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There are no chimneys for Santa to descend, no icicles on the roof, neither do we have chestnuts roasting in an open fire. It may not be a traditional White Christmas in the Caribbean but that does not mean there are not traditional, albiet-tropical traditions that the Caribbean offers, that make Christmas as warm and as happy as anything you would find elsewhere.
In the Caribbean, people of all religions and some who observe no religion at all become involved in Christmas activities. They include giftgiving, feasting, Christmas cards, Christmas music, the masquerade in its various forms, and others. TURKS AND CAICOS ISLANDS In the Turks and Caicos families come together to have a hearty Christmas Day feast or Ham or turkey, or both. The diverse mix of cultures on the island means that that customs from across the Caribbean and across the world are also practiced here.
ST. VINCENT AND THE GRENADINES Nine Mornings is the tradition that you would experience from December 16-24 in St. Vincent and the Grenadines. From about 5:00 am till 7:00 am you would wake up with the sounds of music, carolers singing Christmas songs mixed with stringed instruments or events such as Christmas parades or bike racing!
ST. LUCIA
Turks and Caicos SUN
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ST. KITTS AND NEVIS On St. Kitts they hold a Carnival over the holidays centred around a giant street party complete with steel drum and calypso celebrations, music and beauty competitions and great food. HAITI In Haiti the children call Santa- Papa Noel, and place their shined shoes on the porch with straw inside. Papa Noel then replaces the straw with presents. Other islands Santa is calledFather Christmas. BARBADOS On Christmas day, Barbados has a Day of Feasting, complete with Baked Ham, Turkey, Rice and Green Peas, Yams and plum pudding. A celebration of food is found throughout all the Caribbean on Christmas Day; along with and eggnog type of drink with a liquer, usually rum. On Belize it is called "Rum Popo" and on Trinidad- "Ponche de Creme". In addition to all the festivities and celebrations leading up to Christmas is the tradition of repairing the house or cleaning the home in much of the Caribbean. This is a symbol of renewal and preparing for all the family and guests that will be coming home for Christmas.
Scene from the pantomime” Nuff and Plenty” in 2008. The Little Theatre hosts the annual Christmas play on Boxing Day.
JAMAICA The tradition on Jamaica is that people come together at "Grand Market" on Christmas Eve. They celebrate the story of Christmas with outdoor concerts and plays and to shop for Christmas ornaments and presents at the market found in all the major towns and cities on the island. On Christmas Day families sit down to a feast fit for a king, with curried goat, ham, turkey, rice and gungo peas, rich fruit cake and sorrel.
The Caribbean may speak English, Dutch, French and Spanish in addition to local dialects, but they are all the same at Christmas time. It is a time of families coming together to share meals, sing songs and exchange presents in a time of joy and peace.
St. Lucia has the Festival of Lights that honours their Patron Saint of Light- St. Lucy. Beginning every December 13th it is highlighted by the switching on of Christmas Lights and in Bursting the Bamboo in St. Lucia the decoration of the towns and villages in Christmas Lights as well as lantern making competition. One of the Christmastime traditions in Saint Lucia is “bursting the bamboo.” From late November one can hear the sounds of bamboo bursting during the night. Men in the neighborhood use kerosene and rags and sticks as fuses to make cannons out of hollowed-out bamboo.
TRINIDAD & TOBAGO
PARANG is a musical form of celebrating Christmas on the islands of Grenada or Trinidad. Parang means a group of musicians and instruments consisting of anywhere from 4 to 6 to 10 people who go from door to door in their communities singing Christmas Carols and spreading the good cheer of Christmas. This tradition is sung in English on the Grenadian sister island of Carriacou and on Trinidad it is sung in Spanish and even has a Parang Somba!
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PPC LIGHTS UP YOUR CHRISTMAS!
Happy Holidays
May Every Day Be Happy and Bright!
PPC - Committed to our Communities PPC’s streetlights are on 99.9% of the time! (PPC is not responsible for the streetlights along Grace Bay, The Bight, and Chalk Sound).
We Look Forward to Serving You in 2011 Visit us at: www.ppcltd.tc
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1. Shop from a Secure PC If possible, avoid using the family PC that your teens or children use to chat with their buddies and play games online. Those machines, especially if they're a Microsoft Windows computer, are often already infested with spyware. An infected system will undermine all of the other precautions you might take to avoid online fraud. Before you start shopping online, make sure your system is running with up-to-date antivirus software, and that you're using a firewall to block potential intruders. Just as important, be sure that your computer has the latest Microsoft software security updates installed.
