Time to Plan a Holiday to Beat Those Winter Blues

The nights are drawing in and for your very first time in my memory, we woke up to snow this morning which is unheard of in November in central and southern England. This time on the year is pretty miserable at the best of times with quick days and no warmth inside sun even to the occasional times we possess a clear day.

A minimum of on your days off you can get wrapped and go for a walk and get some fresh air, on the other hand, work days are just bleak. Driving to and from work within the dark from November to February is no fun with morning fogs, rain, icy roads and snow causing the inevitable traffic jams making the days longer and a lot more tiring.

On top of all this there is certainly the shopping for Christmas with the shops full of people desperately searching for presents. Whilst I enjoy meeting up with up with loved ones and friends at Christmas once New Year is through the following two months really are a fairly dismal prospect.

A lot of people find this time of year depressing and have even provided it a name described as SAD syndrome which in a nutshell is a lack of sun plus the well being this gives you. There is certainly nothing better than taking a week out during the winter to cheer yourself up and recharge your batteries.

We have twice gone away at Christmas or New Year and to become honest it misses the buzz of home, for the reason that sitting while in the sun just does not do it for me on Christmas day strangely enough, due to the fact I feel out of sync with my surroundings.

We look to get away late January which gives you something to look forward to and when you come back spring is only a month away plus the light is already beginning to return. A quick week within the Canaries, Sharm El Sheikh, Southern Spain or a little further afield to Cape Verde is just the ticket and we simply book a week off and check the long variety weather forecast and we are off.

Not only is it a lot quieter than going away at Christmas it’s about 50 % the price and by leaving it to the last minute you can get a bargain holiday and cheap parking at the airport.

To find out more about this topic, visit 5 Day Weather Forecast UK

This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php
Five Filters featured site: So, Why is Wikileaks a Good Thing Again?.

View the original article here

Holiday Family Traditions

This blog is dedicated to information about child development and parenting that individuals can take and apply to their family. It is also meant to bring up family life issues that we may not normally think about. We have authors who write on a variety of topics, such as infancy, toddlers, teens, fatherhood, grandparenthood, etc.

This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php
Five Filters featured article: Beyond Hiroshima - The Non-Reporting of Falluja's Cancer Catastrophe.

View the original article here

Changing the Focus of Our Families this Holiday Season

This truly is the most wonderful time of the year. I love the focus on service and gratitude and the potential to teach these things to our children. I never think it lasts long enough, but it’s important to take advantage of all the opportunities we have to serve.

Helping our children focus on something more than the gifts they hope to receive can be a challenge… it can seem downright impossible. We are bombarded with commercial after commercial advertising the latest gadgets, toys, and clothes.

How do you counteract that and change the focus from ‘to: me’ to “from: me’?

Providing our children with plenty of opportunities to serve and planning activities as a family to serve is a way to continually help our children stay grounded amidst all the crazy consumerism. It can be easier than you think.

Sometimes our drawback is that we don’t know who needs help or how best to give it. A little time browsing the internet, phone book, or even just looking around your community will provide you with all you need to know.

Some basic ideas for serving with your family can include:

-???????? Local food bank

-???????? United Way

-???????? Local Shelter or soup kitchen

-???????? Retirement home

-???????? Children’s hospital

-???????? Serving your neighbors

-???????? Serving in your families (as seen in this post here)

For a longer list of ideas including websites download this Google Doc:

What does your family do to serve? Do you notice a change in your children’s focus when you do serve?

*****************************************************
Enjoy what you just read? Subscribe to our posts or become a follower.

This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php
Five Filters featured article: Beyond Hiroshima - The Non-Reporting of Falluja's Cancer Catastrophe.

View the original article here