A 'Green' Christmas continued

The rise in E-Christmas cards are expected to be ever more popular this year. Why not sending your own with personalised pictures and poems. not only is it eco friednly but there is cost saving there as well. With no envelopes to posts ad stamps to buy and no paper, it really is a no brainer.

Secret Santa

Secret Santa is a western tradition in which members of a group are randomly assigned other members to whom they anonymously give a gift. Often practiced in workplaces, or amongst large families, participation in it is usually voluntary. It offers a way for many people to give and receive a gift. Typically ranging from £5 to £10 the gift can be a novelty product or a serious gift.

There are various traditions and ways in which a "Secret Santa" is run. In some variations, as Christmas approaches, names of participants are placed in a hat, and each person draws a name for whom they are to buy a gift. The names are of whom the recipient is buying for is kept a secret until the day of giving. Popular at office Christmas parties. A great novelty product for a secret Santa for only £5.99 is personalised letter from Santa, see the website here. www.fatherchristmasletter.co.uk

Eco Friendly Santa Letters

All our Christmas Santa letters are produced on paper that is supplied from FSC sourced forests. What this means is that the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) control and manage forests so you can be sure you are not contributing to the destruction of forests and more importantly they can be enjoyed by future generations. The FSC is supported by WWF, Greenpeace and the Woodland trust. The FSC guarantees that harvested trees are replaced or allowed to regenerate naturally therefore are managed with consideration for people, wildlife and the environment.
Environmentally Friendly Printing
Printing the Santa letters including the jumbo door hanger and 'Good Child' certificate is also environmentally sound. Using state of the art printing press's we avoid the use of harsh chemicals including solvents. Printing is carried out using only water-based products creating a lower carbon footprint and helping towards a better environment. View our stunning collection here: www.fatherchristmasletter.co.uk

Christmas Trees..real or fake, that is the question?

i was thinking the other day about how detrimental the whole Christmas tree is to the environment, or more so how us chopping them down was a bad thing. My research has discovered the truth, and is food for thought really. Real Christmas tree's are in fact more Eco friendly. why? because artificial trees may last for years and years, they are in fact manufactured from metal and derivatives of PVC, which requires large amounts of energy to make, and also creates by-products such as lead which can be harmful to both the environment and human health. The standard life of an artificial Christmas tree is just 6 years and given that they are not naturally biodegradable they will potentially pollute a landfill site for many years to come. Most artificial trees sold in the UK are made in the far east and so have additional energy costs associated with transport. Real trees are carbon neutral, absorbing as much carbon dioxide as they grow as they will emit when burnt or left to decompose. They are also a wildlife habitat and a naturally renewable resource, and generally feel much nicer in your home. They can be planted in your garden after Christmas, and even used again next year.

To see our wonderful christmas tree theme personalised leters from Santa Claus visit: www.fatherchristmasletter.co.uk

Our deteriorating environment creates news headlines almost everyweek, and going down the ECO trail is to be honest a very timely event that when you put your thinking cap on can help produce so great christmas gift ideas which are a little different.

How about dedicating a tree to be planted for someone, it cost £5 and the recipient receive's a certificate, and information on where the tree is planted. check out this link: http://www.eforests.co.uk/INTERNET/efnews2.nsf/NewsWebDisplay?OpenForm&ParentUNID=33E28D77202986FB8025727A00671CF3

To keep the christmas spirit alive for all the kids everywhere our personalised Letters from Santa claus are a great gift idea too, see: http://www.fatherchristmasletter.co.uk/ for details:

A brilliant Xmas present idea here

After giving it some thought, Ive come up with some more novel presents

Sponsor an animal at WWF: Here's the link: http://support.wwf.org.uk/index.php?page=shop&cid=2&pc=AFX004001, it cost £3 per month, and you receive a soft toy, Updates about your adopted species 3 times a year & lots more interesting stuff.

Sponsor a child: Here's the link: http://www.actionaid.org.uk/

Sponsor a guide dog:http://www.sponsorapuppy.org.uk/

More ideas tomorrow

Have you got an idea, why not post it!

What to buy the person at xmas who has everything!

Not everyone is materialistic and would sooner appreciate a gift of 'thought' more so than a gift of something they wouldn't use, this may strike home with you too if your fed up of useless gifts.

Send an invite to them for a meal at yours, you can promise a full 3 course meal, make up a nice invite on your PC, along with a nice envelope, you could even hire a magician for an hour to really put a spark to the evening or a belly dancer, semi naked waiter,or even hire a friends band , the list is endless and only limited to your imagination.

