The Age-Old New Year’s Tradition: Resolutions. Top Ten Ways to Make a Great 2008

New Years traditions call for a fabulous party, noisemakers and party hats, a hearty rendition of Auld Lang Syne (sung as loud as possible after a champagne toast), and those begrudgingly anticipated resolutions.  The big day is around the corner and the inevitable question looms: what are your new year’s resolutions for 2008? These suggestions, accommodated by some online offerings, are a helpful way to make the New Year’s tradition of creating resolutions a little easier. Incorporate these simple changes into your daily lifestyle and see how to keep a New Year’s resolution can be easy and fun. Make it a great 2008! 

1. Stay in Touch with Friends and Family

Are you feeling guilty because your mailbox was full of holiday greeting cards from friends and family and you only had time to send them to a small smattering of friends and relatives? Get the year off to a good start by beginning a new tradition of sending New Years e-cards. Everyone will be happy to get some post-Christmas cheering up and a fun update on you and your family. 

2. Spend More Time with Friends

Spend less of your week doing time-consuming, tedious errands; instead, take some time this year to relieve yourself of life’s hustle-bustle. Invite your friends or co-workers to join you for a lunchtime walk, an after-hours Happy Hour, a yoga class after work, or a night out on the town by sending an online invitation. Resolutions are meant to be good for you and hopefully enjoyable, so what could be more fun than spending less time in supermarket lines and more time laughing with friends? 

3. Remember Important Dates (and Actually Send Cards)

Do you find yourself overwhelmed with family correspondence and constantly unable to keep up? Start small by putting all of your family members’ (and your in-laws’ too) birthdays and anniversaries into a secure, online reminder service, such as the one available from American Greetings. They notify you when it’s time to send a greeting so you’ll never forget your Mom’s birthday again!  

4. Organize the Address Book

Did you have trouble getting Christmas cards out this year because of your messy address book? Was the last time you updated your address book when you got married 10 years ago? Streamline your outdated efforts by keeping your family, friends, and co-worker contact information logged in a simple and secure online address book. Sending holiday cards will be as painless as it has ever been. You can conveniently access your address books at work or at home, allowing you to update your files whenever you get an opportunity. 

5. Enjoy Life More

Bring more balance to your life by simplifying your daily schedule and prioritizing what you enjoy most. Take up a new hobby: try a creative project. American Greetings has a wide variety of projects that allow you to utilize your creative juices, from making your own business cards to personalizing your own stationery and more. Express your inner art student and impress your friends with your latest artistic creation.   

6. Lend a Hand

Step outside of yourself and give some of your time to help those around you. By committing to a cause that is in line with your core values, you will be more likely to stay involved and feel rewarded by the experience.  Since many of us lack time, take a moment to send a breast cancer awareness card or other inspirational greeting to help lift someone’s spirit during a challenging time. You will feel better about yourself after helping make someone’s day brighter. Also, start a New Year’s tradition of reaching out to others in the beginning of every year by engaging in letter-writing campaigns or donating money online.  

7. Manage Your Finances

Make an effort to limit unnecessary drains on your wallet by tracking your finances online. Begin logging all of your expenses for the month and see how quickly those delicious lattes add up. Free online greeting cards let you keep in touch, exercising outside (instead of in a gym) lets you keep fit, and rewards clubs (at supermarkets, gas stations, etc) and coupons let you pad the pocketbook a tad more. Set a realistic plan to allow yourself greater financial freedom, alleviate financial headaches and start saving for future goals. 

8. Learn to Cook & Dine in More Often

In tandem with number 7, start spending less money on dining out. Pledge to dine in more or find a cooking class to satisfy your unending cravings for ethnic cuisines. Get new recipes from books, relatives, and online, and experiment cooking new dishes in the comfort of your own kitchen. For an added touch of you, print your favorites on personalized recipe cards. 

9. Capture Memories

Making memories is something you do every time you participate in any of the New Year’s traditions mentioned in the beginning of this post. But afterwards, do you always complain that you don’t have any pictures? Has another office get-together come and gone without any proof that you were there? Or are you relishing the old college days looking through a photo album?Take out the old memory box and compile some pictures. Create a printable ecard and complete it by inserting a favorite photo to commemorate the good old times and send to a friend for that special occasion. Or, if remembering your camera is the problem, buy an inexpensive disposable camera to leave in your car or purse, so you will have it with you wherever you go. Print the pictures on CD so next year you can send a personalized photo Christmas card. 

