In order for the New Year's celebration to be fun and the house to be beautifully decorated, preparations for the New Year should be carried out in advance. We are not talking about a few days. In order to finish all current affairs in the outgoing year without haste and organize your New Year holidays, you need to start a few weeks in advance. A month is quite a suitable period.
The plan for leisurely preparation for the New Year includes work in several directions. After all, you need to take care of gifts for loved ones, think through the holiday menu, decorate the Christmas tree and decorate the house.
In order not to get confused and to put things in order in your head, you should keep a small notebook where all the necessary things will be entered. You can cross them out as you complete them. If you approach the issue in an organized manner, preparing in advance will not be difficult for you. “EasyUseful” will tell you what you need to think about.
Buying gifts without haste
Giving gifts is no less pleasant than receiving them. Every person will be pleased to find a beautifully packaged box under the Christmas tree. This creates a festive atmosphere.
Choosing a gift that is guaranteed to please is not so easy. If you ask the direct question “what should I give you?”, there will be no surprise. But in the New Year's bustle, as a rule, original ideas There are no gifts for gifts. Therefore, attentive people try to notice all the little things, because anyone can mention what they want to get, completely by accident. If you remember such a random phrase and then make your wish come true, the person will be pleasantly surprised.
Buying New Year's gifts in advance eliminates the need to stand in lines and allows you to settle this issue without fuss. Sometimes, to present to everyone to a loved one nice little thing, you have to spend a lot sum of money. This should also be taken care of in advance. Some of the funds can be put aside from the beginning of autumn, and then gifts will not hit the budget. However, if you did not take care of this in advance, and are now very limited in funds, then you can always pick up small souvenirs for a reasonable amount, or even better - make a gift with your own hands. Believe me, your family will be very happy with such a present.
On the eve of the holidays, banks begin to actively advertise credit cards, offering you money for gifts on “favorable” terms. However, they are beneficial only to the bank itself, but you will have to go into debt and start the new 2019 by finding money to repay the loan. Not the best start to the year, right? Therefore, do not fall for advertising and live within your means.
What to give to your loved ones and relatives? These could be accessories for their hobbies, some little things for the interior and its decor, gift certificate V entertainment center or a beauty salon. 
On the Internet you can find many master classes on making souvenirs, notepads, magnets and other pleasant trinkets. By the way, many of them are made from unnecessary cardboard and plastic, so you will not only please your loved ones with gifts self made, but also contribute to the environment.
Setting the holiday table with healthy ingredients
A good housewife thinks in advance about what she will treat her guests to. New Year- a suitable holiday to surprise loved ones with new unusual dishes. To avoid having to hastily look for recipes, you need to thoughtfully think through the entire menu, from snacks to drinks.
It is necessary to take into account the wishes of the invited guests - perhaps someone is allergic to a common product.
It is better to make a shopping list on paper and take it with you to the store. This good way protect yourself from unexpected expenses. Products with for a long time storage can be purchased in advance, because before the holidays, many stores increase prices on all goods. But you definitely need to keep track of their expiration date and make sure it doesn’t expire before the holidays.
If there are children at the holiday table, it is necessary to take into account their needs - buy more fresh fruit or prepare several additional, light and low-fat dishes. It’s a good idea to organize a separate children's table. But it is much better for the whole family to refuse New Year's Eve from traditional fatty and unhealthy dishes - Olivier salad, French meat, cakes with cream. Our body is generally not used to eating at night, and if you load such an amount of difficult-to-digest food into the stomach, you get a double load. 
Believe me, there are many delicious and healthy dishes that will decorate the holiday table, and at the same time they contain only healthy ingredients - vegetables, fruits, legumes, grains, etc. Look for such recipes on the Internet in advance, and you will be surprised that for the first time after During the feast you feel lightness, not heaviness in your stomach.
Show your imagination in decorating your home
Nothing creates a festive atmosphere and New Year's mood like a skillfully decorated home. The main attribute New Year's holiday the tree remains. Each family decides independently whether to buy a live spruce or install an artificial one. The toys that need to be hung on it can be very diverse. Monochrome decorations look stylish, for example fiery red balls of the same size. 
If you still have decorations from Soviet times, be sure to hang them too, because they are real antiques and vintage! Tell younger family members the story behind each toy. Decorating the Christmas tree will take one evening. All family members can take part in it, because this is a great chance to show off their design abilities.
