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Valentines Day - Ideas & Issues

By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=James_Tomerson]James Tomerson

Stores and boutiques all across the city get plundered on the day of the Valentine's Day. It happens not only in your city but all across the globe, as people continue to do and celebrate things all love and romance. How much overpriced trinkets and flowers may be, people keep purchasing these and say 'I Love You' to their special others. People are looking for innovative ideas to express their romantic message to their partners in the most special way, different from everyone else doing it. But, do you think Valentine's Day to be a purely commercial venture? Look at those card manufacturers and red rose sellers trying to shoot their revenue to the maximum. Given below are some issues that may have you take a closer look at this romantic festival. Read on to more about the ins and outs of Valentine's Day.

First and foremost, the Valentine's Day does not belong to any patron saint, a feast day or any other religious festival. It looks as if the day is meant only to fill the gap between Christmas and Easter. Saying all this does not in any way reflects something otherwise. Definitely, it is a worthy day in more senses than one. But, think about those ruthless establishments and organizations that only want you to spend more and more for their own business benefits. Consider their idea behind this Valentine's Day that most of us take so very romantically serious. These organizations try to take undue advantage of our seriousness. Isn't that true?

Another important aspect of a Valentine's Day is that it forces even those people out to get into a romantic mood that have not displayed even a bit of love or romance throughout the year. This is one of the positive aspects of the romantic festival. But, just consider the other side of it. Look at the average malls, florists, confectionaries and the undergarments shops. They are making the most of it, as hordes of the middle aged men seem to be busy guessing the size of the women they sleep with every night. The florists and the chocolate shops cash in on the romantic seriousness of the people. Chocolate shops and florists begin taking and booking orders weeks in advance while restaurants almost double the prices of the Champaign. Have you thought about it?

There is one darker side to the Valentine's Day. Those who are single feel exploited when they do not receive even a single card. It is really very humiliating when the next day your friends ask you about the number of cards you received on the Valentine's Day. What would you say? You would like to lie by saying you received one or two. Those who are even better at lying might just say that they did not get a single one and pretend that simply do not care about it. Great idea, right? But, actually everyone thinks and cares about it. The Valentine's Day might just arrive to make you aware of the fact that you have no one in your life. Don't you really feel exploited?

The Valentine's Day also incites people to show their wealth in a number of ways, because it happens to be quite provoking. Couples in love demonstrate the importance of being in love by purchasing expensive perfumes and jewelry items. The demonstration also sends signals to those of us who are missing out. And when we have no one to send gifts to, we simply pretend festivals like Valentine's Day just do not exist.

But however clear we may be about the Valentine's industry, the fact is when some one sends us a heart shaped chocolate box on this day, we would be flying among the starts the very next moment. What's your idea about Valentine's Day?

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Christmas Gift Ideas

By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Karen_M_Ciancio]Karen M Ciancio

Some of the best Christmas gift ideas are heartfelt gifts from your own kitchen. There are many wonderful ideas for Christmas gifts to make that will delight friends and family alike and are not difficult at all.

Home made gifts from the kitchen appeal to young and old alike. After all, who wouldn't appreciate a tin of your trademark holiday cookies (or soon to be trademark if you start now!), or a box of sweet and crunchy nut brittle?

Here are several Christmas gift ideas that may be inexpensive but look impressive and come from the heart.

You can create a "bake a treat" gift basket with a favorite recipe (or bake a batch of the actual cookies or mini loaf the recipe is for), along with a colorful tea towel, the baking pan or muffin tin required to make the recipe, plus any other necessary utensils, such as measuring cup, stirring spoons, a citrus zester, or a whisk. Wrap it all up in cellophane with a beautiful ribbon and it will look like it came from the best kitchen shop.

Buy a pretty mug or teapot and fill it with your friends favorite homemade candies or special cookies. As with the gift basket, taking care to wrap it beautifully makes it look like it came from a specialty shop.

