The night before Christmas, Christmas Eve, is a very magical and special time of the year. Children are “wide-eyed” with anticipation on what tomorrow will bring. They have been waiting for this time of the year for a long, long time, and it is finally here. Christmas Eve traditions differ in various countries around the world, and in this article we will be exploring some of these traditions.

Traveling around the world can work up quite the appetite, and even Santa needs to have a bit of refreshment now and then. In America and Canada, one popular Christmas Eve tradition is to leave Santa a glass of milk and a plate of cookies. In Australia and Britain they prefer to leave sherry and mince pies. The children of Sweden are aware that Santa has a love of chocolate…so they leave brownies.

Now that Santa has been fed, attention must be turned to the reindeer. After all, who can pull a sleigh full of Christmas presents around the world and not work up a big appetite? Children to the rescue one more time. Kids from Canada, Australia, Britain, and the United States leave a carrot to help give Santa’s reindeer a “bit of a push” as they span the globe. Children who follow the Dutch custom of sinterklass go a bit further. They will leave a carrot and some hay in a shoe. When they wake up the next morning it will be replaced by a gift.

Reading books and watching television or videos have become a Christmas Eve tradition as well. One popular book is “A Visit from St. Nicholas” by Clement Clark Moore. Popular videos are: Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, A Charlie Brown Christmas, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, or Frosty the Snowman. For those who like to sing Christmas Carols, popular titles are: Here Comes Santa Claus, Up on the Housetop, or Santa Claus is Coming to Town.

On Christmas Eve, children all around the world will put their stockings on the mantel. They are full of anticipation that St. Nick will soon be here, and will fill their stocking with gifts, candy, and “other goodies”. Next they will look up the chimney to make sure that the “Big Guy” has not arrived yet. They will take a glance out the window to see if they can see a passing sleigh, and then perhaps unlock the front door (just in case Santa has problems getting down the chimney). With all the prep work done, it’s time to go off to bed…

Parents have their part to play in Christmas Eve as well. There are a lot of gifts that need to be placed under the tree, and they will often be signed “From Santa” or “Love Santa”.

Christmas Eve is a busy time of year, but a very magical time as well. We hope you enjoyed this little tour of the various traditions. In future articles we will be exploring other Christmas traditions…so stay tuned…

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2009 has been a difficult year in many ways, but it hasn’t dimmed my spirits for the holiday season. In fact, I am looking forward to the Holidays even more this year, and I can’t wait to see the houses on my block lit up with colorful Christmas yard decorations.

I have noticed outdoor holiday decorations popping up earlier and earlier every year on my block, and the displays are getting larger and more elaborate. It used to be that the first weekend after Thanksgiving was the soonest that you would ever see lights being strung along houses in my neighborhood…Not anymore! October is the new November when it comes to installing Christmas yard decorations, and I don’t expect this trend to stop.

If you are in the market for some new Holiday decorations this year, get ready to be surprised! You will have many new choices this year– From solar powered outdoor lighting, to LED animal displays with thousands of lights…and from 3-D holographic holiday images, to an amazing selection of inflatable Christmas displays, you will find plenty of new Christmas yard decorations to fit every style, theme, and budget.

But before you rush out to your nearest home center, take a moment to plan out exactly how you would like your new Holiday display to look when your in-laws pull in the driveway on Christmas Day. Your front yard will be the talk of the neighborhood if you follow these simple tips to install your Christmas yard decorations this year.

Question #1: Do you have an electrical outlet in you front yard?… This is very important! If you do have access to power, proceed to the next step. If not, then you still have a couple of options:

1. You will be surprised how may Christmas yard decorations do not require the use of electricity at all, including plywood figurines and cutouts, nativity scenes, bows, garlands, and large Christmas tree ornaments. Decorations like these are actually used quite often in combination with electrical decorations so that they are visible during daylight hours.

2. New technology like solar Christmas lighting is a great way to light up trees and bushes that are beyond the reach of long extension cords.

3. You can always use the tried-and-true method of running a hundred feet of extension cord out to any remote location that you would like to decorate (make sure to use a heavy duty cord for this…at least 12 guage wire).

But you have plenty of juice to light up your front yard, then the sky is the limit! You can start with some lighting close to the house, like icicle lights strung along your roofline or across your front porch. Net lighting also looks great installed over some bushes, shrubbery, and small trees.

Are you ready to do something completely different this year? Don’t know where to start? It’s always easiest to begin by picking a theme and working around that…Here are some ideas for you to get you started: Santa’s village, reindeer, snowmen, toy soldiers, Peanuts characters, candy canes, gingerbread cookies, etc…You can even brainstorm with your kids and have some fun with it!

Are you going with colored lights, or will you keep it traditional with only white string lighting? Traditional or contemporary? By the way, it’s a good idea at this point (ahem) to consult your spouse before making any big decisions about what the front of the house will look like for three months out of the year.

I recommend that if you are purchasing your new Christmas yard decorations online, please be careful in your choice of vendors. The fact is that it’s difficult, if not impossible, to know what quality standards your new Christmas yard decorations are manufactured, and it’s just not worth it to gamble on cheap products that can pose a fire risk to your home. You can still find a great deal online with free shipping and no taxes, but from do it from a reputable website like Amazon with solid reputation and no-questions-asked return policy.

And here’s the most important ingredients to a successful holiday display: have lots of fun with it! And with that let me wish you and your family a very merry Christmas season, and a joyful and prosperous New Year.

Discover the hottest Christmas yard decorations for 2009 before your neighbor does! Find them all right here this year…