Content State

Orlando has always been a very popular holiday destination. Located in Central Florida, Orlando attracts close to 50 million people every year. This is the reason why Orlando resorts have been thriving and are presenting more and more attractions to tourists.

Orlando family resorts provide accommodations of all kinds: luxury resorts, town homes, vacation rental homes, vacation rentals, and villas. These can be 2/3/4 bedroom accommodations. They are ideal for having a perfect family vacation or a reunion. They offer several services like different dining options, transportation services, beverage services, club-house facilities, golf instruction, and so on.

Kids can enjoy a variety of activities like sandcastle building in the beach; face painting, hula hooping, poolside manicure and pedicure; sand volleyball or basketball; dive in cinema; water slides; hair braiding, whirlpools, tennis, miniature golf, video arcades, game rooms, live entertainment, theme parks, fishing, canoeing, parasailing, shopping, gourmet dining and other activities.

Rooms are furnished with all modern amenities like coffee maker, iron and ironing boards, high speed internet access, mini-bar, movies, daily newspaper, hair dryer, work desk, phone with speakers and data port and voice mail facilities. Family rooms comprise of a balcony or a patio with a breathtaking view, sofa bed, surround pillows and comforters and cable TV with remote control.

Prices of accommodations at the Orlando family resorts vary greatly depending upon the facilities, amenities, special offers, the season, etc. Prices range for luxury resorts from $179 to $349 for a single night stay. Prices of ordinary non-luxury rooms start from $100 onwards. There are also special offers and discounts like 4 days and five nights for $250 and so on.

The Internet is a good source of information for Orlando family resorts. There are several websites of these family resorts which provide information about their latest offerings. You can also compare offers and prices and choose the best ones. These sites are also updated regularly latest offers. However, check for reviews of these family resorts. Reviews may be posted on some specific websites on the internet or they may come from someone who has visited Orlando and is willing to give some first-hand advice.

Orlando Resorts provides detailed information on Orlando Family Resorts, Orlando Golf Resorts, Orlando Leisure Resorts, Orlando Luxury Resorts and more. Orlando Resorts is affiliated with Orlando Vacations.

You, your husband and two children, ages 10 and 13 are going on a long-anticipatedby youtrip to London and Paris. You and your husband have been there before and loved it so much that you simply must show your children those famous places and mind-opening culture palaces.

Your children are not so thrilled. In fact, the 13-year-old, a girl, has asked if she could stay with her best friend while you and her whiny younger brother go to Europe without her.

How do you turn the scenario around? How do you detoxify the inevitable, “Are we there yet?” Here are ten ways to go.

#1 Get them into the mood of the place in advance. Watch movies or read books set in that particular country or city. This will involve them in the places on an emotional level, and they’ll be really keen to actually go to “where it happened.” Many of these media offerings are about kids, and that’s always an interest builder. Some of these stories show the kids as the brave, the bold and adventurous ones, while the adults in charge need their help. Nothing like being more in control of a situation than the grownups to whet your appetite for travel.

#2 Find places that are intriguing, not-well-known and “kid-friendly” to visit. As a former kid, I’m sure you remember how PAINFUL “seeing” something can be. Plan to go to places where you will be “doing” something. Active places win hands down with kids. If you do go to a “seeing” place, plan an activity, such as a scavenger hunt, to transform it into a “doing” place. Imagine the fun you can have at spots such as the perfume museum in Paris, Madame Tussaud’s Wax Museum, or at the City of London museum sound and light show depicting the famous fire that destroyed London!

#3 Plan shopping trips that your kids will enjoy and have them save up for special stuff they like, or give them allowances. Allow equal time for each in the shop of his/her choice. Getting stuff is always a blast, and showing the stuff off to friends gives them bragging rights as well!

#4 Let the kids share in the planning. Set aside some days, blocks of time, evenings as you write out your itinerary and tell the kids that they decide what the whole crew does at those times. This gets them involved and excited about the things that THEY look forward to.

#5 Go heavy on the local entertainment. Kids love music, movies, sports events. Plan these kid-friendly events with your kids input, and you’re sure to have a blast. They’ll remember the joust, or football (a.k.a. Soccer) match. Go Beckham!