Homemade truffles are actually quite easy and relatively inexpensive to make. Placed individually in festive paper or foil cups and packed in a pretty gold box with a red bow, they make a very tasty and thoughtful gift, perfect to take to any gathering as a hostess thank you gift. Here is an easy recipe for chocolate truffles, perfect as a hand made gift from the heart.

Chocolate Truffles

6 ounces semisweet chocolate chips
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 tablespoons powdered sugar
3 egg yolks
1 tablespoon rum
cocoa

Place the chocolate chips in the top of a double boiler and bring the water to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and cook until the chocolate melts. Add the butter and sugar, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Remove from the heat. Add the yolks, one at a time, beating with an electric mixer after each addition. Stir in the rum. Pour the mixture into a bowl. Cover and let sit for 12-24 hours in a cool dry place. (Do not refrigerate). Shape the mixture into 1 inch balls and roll them in the cocoa. Freeze for 1 hour. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

Makes about 2 dozen.

Many of us visit friends and family during the holiday season and it is always thoughtful to bring along a little something for the hostess. In addition to truffles, consider baking one or more mini loaves of your favorite sweet breads, and presenting them nicely wrapped in cellophane. It makes a much appreciated gift.

You can see that with a little creativity and just a bit of effort you can make your own unique Christmas gifts and show the special people in your life just how much you care.

Karen Ciancio is a fan of all things cooking related. Her website [http://www.cookingnook.com]Cookingnook.com contains recipes, cooking tips, diet and nutrition information. Visit the site for more [http://www.cookingnook.com/christmas-gifts.html]Christmas gift ideas, with great ideas for everyone on your list.

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Terrifying Halloween Invitations

By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=James_Lamport-Burr]James Lamport-Burr

Each year Halloween comes and goes, and each year you get the same old stale Halloween invitations that invites you to the same old stale Halloween party. Sounds exciting doesn't it? Nobody is going to be excited about going to a party that has a very stale, monotone invitation that asks you to attend a Halloween party. The invitation is the first thing that a person is going to see when they are invited to your party, and in order to make sure that they come to your party excited, you need to spice up your Halloween invitations.

Invitations have been around for hundreds of years. They are used for birthdays, anniversaries, Christmas parties and any other event that is worth celebrating. When it comes to Halloween invitations, you should not be afraid to spice up the invitations and be a little creative, because this is one of the few nights of the year that people should be excited about attending an event.

Since Halloween is an event that happens every year, it can be hard to get excited for it all the time. Having kids does help get you excited, simply for the fact that it is fun to dress them up and take them out trick-or-treating. Parties have become much more popular in today's society, instead of going out late getting candy, many people are opting to stay inside to a costume style Halloween party. Even with the party, in order to get excited about it, you need to have terrifying Halloween invitations to get you in the expected mood.

Halloween invitations come in many different shapes and sizes. The majority are very simple and very cheap looking, but there are some that take the yearly festivities to a new level. Some invitations can be custom made to meet the guest, or some Halloween invitations can even come with electronic voices attached when you open the card to scare the recipient.

Halloween is supposed to be a time for fun and mucking around, and unless you receive an appropriate invitation, you may find yourself not looking forward to the big day. [http://www.partysuppliesonline.net/party-invites/halloween-invitation]Halloween invitations are the first thing guests receive when they are thinking about coming to your party, the better the invitation, the better chance they have at coming and the better chance that they will have a good time. Halloween invitations are the most pivotal part of any Halloween party. The more enthusiasm that you have in your invitations, the more enthusiastic your party will be, and the more enthusiastic the party, the better the fun for not only you, but all of your creepy ghoulish guests.

James Lamport-Burr is a full time Financial Accountant and part-time Internet Marketer. Who's passions include parties, business, stock markets, sports and making the most of life. James is currently in the process of creating the best ever home made Halloween costume, it's going to be amazing. [http://www.partysuppliesonline.net/]PartySuppliesOnline.net

For excellent party supplies with numerous Halloween specials and costumes, plus great party tips and ideas to help you host the best party ever!

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