Greeting Cards

The ritual of sending greeting cards can be traced to the early Chinese, who exchanged goodwill messages to bring in each New Year, and to the ancient Egyptians, who communicated their good wishes on papyrus scrolls.

However, greeting cards have only been a part of the tradition of many cultures for about two centuries or a little more, to be precise. The oldest identified greeting card is a Valentine's card made in the 1400s, which can be found in a museum in London. It was during the 19th century that greeting cards gained real status. It was during the latter part of this century that cards got incorporated into mainstream culture, so that most of the population could actually afford it.

It was around that time that cheap printing came into being and a new trade for printers and artists was born. Soon after, post offices were inundated with millions (literally) of letters during the Christmas week alone. Keeping in line with this new trend were Easter, Halloween and Thanksgiving, which gained momentum as suitable occasions for card-giving.

By the late 1800s, Valentine cards were completely machine-made. The first of many saleable valentine greeting cards produced in the US was created in the 1840s.

John Calcott Horsley was the architect of the first Christmas card, and Louis Prang has come to be known as the father of Christmas greetings. He migrated from Germany and started a small-scale lithographic unit close to Boston in the 1850s, and is generally responsible for starting the production of greeting cards in The United States.

His lithographic techniques, including color, had been so perfected that he had no competition from artists and craftsmen. During the 1870s, he came up with exclusive editions of Christmas greetings, which were an instant hit in Britain.

In the mid 1870s, he presented the first comprehensive string of Christmas greetings to the American public. Soon after, imitations began to engulf the market, forcing Prang out of business. For nearly two decades after, there was a striking deterioration in greeting card production in America. Things have since turned around into what could be considered a roaring greeting card trade worldwide - a revolution of sorts has taken place.

Today there are paper cards in every size and for every occasion. There are even e-cards and digital post cards.

New Year Greetings (Humor)

Good Wishes For The New Year. Please feel free to send this to a loved one.

May you be healthier this year than last year.

May you have more money this year than last year.

May you drive a bigger car this year.

May you have a bigger house this year.

May your brother-in-law get out of jail.

May your mother-in-law move out.

May you be acquitted.

May your father-in-law always have bail money.

May your dog scoop his own poop.

May your partner return with your safe.

May your neighbor return with your wife.

May your accountant find more loopholes.

May your lawyer find your accountant.

May you find a Bluetooth system that's covered by dental insurance.

May all your ex's move to Texas.

May your medical premiums cost less than your son's medical school.

May your cable repair guy get there while you still live there.

May you find a toupee with velcro.

May you lose a few pounds so you don't have to use the freight elevator.

May your laser eye surgery be successful so you can stop getting into cop cars and saying, "To the airport, please."

And if you should wake up from this ridiculous dream, may you have enough sleeping pills to get back to sleep.

Happy New Year!

New Ideas For New Years Resolutions

New years resolutions. You promise yourself you'll quit smoking, lose ten pounds, take that vacation or buy that dream car. Did you know that 93.5% of new years resolutions are never followed through on? Okay, I made up that statistic, but it's believable, isn't it? Time for some new ideas.

New Ideas For New Years Resolutions

How about a resolution to do the things which make all your goals more achievable? You can't make a lot of money if you don't have the habits that lead to that. You can't have better physical conditioning if you just start another exercise program and then quit. You have to change your mind before the rest will change. Here are some new ideas for that interior self improvement.

Kaizen For The New Year

Kaizen: "Japanese for continuous and incremental improvement, a business philosophy about working practices and efficiency." What does this have to do with self improvement and new years resolutions?

First came the "continuous improvement" theories of efficiency expert W. Edwards Deming in the 30s and 40s. After the war his ideas were picked up by the Japanese and developed into "Kaizen," a method for efficiently creating quality products through small and continuous changes. Guess what? This is perfect for accomplishing your personal goals, too.

Want to quit smoking? The kaizen way might be to stop smoking in your car, as the first small step. Then you could switch to a brand with less nicotine, stop smoking in the house, and so on.

Kaizen uses "small questions." In factories this meant no more questions like "What are you going to do to improve the company profits this year?" That elicits fear more than creative ideas. A better question is, "What small change could we make in your department to reduce expenses or improve quality?" This approach was found to be far more productive.

For purposes of improving your life, this means asking small suggestive questions, like, "What could I do to free up five minutes for my meditation practice?" or "What small change could I make if I wanted to improve my relationships today?" Small questions dispell the fear, intimidation, and procrastination that come with facing the issue head-on.

Small questions, small comfortable changes, and continual progress - that's kaizen. Imagine where you'd be if you had consciously made one small change in your life each week for the last few years. Better yet, imagine where you'll be next year, if you start the process today.

"A journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step." - Lao Tzu

Forget The Affirmations

Stand in front of that mirror if you want, repeating to yourself "Every day, in every way, I am getting better and better." If it doesn't do what you hope, though, here's a new idea (okay, an old idea renewed): Evidence is more convincing than affirmation. To that I add: What you look for, you find, and it changes your mind.