#6 Leave some time for relaxation. Stay at a hotel with a swimming pool, a tennis court or other game centers. Don’t begrudge them that important video arcade time.

#7 Plan to meet local kids. Studies all show that kids love meeting other kids. If you have friends or people you can connect with in your destination who have kids, plan a visit. You can also connect by searching the internet for kids’ interative sites.

#8 Put your kids in charge of the photography department, or at least their own photography department. Provide each with a good camera. You don’t have to bring a computer; there are plenty of internet cafes and some hotels have web access. If they are anxious to share photos with their friends back home and keep in touch, this is a good way to do it.

#9 This may be the only don’t in the list, but I feel strongly about it: Don’t insist they keep a journal or diary. This is a chore. Unless they themselves come up with the idea, mum’s the word.

#10 Have fun: this means you too. Taking your kids on a trip will provide experiences and closeness with them that will last until their own kids are ready to be launched. Nowadays, even grandparents are traveling with their grandchildren.

Happy travels to you and your whole family!

About the Author

Ruth Lutnick is the CEO and founder of Four Corners Books, which publishes children’s travel books, complete with maps and guides. She is an accomplished children’s author and educator. Visit Four Corners on the web, at http://www.fourcornersbooks.com .

City weekend breaks always seem like such splendid idea - to leave behind habits & habitats, experiencing something new; possibly listen to something unique. However, without a plan, weekends away can time and again fall a bit flat, a case of plodding around a huge city, regularly popping into outlets and looking at monuments. This may be satisfactory if you are content to go with the flow, however if you enjoy being busy and ‘doing’ something then theatre show breaks can be a fabulous choice.

While you could always go to America, why would you want to? As there is ample talent and pleasure much nearer to you in London. Famously, London hosts a range of brilliant theatres, most of which are huddled throughout London’s West End - a place in which your life appears to become a little rosy and everything turns out well at the end of the day; or at least if not, you can get misplaced in emotional moments & feel a considerably better person. Enjoy the London’s West End with discount theatre tickets.

However for comfortable, light-hearted amusement during a London theatre show break as a rule the majority of individuals attend musical shows. These can be anything from the heart-wrenching disaster such as Les Misérables to the rollerblading phenomenon that is undeniably Starlight Express. Nevertheless enthusiasts of rock and roll, doo-wap and boys and girls in particularly tight black leather will only be concerned about one musical show - Grease. Taking the globe by storm in the 1970s, this well-known musical has never ceased to astonish, transferring with great ease to the silver screen. Including a good-looking John Travolta and a very skinny Olivia Newton-John, the motion film went on to be chosen for an Oscar.

Many people will have time in their heart reserved for Grease, no matter how old they are, or even what sex. It is one of those great motion films that is enjoyed by different age groups; in the same way as the London musical show is interesting for young and old. The ease and energy of Rydell High is contagious, the late 1950s outfits are desirably retro, & the music are so contagious that you’ll be singing in your seats.

When you are traveling abroad you will undoubtedly find yourself dealing with a large number of companies that you are unfamiliar with, and whose policies and procedures are different from what you are used to.

One of your objectives when traveling abroad should be to minimize the opportunities for screw ups that might jeapordize your enjoyment and cost hundreds or even thousands of dollars more than you were counting on.

Here are some tips for when you are planning your next trip abroad.

1. Whenever possible, deal with people and businesses you know

Buying a cut rate vacation package from a company you have never dealt with before may seem smart at the time. But if you have no experience with the company, you really have no guarantee that everything promised in your travel package will actually come off as expected.

Talk to friends and relatives about travel companies they have dealt with. Look for reviews on the internet. Deal with companies who have been around for a while and are members of professional associations such as the American Society of Travel Agents, the National Tour Association or the United States Tour Operators Association.

2. Start planning well in advance

If you are planning a major vacation abroad start researching at least a year or two in advance. Search the internet for information about your destination. There are many travel sites devoted to providing information about special air flights, hotel rates, local customs, and things to see and do in the country you are planning to visit.