Another idea you could offer is to take them out for a day. Where would they like to go? what makes them tick? Have a look at the local tourist website, and see what days out there are, or place to visit, you could always promise to buy lunch for them too whilst your at it!

Our personalised novelty letters from Santa can make an ideal humours gift for an adult. See our products at www.fatherchristmasletter.co.uk , guaranteed to make an adult smile or your money back!

Spend Less this christmas with these great tips

With the credit crunch still impacting our lives, prudence this Christmas is essential. Avoid the high street where ever possible. Make a list of who you are buying for and what your budget is.

Thinking out of the box can really save you money and is why i think that avoiding the high street is essential because you just know your going to be impulse purchasing, and that's when you end spending way over your budget.

Shop online so your impulse purchases are minimized is the shrude way to proceed. Start your shopping now so as to avoid getting yourself frustrated. If your paid monthly, you may only have another two pay packets left before Christmas arrives, so use your due diligence!

If your a dab hand in the kitchen , consider making some sauces, or jams. All you need is some Jars, you can make home made labels personalised to each recipient. Maybe consider making different breads, or cakes. these types of gifts are great , as they are personal to who you are giving to , and each recipient will know you have done it specially for them, and so will go down as a great gift idea that's different.

If your a dab hand with a sewing machine or knitting needles, then make something for people, again, the cost to you is minimal but a great gift as it 'just for them'

Our personalised novelty letters from Santa Claus are also a great gift idea, priced at only £5.99 each child is refereed to by their name, their age, Santa even notes the street they live in and city or town and their best friend. Each child also receives a jumbo size door hanger and a 'good child' certificate, all posted in an A4 size red envelope with the North Pole Postmark. We even do a special where you can buy 2 letters for £10 saving you even more money. View our letters now by clicking here: www.yournoveltygifts.co.uk

The Joy of giving at Christmas

Most of us do look forward to Christmas, especially the holiday that we all get to spend with our friends and families. Receiving gifts is great fun, but not as nice as actually giving gifts to others.

With the count down now only 73 days until Christmas time, you are going to need some presents for gift giving. Where do you start to go shopping for everyone? Well, you have two choices, and one of them is a lot better than the other.

Buying presents is fun, but it is not fun when you have to go to lots of stores to find the presents that you are looking for. So as you can see, this is probably not your best choice. Your second choice is by far the best one and this involves you buying your Christmas presents online. Now this is very safe to do. In fact, it could be more safe than actually going out to the store (because you can do it from within your own home). You don't have to worry about pickpockets, muggers, bad weather, traffic jams, finding a parking space or queuing for ages.

Websites such ours at www.yournoveltygift.co.uk use state of the art shopping cart technology, guaranteeing a safe and secure method of paying online. With your payments processed through 'Pay Pal' you can rest assure your dealing with one of the worlds most secure online service. If you are wary of buying presents online then why not read up on the www.paypal.com security centre website

The real Face of Santa Claus

In the 1950's the Vatican gave permission for St Nicholas remains to be exhumed for anthropologists to study. All measurements were kept and passed onto an anthropologist at Manchester University in 2004 who undertook research to find the true face of St Nicholas. With three dimensional computer aided imaging it unveiled what the the real Santa Claus looked like, with an amazing 70% accuracy they claim this is the most likely picture of the famous man.
Other measurements taken reveal he stood just 5ft6inches tall, had olive skin and a wide square face with a broken nose.

Researchers suggest that St Nicholas may have been a bit of a rebel in his day and may have suffered the broken nose in a bar room brawl. It is a very heavy duty break consistent with being punched, more so than an accidental break by falling over researchers said. It was also confirmed that it would have been correct for St Nicholas to have a white beard as this was very much the fashion for religious leaders back in the 4th century.

We can now see how the modern day picture of Santa Claus really is a caricature created by the artists and populated by television Our personalised letters to Santa all carry the modern day version of Santa.

Christmas is so Commercialised!

When you look back at the history of Santa Claus, (see previous 2 blogs) its quite surprising to see that his tomb was taken from town to town so local commerce could profit from the influx of pilgrims. It needs to be accepted that it is some people's nature to capitalise when they can.

So now we know by going back to the routes of Father Christmas, we can see that its not just us in the 21st Century who have commercialised the big man, we don't need to feel guilty.

With the colossal advertising budgets that high street retailers have nowadays and their access to different mediums such as newspapers, television, radio, social media, mobile telephony text marketing, billboards and perfect high street locations, it has without doubt driven the consumer to want to celebrate in a way our ancestors never did or could of. (but i bet they would of if they could of!)