When thinking about how to prepare for the new year in a month, be sure to take the time to decorate the windows. They can be decorated with special garlands, and the windows will look impressive even from the street. You can also use paper snowflakes or stencils. 
To create festive atmosphere Little things that are invisible at first glance work great. Tea service V New Year's style, decorative candles, a Christmas wreath on the door, a figurine of Santa Claus on the desk - all this pleases the eye and reminds of the upcoming holidays.
Office worries
Weekdays before the New Year are the time to hand over old projects and close various reports. I no longer want to work at full capacity, but I need to make an effort and get rid of old things. This has a symbolic meaning: you shouldn’t drag old worries into the New Year. Pre-planning your tasks and coordinating them with your boss will allow you to complete everything on time. Perhaps one of your colleagues can help.
You can also create a festive atmosphere in the office. To do this you need to remove workplace, put the documentation in order. In your office you can put up a small decorative Christmas tree and hang a few decorations. In many companies, such decoration of premises has long become a good tradition. 
When a friendly team is selected, employees have a desire to celebrate the upcoming holidays together. When thinking about choosing a date for a corporate party, you need to give preference to a day that will be convenient for absolutely everyone, because many have unfinished business at home.
Important little things
In order to thoroughly prepare for the New Year and not look tired on the holiday, you definitely need to set aside time for yourself: take a relaxing bath, do your hair, tidy up your nails, do a beautiful hairstyle.
It is worth involving the whole family in discussing the issue of how to properly prepare for the New Year. If you divide the responsibilities between everyone in the household, the process will speed up significantly. 
If one of the family members does not work, he can be trusted to buy gifts. Go shopping in working hours, when there are no crowds of people, it is much more convenient. Children can clean the rooms and vacuum the apartment, but it’s better to decorate the Christmas tree and decorate the house together.
Holiday chores are tiring, but enjoyable. The New Year is a great occasion to bring the whole family closer together, create a cozy atmosphere and discuss plans for the future.
Photo: George Tsartsianidis/Rusmediabank.ru
There are not many days left until the New Year, but, on the contrary, there are countless things to do. How to quickly prepare for the holiday without worrying? How not to forget about important little things? A clear plan will help.Making a plan
First of all, it is necessary. Each area of training must be described.Most often, you need to prepare a New Year's table, gifts, decorate the house, come up with a holiday program, prepare an outfit and get yourself in order.
So, plan your menu in advance. New Year's table. This will help you not to fuss a couple of days before the holiday. Purchase the necessary products in advance. On last days leave only what quickly spoils. Moreover, be sure to make a shopping plan.
– a separate expense item and the subject of much thought. It’s better to ask family members and friends in advance about what they would like to receive as a gift. If it doesn’t work out, just think about what would make your husband or child happy. And you can simply buy funny souvenirs for friends and colleagues.
It is also better to decorate the house in advance, preferably together with the children. It will bring them joy, and it will help you complete the task faster.
The same goes for the holiday program - involve family members and friends. Let everyone who will celebrate the New Year with you come up with an interesting competition or game.
An important point is to get yourself in order and look great on New Year's Eve. You should start a week before the holiday. Then you will definitely have time to become fresher, lose a couple of kilograms and relax.
Festive table
Now let's look at the plan point by point. The first point is the New Year's table.If you have already made a menu, everything is very simple. Buy everything that can be stored for a long time a couple of weeks before the celebration. For example, frozen and canned foods: beans, peas, corn, seafood, fish.
Meat, vegetables, fruits should be purchased immediately before the holiday. Because they don't last long.
If you can prepare a dish the day before the holiday, you should take advantage of this opportunity. This will save time. For example, on December 30, you can bake a cake or make meatloaf, which must be chilled in the refrigerator for at least 12 hours. The same can be said about jellied cheese rolls, salads, which must be infused. On the evening of December 30, you can do some of the work to prepare the New Year's table. And in the morning or afternoon of December 31st, do the rest.
What gifts should I buy?
Of course, if you know what your spouse, daughter or mother dreams of, then the problem of gifts disappears. The main thing is to buy gifts in advance and hide them well. But if you don’t know how to please your loved ones, you should think about it in advance.
Best gifts:
something for a hobby - paints for painting, threads for knitting, a fishing rod, and so on;
various gadgets – flash drive, phone, headphones (always useful);
certificates - to a store, to a spa, to a swimming pool (where you really would like to go).
There are also universal gifts that are appropriate for any occasion. These are sweets (for example, shaped chocolate or a gingerbread house), souvenirs (funny figurines - the symbol of the year, pen holder, scented candles), books (encyclopedia, cookbook).
