Tag: holiday tips

Flag Day: Be True to the Red, White & Blue

Posted on by Jordank

Flag Day is one of the more under-the-radar (some might say forgotten) holidays of the year. Nobody gets the day off; there’s no cookout; there may not even be a mattress sale. So why do we celebrate it — and how?

The idea of a day celebrating the flag was first suggested by Wisconsin schoolteacher B.J. Cigrand, says USFlag.org, who held the first “Flag Birthday” on June 14, 1885 — the 108th anniversary of the adoption of the Stars & Stripes as America’s official symbol. Appropriately enough, Betsy Ross House in Philadelphia picked up on the idea just a few years later in 1891.

The concept continued to spread among schools and patriotic organizations until 1894, when New York State made it official policy to fly the flag on June 14 and the Chicago-based American Flag Day Association staged events for more than 300,000 schoolchildren. Flag Day was a regular observance by 1916, when President Wilson established June 14 as the day to observe it. An Act of Congress made the day official in 1949 under President Truman.

While still not a federal holiday with a guaranteed paid day off, Flag Day invites homes and businesses to fly the flag (observing official guidelines for display). People can celebrate the symbol by pledging allegiance, singing the national anthem and/or saluting the red, white and blue. Veterans’ groups often add a performance of Taps to their Flag Day observances.

To get kids involved in the event, says Everyday Health, give them craft projects such as decorating patriotic flowerpots or making red, white and blue necklaces and baked goods. You can usually find a variety of craft supplies, kitchenwares and lightly used flags of all sizes on sale at the thrift and secondhand stores supplied by ClothingDonations.org.

As you celebrate Flag Day, remember what the Stars & Stripes stand for: The blue field and stars symbolize heaven and men’s goals, in addition to the current states in the union. Red is the color of valor, and white is the color of purity; the 13 stripes represent the original 13 colonies. Stitched together, they symbolize the promise of America and the dreams of its many people — truly the fabric of our country.

Controlling Santa’s Christmas Clutter

Posted on by Jordank

After all of the shopping, cooking and party planning, Christmas is finally here. It’s time to tear into those gifts and feast on your favorite foods. But along with all of this bounty, Santa (and probably Amazon, too) has delivered a lot of packaging, wrap and other detritus that you’ll want to keep in check as you celebrate the season.

First, you’ll want to have a garbage bag or bin near the tree to collect all of the gift wrap that’s torn-into at this year’s gift unveiling. Americans consume about 4 million pounds of gift wrap every year, or about 333 million square feet — enough to cover more than 5,000 football fields! Collect and recycle it quickly as it gets shred and tossed aside to keep your home clean.

Shopping for all of those gifts undoubtedly produced a lot of empty, utilitarian boxes and bags. If you’re hosting, keep a few of these handy for people to put their new things in to take home after the Christmas party, and recycle the rest. Integrating new stuff is difficult enough; getting it to where it ultimately needs to go shouldn’t be a hassle, too.

The larger the group, the more work prepping and cleaning up from a meal will be. Don’t be shy about assigning tasks before you serve the big feast so that it’s clear who will be setting the table, wrangling the kids, clearing the table, and washing and drying the dishes, flatware and pots and pans. Cut the chaos before it starts!

When you’re done with the holiday, be sure to pack anything you want to keep for next year sensibly, I Love My Disorganized Life says. Purge ornaments you don’t like as you pack them, box your artificial tree with all of its accessories, and — if you’re feeling really ambitious — post printed packing lists on the exterior of all storage boxes.

“When you head into the post-Christmas cleanup with a plan, it is much easier to tackle the mess head-on,” the blog says. “Making sure you are systematic and organized doesn’t have to take a lot of extra time now, and the payoff when you can easily find everything next year is worth it!”

If you find lightly-used holiday decorations that you don’t use or want as you purge, set them aside in a separate donation box and contact ClothingDonations.org for a pickup so that they might bring others joy in the years to come. Your donation will also bring innumerable gifts to the nation’s veterans all year long. Happy Holidays from The Organizing Blog and ClothingDonations.org!

Decorate Your Gifts to Make Them Distinctive

Posted on by Jordank

To dress up your holiday gifts on the cheap, add evergreens or edible tags made of iced gingerbread, Good Housekeeping says. Make gifts into the likeness of a cartoon animal or attach cut-out paper snowflakes. Use a tulle pouf instead of a bow, or weave ribbon on top of gifts instead of tying it. Wrap gifts in reused paper from maps, newspaper or sheet music. Make beaded gift toppers or attach sparkly monograms. Or top your gifts with mini ornaments or candy canes — your creativity is the only limit when it comes to decorating your packages to make them stand out under the tree.

Use ‘Santa Sacks’ to Wrap Sustainably

Posted on by Jordank

If you have a lot of gifts to give to one or more young children, go a step beyond the stocking with a sustainable Santa Sack, Holidappy suggests. Personalize a cloth laundry bag with a tag or embroidery, and have the child put the empty sack under the tree on Christmas Eve. Then fill each sack with unwrapped gifts; in the morning, the kids can open their sacks and discover what Santa brought overnight — and you’ll save money on gift wrap and ribbon while saving time on cleanup. And if you have large or oddly shaped gifts to give, hide them and leave clues around the house for the recipients to find.

Wrap Your Christmas Gifts in Creativity

Posted on by Jordank

Do-it-yourselfers know that it doesn’t take a lot of money to gussy up a gift if you think outside the box, the Creative Live blog says. Try alternatives to store-bought wraps such as colorful fabric, butcher paper or paper towel rolls. Or to showcase the ubiquitous-but-boring-to-look-at gift cards, build snowglobe holders. Wrap bottles of wine in the sleeves of thrift-store sweaters. Put your gifts inside unused paint cans or tuck them into folding Chinese takeout containers. The “big reveal” of any gift is always more exciting if you can amp up the anticipation by having a little fun with the packaging.