Hook up with one or two companies or travel agents that sound promising. Ask them for information, or ask to be put on their mailing list. Talk with them occasionally and follow their promotions. This will give you an idea of the type of service they provide and the costs involved. It will also help you to learn the vocabulary and give you a better idea of the proper questions to ask.

3. Be wary of telemarketers with travel deals

Telemarketers and vacation resellers are in the business of selling surplus travel and accommodation for other companies. They want to make the sale, and beyond that are not interested in your satisfaction, or whether you actually get the product you bargained for. Be aware that they have no responsibility to you after the sale has been made, and it might be difficult to get exactly what you thought you were getting from the company that is actually providing the service.

Many resellers will use ads in the newspaper or on the internet, or will send unsolicited faxes that offer cut rate vacations. Without some background on the company offering these “deals” you have no way of knowing if they are legitimate. The fact is the “deals” often contain hidden costs or they may require you to attend a sales presentation to qualify for the discount.

Certain practices used by these companies are dead giveaways that there is something fishy about their service. For instance don’t deal with a company that wants to send a courier for your payment or asks you to send money by overnight delivery. Even giving your credit card information to such a company is very risky. So the best policy is not to deal with companies you don’t know or don’t have good reason to trust.

4. Don’t pay until you have verified details of your travel package

One important advantage of dealing with a travel agent or tour operator that you know and trust is that they can make most arrangements without full payment from you. This allows you to withold a substantial part of your payment until you see the complete details of your trip. If your agent is booking flights, hotels or cruises for you they should be able to provide, in writing, a complete itinerary with names, addresses and telephone numbers so you can verify the bookings. Your agent or tour operator should also provide complete cancellation and refund policies.

If you deal with cut rate tour resellers it may be difficult to get these details, and you will probably be required to pay the full cost in advance. Nine times out of ten they will say “We need full payment to hold your spot and guarantee these low prices.” But once you have given them your payment you have very little leverage. If it turns out that you are not satisfied with some of the arrangements they will simply say “You get what you pay for.”

5. Never give out your credit card information on the phone to strangers

Most people who think paying online is risky are only too happy to give out their credit card information on the telephone to individuals they know nothing about. It is true that there are safety mechanisms built into the credit card system. But it is also true that someone who has your credit card information can do serious damage to you in a very short time. And even if you can eventually straighten out the mess, you will have been seriously inconvenienced in the meantime.

The general rule is that you should not give out credit card information to companies you are not familiar with. This means that if you are buying travel services from someone on the other end of your telephone you should not be prepared to pay by credit card.

Of course that presents a problem, since the alternative would be to send a check or money order, and they may not be prepared to wait a few days to receive it. That is good enough reason to look for a different service provider.

Rick Hendershot publishes Linknet News | Brazil Tours - Fantastic travel packages to Brazil | Cancun Mexico Hotels and Resorts

My husband and I recently had a baby, and family and friends have been dropping by regularly to visit and see our new addition. We live near my family, so they’ve been over almost every day while my husband’s family is spread out all over the United States. Since his family can’t exactly drop by for obvious reasons, we’ve gotten a lot of cards, letters and gifts in the mail. One day the doorbell to our apartment rang and I opened it to find a delivery person with a gift basket. After thanking him, I took the basket and placed it on the table with all the cards and letters we received in the mail that day. I thought I would wait until my husband got home from work so we could open them together.

As I looked at the gift basket, I noticed it was filled with European chocolates. I briefly thought that was an odd choice and was going to look at who sent it when my newborn awoke and let me know it was time for the bottle. After feeding her and putting her back to sleep, I had a bit of a sweet tooth so I decided to open the gift basket and have a chocolate. It was delicious. One chocolate turned to two and two quickly turned to four and before I knew it, I had eaten almost half the basket. This was no small feat as there were a lot of chocolates. I guess I wasn’t quite ready to give up the eating habits I had before the baby was born. As I was enjoying the chocolates, my husband came home and I mentioned that whoever in his family that sent the gift basket really knew what they were doing.