10. Limit Your Vices

In a perfect world, there would be no battle against biting your nails, eating unhealthy food, drinking too much caffeine, smoking and a myriad of other terrible habits. Unfortunately, the real world is full of tantalizing vices that we all accompany. Experts say that when you feel the urge to engage the bad habit, try to busy yourself with another activity. Instead of hitting the coffee pot again or taking that smoke break, try hitting up the PC and sending an e-card: added bonus, you’re putting a smile on someone else’s face by brightening up their inbox!

Christmas Shopping on Christmas Eve: Tips on getting Christmas Eve shopping done as quickly and as painlessly as possible

Personally I have always loved Christmas shopping, but the older that I’ve become, the more hassle it seems to be. There’s work to be done, children and dogs to take care of, a house that doesn’t decorate or clean itself, snow to shovel and ice to melt… So after all the decorating, Christmas baking, and life in general has been taken care of, it’s finally time to get the shopping done.

Sometimes it takes a good three weeks to get to that point. That means that Christmas is right around the corner and you only have one day to shop, wrap, and perhaps even deliver your presents. You’re no Santa, so what do you do?

First of all, when running late on your Christmas shopping, it’s important to know what you’re buying and for whom. If you know that and have a back-up plan for each present — after all you’re late and the stores may have sold out — then you are in pretty good shape. Kids will usually have picked out a dozen different toys to choose from, and for most adults you can go for some gift basket or other as long as it’s themed for the recipient.

Next you need to know where to buy. Some of your purchases may still be done over the Internet, but if you’re truly doing Christmas Eve shopping, shipping is most likely going to be an issue. So instead go to your local shops and boutiques, as they’re probably going to be a little less crazy than the mall or one of the super stores. The last thing you need is a crowd of stressed out shoppers, who want the same as you do, and who’ll do anything to get it (including stealing the parking space that you’d been waiting patiently for…).

Then you’re just about there. Go home and wrap your presents. But oops, you forgot the gift tags, or the clerk forgot to put them in your shopping bag. Well, fear not, you can just go to americangreetings.com and print them out. There you can choose between lots of different designs, so you can find one that matches each of your Christmas presents, and you won’t run out even if you mess up a few.

If you’re really getting in the mood now, you can get creative and print out a great package decoration. It’s a wonderful way to show how much you enjoy giving.

But perhaps the reason why you still haven’t bought your Christmas presents is that you just don’t know what to get everyone — then what do you do? If it is indeed Christmas Eve, then I would suggest e-mailable gift cards. You can get these time savers from many online retailers like Amazon, Forever 21, Victoria’s Secret, The Sharper Image, or you can go to a site like GiftCertificates.com and find e-mailable gift cards for other stores. Get a card or a gift card holder so you’ll actually have something to give — it’s a little nicer than spending Christmas morning around the computer.

Or finally, you can simply whip out your check book or go to the ATM and give the gift of cool cash. Print out a moneyholder, and you’re good to go!

Still not sure what to do? There are many helpful people around and some of them have even posted their advice online. Here are a few sites that provide both practical and funny takes on the last minute Christmas shopping conundrum.

• FindGift.com: Gift Giving Made Easy! Dedicated to helping you find creative gift ideas. Last Minute Gifts.
• About.com: Keep Your Christmas Shopping Simple and Last Minute Christmas Shopping from Aaron’s Classical Music Blog.
• Punny Money — Putting the “fun” back in “personal funance:” Ten Great Places to Do Last Minute Christmas Shopping.
• Christmas World: Last Minute Christmas Shopping.

Merry Christmas and happy shopping! And remember that in the end, it is the thought that counts.

Merry Christmas Cookie Recipes: The top 5 cookie recipes for this Christmas

Mmmmmmm, what’s that smell? No, it’s not chestnuts roasting on an open fire — it’s something much more delicious: It’s the smell of freshly baked cookies, and that is what Christmas is all about!