Prove this to yourself by watching for nice people for a few days, making a mental note each time you see one. It will change your experience of people in a positive way. Then, to test the idea further, watch for rude people for a few days, and you'll see them all over. Do this exercise, and you'll quickly come to understand that you experience the world not just according to what is there, but even more according to what you pay attention to.

To use this to motivate yourself towards positive change, find your successes. If your new years resolution is to exercise more, notice when you remember to park farther away from the store so you have to walk. Write it down even. Point out your successes to yourself, and you'll start to have more of them. If you want to lose weight, note everytime you walk past the refrigerator without opening it. Focus on and remember any success. You can start doing this right now.

First things first. Resolve to change the habits in your mind. Isn't that better than the typical new years resolutions?

New Year's Eve Decorating Ideas

Make decorating your home for New Year's Eve party a pleasure instead of a stressful nightmare. Organization and planning helps you keep on top of your New Year's Eve party.

Create a gorgeous party planning notebook with an inexpensive plastic three-ring binder that has a space to insert an inspirational picture. Keep cutouts from magazines of ideas you love about decorating, themes, menus, and recipes. Keep notes about your party afterwards so you remember what worked well and what to do differently next year. Your personal party journal will be an invaluable assistant to help you avoid holiday stress.

New Year's Eve Decorating

Enjoy your home decorating for New Year's Eve. Don't try to do too much. Keep in mind that people love to come to homes decked out in festive array but that it doesn't take a lot of cluttering ornamentation to create a joy filled room. Just a few large decorations can add the desired impact without taking a lot of time to set out. Plus, too many little decorations get lost when you have many people standing around.

Where to decorate for impact:

1. Your front walkway: Greet guests at the entrance with lights surrounding your front door and two large floral arrangements or evergreen trees.

2. Your front door: A large swag of evergreen decorated with nuts, apples, raffia, and ribbon spiced up with cinnamon sticks and cloves makes a different statement than the usual wreath.

3. Your dining table: If you plan a sit-down dinner, avoid tall centerpieces that interfere with guests seeing across the table. White table cloths reflect the light, add a feeling of elegance, and don't interfere with colored china. Bold colors add drama. Have fun with your table decorations.

4. Look up: Because table decorations get in the way, add decorations above archways and doors.

5. Your powder room: Because guests use this room privately, they take the time to look around and notice decorations.

If your TV looks like a black hole in your room when it's off, play an old black and white classic movie with the sound turned off.

Enjoy your New Year's Eve decorating this year. Try some new ideas and keep a party planner for next year. You'll be ready for new holiday decorating ideas!

Reunion Party on New Year's Eve - Some Ideas

The New Year's Eve is a rather strange occasion. On one hand, there are memories of the year that has gone by. On the other hand, there are new anticipations, new hopes and new enthusiasm for the year that is approaching. This occasion can be used perfectly for a Reunion party among friends and relatives. Some good ideas for arranging a great reunion bash are given below.

To begin with, the venue should have a festive mood as far as the décor is concerned. Colourful streamers with "Happy New Year" written on them could be hung all over the place. Banners and balloons conveying the same mood would add more life to the décor. Coloured ribbons hung on the walls can liven up the mood to a great deal. Used New Year greeting cards can come in handy. These can be hung on doorways and windows to further enhance the mood of the occasion. Small colourful bows can be added to the décor for a cost-effective, quick solution for enhancing the appeal of the décor.

Flowers are graceful, relatively inexpensive and offer a cheerful addition to any festive décor and this is no exception. A large bunch of assorted flowers placed on a centerpiece can add a touch of warmth and cheerfulness to the entire mood. The fragrance of the flowers is an added bonus. The centerpieces, however, cannot be very large or these will obstruct the view of the guests or even reduce the space to move around.

Candles are perfect accessories to the festive décor for all occasions. Battery operated candles, floating candles or the magnificent scented candles all make priceless additions to the decoration. The candles should be lit just as soon as the party starts, so that these can last throughout the celebrations. Another brownie point can be earned by installing a timer controlled lighting system at the venue.

Music is a must for a party like this. A built in karaoke facility is great for ensuring that invitees can get involved in the celebrations by singing along.

Baskets full of bread, sweet rolls or delicious desserts should be placed at various places. Guests can help themselves to food from these baskets as the party goes on, thus eliminating the need to attend to every guest individually. The main course should be placed in a buffet, so that guests can help themselves. The menu should incorporate both vegetarian and non-vegetarian items, in order to cater to the tastes of every guest. Ice is a must-have item, because throughout the party, a large quantity of ice will be consumed with drinks.

A party like this is for a lot of people to enjoy. Invitations should be sent out beforehand, so that guests can schedule their time accordingly. This kind of party is a great way to kick start a fabulous New Year.