I thought it a bit odd at first (expecting a baby gift basket, if anything) but once I bit into the first chocolate, I knew that whoever had sent this realized just how much I needed a quality chocolate break from the stress of all that comes with having your first baby. This made me remember that I forgot to check the card, so I asked my husband to look since he was up. As it turns out, this gift basket I had halfway devoured was intended for our next door neighbor. It was delivered to us by accident. Here I am, relaxing on the couch with a chocolate in my hand when my husband breaks the news to me. With my chocolate filled mouth wide open, I looked at him so seriously as if to say, “What are we going to do?” He started laughing, which made me start laughing as I now saw the humor in the situation. We ordered a new basket to be delivered the next day for our neighbor and also went by to explain what had happened.

We all had a good laugh over it and I was relieved since I had never formally met our neighbor and didn’t know what to expect. I’m actually quite glad that this happened. I got to meet our neighbor and learned a valuable lesson about checking the card before you open the gift. I also know what I will send my friends and family after they welcome a new addition. I’m sending chocolate.

To purchase a gift basket for any occasion visit www.giftbasketontheweb.com/

In most places the low vacation season starts around late autumn. If you scout the Internet, you will find plenty of bargain deals around that time. Some of the travel and airline sites advertise bundle deals that include hotel, car, and airfare for two. These deals can be real bargains because airlines want to sell the unused seats in those packages by heavily discounting the seats. Sign up for the news letters of major travel sites, e.g. expedia.com, price line.com or airline travel sites, like ua.com, aa.com. You will receive plenty of last minute great vacation and airfare deals in your e-mail account regularly. Use another site called sidestep.com for comparison shopping of best airfares to your destination.

Go to different hotel sites to look for bargains in the form of one night free for two nights stay. Check out bedandbreakfast.com for the last minute great bargains. While at bedandbreakfast.com site, sign up for their weekly news letter to all the discounted bed and break fast gateways. Many car rental companies will not advertise their unbooked cars at a lower price but they would offer discounts via sites like hotwire.com and priceline.com. Priceline.com offers two types of booking, name-your-price or selection from a listed rate. Use the listed rate first to estimate a fair market value of the bargain you are looking for. And then use the name-your-price and offer a discounted price. Start with a high discounted price to reveal the best price you can get.

Many cruise cabins are cancelled at the last minute by early birds - people who have booked these cabins sometimes a year in advance - and they are auctioned off at skyauction.com. It is a auction type site where you bid for all kind of travel deals, including international travel, cruises, etc. Before you start putting bid, know the fair market value of the deal and refrain from emotional bidding and don’t set your mind to the bid no matter what it costs.

Here is a great tip for getting bargains that most people searching the Web don’t know. Clear your Web browser cookies after each search at a travel or airline Website, like expedia.com or ua.com. To clear your cookies from your Windows Internet browser, select Tools and then Internet Options. A window will pop up and in the middle of the Window on the left side, you will see a button with label Delete Cookies. Click the button to clear all your cookies before you start a fresh search on the site. Using cookies, some Web sites keep track of all the bargains displayed to you and clearing the cookies will reveal further price breaks that you did not see before. It is worth a try. Another great tip is to get a free e-mail account from myluckymail.com that you can use for signing up for new letters etc.

Dr. Deepak Dutta is the creator of SemanticBay.com - an interactive social network website based on user shared text and picture contents on any topics. Website creators, publishers, and maintainers can promote their website at SemanticBay.com using website articles. Users can join for free, invite friends, maintain buddy lists, rate contents, comment on contents and earn points.

There is no refuting the fact that the success or failure of a firm depends on the work done by the team, although one event can wipe out your efforts & shrink the income to zero. In order to keep away from such an occurrence, you are advised to insure your firm, whether it’s a small business or a big corporation. Yet, please remember that SMEs are more probable to require business insurance in today’s world. This is generally as smaller firm owners will have placed their complete lives & wages straight into the company.

A few of the items generally guarded by the majority of business insurance covers include: natural disasters, volcanoes, mechanism or equipment breakdown that closes down the organisation, loss of money as a result of worker casualness & lawsuits brought against the organisation.

There are a large number of insurance organisations, which have covers that include both protection for all main property & legal risks in one complete package. You can also get hold of a separate policy. Such a coverage is branded as a business owners’ policy (BOP). Large companies may well buy a business-related cover.

