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Valentine’s Day Traditions – How Did We Get Here?

Valentine’s Day Traditions – How Did We Get Here?

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Yes, today is Valentine’s Day (don’t worry, Dollar General probably still has a card and some cheap flowers if you forgot), and while you and your sweetheart (if you have one) are reading cards, going out to dinner, or pounding chocolate squares filled with mysterious ingredients by the fist-full, you may be thinking – “where did all of these traditions come from”? Holiday Origins As with most holidays, the origins of the holiday are a mixed bag.  There were many…

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Amazon Delivery: What’s Going On With You Right Now?

Amazon Delivery: What’s Going On With You Right Now?

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Dear Amazon: Let me be the first to say that although your billionaire CEO annoys me on a regular basis, I have to admit you provide a wonderful service.  With the addition of the multiple (and massive) shipping facilities you have recently built in my area, the turnaround time from order to delivery is surprisingly fast (sometimes within an astonishing twenty-four hours). I also have noticed a plethora of Amazon delivery trucks on the highways and byways of my daily…

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The Celebration of Trees: One of the Wonders of the Holiday Season

The Celebration of Trees: One of the Wonders of the Holiday Season

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I absolutely love this festive time of the year.  The decorations, the wrapping paper, the music, the lights – and the gloriously decorated Christmas trees.  If you want to experience a family-friendly way to see all of this and more, then you still have time to go and see the Celebration of Trees, being held at the historic Springfield Barn in Williamsport, MD. The event was started back in 2009, when organizers got the bright idea to try and recycle…

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Black Friday: Why Is This Still a Thing?

Black Friday: Why Is This Still a Thing?

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As we move into Thanksgiving week, once the turkey has been carved, the football games have been watched, and the pumpkin pie has been served, many Americans then turn their sights towards their next holiday tradition. Black Friday. These shopping sentinels arise in the middle of the night, put on their favorite PJs or sweats, grab their lattes and their shopping lists, and head into the breach to join hordes of other would-be bargain hunters on their quest for the…

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Looking Ahead: The Holiday Season is Upon Us

Looking Ahead: The Holiday Season is Upon Us

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OK, so we made it through another Halloween, the clocks have been set back (for whatever reason), and I changed out all of my smoke detector batteries (a lesson hard learned from years past).  Now it’s time to look forward to the two biggest holidays on the seasonal calendar – Thanksgiving and the “C” word.  Notice I mentioned one and not the other, for it seems like every year Thanksgiving takes a back seat to that other ogre of a…

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Holiday Happenings: Don’t Let the Season Overwhelm You

Holiday Happenings: Don’t Let the Season Overwhelm You

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It’s that time of year.  So much going on – so much to get done.  The house needs to be decorated, there are presents to buy and wrap, holiday school events to attend, college kids to pick-up, and meals to plan.  Did you get your Christmas cards done and in the mail?  How about those packages that need sent out in order arrive on or before December 25th?  What day are you baking your holiday cookies or assembling that gingerbread…

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Decorating the Tree for the Holidays

Decorating the Tree for the Holidays

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Well, another Thanksgiving has come and gone, which means our household can now turn its attention to the upcoming Christmas season.  Unlike more and more of my friends and neighbors, in our castle we DO give Turkey Day its due and hold off on the fluff and floof of Christmas until at least the day AFTER Thanksgiving (which even I think is a little early, but am generally overruled by a gaggle of women who are in full-on “Holy Jolly”…

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Black Friday: Why Are We Still Doing This?

Black Friday: Why Are We Still Doing This?

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It’s coming – like a beast that has slumbered all season, waiting to unleash its onslaught of bargains and deals for those brave souls willing to sacrifice sleep and sanity to take on its promise of retail nirvana. “Black Friday”. For most stores, it’s the turning point of their fiscal year – when they actually START to turn a profit (changing their financial figures from red to black, hence the name). You’ve all seen the videos, articles, and news reports. …

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Christmas is Everywhere – and It’s Only November

Christmas is Everywhere – and It’s Only November

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Ahhhh, memories.  I hearken back to a day when each holiday got its due.  I fondly recall my days as a young school-aged lad, making cut-out jack-o-lanterns in October, drawing around my hand to make a turkey in November – and then – in December, we’d talk about the upcoming Christmas holiday. I know it sounds crazy, but yes – we’d talk about Christmas in December. These days, in our consumer driven world, it seems as if retailers want to…

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The Holiday Rush Has Arrived!

The Holiday Rush Has Arrived!

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Well, we held out as long as we could in the Snyder household (at my insistence), but come the break of the post-Thanksgiving dawn on Friday, November 25th, my youngest began the constant barrage of “Dad, when are we going to put up the Christmas tree?”  Honestly, she should be sent to Gitmo as an interrogator, as I’m convinced she could break every dangerous prisoner there inside of a week.  (For those of you wondering – the tree went up…

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