Staycation or Manhattan

If you had to choose to spend 3 days and 2 nights in a great hotel near Time Square in Manhattan NY during the holidays or stay at home... what would  you choose???

I choose a "staycation" and here is why!

Over a year ago, I bought a 3 day/2 night package with Hilton Vacations. At first I was thinking... let's go in the Fall but unfortunately that did not happen. And then life went on.

Last September, we needed to schedule a date since this package expires in December 2013. Bidou and I discussed it and decided that spending the Christmas holidays in Manhattan was GREAT idea. Now that the December is upon us... we have no desire to be away. It has been a very hectic October/November/December for us. All we want to do is stay home, spend quality time with Kloé, catch up on some reading, maybe see a movie or 2 and visit a local museum.

Any exciting plans for the holidays??

ten favorite things - the holidays

Hey folks… I am still "stuck" but really enjoying my vacation in Cancun.  I am over indulging in lattes and smoked salmon! Details to come next Monday…

But for now, I am linking up with Brianna on her monthly ten favorite things (better late than never). She has chosen for this month's theme… The Holidays.  For different reasons, Christmas is not my favorite time of the year. Over the last couple of years, it has become a very stressful day.  However, there is some stuff that surrounds the holidays that I do enjoy.

1. The famous red cups at Starbucks.
2. Christmas music on the radio.
3. Receiving new Pandora charms from Bidou (hint! hint!)
4. Having some time off from work - this year Christmas falls on a Wednesday, my company is giving us the 25th, 26th and the 27th as vacation days!
5. Buying gifts for family.
6. Since I have no room for a tree in my condo, I still enjoy to decorate with some precious Christmas items I cherish.
7. Love to watch a classic Christmas movie. I am thinking that I will re-re-rewatch "Elf" again this year.
8. Window shopping at the mall.
9. Quality time with family and friends.
10. Cooking Bidou's favorite French Canadian holiday meal "La Tourtière".  I will post the recipe and instructions on a  future December post.

Operation Christmas Child

Even though I am not a Christmas fan, I still try to do something special for kids during the holiday season. Earlier this month, a co-worker send out an e-mail promoting Operations Christmas Child. I had never heard of it and was eager to find out more.

Operations Christmas Child provides an opportunity for people of all ages to be involved in a simple, hands-on project.  It was started in 1990 by Dave Cooke, a Welshman who felt moved to deliver gifts to Romanian orphans after seeing their living circumstances on television.  In 1993, Operations Christmas Child grew and was adopted by Samaritan's Purse, a Christian organization run by Franklin Graham.

How it works
You basically need to fill a shoebox for a girl or a boy full of small gift such as school supplies, hygiene items, socks, t-shirts, hair clips, musical instruments etc. They also encourage you to include a personal note and/or a photo.  You also need to include $7 per box to cover shipping and other project-related cost.

The filled shoe boxes needed to be returned this week for logistic purposes. It was so much fun to do!  I heard that older boys do not receive as many boxes as girls, therefore, I choose to fill 2 boxes for boys for the ages 10-14.

Here is what I included in both shoe boxes ~

• a button down shirt
• a pair of underwear
• a simple blue, red and white very bouncy ball
• a couple of bags of hard candy 
• a toothbrush
• some dices since a deck of standard playing cards were not allowed due to regulations.
• 2 Matchbox small cars
• Pirate tattoos
• and my favourite item... a Scooby Doo Christmas Song Card. Every time I received a signing card... it brings a smile to my face so hopefully, I will be able to achieve the same for a couple of  boys somewhere in this world during the festive season.

Do you do something special for kids during the holidays??

P.S.  Leaving tomorrow for a 48 hour shopping with the hubby and in-laws to the Premium Outlets near Syracuse NY.  Happy me!!