BOPs include property insurance for buildings & kit belonging to the firm. If there is any loss of revenue due to disruption of operation and production because of disasters such as tornadoes, it can be protected under the Business Interruption policy.

There are a mixture of liabilities, which cover the firm’s legal responsibility for the harm it may well cause to others. It is the effect your businesses failure to do the business operations. It can also be the physical injury or building damage caused through malfunctioning manufactured goods, faulty installations and mistakes in services provided.

Still, BOPs don’t protect against professional liability, motor cover, employees’ costs or health and disability cover. In this case separate policies are vital for professional services, vehicles and staff. Usually, floods, earthquakes and terrorist attacks are not protected in the business policy. Please double check before you acquire! Safeguard your company with business insurance online.

Seabrook island property

Nestled just off the coast of South Carolina, still located in Charleston County, is the beautiful private resort island of Seabrook Island. Seabrook Island is an island unlike any other. It represents a place where you can get back to nature and experience life as it should be experienced. Maybe this is why Seabrook Island property is popular with those who understand what life is all about.

Seabrook Island is a magnificent mixture of traditional and the new. It still captures a traditional spirit that is embodied by South Carolina culture. The sandy beaches and the rolling dunes that are so closely identified with South Carolina beaches are just a stone’s throw away. Seabrook Island property is never far from enjoying all the great outdoors offers.

When looking at Seabrook Island property, it’s easy to see just how special this island is. All of the homes are magnificently well appointed. This is a private luxury resort on and this is clearly apparent with the care taken to ensure that each part of the Seabrook Island experience supports this.

There are many great things to do on Seabrook Island and this is why Seabrook Island property is very popular. There is of course a championship golf course located on the island. There is also a world-class equestrian Center that caters to those who truly love one of the greatest sports. There are of course Beach clubs and easy access to the beach for everyone who decides to make Seabrook Island their home.

When looking at all of the factors, it’s not surprising that many people are looking at what Seabrook Island property can do for them. If you’re interested in getting to know all that Seabrook Island can offer, then now is the time to find out more for yourself.

Chocolate wrapped up with a big red bow? Hershey’s kisses by the bagful? Roses brought in by the dozen? Valentine’s Day gifts with free shipping popping up all over the internet and landing on your doorstep?

Yeah, yeah. Dark and rich. Lots of it. Red and white. We get it.

Don’t get me wrong. My eternally favorite Valentine’s gift is dark chocolate. As I’ve put myself on a dark-chocolate deprivation diet these past few weeks…and feeling pretty crummy because of it I might add…the presence of chocolate in my house these next few days will be a sight for sore eyes (and for my sore brain and heart, too. No one can argue: dark chocolate is fabulously emotionally therapeutic.) So I’m all for buying your sweetie dark chocolate for Valentine’s Day! And I’ll never turn down flowers of any kind, nor last-minute gifts bought on sale!

But let’s see if we can get a little more creative here. This holiday has existed since Pope Gelasius officially declared it a Christian holiday in 496 A.D. to honor St. Valentine, the patron saint of lovers. But let’s face it: whether it is celebrated with religious significance in your family or not, this holiday comes with certain expectations. Expressions of love may vary from family to family, but we all want to be treated to something sweet, something we might not do for ourselves, and something that reads: “I am thinking of you today my love. Relax. Enjoy it. You’re so worthy of my undying devotion and love.” Be it for the sole enjoyment of your spouseor for your kids, parents, and friends as wellthink about ways that show you are thinking of those you love on this most special of days.

Here goes: ROCKET MOM’S Top 13 Ways to Say “I Love You” on Valentine’s Day:

1) Bring food to your sweetie in bed.

Strawberries or raspberries, along with a fresh pastry, French toast, or scrambled eggs, served with piping hot tea or coffee, make for the perfect way to start the day. My hubby usually surprises me with a cup of Starbuck’s and a freshly baked croissant (almost always as I’m getting ready to hop into the shower. A wildly romantic way to start the morning (if you know what I mean…)

2) Buy your sweetie fabulous chocolates.