2. Shop Smart, and Only at Sites You Know & Trust Avoid search-engine shopping, which can often lead to random merchants you've never heard of. For the safest and most hassle-free online shopping experience, it's best to stick with merchants you know and trust. Most importantly, make sure you have read and understand the merchant's shipping and return policies before making any purchases. If you're worried that you'll miss out on the discounts if you shop online, there are a number of well-established online coupon sites -- such as couponcabin.com and currentcodes.com -- that list different promotional codes that you can enter at participating Web merchants during checkout. Generally these discounts range from $5-off coupons, to 10-20 percent off of a certain purchase amount, to free shipping. Be sure to print a copy of each receipt or confirmation e-mail you receive. Keep all of your receipts in a folder and filed away in a safe place. Never buy anything advertised via unsolicited e-mail. Such offers are almost always a scam. Criminals even build attractive storefronts for fake businesses that close up shop within days of accepting your online order. Research unfamiliar sellers. The Better Business Bureau and Ripoff Report may offer insights on otherwise legitimate companies that have generated more than their fair share of consumer complaints. 3. Shop with Your Credit Card Most online merchants accept both credit and debit cards. Under federal law,
Turks and Caicos Sun Suite # 5, Airport Plaza Providenciales Turks and Caicos Islands Tel: (649) 946-8542/ (649) 241-1510 Fax: (649) 941-3281 Email: sun@suntci.com Read us online at www.suntci.com
Publisher & Editor-in-Chief: Hayden Boyce Senior Editor: Vivian Tyson Web Designer: Patrina Moore-Pierre Graphics Editor: Joleen Grant Office Manager: Dominique Williams Distribution Manger: Kelano Howell Advertising and Marketing ManagerPatrina Moore-Pierre
The Turks and Caicos SUN is a subsidiary of The SUN Media Group Ltd.
We are committed to excellence in journalism, educating and informing our readers, serving and satisfying our advertisers and assisting in the overall development of the Turks and Caicos Islands.
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Safe Online ShOpping
credit card issuers can only hold customers liable for the first $50 of fraudulent transactions, and most issuers will waive even that amount. While debit card issuers have largely adopted that same approach, your bank account could be overdrawn while you dispute fraudulent charges, particularly if you don't notice the fraud immediately. Experts say credit cards still present less potential for hassle when dealing with your financial institution should unauthorized charges show up later on a monthly statement. "It's still harder to get your money back from fraudulent transactions on a debit card unless the process is transacted in exactly the way the bank wants to be, and a lot of times consumers have no way of knowing whether a given purchase meets those requirements," said Avivah Litan, a fraud analyst with research firm Gartner Inc. Never, I repeat, never, shop at sites that ask you to wire your payment or send money orders.
4. Consider Alternative Payment Methods For the truly fraud-wary online shopper, there are still plenty of alternatives to entering your account number at multiple Web sites. Many financial institutions and
card issuers -- including Bank of America, Citibank, Discover, and PayPal -- offer customers the ability to generate unique, "virtual" or "one-time use" account numbers that are good for a single transaction or a handful of specified transactions only and cannot be reused. While virtual account numbers may make shoppers feel safer online, they may be more hassle than they're worth, Litan said. "These virtual numbers generally are there to protect [the card issuer] more than the consumer, but they do give some online shoppers more peace of mind." Gartner's recent studies show online shoppers are starting to turn to other alternative payment methods, such as prepaid gift and credit cards, and services like billmelater.com. The latter allows online shoppers to shop online at some wellknown retail outlets without ever having to enter a credit card number (the company requests your name, address, date of birth and the last four digits of your Social Security number to decide whether to grant you instant credit). A number of participating sites are offering perks for purchases made through billmelater.com, such as free shipping and deferred payment for up to six months.
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Islandcom presents first Employee of the Year Award
Kavita Chand proudly displays her Employee of the Year Plaque and Cheque for $500.
Salesperson of the Year Emilio Seymour is overjoyed as he unwraps his brand new Blackberry Torch.