I’m sure we all have our favorite recipes of cookies that mom or grandma always baked for the holidays, but every now and then it’s good to try something new. And besides, I can’t think of anyone who’d complain that there were too many cookies to choose from…

Therefore I have searched high and low, and all the corners of the Internet and found what might very well be the top 5 cookie recipes this Christmas:

1. Fantasy Fudge. It kind of seems like cheating to get the #1 recipe from the back of a jar, but this is the one and only original Kraft Marshmallow Creme recipe for fudge. Everyone who grew up with these treats loves them, and everyone who’s never had them before believes that a little piece of heaven just landed on the plate.
2. Beth’s Spicy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies. A little spice for the holidays make these traditional cookie favorites extra mouthwatering and crave worthy. Just try them!
3. Maple-Pecan Sticky Bars. Make these cookies one day ahead — if you can hold on to them long enough — and really enjoy the fabulous flavors.
4. Big Soft Ginger Cookies. Ginger cookies taste so much like Christmas that I just couldn’t make a list without them. The one word that comes to mind is simply “delicious!”
5. Seven Layer Magic Bars. Chocolate chips, pecans, coconut… I love all seven layers of this lavish cookie!

Unfortunately I always lose track of the recipes that I print from the Internet. It’s probably because a regular sheet of paper so easily gets lost, crumbled, messed up, and accidentally thrown out. This year, I’ve copy-pasted all recipes I’ve found online into the create & print recipe cards from American Greetings, and printed them on heavy stock paper. That way they won’t look like something to be thrown out, on the contrary. I actually like the look of them so much that I’ve made a little “Happy-Holidays-It’s-Almost-Election-Year” hostess gift set of cookies (yet to be baked) and recipe cards with these cookie recipes from some of the country’s leading ladies:

1. Hillary Clinton’s Chocolate Chip Cookies. Back when she wasn’t busy campaigning for the presidency, Hillary’s cookies beat both Barbara Bush’s and Elizabeth Dole’s cookies in contests. Here’s the recipe — does she have your cookie vote?
2. Barbara Bush’ Chocolate Chip Cookies. The cookies that made two presidents! Well, maybe it took a little more than cookies, but I’m sure they’re pretty good.
3. Elizabeth Dole’s Pecan Roll Cookies. Elizabeth and I have this in common: We probably won’t ever become the First Lady. But it seems that we both share a love of pecans.
4. Laura Bush’s Cowboy Cookies. These treats were already a family favorite back in the Governor’s mansion in Texas.
5. Tipper Gore’s Ginger Snaps. While Al is busy receiving his Nobel prize and other honors, I hope that Tipper finds the time to bake these delights.

No more writing — it’s time for action! Those Christmas cookies won’t bake themselves.

Christmas Elf Pranks American Greetings

This video doesn’t sound like it came from a Christmas Elf at the North Pole. It sounds like maybe the Northern Bronx Elves! It’s a funny video!

Here’s the link to the ecard in the video: Elf Toss eCard

Quick and Easy Hanukkah Gifts: 8 happy Hanukkah gift ideas

Tonight is the first night of Hanukkah. For those who don’t know, Hanukkah is neither a particularly important holiday (compared to e.g. Passover), nor is it tradition to give gifts. However, it does happen to fall at a time of year, when all around the world, gift giving is at its peak, although this morning I did hear a woman on NPR talk about how relaxing and non-materialistic Hanukkah in Israel is.

Anyhow, giving gifts is a joy no matter what the occasion may be, and if you can make someone happy for eight straight days, they might feel a little bit of the wonder that the Hebrews felt at the rededication of the Second Temple.

Hanukkah gifts need not succumb to the plastic craziness of Christmas — unless you happen to know a kid or two, who are just dying to get Transformers or iDogs. You can find lots of wonderful presents that capture the spirit and tradition of Hanukkah, be they contemporary or classic, for grown-ups or for kids.

Being the great believer in gift giving that I am, I have come up with 8 great “Happy Hanukkah” gift ideas that are only a mouse click away — how easy is that?

1. A menorah. I know, it’s not exactly an innovative idea, but what is Hanukkah without a menorah? And they are so beautiful and come in a myriad of shapes and sizes that any home can house at least three of them.
2. Candles. A menorah without candles is not much of a menorah, and to light them and other holiday candles, a silver plated Shabbat lighter is the perfect tool.
3. Yes, you guessed it, number three is a dreidel. Or why not a do-it-yourself dreidel kit? Kids can get a little bored with holiday eating, but with fun stuff to do, they may not get completely sugared up on chocolate gelt.
4. Decorative wall hangings made from raw silk are a wonderful way for children and grown-ups alike to remember and honor their Jewish heritage.
5. A latkes plate. Or course mom will be happy serving her tasty latkes on the fine china, but this year you could surprise her with a plate that says exactly what she usually cries through the house: “Get ‘em while they’re hot!”
6. A new hand embroidered kippah or a delicate lace haircover is a gift that the recipient can use and cherish throughout the year.
7. Music is an integral part of Hanukkah and there are lots and lots of great recordings to choose from, if you can’t carry a tune or play an instrument yourself.
8. And finally, Star of David jewelry — both a personal and religious gift, which shows that you truly hold them dear.