Please don’t do the normal, everyday stuff that he or she eats all year long. Expand your “chocolate wardrobe.” Visit your favorite chocolatier or specialty food shop to buy exotic chocolate. And be sure to buy enough to last at least one day. If you’re a man, you probably won’t get this, but it reads: “Buy your sweetie some wonderful stuff by the case!” If you’re a woman, no instructions necessary. If you’re menopausal, I’m sure you’re already one step ahead of me.

3) Bring home at least one long-stemmed rose.

Red, pink, and white all work. Rose re-spelled spells “EROS” after all. It’s a sign: roses are meant to be given on Valentine’s Day. No need to splurge on two dozen…unless you want to, of course. This holiday started out with humble intentions by a Catholic pope for crying out loud, and has become wildly commercialized. So don’t feel like you need to buy into all of that; go simple and humble if you prefer low-keying it. But do treat your sweetie to a flower or two.

4) Write handmade love poems.

Not just for your honeybee, but for all of the tootsie rolls in your home, too. Place them in envelopes next to their beds, in a pretty china bowl in the dining room, or next to their backpacks. For the language-challenged, rest assured that two lines will do. Fall back on “roses are red and violets are blue” to get you started (if you must). And remember, poems don’t have to rhyme. Keep them simple but stylin’. Encourage older children to write poems for their siblings and for mom and dad, too!

5) Pull out your wedding photos and your wedding video.

Re-live the memory of your wedding day. Listen once again to the vows you took. Delight in the way your spouse looked on that most special of days in the history of your family. Affirm to your mate that he or she looks even more beautiful today that on your wedding day.

6) Cook heart-shaped food.

Be it pancakes or waffles, muffins or scones: bring out the heart-shaped cookie cutters, waffle irons, and baking sheets. This is the one day of the year to truly use them. Splurge on whipped cream, real butter, and pure maple syrup.

7) Leave love notes in your children’s lunchboxes.

Make your own, using simple stationery, or just use index cards and stickers. Write one thing that you love about your child. Tucked safely in with his or her lunch, it’s a surefire way to let him know that your love is secure.

Make or buy simple gifts.

Nothing extravagant. I bought my hubby toiletries to complete the set he received at Christmas. A bottle of spearmint-scented body spray and another of bed linen spray are just enough to let him know I didn’t forget him on Valentine’s Day (of course there’s the shower thing…) My kids are each receiving tiny boxes of handmade truffles, along with one small gift, unique to each one of their interests.

9) Wrap simple gifts extravagantly.

This is the time to use gorgeous wrapping papers and bows. And display them in full view. One of the best parts about Valentine’s Day is the element of mystery and suspense. The gifts I have bought will be seen by my family for a couple dayswrapped and in view on our dining room tableso that they have some time to wonder what lies underneath all of that hot pink wrap and big white bows.

10) Do something unexpected.

Someone in your family may be wishing for some thinglarge or small. It might seem trivial to us, but monumental to your toddler. Go ahead and surprise her! Valentine’s Day gives you a great excuse to express your love with a token gift of appreciation. And it doesn’t have to cost a dime, either. Maybe junior wants a play date in the park, just with you. Perhaps your wife has been bugging you to fix the kitchen sink or hang a picture in your foyer; your hubby may be nagging you to sew on a button. Simply organizing your husband’s sock draweror tool boxwould be a wonderful gesture that reads: “I thought of you today!” Think of similar yet simple loving gestures for your kids: ironing a shirt or cleaning out a messy bathroom drawer shouts: “I love you.” And allowing your teenage daughter to spend thirty extra minutes on the phone today qualifies as an unexpected love gift that she’ll treasure for weeks!

11) Do dinner in.

Few things could be easier to make than beef tenderloin, yet it is one of the most satisfying foods on the face of the earth. Encourage the kids to get to bed early, and plan on a thoroughly romantic candlelight dinner in the comfort of your own home. With music softly playing, china perfectly set, and sterling silver shining: the evening can be executed with relative ease, and is guaranteed to bring pleasure to both you and your spouse. The experience of diningrather than eatingis one I am convicted to bring to my own family. It is physically, emotionally, and spiritually satisfying.

12) Do lunch out.