Festive Islandcom employees were full of cheer and Christmas spirit this past weekend at the Employee Christmas Party. The jovial gathering took place at Islandcom CEO, Kate Bonner’s home which was decked out with all the seasonal merriment, particularly the delicious Christmas inspired meal served by Caicos Catering. The staff was not only brought together to rejoice the festive season but also to reward and recognize the truly superior members of the new Islandcom team since its 3G re-vamping earlier this year.
Awards presented this year were ‘Salesperson of the Year’ and overall ‘Employee of the Year’. Although all Islandcom staff members worked diligently in 2010, there were two employees that shined above the rest. Their dedication, attention to detail, extra hours and commitment to their position were instrumental in making Islandcom not only TCI’s newest cellular provider – but TCI’s best cellular provider! The award for Salesperson of the year went to Emilio Seymour for his outstanding performance and sales track record. Mr. Seymour was thrilled to receive a Blackberry Torch as his reward. Emilio started working with the company in April, 2010 and has been an integral part of the sales team, providing customers with exceptional customer service and support. A special thank you goes out to Islandcom’s Sales Representatives Shekerah Handfield, Elisha
Jennings and Jerome Hall in Provo and Maria Rolle and Yachi Glinton in Grand Turk for their continued commitment and pride in their sales roles.
Although it was a tough verdict, Islandcom’s first ever Employee of the Year was awarded to Kavita Chand who has been an Accounting Assistant for Islandcom for over a year. Her enthusiasm, dedication and contribution to Islandcom’s success this year was unmatched. Her many late nights at the office and hours spent crunching numbers were rewarded with recognition from her colleagues and a $500 cheque. Ms. Chand joined Islandcom in 2009 after graduating from the University of Tampa with a BSc in Accounting and Economics. She is also currently a candidate to become a CPA (certified public accountant). As Kavita stepped up to accept her reward she received thunderous applause- a confirmation from her peers that she truly deserved the title of Employee of the Year.
On receiving her award Kavita stated “I feel tremendously honoured to receive such a prestigious award. Hard work definitely pays off!” Recognition was also given to the outstanding Customer Care team who have been working non- stop to ensure Islandcom customers receive the most exemplary customer service in the Turks & Caicos.
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BOE 4FBTPOhT( SFF
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MAY THE CHRISTMAS SEASON FILL YOUR HOME WITH JOY YOUR HEART WITH LOVE AND YOUR LIFE WITH LAUGHTER HAB Group would like to extend warm Christmas greetings and a prosperous, healthy and happy New Year to all of our valued customers and clients.
An investment with HAB Group is a safe and secure choice
www.HABgroup.com
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INGREDIENTS 2 cups milk 1 medium ripe banana, peeled and cut in chunks 4 Tbsps. granulated sugar 1 tsp. vanilla 1/4 tsp. nutmeg 1 medium egg 2 scoops vanilla ice cream
INGREDIENTS 1 lb. (5 kgs)ham 1 bottle marmalade 2 tsps. grated orange rind 2 cups fresh orange segments 5 medium ripe bananas 2 Tbsps. fresh lime juice 1/4 cup lightly packed brown sugar 15 whole cloves 2 Tbsps. vinegar
METHOD 1. Bake ham in preheated oven at 180째C / 350째F, (15 minutes for each pound). 2. In a saucepan over low heat, heat marmalade until it is of a syrupy consistency. 3. Stir constantly with a wooden spoon, remove marmalade from heat and blend in orange segments, banana slices and lime juice. 4. Spoon mixture over ham 15 minutes before it is finished baking. 5. In a separate bowl, combine the brown sugar and vinegar, brush this over ham. Bake ham for a further 15-20 minutes. Serving Suggestions: Serve with candied sweet potatoes and rice & peas. Serves: 15-20
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METHOD 1. In a blender, blend together the milk, banana, sugar, vanilla, nutmeg and egg at high speed. 2. Add ice cream to mixture in blender and whip for a minute. Serving Suggestions: Serve over cracked ice, sprinkle with nutmeg and decorate with cherries. Serves: 4
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HolIday
INGREDIENTS 1 cup prunes 1 cup mixed peel 1 tsp. lemon rind 1 tsp. rose water 2 tsp. vanilla 4 medium eggs 1 cup granulated sugar 1 cup soft margarine 1 cup raisins 1cup currants 1/2 cup cherries 4 Tbsps. browning 3 cups flour 1tsp. baking powder 1tsp. mixed spice 1cup rum 3 cups port wine
Travel TIPS
How will you keep your sanity and stay out of trouble this Christmas holiday. Here are some tried-and-true tips to help you avoid the most common travel pitfalls this holiday season. 1. Get some shuteye Before a trip, it’s tempting to stay up late packing and clearing off your desk. But sleep-deprived travelers are cranky travelers. And cranky travelers are apt to find everything about travel irritating. So get a good night’s sleep.