Those were just a few ideas for Hanukkah gifts. If you still don’t know what to get someone, you can always count on gelt to be a welcome gift. To make it super neat and easy, try to create & print Hanukkah themed cards, and money- and gift card holders — someone will be very happy, and you won’t have to face any of the gift buying mall madness.

Making Christmas Easy for Santa: The top 5 hot toys for this year’s holiday season!

Yes, it’s that time of year again, when the giving just won’t stop. It’s wonderful and awful at the same time, because while the actual act of giving is one of the best feelings there is, fighting the other holiday shoppers is definitely one of the worst — especially when it comes to toys…

How can you make it a little more pleasant? Know what the kids want, and have a backup plan ready, just in case your kids’ top picks of the year happen to be the exact same toy as every other kid’s in America.

Now you may wonder, what the hottest toys are this season, or you may be one of the lucky ones, whose kids have told you in no uncertain tones, exactly what it is that will send them straight to holiday bliss cloud seven. Well, if you don’t know, now is a good time to get them some paper and start those letters to Santa. If you want to make it easy for everyone, you can sit them in front of the computer, and they can create and print their lists and letters online.

So what is the most coveted, shining toy this season? I think we all remember the 1982 Cabbage Patch doll rush, and the Elmo-mania of 1996. What will it be this year? Well, according to TopToysGuide, the 5 most wanted children’s toys of the 2007 holiday season are:

For girls, the most popular picks are:

1. Webkinz – these toys are “lovable plush pets that come with a secret code.”
2. FurReal Friends — more plush pals, who “really come to life.”
3. iDog, iCat, and iFish — girls and pets seem to go hand in hand this year. The i-pets are little robotic buddies that dance to your iPod.
4. Kid Tough digital camera — a real digital camera that can withstand even the toughest play.
5. Barbie Girls — Barbie reinvented for the hip, computer savvy girl.

And for boys the top 5 hot holiday gifts this year are:

1. TMX Cookie Monster and TMX Ernie — it all started with Tickle Me Elmo, and now others from the Sesame cast are available and ready to be tickled to the extreme!
2. Lego Mindstorms — the little red plastic building block has come a long way and is now an intelligent robot that feels and reacts to its surroundings.
3. Pleo dinosaur — your very own dinosaur robot, and it really does look very lifelike.
4. Transformers — anything Transformers.
5. Nintendo DS – not the wii, but the portable, handheld console (the wii comes in at #6).

These toys may not be the best selling toys, and other lists vary some, but it seems that if you want to make a good impression on a girl this year, you need to go out and buy her a toy pet, and for a boy, robots are the big deal this season.

Thanksgiving Crafts for Kids: Fun ways to decorate while entertaining the kids with Thanksgiving crafts

I love crafts — Thanksgiving crafts, Christmas crafts, Easter crafts, any craft will do. When I was a kid, I was — or at least my somewhat biased memory remembers me as being — very creative and crafty. My parents really weren’t into coming up with great holiday projects, so perhaps that’s why I love to find great projects myself.

Nowadays holiday crafts are much easier for parents. The Internet is an amazing resource for finding activities and projects for the kids, and with parents being so focused on the food aspect of Thanksgiving, kids often need something to entertain them. One of the sites that offer a variety of crafts is American Greetings.

One of the Thanksgiving activities offered by American Greetings is this Create & Print concept that adds a little hyperspace to the traditional card making equipment of markers and scissors.

While it is expected that AG would have greeting cards on their site, they also offer other fun crafts like coloring sheets, printable hats (no Thanksgiving without a pilgrim’s hat!), and napkin rings. These craft projects will keep kids busy for a good long while, after which they can watch with pride, as parents and other Thanksgiving guests wear their hats, use their napkin rings, or just admire the bright Thanksgiving coloring pages.

