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Entry bubble National Christmas Tree Lighting Lottery

By: Colleen | November 04, 2009 | Category: Fun

I was in the drugstore two days before Halloween and I was greeted by the melodies of Christmas carols and the shelves were jam packed with holiday merchandise.tree

Once again, Thanksgiving gets the shaft.

Since everyone else is jumping the gun and springing right to the holidays, we here at GovGab are going to follow suit.

The 2009 National Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony will take place on Thursday, Decemer 3rd. The ceremony includes not only the lighting of the National Christmas Tree, but music from the U.S. Marine Corps Band and 56 (one for each state, 5 territories, and the District of Columbia) other smaller trees arranged in a "pathway to peace."

To attend you must enter a ticket lottery- but hurry! You can only apply from November 4th through November 6th!

In preparation for the holidays, remember to be safe.  Check out some tips HERE.

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Entry bubble Christmas Gov Gab-Style

By: Nancy | December 25, 2008 | Category: Home and Family

If you're celebrating today with family or friends or are just enjoying a quiet break from your daily routine, I'm wishing you a Christmas Day that's marked by

Happiness and smiling





Great musical styling





Something traditional




Maybe even nutritional





And only blue if you really want to.


| View Comments [4] | envelope E-mail This Entry | Tags: christmas   holiday   nancy  

 

Entry bubble Where's Santa?

By: Joanne | December 23, 2008 | Category: Home and Family

I can’t remember ever feeling so calm right before Christmas. Maybe it’s my gluten free diet, or my stress management techniques. I don’t know why I’m so calm, because things haven’t been going exactly smoothly. I’m still preparing the big, fancy Christmas Eve dinner for 12, and have I mentioned that my car still isn’t fixed?

But you know what? I just don’t care. I’m really looking forward to the family all being together this year. On Christmas Eve, I just want to have some time playing with the new Wii and getting the kids excited for Santa’s arrival. We’re going to keep track of Santa’s progress around the world thanks to NORAD, the North American Aerospace Defense Command. NORAD uses four high-tech systems to track Santa – radar, satellites, Santa Cams and fighter jets. You can keep tabs on Santa’s journey from your desktop or now with your mobile device!

And finally just before it’s time to tuck into bed, we’ll sprinkle magic reindeer food in the front yard, leave a plate of cookies for Santa and turn off the Christmas lights.

| View Comments [1] | envelope E-mail This Entry | Tags: christmas   holiday   joanne   norad   santa  

 

Entry bubble Holiday Cooking

By: Joanne | December 16, 2008 | Category: Home and Family

turkey dinner on a plateI’ve been obsessed with two things this week: finding a store with a Nintendo Wii in stock, and cooking. I got the Wii on Sunday – I sat in the store parking lot for an hour before they opened. I am a one woman Christmas shopping commando.

I’m cooking in preparation for the holidays. My husband’s whole family will be in town. Luckily his brother lives close to us, so we won’t have an overwhelming amount of house guests, but when we’re all together, we add up to 12 hungry mouths to feed. I try to prepare as much food as I can in advance, so I have time to enjoy being with my family.

This weekend I made freezer rolls and three kinds of soup: a free-form veggies and beans, curried peanut, and corn chowder.

My big challenge will be a big, sit down dinner on Christmas Eve. We’ll have turkey, gravy, stuffing, green beans, mashed potatoes, homemade rolls, salad, and I’m still undecided on an entrée for the vegetarians. I’m thinking of a bean dish, but will have to put a little more thought into the holiday menu. Let me know if you’ve got ideas.

I still have to figure out when to take the turkey out of the freezer, but I’m sure the Meat and Poultry hotline can help me with that and remember, if you’re planning on bringing some of that killer jam you made this summer when you fly to grandma’s, remember that airline security applies to food, too.

| View Comments [2] | envelope E-mail This Entry | Tags: christmas   family   food   holiday   joanne   soup  

 

Entry bubble Post Holiday Recycling

By: Colleen | December 26, 2007 | Category: Home and Family

In the words of the great philosopher Charlie Brown, "Another Christmas, come and gone." It's the "day after" and everyone is busy returning that beautiful sweater from Aunt Bethany, or using their newly received gift cards to buy presents for those who may have been forgotten on the first round of shopping (oops!).

We may have won the battle, but we've not yet won the war. We've still got to deal with the post-Christmas clean up. If your home is anything like mine, I'm sure you have bags of wrapping paper sitting around, bows stuck to everything, and piles of holiday cards from friends and family in various locations.

The easy solution? Dump it all, throw it away—out of sight, out of mind. The not difficult and greener solution? Recycle! According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Americans throw away 25% more trash between Thanksgiving and New Years than during any other time of the year.

All that wrapping paper? Most of it is recyclable. USA.gov has tons of information regarding the best ways to dispose of holiday waste. Separate your party leftovers into paper, plastics, and glass. It's best if you use washable plates and utensils to cut down on waste while you eat, drink, and be merry.

As Joanne mentioned yesterday, you may be able to re-plant your tree. If not, many cities offer special recycling services and pick-up times for live trees.

How 'bout all those holiday cards? Quite popular, aren't you!? Cut off the front, and use the pictures as post cards for next year. Many churches and community centers also collect these for arts and crafts or greeting cards.

For more tips on recycling year-round check out Nancy's post.

Hey, you might even consider recycling Aunt Bethany's sweater—she'd love to see it on you next year!

| View Comments [0] | envelope E-mail This Entry | Tags: cards   christmas   colleen   holiday   paper   recycle   recycling   wrapping  

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