METHOD 1. Blend fruits (prunes, raisins, currants, cherries, and mixed peel) with 1-cup rum, and 3 cups port wine. 2. Cream margarine and sugar until light and fluffy. 3. Add eggs one at a time, beating well between each egg. 4. Add vanilla, rose water and lemon rind to mixture. 5. Add Flour and mixed fruits alternately to the creamed batter and add browning. 6. Pour mixture in a greased and lined 9-inch covered baking pan. 7. Steam for 1 hour at 180˚C/350˚F. Then reduce temperature to 150˚C and steam for another 1 1/2 hours. 8. Remove from oven and allow to cool to room temperature. Notes: Soak pudding, with additional wine to keep pudding moist.
A popular Jamaican Christmas drink INGREDIENTS 3 cups sorrel sepals 1 oz. (30 grams) ginger, crushed 1 piece dried orange peel 6 whole cloves 6 cups boiling water 2 cups granulated sugar 1/4 cup white rum (optional) 1 Tbsp. white rice
A Christmas drink from Trinidad and Tobago
2. Recon mission Do as much as you can before you leave home. Reconfirm airline reservations the night before your trip and again before you walk out the door. Print out your boarding pass and, if you can, print a luggage tag for checked baggage.
3. Arrive early Get an early start. Generally, airlines advise being at the airport at least two hours before a domestic flight and at least three hours before an international flight. On the busiest travel days, lining up even earlier can’t hurt. Keep this in mind for your return trip as well. 4. Lighten up During the past year, many airlines instituted — and most still have — fees for checked bags. Check your airline’s website for the latest fees and rules, and then consider leaving those extra outfits behind.
5. Dress for success — and speed At airport security checkpoints, you’ll still need to remove your shoes, your coat, big belt buckles and other metal objects. Computers in TSAapproved cases, though, can now stay in their carriers. 6. Know how to pack TSA officers may ask you to unwrap gifts in your carry-on bag, so carry presents and wrapping paper separately. X-ray machines can’t always see through piles of books, CD’s and other dense items, so spread them out in your bag.
METHOD 1. Place sorrel, crushed ginger, orange peel and cloves in a jar. 2. Pour on boiling water and allow to steep for 24 hours. Strain and sweeten to taste. Add rum if necessary. 3. Pour into bottles adding a few grains of rice to each bottle.
Notes: Rice added to sorrel helps to hasten fermentation. After sorrel is made allow to remain at room temperature for at least one day before drinking. Serves/Yields: 6-8
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7. Bring a survival kit Stock it with earplugs and an eyeshade, healthy snacks, a charged cell phone and a backup calling card, a small flashlight, sanitizing wipes, entertainment (books, DVD or music player, cards, etc.) and some extra cash.
INGREDIENTS 6 medium eggs 2 Tbsps. condensed milk 2 Tbsps. evaporated milk 1/4 cup (60 ml) rum 1/2 tsp. lime rind (zest) 1/8 tsp. angostura bitters 1/8 tsp. nutmeg
METHOD 1. Blend together eggs, condensed milk, evaporated milk, rum, lime rind, bitters and nutmeg, then strain. 2. Put to chill in the refrigerator 20 minutes before serving time. Serving Suggestions: Serve chilled Punch a Creme over crushed ice sprinkled with nutmeg. Serves 4
8. Stay entertained Weather, mechanical breakdowns, air-traffic control glitches, and a host of other uncontrollable events can leave you stuck at the airport. Your survival kit (above) can help, but so will a map of the airport and a printout of the facility's amenities, shops and restaurants. 9. Know how to complain If things go wrong, try not to yell at the people who are working the holiday and just trying to do their jobs. If you can’t calmly resolve a problem on site, take good notes, get names, take pictures, and follow up immediately with a phone call and/or letter when you get to your destination.
