Ahh, vacation! Whether it’s the beach, the mountains or something in between, no summer feels complete without a memorable vacation. But summer isn’t the only time for a great trip. 

The holidays can be a surprisingly good chance to take a break from the holiday rush, and the best part is that since most schools have a holiday break anyway, if you plan it right you can minimize the school time your kids miss. If your travel plans do run longer, some school districts have a ‘contract’, where if your kids do miss time from school, say for a Christmas excursion to New York, they can get their assignments in advance and work on them in spare moments during the trip. You’ll want to check with school policy and work with your child’s teachers to make everything as smooth as possible.

While travel can be enlightening, consider adding some educational opportunities to your travel itinerary, such as a museum or a cultural exhibit. You might even come back a little wiser yourself. 

Where you travel and if you travel at all will depend on your kids. You’ll want to consider their age, habits, and their wishes. Not every child wants to be pulled out of school and not every kid enjoys travel. If you’re bringing the kids along make sure it’s what they want and plan things for them to do. A vacation isn’t much of a getaway if your kids are miserable half the time. 

A holiday vacation isn’t for everyone, but if done right it can be a fun time for the whole family. If you think travel may be in the cards for you and the kiddos this holiday season, check out these additional travel tips. We wish you safe travels!

The holidays can be a lot of fun. You’ve got lights, gifts, parties, and plenty of holiday cheer to share with friends and family. And to top it all off, there’s an abundance of holiday goodies! Whether it’s Grandma’s special Thanksgiving dressing, neighbor Sally’s holiday cookies or Uncle Barney’s ultra-secret eggnog recipe, you have plenty to choose from. The only question is whether you’ll survive all that holiday goodness.

One way to cope is to introduce some healthy alternatives. Lentils can make a great alternative to candied sweet potatoes. How about heart-healthy avocados instead of heavy cream? The possibilities are endless. Have them on hand for your family or bring them to holiday parties. With luck, you can start some new, healthier holiday traditions. 

Another good way to save some calories, is to watch your portion size. It’s a tough one, we admit. Remember that most of those holiday favorites are rich, so a little goes a long way.

Remember also that it’s not just food you have to watch out for. That great holiday eggnog from Uncle Barney’s private stock has as many calories as the average fast-food milkshake. Plus that holiday punch that’s sitting there so colorfully, is probably loaded with sugar. Sometimes it pays to bring your own water.

The holiday season doesn’t have to derail the healthy lifestyle you’ve worked so hard to maintain all year. With a little extra work and attention, you can still have a festive, fun holiday without overloading on the calories. 

If you look at it from afar, December doesn’t really have a lot going for it unless you’re a penguin. It’s the darkest month of the year in the northern hemisphere. There’s also ice and snow in many parts of the country, which sounds all right until you have to drive in it. It’s enough to make you want to skip the whole thing and hibernate ‘til spring. 

Then you drive down a street and see the silver and gold lights glistening on the newly fallen snow or hear a carol ringing out through the frosty air and you’re reminded of the magic of the holidays.

It’s a special time, a time when we hope most people are a little nicer and a little more patient with their fellow human beings. It’s a time when we reconnect with friends and family we haven’t seen all year. Our houses look a little more cheerful and bright. We dig through some old boxes for a dusty photo book or check the TV listings for old favorites like How the Grinch Stole Christmas. We reminisce about Christmases long, long ago or hang a bit of mistletoe. 

It’s true that the weather outside is frightful, but for a little while we don’t mind. Like any kind of magic, holiday magic is fleeting, so take some time to enjoy it. After all, it only comes once a year.

Happy Holidays, everyone!

The holidays are fun, aren’t they? There’s lots of color and excitement. If all goes well, we’ll spend them surrounded by family and friends, building memories that will help us get through the cold winter months. The only major downside is all that holiday merriment comes with a price tag, and if we’re not careful we’ll be feeling the pain in January.

The best way to avoid the post-holiday blues is to plan ahead, and just as importantly, budget ahead. Figure out how much you want to spend and what you want to spend it on. Are you going to be traveling? Hosting a big holiday get-together with friends and family? Is it the year for a big year-end blowout, or do you want something more modest and intimate?

Once you’ve decided what you want, the next step is to do it as economically as possible. That means taking advantage of holiday sales, partnering up with friends and family to save on shipping costs, and to get discounts for bulk purchases. It means buying things out of season when they’re less expensive. If things are less hectic around the holidays, why not try making gifts and decorations instead of just buying them.

When you’re coming up with a holiday budget, don’t just focus on gifts. Sure, they may be the most expensive things, but there are travel expenses and those special ingredients for those equally special holiday meals. Don’t forget about the holiday decorations as well. 

The holidays are a great time. Make it a great time for your wallet as well by planning and budgeting carefully. 

Happy Holidays! 

Every holiday season we’re bombarded with ads showing us all the wonderful things we don’t have. It may be a shiny new car, a slick new mortgage refi or a pearly white smile. Whatever the product, advertisers are sure to remind us how much better our lives would be if we just had ‘Product X.’ 

But what about the blessings we already have? Aren’t they worth something? In many ways that’s the true heart of Thanksgiving.

As a quick exercise, take a look at your life and think of five things you’re grateful for. It could be your house or your job, for example. It could be your education or even that specially signed, limited edition comic book. For most of us, our relationships with other people form the basis of our happiness. Think about your friends and family and how they impact your life. Sure, sometimes they annoy and frustrate you, but chances are your life would be infinitely less rich without them in it, even Uncle Barney with his pointless stories or Sally, the sister who always manages to find a way to get under your skin. 

We’ll still have our troubles and our strife, but in many ways, we’re almost all a lot more blessed than we realize at first. When we’re focused on what we have, rather than worrying endlessly about what we don’t have, it brings a sort of inner peace. The world seems just a little bit brighter, and we can really appreciate what makes the holidays truly special.

Have a blessed Thanksgiving. 

For many of us, the holidays are a time of joy. We’re surrounded by the love of friends and family, awash in a sea of light, color and the blessings of the season. For the less fortunate, the holidays are a little less blessed. Many people not only lack the resources to enjoy the season, but they may lack the basic necessities like adequate food and shelter. Walking in a winter wonderland isn’t nearly as much fun when you don’t have a warm home to return to. That’s where community service can make a major difference in the lives of many.

Giving, whether it be with donations or with your time, creates a cycle of caring. You’ve helped someone, who feels better about life and will in turn perform a kind deed for someone else. One small act can create a chain reaction that makes our world a better place to be. Maybe more than anything else, it exemplifies the true meaning of the holiday spirit.

Even if you’re not a big believer in karma, there are several other more practical reasons to be generous around the holidays. Depending on the charity, you may be eligible for a tax write-off, a nice consolation prize with the end of the tax year approaching. Another reason is that giving doesn’t just help someone else, it helps you. Studies have shown that people who give not only have greater feelings of happiness, but experience lower blood pressure and a lower risk for heart disease.

All in all, it’s a fairly simple concept. Volunteering for the holiday means happier people, a happier community and a happier you. Make the holidays better for someone else. You’ll be surprised at the difference it can make.