A Christmas Eve Blog

This morning anthony and I had this funny conversation before getting up. I thought it would be appreciated by anyone out to finish up for the holiday tomorrow.

me: I have to run to the store and pick up one more thing, plus grab the makings for dessert tonight.

Anthony: Whoa, you can't go out today.

me: I can, it will be fine. I just need to go to Publix.

Anthony: Do you know what it is today? It's Christmas Eve. You can't go out there. You might as well think of it as if zombies are attacking. Board up the windows, load the rifle and stay inside.

me: Seriously, it will be fine. I am just running across the street.

Anthony: Ok, but I'm sure it's the seventh circle of Hell out there.

For the record I got everything in one stop and was home in the house 20 minutes later. Both the parking and shopping gods smiled on me, and there were no zombies. Merry Christmas!

A real blog - for a change

Ok, avid readers, all two of you - a real blog for you. None of that survey or cute picture crap happening here.

I have BIG news on the work front. No, I was not promoted to ruler of the universe, or even of the organization for that matter. However, I did get approval to spearhead a new campaign (with another coworker who is quite smart at this stuff) aimed at the 20 something market.

I'm super excited, because if this campaign works out, it will help feed hungry people, re-forest areas in desperate need, and most importantly show that we 20 somethings are not heartless, and do care, we just do it in our own special way, validating what I have been saying all along.

The campaign is this: Trees for Haiti. It is solely going to be based in the social networking frontier, meaning, the constituents are you guys! We are offering fruit trees to be planted in Haiti. The benefits of the trees are two-fold. 1. Planting the trees in Haiti will help hold the rich topsoil in place, instead of washing it into the ocean with every rainstorm (fun fact: most of Haiti's soil that would have sustained plants is now in the ocean, past their coral reef, thanks to the hurricanes of last year). 2. The trees provide mangos and papayas to those starving in the poorest country of the western hemisphere.

Better yet - this idea has been picked up and included in the Billion Trees Campaign, through the United Nations, see it here. Our trees will be added to the goal of the United Nations to plant a billion trees in 2008.

The trees are affordable at $10 a piece. Skip one trip to Starbucks or Jamba Juice and the tree is paid for. Pioneering a new road, those who donate trees will be on our "green" list. This means you will not get any paper mailings asking for money. We are saving more trees by not sending you anything in the mail.

We are jumping on the bandwagon of the times and after a purchase you can put a really cool widget (like the Chevy tree on my page) on your page saying you have adopted one of our trees and/or download a certificate to display your commitment to helping green our planet and help the food crisis in the Caribbean.

Let me know what you guys think - and of course I'll be posting links shortly with it. My department is looking to launch this campaign June 1 under the name Trees for Haiti. You can see new information on the organization (or join as a friend) at myspace.com/food_for_the_poor. Wish me luck!

The work of elves

There are many similarities between elves and children: Both are short, love holidays, adore Santa and run on sugar.

Santa's Workshop in Pembroke Pines receives a Judges' Choice Award for recognizing and celebrating those similarities.

Every December, the staff hosts a holiday shindig for children to make gifts for their families and for parents to get a few hours to finish their last minute shopping or decorating.

Santa's Workshop
Dec. 2, 9 a.m.-–11 a.m.
Price Park, 901 NW 208th Ave., Pembroke Pines
$10 per child.
Reservations begin Nov. 6.

Children ages 5–-12 attend the workshop where they can create as many as 10 crafts to give to family and friends for the holiday.

"Some of the crafts are pretty labor-intensive for our 'taller' elves," says Francy Novo, event coordinator, adding that crafts range from difficult ("Shrinky Dinks") to easy ("reindeer food").

All children who participate are "elf certified" at the end of the session in a ceremony that reunites them with their parents. Elf certification means a person has created gifts for family and friends and understands gifts do not always come from malls or cost money.

"They are learning the way to make gifts from the heart," Novo says. "It gets kids to think beyond malls and money."

Crafts are even available to fit any finicky siblings' tastes, she says.

"We make doorstoppers that say 'get out of my room' for big siblings," Novo says. "That's always a big hit."

One craft is an edible treat.

"It's always something Santa-approved," she says. "It's something sugary and fun, that Santa and the elves like to eat -- like cupcakes, personal cakes, cookies, whatever Santa sends."

For smaller 'elves,' the crafts come prepackaged, so if they cannot finish the gifts they want to make, they are given the pieces to take home and put together.

Mrs. Claus always stops by the workshop to check up on her newly recruited elves and share a story. Rudolph, of course, comes along.

Participation in the event is limited, so early registration is required.

"We can only take 75 children according to laws because it's kind of like a baby-sitting service," Novo says. "It's always a Saturday before the holiday, and many parents use the time to do last-minute shopping or preparing."

Logo!