Decorating the house
This is a very easy and pleasant part of the plan. You can do it three days before the holiday, or three weeks. It all depends on your desire. How exactly to decorate the house is also chosen only by you and your family members. If you want to do something original and unusual, create New Year's compositions(from candles and balls, for example), or make a fireplace out of cardboard, or New Year's wreaths on the door. There are plenty of options. But you will have to tinker and make these decorations in advance.
If you don't have time and you want to quickly decorate your home, choose easy option. You can simply hang tinsel everywhere, cut out snowflakes (entrust this to the children) and arrange or hang them around.
Festive program: what to think of?
If you don’t want to bother, you can limit yourself to dancing, watching New Year’s programs on TV and funny stories at the table. You can also go to the city New Year's festivities, which are held in every district of the city.If you want to come up with something interesting yourself, do it in advance. You can come up with various competitions: sing, recite a poem in New Year theme. You can arrange a quest: who can find a New Year's toy faster or sweet gift. Or you can arrange a fun fortune telling - what awaits you in the new year. For example, write wishes on pieces of paper and then pull them out one by one. Of course, desires must be good.
Invite any family members or friends to celebrate with you.
Let's get ourselves in order
Of course, you shouldn’t forget about yourself. , makeup is not everything. You need to make sure you look your best.This means that before the holiday it is worth including more vegetables, fruits and various cereals in the menu. Arrange unloading - lose a couple of kilograms. In addition, do not forget about the skin and hair.
A week before the New Year, start making face masks. Fruit, milk, and vegetable masks are suitable. They will help refresh and moisturize the skin and remove small wrinkles. The same goes for hair. Rinse your hair with a decoction of nettle or birch leaves three times a week. This will help make your hair fluffy and shiny.
Try to distribute all tasks evenly and strictly follow the plan. Then on New Year's Eve you will be rested and in a good mood.
If you start preparing for the New Year gradually and systematically, there will be no fatigue, irritation or disappointment. You can do everything in time: prepare yourself, prepare your children and create a warm festive atmosphere.
In order not to forget anything and to do everything on time, I am now making a plan for preparing for the new year in the weeks of December. In families with children who plan to celebrate the New Year with loved ones, New Year's chores are largely similar. Therefore, perhaps the list will be useful to you.
1st week of December:- prepare an advent calendar for children. It doesn’t have to be hung 30 days in advance; you can start 2 weeks before the New Year; - buy tickets for New Year's performances, later there may be no tickets available; - make an appointment for a manicure and a hairdresser on the dates closest to the New Year; - write a list of gifts for friends and family. I listen in advance to the fleeting statements of my husband, children and parents, and then write them down in a notebook. For grandparents, we have a tradition of giving gifts for the New Year desk calendar with our photographs. The main fashion model, of course, is their beloved granddaughter. As soon as I decide on the list of gifts, I don’t wait for the New Year’s traffic jams, but buy them in advance. 2nd week of December:- buy more necessary gifts; - check out the outfits for New Year's Eve. If a child goes to a matinee, then take care of his costume; - sign postcards for friends and family. If you have relatives in other countries or cities, you can now send them letters and parcels. If a child is just learning to write, then such cards will be an excellent opportunity to practice writing skills. It is very pleasant to send and receive letters with postcards. And children have memories of this tradition for the rest of their lives. 3rd week of December:- think about New Year's menu. Perhaps there are some dishes that can be prepared now, for example, ginger cookies - they can be stored for a long time in a tightly closed jar or in the refrigerator; - get the decorations and Christmas tree. Tasks for the Advent calendar can include making garlands, snowflakes, quilts and other decorations. 4th week of December:- go to the hairdresser and get a manicure; - take more walks and watch New Year’s films with the whole family; - On December 30, prepare something that can be stored for several days in the refrigerator. Boil vegetables for salads in advance, prepare meat; - don’t be upset if something goes wrong or you didn’t have time to do something. In the end, we are not passing an exam, but enjoying a fun holiday.Advent calendar for children for the new year
Advent calendar is a calendar of anticipation for the New Year, where there is a countdown to the main holiday. Agree, sometimes the anticipation of a holiday is more exciting and magical time than the holiday itself.
The essence of the advent calendar is that every day the child receives a small present and a task for the day. It can be started a month, two weeks or 10 days before the holiday.