10. Know that your kids know how to travel Whining, crying, unhappy kids in an airport, on a train, or in the back of the car are no fun. Make sure your young ones are prepared for an adventure. Bring along toys, books, snacks and activities. And chat with your kids about what the travel day will be like, what it means to travel, and how to behave in public. Here’s to a stress-free, problem-free holiday!
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Turks & Caicos SUN
December 2010
Merry Christmas
Wishing You A Joyful Holiday Season And Happiness In The New Year – From Your Friends At Scotiabank Turks and Caicos. We sincerely appreciate your business and look forward to helping you reach your financial goals in the year ahead.
* Trademarks of The Bank of Nova Scotia, used under licence.
T&C (08/10)
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May Your Days
BE DAZZLED
and Your Hearts
BE JEWELED
This Christmas We Sincerely Thank You For Your Patronage Throughout The Year.
^ŚŽƉ Ăƚ ZŽLJĂů :ĞǁĞůƐ ƚŚŝƐ ŚŽůŝĚĂLJ ƐĞĂƐŽŶ ĨŽƌ ĂŶ ĂƐƚŽŶŝƐŚŝŶŐ ƐĞůĞĐƟŽŶ ŽĨ ĨƌĂŐƌĂŶĐĞƐ͕ ĞdžĐĞƉƟŽŶĂů ŐŝŌ ŝƚĞŵƐ͕ ƐƚLJůŝƐŚ ǁĂƚĐŚĞƐ ĂŶĚ ĮŶĞ ũĞǁĞůƌLJ͊ Extended opening hours: ϵ͘ϯϬ Ă͘ŵ͘ Ͳ ϴ͘ϬϬ Ɖ͘ŵ͘ ƐƚĂƌƟŶŐ ĞĐĞŵďĞƌ ϭϳ͕ ϮϬϭϬ. DĞŶƟŽŶ ŽƵƌ WZKDK K ͗ ROYJ1989 and receive a 10% ĚŝƐĐŽƵŶƚ͊
IN-STORE CHRISTMAS RAFFLE FROM DECEMBER 1, 2010: WĞƌĨƵŵĞ 'ŝŌ ĂƐŬĞƚ͕ ^ǁĂƚĐŚ tĂƚĐŚ͕ ^ǁĂƌŽǀƐŬŝ :ĞǁĞůƌLJ͕ >ĂŶĚ ,ĂŶĚďĂŐ͕ dŝīĂŶLJ ƌLJƐƚĂů Raffle Drawing - DECEMBER 24, 2010
sŝƐŝƚ ŽƵƌ ĨĂĐĞŬ ƉĂŐĞ Žƌ ũŽŝŶ ŽƵƌ ŵĂŝůŝŶŐ ůŝƐƚ Ăƚ ǁǁǁ͘ƌŽLJĂůũĞǁĞůƐ͘ŶĞƚ
royal jewels birthday club -
^ŝŐŶ ƵƉ ĂŶĚ ƌĞĐĞŝǀĞ ƐƉĞĐŝĂů ĚŝƐĐŽƵŶƚƐ ĨŽƌ ƚŚĞ ĞŶƟƌĞ ŵŽŶƚŚ ŽĨ LJŽƵƌ ďŝƌƚŚĚĂLJ͊
Royal Jewels – Committed to Celebrating Excellence! ƌĐŚ WůĂnjĂ͕ >ĞĞǁĂƌĚ ,ŝŐŚǁĂLJ͕ WƌŽǀŝĚĞŶĐŝĂůĞƐ͕ dƵƌŬƐ ĂŶĚ ĂŝĐŽƐ͕ t/ dĞů͗ ϲϰϵͲϵϰϲͲϰϲϵϵ͖ ŵĂŝů͗ ƌŽLJĂůũĞǁĞůƐΛƚĐŝǁĂLJ͘ƚĐ͖ tĞďƐŝƚĞ͗ ǁǁǁ͘ƌŽLJĂůũĞǁĞůƐ͘ŶĞƚ
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decorating ideas 1. Create a charming display of teddy bears dressed for the season. Gather together three or more teddy bears and arrange them on a table or on the floor in a corner. Dress the bears with touques, scarves and mittens. Place candy canes in their hands or tie bows around their necks. You can even wrap up some small, empty boxes with Christmas wrapping paper to place in the bears' hands. 2. Hang a collection of Christmas stockings on your mantle, a shelf or the wall (even if you don't stuff them). The more the merrier when it comes to nice christmas decorations.
