Notepad Corner

When you’re a kid, every year ‘Santa’ - aka your mum, makes you up a Christmas stocking, filled with lots of lovely little gifts. The magic that comes with those childhood memories is hard to recreate, but with a little luck, it is doable. If this year, you have decided to make up a stocking for one of your loved ones, you may be struggling to get it quite right. You want to recreate the magic from their childhood memories, but just can’t quite put your finger on the best way to do it. Don’t stress, that’s why I’m here to help. Photo credit: edenpictures via VisualHunt / CC BY To help you create the perfect stocking , I thought that I would share a few tips. A clementine is a must It’s not a stocking without a clementine, or some form of orange, at the bottom. So that should be the very first thing on your list of things to buy. It’s not technically a present, but it’s still worth mentioning as, without an orange, a stocking isn’t a stocking. Perhaps...

As Christmas fast approaches, many of us are looking for ways to get a little more festive. When the big day finally arrives, we’ll need a selection of activities to keep our loved ones entertained – snoozing in front of the TV simply won’t do! In this post, we’ll show how you can add a quirky, personal touch to your festivities that are guaranteed to make this Christmas the best yet. image via allaboutyou.com Badges When it comes to celebrating Christmas, badges may not instantly spring to mind, but they can be a really nice touch to the day. Get some personalised badges printed with some festive nicknames on. Choose names like ‘Scrooge’, ‘Santa’s Little Helper’ or ‘Frosty the Snowman’ and let your guests select which name best suits them. It’ll be a great icebreaker and will get your guests mingling and talking with one another. 

The Festive Holidays is fast approaching and as the song says, “The weather outside is frightful, but the fire is so delightful.” Well, is your home ready for the cold winter months? While everyone is busy decorating, shopping and doing all their Christmas to-do-list, someone must also take charge of your home’s heating system. Have it checked by a professional to make sure it is working properly so that you can control and monitor the heat all throughout the house. Hence, while you still have time, consider getting a portable programmable thermostat wherein you can comfortably adjust and control temperature from anywhere in the home.  Its portable comfort control feature provides consistent warmth and coziness as it will automatically check the flow of the heat to save on your heating costs. Your heating system will be working double this cold season so it’s wise to check on all the necessary details to ensure that your home is well insulated and that the vents are ...

Every year we pray and yearn for our wishes to be granted.   What is written in the lists are the material or intangible things we want to have in the next year to come.   Maybe not all but some of our Christmas wishes do come true. I've noticed lots of Christmas wish lists cropping up lately, so here is what my own Christmas wish list comprises of: §   I ask for peace on Earth and goodwill to all men. Conflicts and war be ended. §   I want an ebook reader, instead of a new cellphone.   I’ve been reading my ebooks in my notebook, desktop pc, pda or in my son’s psp. I need to organize my ebooks in one gadget that serves its purpose. §   This is a bit embarrassing but I saw a lady boots in my favorite shoe outlet and I want it.... §   I wish for a new job for my eldest son, though he enjoys his work right now being a technical support representative in one of the prestigious bpo here in the Philippines, as a mother I am very much concerned with his ...

As Christmas is nearing, my heart is full of delight to see the colorful season decorations everywhere, I can feel the Christmas spirit in the air. Reminiscing the joys and fun celebrating Christmas during my childhood day s and now as a mother turning over the tradition I grew up with to my kids. The bamboo parol (star lantern), is the symbol of Christmas in the Philippi nes, representing the guiding light, the star of Bethlehem. It emits a warmth unparalleled among holiday adornments and is unique in our country. My youngest son and I had just finished his bamboo parol project in school. We are both happy to see the result of his creativeness. Yearly, we adorn our Christmas tree with different styles and motifs, this year we made it gold and silver. The Belen, nativity scene is usuall y seen in schools, malls and even in offices, to remind us why we are celebrating Christmas. We also have Poinsettias in bloom in our garden, with their ruby-colored, star-shap...

The cool breeze in the morning, the Christmas lights and decorations everywhere, Christmas carols played every now and then in radio stations, shopping malls on sale, bazaars here and there, are the things which remind us that Christmas is just around the corner. As Filipinos, we enjoy spending much during this occasion. Time to buy holiday presents for our loved ones, god children and friends. I, for instance take pleasure in shopping, but do we really need to be a big spender? Do we have to spend lavishly? According to my friend economist, this is the time of the year wherein one can generate extra income, employed people received extra money from company bonuses, thus at which point we can add more to our savings for future needs or necessity. He taught me that the proper way to maintain a financial plan is through the the budget formula: Income – Savings = Expenses. Whew! I do it the other way, income minus expenses equals savings or none at all. Buying gifts and Christmas wish ...