There are lots of other Thanksgiving craft resources out there. I like ones that provide me with printables, and ones that just use simple materials that are likely to already be spread around the house, and for kids they absolutely must be easy to do.

So let’s have fun this holiday and get the creativity flowing with colorful decorations to brighten our Thanksgiving dinners.

Top 10 Thanksgiving Recipes: The top 10 traditional Thanksgiving recipes you must have on the table this year

Thanksgiving is a great time for making fun crafts with the kids, telling friends, how much they mean to you, and having the family over for eat-till-you-roll-off-the-chair dinner.

My most memorable, and least traditional, Thanksgiving dinner was some years back, when my husband spent the holidays in Denmark with me, a country that doesn’t celebrate Thanksgiving. There were no decorations and it was really just a regular, boring Thursday. Nevertheless, Brett, my husband, decided to invite my parents over for a traditional American Thanksgiving dinner. Wow! Other than the fact that he didn’t have any Thanksgiving recipes (perhaps recipe cards would have come in handy then), there were just a few little problems…

He set out on his own to buy a turkey, sweet potatoes, cream of mushroom soup for the green bean casserole, and all the other fixings. Now, mushroom soup is far too soupy and not nearly creamy enough in Denmark; and Danes are completely unaware that there are other potatoes than potatoes, so the sweet potatoes were also a no-go. But these minor ingredients and the complete lack of Thanksgiving recipes could be worked around with a little improvisation — it was the turkey that proved to be the biggest challenge.

A turkey is called a “kalkun” in Danish. However, some lady at a supermarket told my unsuspecting husband that it was called an “amerikansk kylling” (ie. an American chicken). I’m sure that most butchers would have figured that one out, except that Brett couldn’t pronounce the “y” correctly, and so he pronounced it “killing.” It’s bad enough that he was walking around asking for an “Amerikansk killing,” but since the word “killing” actually means “kitten” in Danish, people must have thought him completely mad and quite cruel too. Especially when he specified that it had to be fresh.

He finally ended up buying a large, frozen hen that we had to try to defrost in just a few hours. Nevertheless, it turned out to be absolutely lovely, if perhaps far from traditional.

I’m sure that stuffed hen isn’t on anyone’s top 10 Thanksgiving recipe list, but the following dishes are top notch traditional favorites on Thanksgiving tables across the country.

1. Turkey, turkey, and more turkey! It’s turkey day, and only one lucky bird (well, actually two) will go free.
2. Pumpkin pie, from scratch or from your favorite bakery, is a perfect Thanksgiving dessert.
3. Cranberry sauce. My husband hates it, but perhaps that’s because his mom is a true devotee of the cylindrical (canned) version
4. Cornbread Stuffing — but which kind? Martha Stewart offers this Cornbread Sourdough Stuffing, or perhaps something with a little Southern flair.
5. Mashed potatoes are a must, whether they be plain potatoes, garlic potatoes, sweet potatoes, or low carb mashed “potatoes.”
6. Corn is one of the original foods of the Americas, and still a favorite on the holiday table.
7. Homemade rolls smell delicious and can be so hard to keep one’s hands off, just as they come out of the oven.
8. Turkey gravy — mmmm, graaavy! Even the most messed up turkey, will be a hit when smothered in homemade gravy
9. Apple pie is as American as Thanksgiving. Every family has a superb apple pie baker, but it never hurts to try someone else’s perfect apple pie. Or maybe your family is a little on the nutty side…
10. … and would rather finish dinner with pecan pie. Or do like my family and have multiple pies with ice cream, whipped cream, and any other tasty cream that we can come up with.

Don’t have your own bunch of traditional family recipes; print these recipes on a stack of recipe cards ‘cause they are keepers. Happy Thanksgiving!

Top Ten Halloween Costumes 2007

It’s finally here. The time of year when fright meets might, and dazzling heroines skip alongside wizards-in-training. The fastest growing holiday is creeping up on us… Halloween! For those of us passing out candy, it will be an endless parade of the latest and greatest pop culture icons. Last year, it was all about pirate costumes. The previous year saw an abundance of Stormtroopers and Chewbaccas. This year, Optimus Prime is the blockbuster kid’s costume leading the list of Top Ten Costumes for Halloween 2007.