3. Revisit your childhood. Cut snowflakes from white paper and hang them in all of your windows. 4. Dress up your house plants - hang small Christmas ornaments on them.
5. Tie a red ribbon around a tall, slim drinking glass. Fill the glass with candy canes and display on a shelf or side table.
6. Purchase plain green or red place mats and attach Christmas ribbons, bows or small wooden ornaments with a hot glue gun. 7. Fill a small glass bowl or decorative Christmas bowl with small cones and display on end tables, shelves, buffet tables, etc.
8. Pile a collection of Christmas books on a side table. 9. If you have a large, bare outside wall, try this simple idea. Cut a Christmas silhouette from a piece of plywood (a silhouette of Santa, a snowman, etc works well). Using screws, attach your silhouette to a short post that you can drive into the ground. You'll want the silhouette to stand right a ground
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Wrap an assortment of medium to large sized boxes with Christmas wrap and pile them in a corner. (Tip #12)
Create a charming display of teddy bears dressed for the season. (Tip #1) level several feet away from the wall. Position a spot light on the other side of the silhouette so that it will shine on the silhouette and project a large shadow on the wall. We've seen this done with a silhouette of Joseph leading Mary who is sitting on a donkey. It's beautiful.
10. Wrap indoor Christmas lights around a railing or banister. Secure periodically with tape. Be careful to tape down the electrical cord so that no one trips over it.
11. Add color to a room with vases of red and white flowers. Use roses, carnations, mums, daisies, etc. Or, float the flowers in large crystal or glass bowls.
cookies.
13. Purchase a large glass plate. Paint the underside of the plate with gold craft paint. Dry. Place the plate on a table and fill with several white or off-white pillar candles of varying sizes.
23. Print your favorite cookie recipe on Christmas stationary (or print it on a white piece of paper and have it photo copied onto Christmas stationary). Roll each recipe up like a scroll. Tie the scroll with ribbon. Place the scrolls in a basket by your front door so you can give them to departing guests. You could also bake up a batch of cookies. Wrap each cookie separately in plastic wrap and attach one cookie to each scroll with ribbon (string the ribbon through a hole in the plastic wrap).
12. Wrap an assortment of medium to large sized boxes with Christmas wrap. Attach ribbons and/or bows. Pile the boxes in a corner from floor to ceiling.
14. String popcorn, cranberries, cereal, beads, etc. and hang the garlands everywhere. 15. Add a few drops of food coloring to white glue. Put the glue into a squeeze bottle or icing piping bag. Draw simple Christmas star outlines on waxed paper. Pipe glue onto the paper, following your drawn outlines. Dry. Peel glue ornaments off of the waxed paper and hang in windows with thread or ribbon. 16. Cut pictures out of old Christmas cards and create a collage by gluing them onto a piece of poster board. You can frame the poster board if you like or simply hang it on the wall.
17. Tape a doily to the outside of a glass canister or clean glass mayonnaise jar. Spray the outside of the container with artificial snow. Dry. Remove the doily. Fill the container with cookies, candy, ornaments, etc. 18. Remove your favorite pictures from their frames. Wrap the frames with Christmas wrap and replace the pictures.
19. Use a child's Christmas pop-up book as a centerpiece. Just open the book up to a desirable picture and place the open book in the center of your table.
20. Hang a large December wall calendar on your wall. Count down the days to Christmas by gluing a brightlycolored bow on each passing day. 21. Paint the inside of a glass white to simulate milk. Display the glass along with a plate full of cookies and a handwritten Santa's wish list. It looks great if you take a bite or two out of one
22. Screw small hooks into the ceiling and hang indoor Christmas lights from them.
24. Display colored glass ball ornaments or even beads in bowls instead of hanging them on your tree.
25. Wash and dry half a dozen small jars (it's better if they're all different sizes and shapes). Fill each jar 2/3 full of water and add a couple of drops of red or green food coloring to each jar. Stir. Place one sprig of evergreen in each jar and display the jars in a group on a table or line them up in a row on a shelf or window sill.
26. Dress up your dinner table: cover the table with a plain red, green or white tablecloth and sprinkle with red, green or gold cut-outs from your party decorations store. Or, make your own cuts out with specially shaped hole punches and solid colored wrapping paper. 27. Create an eclectic centerpiece using a large glass plate. Place a collection of containers on the plate. Use small bowls, vases, candle holders, flower pots, clean ash trays, etc. Fill each container with a different type of nut or candy.
