Christmas further. It gives warmth knowing that people are recalling us also, during this season. Place them by the Christmas trees and corner tables. Christmas candles are also part of the decors that ought to not be missed. Light it on early evenings and let the smell linger in the air. it's one way of getting the nice feeling for Christmas.
Decorating for Christmas need not be pricey. it's already pricey as it's, with all the purchasing of presents for everyone. Taking stock on what art materials you've in stock can be a nice start. Think of objects that can be used before making a shopping list for your decoration project. You must let that creative juices flow in order to make fascinating display for Christmas.

Get the kids in the mood

Christmas Decorations

One of the most popular Christmas activity ideas to make decorations that can be used to decorate a Christmas tree or decorate walls, windows or outside. A simple but effective decoration is to create a Christmas wreath from spaghetti, a paper plate, glue and gold or silver spray paint.

As Christmas gets closer there's plenty of different worthwhile Christmas Activity Ideas that you can use to get children in a festive mood and to keep them busy. Children can make decorations, make gifts, make wrapping and cards and cook Christmas goodies.

Children start with a paper plate with a hole cut out of the center. they glue different formed spaghetti pieces around the paper plate wreath to create a pattern. When it is dry it is then spray painted in gold or silver. Using a piece of ribbon it can then be hung on a door or wall.

Christmas Gifts

Children love to make gifts for their relatives or friends. This is a favourite Christmas activity as not only do they get to have fun making it but they also get to experience the enjoyment of giving the gift. Of work some children will get so excited about giving the gift that they won't be able to wait until Christmas to give it.

Christmas Wrapping

in case you are looking for Christmas activity ideas, it worthwhile thinking about making wrapping paper or Christmas cards. The paper can be made by decorating sizable sheets of white paper. Children can paint them in red and green or print them with sponge cut into shapes like stars or Christmas trees.

A calendar is a simple gift for a child to make. The calendar can be printed on a computer and the child can decorate the surrounding. This can be painted or drawn or decorated with a mosaic effect using small pieces of paper. If it is laminated it will last the whole year.

Christmas Cooking

Christmas cooking is another favourite Christmas activity idea. Children can make candies or fudges which can then become a Christmas gift. Christmas cookies may also be made and then given as a gift.

Another simple but effective type of wrapping paper can be made by using crayons to draw a repeated Christmas shape or design all over the paper. This might be as simple as covering the paper with stars or holly. The paper can then be painted with a light red or green wash. The crayon will show through the wash. This looks effective if gold or silver crayons are used.

there's plenty of different Christmas activity ideas that can be used to entertain children in the lead up to Christmas. Why not try making decorations, gifts, wrapping or cooking Christmas goodies. But don't cease there. Christmas activity ideas might also include Christmas puzzles, games and other for fun activities that might also be educational.

Dinner does not have to be a nightmare

If you've taken on the responsibility of cooking this year's Christmas dinner, either for you and partner or for even more relatives members, then you may be worried about the way it will go. However, here to help are 10 steps to success.

First of all, don't panic. Chances are everyone you're inviting will know this is your first Christmas dinner and will be both understanding and willing to help. Even if you select to do it alone, avoiding stress will be the first step to success.

Even if you're doing all the cooking by yourself, that doesn't mean you can't get some help before it all begins. Ask your relatives and friends for advice, your father if they has lots of experience of cooking Christmas dinners.

the next step is to pick what your Christmas dinner is going to involve. Will it be turkey and all the trimmings? Goose? Or even something entirely different. It could be a nice suggestion to keep it elementary for your first one or share responsibility. For example, if you're having turkey and pork together, why not you cook the turkey and ask your father to do the pork?

As well as cookware, it is advisable to make sure your cooker does its job correctly with correct cooking times. If you follow the recipe you have and it doesn't work, it could be that your cooker isn't up to the job. If you can change to it, that's fine. Alternatively, purchasing a brand spanking new cooker or using a friend's kitchen may be useful options.

If your preparation is correct, the last thing you require is to see your hard work and skills to be going to waste due to bad cookware. If yours has seen better days, it's a nice suggestion to invest in a brand spanking new set to make sure everything cooks perfectly. You may require a brand spanking new pan for vegetables or meet dish. Either way, invest in quality and it will show in your cooking.

It's now time to start practising. it is advisable to try a complete run through between now and December 25th, but if that's not an option then at least make positive you've practised cooking a turkey as this is likely to be the most important element of a successful dinner.

You'll require to make positive that you get the right ingredients, so don't skimp when going shopping. Also, if you require a fresh turkey, make positive you get it ordered lovely and early so there's no mad panic in the run up to the giant day.

Give yourself lots of time. If you're adventurous along with your plan it's only going to increase the likelihood of something going wrong on the day. You'll also require to make the technique as stress-free as feasible, so don't put much pressure on yourself with time constraints.

Plan your schedule, so you know what you require to do by what time. Some people select to cook the meat the night before, while others do it all on the day. Either way, make positive every step of the recipe is laid out in a plan that you can follow.

Have fun with it. This will be your first Christmas dinner - the first of plenty of, hopefully - so make positive you have fun doing the cooking. If you worry much, it's likely to finish badly. If things go off-plan at any point, call a member of the relatives and ask for a tiny advice.

Best toys this year so far

On Christmas morning, every parent desires to see the look of excitement on their children's faces as they eagerly rip off the wrapping paper on the Christmas gifts that you carefully hid away for several weeks. Let's face it; it's getting increasingly difficult to WOW the children with so plenty of new toys constantly being added to the market. The pressure is on to top last Christmas' gift while staying within your budget in these trying economic times so you'll be pleased to find out that the list of hottest Christmas toys for 2010 has something to suit everyone's budget & all the toys on this list are guaranteed to wow your children on Christmas morning.