The only floor in the modern day commercialisation of Santa Claus is that people really do forget the actual reason as to why they are celebrating. It is not just a 'Christian or Catholic' celebration , it has now transcended to everyday working families who do not have a religious belief between them.

I guess you could blame the power of the 'advertising media' and the fall in Christian teachings within education establishemnts for invoking this lack of 'why we celebrate'. i think it is indeed a little hypocritical of some people to celebrate Christmas. Or maybe a better way of putting it is that some of us are actually guilty of ignorance until we have learnt the facts that history teaches us!

The answer to how 'St Nicholas' became Santa Claus

With tens of thousands of pilgrims flocking to see and worship the tomb of the famous St Nicholas, in the Crypt. (Now being referred to as "The Saint of Children") celebrations and festivities would mark the 'apparent' day that he passed away, commonly reported to be 6Th December. Places of worship around the world would also remember this man who sacrificed his own inherited wealth and gave anonymously and freely to all the children where he preached.

And so with the St Nicholas legacy now spreading from continent to continent, many interpretations of St Nicholas started to appear among the many different languages. People often referred to St Nicholas as 'Christ Kindle' or Kris Kringle while the Dutch called him 'Sinter Klaas'. However with story such as St Nicholas, being passed from century to century, you may start to understand how names change as languages change, and stories get diluted, and diluted.

From the 4th Century the myths and legends of St Nicholas were extremely popular right through to the 16th Century until popularity stared to diminish. It was with the immigration of the Germans & the Dutch to the America's who carried on the Festive Spirit of St Nicholas in the 18th Century, and so came spreading the word of the myths and legends that came with the famous Saint.

So Kris Kringle and 'Sinter klaas was now populating in America throughout the Christian and Catholic Churches and with the advent of the radio, and television in the 1920's caricature's of Kris Kringle now started to appear. It was the 19th Century writers and artists that gave St Nicholas the look that we are so familiar with now, the Big Red Robe, Jolly and fat. A very pleasing and loveable character that truly predicted what would sell on screen, in newspaper adverts and in theatre.

By now, Sinter Klaas was now being referred to as 'Santa Claus' and is the name most popular with people in English speak Country's. St Nichols is also referred to as 'Father Christmas' in the United Kingdom which also translates in French to 'Pier Noel', and in Turkey he is also known as 'Noel Baba'.

So that's our short rendition of how we have become to know the once famous Bishop of Meyer, aka 'St Nicholas' as Santa Claus and Father Christmas!

Does Sant Claus exist?

Yes, Santa Claus does exist, or should i say 'did' exist. Back in the 4th Century, a Bishop known as 'Nicholas of Myra' was a devout Christian who was made famous in his time for his generosity in a small town called Demre in Turkey by secretly giving presents to children in the poorer areas, folk law has it that he also gave coal to the bad children...!

Later depicted as 'Saint Nicholas', his tomb became a pilgrimage and was visited by thousands of worshippers. More interestingly though, his tomb was moved from town to town, as it was perceived to be commercially viable for each town because of the thousands of pilgrims who flocked to visit.

When Myra became ruled by the Seljuk's who controlled most parts of Asia at the time, it was apparent that they were not sympathetic to the Christian faith. Visiting Italian Sailors and merchants who feared that pilgrimage would become dangerous or that the tomb may become desecrated took it on themselves to take the tomb to Italy where they too could benefit from the commercial advantages of 'Nicholas of Myra's ' tomb and save the sacred remains.

The port of Bari was the final resting place for Bishop Nicholas of Myra as the returning merchants promised to build a church, which is now known as the Crypt. A beautiful example of Romanesque architecture. This final resting place for Nicholas became a magnet for thousands of pilgrimages, and so the people depicted Nicholas of Myra to be 'Saint Nicholas' and was also referred to as Saint Nicholas of Bari.

See my next blog to follow the history of how we ended up reffering to 'St Nicholas' as Santa Claus and how western civilisation has turned Santa Claus into a commercialy viable 'Holiday' and people such as myself now keep the Original 'St Nicholas' memory alive by producing Santa Letters via our website.

Santa Claus

Ho Ho Ho, Well, its official, our website: www.fatherchristmasletter.co.uk is proving to be a popular choice for visitors even though we are counting 81 days until the the magical day itself. Our 2009 letter collection is receiving raving reviews from everyone who see's them. Nothing like our collection exists anywhere else in the world.....a powerful statement i know, but still it's very true.