28. Trim door frames, window frames and the edges of mirrors with Christmas garland (secure with tape).
29. Purchase small bells from your craft store. Tie each bell to a piece of ribbon between 6" and 18" in length. Gather all of the ribbons together and knot together at the top. Drape the bells over a door knob so that they ring when someone enters or exits. 30. Put some color into your bathroom. Display red and green glycerin soaps, bath gels and oils.
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Hot toys for Christmas
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2010
Every year, an entirely new crop of kids playthings are introduced to the market with the hope that they’ll fast rise to the top for the holiday season. This year is no exception. Here are just a few of the hot toys for Christmas 2010.
XBOX Kinect
Another choice in the world of motion activated video games and a c c e s s o r i e s , unlike its predecessor the Wii, this one simply attaches to your current XBOX. Also unlike it’s Nintendo companion, there aren’t any real controllers with this one. It’s wholly voice-activated, and thanks to a 3-D camera and the microphones that come with the system, players are inside the games themselves. From running in place to throwing objects, the games respond to both their voices and movements, and turning it off is as simple as anything else inside this virtual world. A simple “Stop” command does the trick.
Fisher-Price iXL NERF N-Strike Stampede ECS Blaster
My Pillow Pets
Snuggly choices have been popular with little ones for generations, and this year is no exception with this line of hot toys for 2010. The only real shift here is that you can now get plush items that serve more than one purpose. These are not just great stuffed animals, but they can serve as the perfect car or naptime pillow too. With choices like a unicorn, a ladybug, a puppy, a dolphin, a penguin, and even a monkey, there are probably a few that your child would like to add to his or her budding collection of plush creatures perfect for sleep or resting fun.
The fully automated Nerf N-Strike Stampede ECS has the ability to launch an astounding three darts per second. Your child can either squeeze the trigger once to let a single dart fly, or hold the trigger down vTech V.Reader and have the Stampede launch Nerf darts in rapidfire succession. With three extended 18-dart clips, a Loopz Game quick-reload 6-dart clip, and 60 Clip System darts, the Stampede is ready to reload and keep the foam Wow Wee Paper Jamz Guitar Instant Rockstar flying. Become an instant rock star with Paper Jamz! It s not air guitar it s music for real! Active Graphics circuitLEGO Board Games embedding technology allows you to play like a pro just by touching the Paper Jamz guitars fret and vTech MobiGo strumming the strings image. Ready to go solo Switch to Freestyle mode to play real chords and create your FurReal Friends Furry Frenzies own songs.
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the
classic
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December 2010
watch
No other watch is engineered quite like a Rolex. The Datejust, introduced in 1945, was the first wristwatch to display the date through an aperture on the dial. Its unique magnifying Cyclops eye, added a few years later, became recognised as a Rolex design standard. Admired for its classic design, the Datejust became an iconic symbol of style. The 36 mm Datejust is presented here in Rolex signature Rolesor, a unique combination of 904L steel and 18 ct yellow gold.
t he d ate jus t
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09.12.10 10:13
Turks and Caicos SUN
December 2010
What am I? Connect the dots to find out
C HRISTMAS S PECIAL
PAGE 23
What you will need: Three dinnersized paper plates, paint, plastic forks, red pompom, paper, and glue.
What to do: 1. To make the body place two paper plates together, top to top. Cut of the top quarter of the plates to make a card holder, then glue the plates together as shown. 2. To make the head fold a paper plate almost in half as shown in the second picture to the left
3. Measure 3 3/4" in from the sides of the folded edge of the paper plate. Fold the sides back 3 3/4" to form the head shape as shown at the left. Glue or staple the sides together on the back. 4. Glue the head to the body as shown.
6. Cut out leg, tail, and ear shapes from brown construction paper and glue them to the body and head. Draw and cut out patterns for the legs and ears and eyes
7. To make the antlers cut two plastic forks in half and glue each half fork to a whole fork as shown in the picture. Glue them to the back of the head.
8. Paint the paper plates and antlers. Glue on a red pompom for the nose. You can also cutout a circle, and colour it red 9. Attach a string or strong magnet to the back of the reindeer to hang it up. Place your Christmas cards in the holder.
If you think you need help- ask a parent
TURKS & CAICOS SUN CHRISTMAS SPECIAL 2010