Schedule a mid-day tryst with your spouse. You’ll save a lot of money by dining out at lunch instead of at dinner, and the infrequency with which you probably do this sort of thing will make it even more special. If your husband or wife works a great distance from your place of work or your workplace in the home, this may present some creative challenges. But see if you can sneak it in. Just for today.

13) Give massages.

Total body work, back rubs, and foot massages are all perfect Valentine’s Day gifts for all of the members of your family. The gift of touch is a gift that every single person alive today needs…and needs much more than we think, and much more than any one of us probably gets. Be it extra hugs or warm rubs with massage oil (or even Ben-Gay!), commit to using your hands by giving the gift of physical touch on Valentine’s Day.

I hope you enjoy a day of love and laughter with you and yours on Valentine’s Day!

Carolina Fernandez earned an M.B.A. and worked at IBM and as a stockbroker at Merrill Lynch before coming home to work as a wife and mother of four. She totally re-invented herself along the way. Strong convictions were born about the role of the arts in child development; ten years of homeschooling and raising four kids provide fertile soil for devising creative parenting strategies. These are played out in ROCKET MOM! 7 Strategies To Blast You Into Brilliance. It is widely available online, in bookstores or through 888-476-2493. She writes extensively for a variety of parenting resources and teaches other moms via seminars, workshops, keynotes and monthly meetings of the ROCKET MOM SOCIETY, a sisterhood group she launched to “encourage, equip and empower moms for excellence.” Please visit http://www.rocketmom.com.

Christmas is coming, the banks are getting fat,

If you really don’t have either, then God Bless you!

That’s not exactly the nursery rhyme I read to my baby daughter sometimes, but it did come to mind a short while ago. I had just finished working on both my Christmas websites, and about to make the switch to work on Eliminate Credit Card Debt. It’s early September, and I’m on a tropical island, but for much of the past month I have had to “think Christmas” because of those two websites.

The nursery rhyme, of course, is quite the opposite; the hat belongs to the old man with no money. And he had no recourse to credit cards in Olde England.

Christmas and the holiday season are, of course, boom times for retailers, for restaurants, for travel agents and hoteliers. As the days pass between September and January, consumer spending escalates. As consumer spending rises conspicuously, people not already sucked into the whirlwind and with no cash to spare, will be wondering what on earth they and their family are missing out on. December will arrive, and no gifts bought, no special nights out arranged, no parties planned at home, or no ski-ing trip organised. Everyone else is going to enjoy themselves, but not you, your spouse and children.

You cannot bear the thought of either missing out or appearing to be broke, so out comes the credit card or the credit line cheque book. A big sigh of relief! We can enjoy ourselves. What you didn’t know was that most of those already making it known they were spending a fortune on Christmas, were also doing so on credit. That bankers bowler hat is really going to overflow this year; lucky he has big vaults to transfer it to every night. Or is it every millisecond?

New Year will come and just about everyone’s feeling broke, wondering how on earth to pay off those Christmas debts, which have piled on top of other debts; making New Year resolutions to stop smoking and drinking and spending so much money.

Why follow the suicidal crowd when you can plan early, and save cash to spend on all your Christmas gifts and anything else you plan for the holiday season? If you spend $1000 every Christmas, then budget to save $80 a month? Can’t afford to? Then you can’t afford to spend $1000 every Christmas. Budget for what you can and spend that. That sounds simple, and it is common sense, but when it comes to credit, debt and the Christmas whirlwind, common sense can be in short supply. Grab your share early and you will be one of the minority who come through Christmas as cool as a debt free cucumber.

Why spend the holiday season in Cloud Cuckoo Land, with its unpleasant post mortem of debt ridden misery, when you can have a great and relaxing time with your family, all paid for out of real money? Your money.

Why not ignore the banker and his bowler this year and next, and from then onwards? Bowlers are old hat anyway. Far better to have your own personal family t-shirt, emblazened “We’re having a credit free Christmas” on the front. You never know, you may start a trend. Concerned about the blank back on your t-shirt? Then how about “Stuff the Bank Manager, Not The Turkey”?

This Christmas debt article was written by Roy Thomsitt, owner author of the Eliminate Credit Card Debt Now website. Roy is also the owner and author of Gifts For Xmas website.