Kids love dressing up like their favorite characters, and watching a five-year-old in a superhero outfit is certainly entertaining. In addition to seeing Spiderman at your door, look for singing superstars like Hannah Montanna or spunky cheerleaders from High School Musical. This year’s “trick or treat” will likely come from one of the following revelers:

Top Ten Costumes

1. Optimus Prime – Transformers Movie
2. Spiderman
3. High School Musical
4. Hannah Montana
5. Disney Princesses – Belle, Ariel, Cinderella
6. Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz
7. Pirates of the Carribean (Jack Sparrow, Elizabeth Swann)
8. Harry Potter
9. Girl Classics with a trendy twist – goth witches, cheerleaders, angels
10. Updated Boy Classics – vampires, skeletons, pirates

One leading online costume retailer, InStockCostumes.com, estimates that 70% of children’s Halloween costumes will be based on TV or movie characters. With giants like Hasbro spending $150 million to market Transformers, is it any wonder that Optimus Prime is the top choice for kids?

Classic costumes will always be in fashion, but this year’s perennial favorites will have a twist. Keep your eyes peeled for gothic witches. No longer a mean, green, cauldron-stirring sorceress, these witches are edgy and on-trend. Sporting big silver buckles, knee-high, black, shiny boots, and lace chokers, today’s witches are more sassy than spooky.

With movie and TV costumes going for premium prices, some parents may be looking for a budget solution for Halloween. Consider these tips for holding onto your hard-earned cash:

Halloween Costume Tips

1. Buy a costume off the Internet. Web sites have a wider selection and have costumes at clearance prices at around $40 or less.
2. Make your own costume. Depending on the fabric you buy, creating your own ensemble can be a cheaper route. You’ll spend more time and effort, but you may be satisfied to know that your costume is one-of-a-kind.
3. Borrow! Why not?
4. Dig into your closet. A sheet and rope are everyday use materials that make for a classic toga. Adding accessories such as angel or butterfly wings will spruce up a nightgown or hoodie.
5. Go thrifting! Thrift shops are a great place to find vintage clothes, and you’ll find everything you need to create a 1970s or 1980s costume. Hats and other accessories make for great costumes.

By following the suggestions above, it won’t be too hard to include the entire family this Halloween including your favorite family member – your family pet. Pet costumes, especially dog costumes are big this year. Dressed as superman, your pet will love all the extra attention. Parents can also join in on the costume fun. After all, Pebbles and Bam Bam Flintstone will feel much more at home with Fred and Wilma tagging along. And with the Flintstones having so much fun, Scooby and Shaggy would certainly welcome Daphne and Fred.

Homemade or store-bought, character based or classic, your child’s Halloween costume will inspire imaginative play and provide many fond memories for family and friends.

Happy Haunting!

Back to School.. Torture for Kids, Heaven for Parents

It’s that time of year again… the summer heat sizzles, bookbags fly off store shelves, children get cranky, and parents are overcome with joy. All of this can only mean one thing.. It’s Back to School time!!!

Maybe I am an alien from another planet, but when I was little, I actually liked the first day back to school. I always had enough of summer and looked forward to seeing all my friends that I hadn’t seen often over the months out of school. Of course, I always did start to miss summer as the first few weeks passed and teachers actually started assigning homework.. how dare they? Ha. But really, the first day of school is an exciting time. My most memorable one was my first day of high school. Wow, its been 8 years and I can still remember what I wore. I went to a Catholic HS, so we didn’t have much choice. But I remember the little things.. like what knee socks I wore, how I wore my hair, what earrings and necklace I had on. Wow, seems like a lifetime ago. I’d go back to HS in a split second if I could, even though I didn’t know it then.. everything was so simple.. the exact opposite of what my life is today. But hey, people grow up and I have to face the reality that I am a college graduation about to take on the world.

Some parents might see Back to School as a chance for freedom, a day to celebrate, a holiday if you will. For most kids, this day is one to be dreaded. Either way, it is a day for new beginnings and a time to start anew. Celebrate this day with Back to School ecards. These Back to School cards will encourage kids to embrace this new opportunity to succeed and reach for their dreams. Because education is truly one of the most important tools one can have in life, the first day back to school should be celebrated. Surprise your little one with a printable Back to School Card by sneaking the card into their lunch bag. They will feel so loved when they open their lunch on this nerve-wrenching first day of school and see this heart-felt, “I Believe in You” message from their mom or dad! (I know I would.)