Christmas is a lot of people’s favorite time of the year but with so much to plan and prepare for that special season, it goes without saying that everyone needs a few Christmas tips to get things easily and quickly done in a most effective, organized and creative manner.

• Christmas is many people’s favorite holiday of the year but with so much to organize and prepare for that special holiday.

Here are some helpful Christmas tips and ideas which you may find useful as you leave yourself more time to enjoy the Christmas holiday with your family and friends.

Contents 1 Gifts 2 Decorations 3 Food 3.1 Handy Christmas tips 4 References 4.1 External links

[edit] Gifts

• Christmas gifts are one of the key attractions of Christmas. As a parent, Christmas may be a giving you a headache because you need to know what is the most popular Christmas gifts are for kids. Christmas Gifts are quite a difficult thing to choose.

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• Gift tips - where to buy your gifts

• Save money sending festive E-cards instead of costly paper ones www.foe.co.uk/cards

• Use less wrapping paper

[edit] Decorations

• Some of us like to decorate our homes the same way every year. That’s our traditional way of decorating and we are comfortable with that.

• Consider purchasing a live tree that can be planted after the holidays.

• Christmas tree recycling tips

• Slam the cut tree down on the ground stump first before you buy it. If a lot of needles fall off, this one's a dud.

• Cut at least an inch off the trunk just before you put it in the tree stand. This will help the tree absorb water.

• Leave the tree outside until you're ready to decorate it. The air inside is generally dryer and will suck moisture out of your tree.

• Your tree stand should hold at least a gallon of water. A 6-foot tree goes through a gallon every two days, so anything less won't cut it.

• To save energy and money, use fewer lights strands on your tree.

• Consider replacing standard holiday lights with strings of LED (light-emitting diodes) lights.

• Use alternative decorations

• Recycle any cards you receive.

• Check that your council recycle real trees.

• Tips for holiday lights.

[edit] Food

• Celebrating christmas with a vegetarian in the family

• How to stay healthy over the christmas holidays

• Say "no" to unwanted, unnecessary shopping bags.

• If you are entertaining

• Buy seasonal, local produce and loose not pre-packed vegetables.

• Avoid using disposable plates and cups.

• Compost vegetable leftovers.

• Re-use and recycle aluminium foil.

• Use a home shopping delivery service.

• Beat the bird! - Left over turkey tips.

[edit] Handy Christmas tips

• Cash in your rewards My tip is to save your supermarket savings stamps! Now that most supermarkets do more than just food; it really is worth filling up some cards with stamps through the year and saving loyalty points so that in November and December you can go on a spree with "free" money, and obviously get more of what you want/need!

• Get cracking! I buy my crackers just after Christmas when they are all reduced, and usually get a couple of really nice boxes of luxury ones dirt-cheap. I then put them away with my Christmas decorations for use the following year. The same also works with tableware (papercloths, napkins etc).

• Remember what you've bought! If you buy presents through the year like I do, make sure you keep a list of what you've bought and who it is for. This saves buying a present for someone you've already bought for.

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[edit] References

[edit] External links

Christmas Tips Tons of Christmas Tips, Ideas, and Help