Top 10 Toys for Christmas

Since the release of the first Toy Story film back in 1995, Toy Story Toys have been a hit with children all over the world. With the release of Toy Story 3 earlier this year, our favourite space ranger is back! Jet Pack Buzz Lightyear is set to be the most popular Toy Story Toy this year.

1. Jet Pack Buzz Lightyear

Zhu Zhu hamsters were huge in 2009 & they're set to be big sellers again in 2010. Priced at around £10, they're simple on the pocket. Cheap, cute & collectible are the top qualities that make Zhu Zhu pets one of the top toys for Christmas 2010.

2. Zhu Zhu Pets

3. Ben 10 Action Cruiser

Cartoon Network series Ben 10 is about 10-year elderly Ben who has the power to turn himself in to alien creatures by means of a special device attached to his arm. A number of Ben 10 action figures have been popular in the toy market but the hot toy for Christmas 2010 is the Ben 10 Action Cruiser which transforms in to battle mode to battle the aliens!

Could your infant be the next David Bailey or Annie Leibovitz? Nurture your tiny photographer's creative side with the VTech Kidizoom camera. VTech offer robustness & functionality with the most popular kid's digital cameras around.

4. VTech Kidizoom VTech Kidizoom Camera Plus

A singing & speaking rubbish truck! Stinky the rubbish truck will be a hot commodity this year. With several weeks to go before Christmas & it is already out of stock in plenty of high street stores. If you're lucky to get your hands on Stinky, your children will absolutely love it.

5. Stinky the rubbish Truck

6. Bananagrams Game

The hottest new word game is Bananagrams! Similar to Scrabble but the difference is that everybody can play simultaneously instead of waiting for turns so each game can be over in as tiny as 5 minutes. It's a great way to help children with spelling as well as a fun game for all the relatives!

7. Nerf N-Strike Stampede

The latest blaster from Nerf is the Stampede ECS. children will have hours of outdoor fun with this fully automatic blaster. It can fire up to 50 foam darts without reloading as well as a number of accessories are available to customise it.

Continuing with the Toy Story 3 theme, this 92 piece Lego set allows your infant to build RC (Andy's remote controlled car) & recreate scenes from the film. It comes complete with Woody & Buzz Lightyear figures & is suitable for ages 6 & up.

8. LEGO Toy Story 7590 Woody & Buzz to the Rescue

9. child Annabell

The child Annabell doll by Zapf is like a real child! he sucks on her dummy, gurgles, drinks from her bottle & will even cry when you take her bottle away! Rock her gently & he will go to sleep but wake her from her sleep & she'll cry real tears. child Annabell is suitable for children aged 3 & up & is a big hit with tiny girls.

10. Mookie Peppa Pig Sit n Bounce

The Mookie Peppa Pig Sit n Bounce space hopper is for ages 3 & up & with its chunky grip handles to help keep children steady, it will provide hours of fun bouncing around in the house or garden. it is basically inflated & deflated so that it can be tidily stored away when not in use or can be taken on vacation with you. So there you have it, the hottest Christmas toys for 2010 ranging from £6.49 to £79.99 so there is something to suit everyone's pocket. As with every year, the top 10 toys for Christmas are popular & sometimes sell out so avoid the crowds by purchasing online & avoid disappointment by purchasing early!

Help guide for finding the best toys for your kids this christmas 2009

If your looking for quality information about the best prezzies around this christmas  then you have come to the right place. Maybe you like to get your kid the best selling toy or the toy that every kid is talking about or your curiosity just got the better of you and you wanted to see what this hub page was all about. Well i have been doing a lot of browsing lately for toys myself as i have children and i have come across some cool toys and some damn right weird ones too.

Firstly i have come across a new toy called ZHU ZHU Hamsters and they seem to be a very big seller. They are a collection of five hamsters that move about and interact with each other and the child that plays with them. The hamsters all have their own names and different characteristics. Theses hamsters come with a lot of add ons, accesories which you have to buy seperatly. These toys are being targeted for the age group of four to ten years of age due to small parts. But if you want one of these fantatic toys hurry well in advance.

Another toy well i wouldnt say toy. I mean games console that is selling really well is nintendo ds consoles and DSI,s. I know because i have struggled immensely to try and win one of ebay for my kid. You can pick these up reletavely cheap from off ebay nowadays but that doesnt mean that they are yesterday's toys.....Far from it especially the DSI console which has so many other features and gadgets with it.

Another big one flying off the shelfes is the ipod's especially the new colour ipod nanos. If you have a teen  i highly reccomend one of these... especially if you want to keep them quiet for a while. Probably alot better than getting them a stereo as you wouldnt get any peace and quiet with all the music blaring.

If your the bargain hunter type...well who isn't in times like this just log onto ebay as most of the stuff sold on here is reduced by half. Another great offer i have seen is woolworths online did you hear me right yes you did woolworths online. They are doing this great offer at the moment where you buy 3 for the price of 2 on selected toys.

Oh yeah i almost forgot as well to mention that when you spend £50.00 at argos they give you a free £5.00 voucher and £10.00 voucher for £100 spent.

Whatever you decide to get your kids this christmas i think they will appreciate the true meaning of christmas is not all about receiving but also giving as well and knowing that christmas is about the birth of baby jesus.

Hope you find what toys your looking for this year but if its the popular toy you want book or buy in advance as nobody likes dissapointment on christmas day.

HELPFUL TIP: I have noticed if you get cheaper prezzies kids will have more and less for the more expensive ones which has caused many arguments on christmas day in my house. For example my teenage daughter got a high priced computer console  and a few other prezzies. When she looked at the other kids piles of presents she said it wasnt fair but we had to explain that she had had the same amount of money as the others just that there presents wasnt as expensive has her one console so technically they got more to open cos they were cheaper.