Advent calendar tasks for children: take out the trash, sing a New Year's song, learn a poem, help a stranger, write a letter to relatives. If you don’t have time to draw or sew an advent calendar with your own hands, you can buy a ready-made one. If you have the time and desire, you can easily make your own.
Advent calendar ideas for children:- from envelopes on tape; - from wrapping paper packages; - from matchboxes; - made of plastic or paper cups; - from craft lunch bags secured with clothespins on tape; - from woolen socks, clothespins and rope. On each clothespin we write the day from December 1 to December 31, and in each sock we put a note with a task and a present.
Decorating the house for the New Year with your own hands
What's a New Year's mood without New Year's decorations? In addition to a Christmas tree and a purchased glowing garland, you can inexpensively and easily make several New Year's things for your home with your own hands. And if the age of the children allows, transfer this responsibility completely to them. Mom has more free time, the children are busy, and the house is decorated.
A classic of the genre - to paint with gouache or toothpaste on the windows " frosty patterns" Templates are now being sold that can be used to create neat pictures. Don't forget about snowflakes made from napkins. We watch master classes on the Internet and cut out these openwork decorations with the whole family.
One of the simplest, yet colorful and fragrant decorations is the pomander. You will need an orange and clove buds. We stick the buds into the orange peel along the pre-designed contour of the picture. The magnificent aroma and appearance of such oranges will not leave anyone indifferent.
If you couldn’t pass by pine cones in the fall and collected a whole bag, then make a garland of pine cones. Tie on the fishing line one by one: a pine cone, a cinnamon stick, a pre-dried orange circle, a red bow from satin ribbon. And so alternate until you reach the length you need.
Another decorative idea is a glowing garland placed in a bottle or large glass. It looks very impressive and modern, and is done in a minute.
Take a large orange, wash it and cut it crosswise. From the two resulting halves, use a spoon and a knife to collect all the pulp. This pulp can be used for pie or mulled wine. Make several holes in the upper half of the resulting orange “bowl” with a sharp knife. different shapes- circle, star, month, etc. Place a candle in the lower part and cover top part orange
There are a lot of ideas on the Internet New Year's wreaths. The simplest option is to cut out a ring of the required diameter from cardboard, wrap a fluffy Christmas tree garland around the ring, hang balls, candies and other decorations.
Another simple option is made of wire and Christmas balls. We bend the wire into a ring and string it Christmas balls small diameter. The more balls and the fewer gaps between them, the more beautiful the wreath will be.
Games with children for the New Year
What do children do for New Year? Of course they play. To avoid getting bored during the holiday itself, you need to think in advance about interesting games and entertainment. We hope you find something suitable for your company.
New Year's games for children 2-3 years old
Santa Claus nose
Santa Claus without a nose is drawn on a large sheet of paper. The nose is made separately - a ball of red paper with a piece of double-sided tape glued on it. Players take turns being blindfolded and given a “nose”. The player must stick it in the supposed correct place.
Divination
Prepare question notes and answer notes in advance. Place notes with questions in one jar (hat, sock, mug), and notes with answers in another. Each guest pulls out one note from each jar and receives an answer to the question.
Nakhodki
Players age 3-10 years. Children are divided into teams and taken out of the room. At this time, about 30 identical items are hidden in different places in the room - small candies, tangerines, napkins. Then the children are launched and, on command, the search for the necessary items begins. The one who collects the most wins.
Nimble Christmas trees
This game is more suitable for young children. It's even more fun if there are several children. Participants must transform into Christmas trees. The presenter says slowly at first: “Christmas trees are high, low, wide.” Children raise their arms up, squat or spread their arms to the sides according to the words of the leader. Then the presenter speeds up and pronounces the words randomly. The most attentive and quickest one wins.
Find the differences
Remove a couple of toys from the New Year tree or, conversely, hang something new. And invite the children to find what has changed on the tree.
Sleeping Santa Claus
Santa Claus is chosen (you can choose the oldest or the fastest). He sits down in the middle of the room on a chair and is blindfolded. A gift is placed not far from Santa Claus. Each of the children, in turn, must quietly walk past Santa Claus and steal the gift. If Santa Claus catches a thief, then the family assigns the thief to fulfill some wish. If you manage to outwit Santa Claus, then the child takes his prize.
Nimble ball
Place in front of each player balloon and blindfold the players. You need to burst your balloons with your foot. You can make fun of the adult audience and remove the balls.
New Year's games for children 4-5 years old
Poemweavers
The presenter says the first sentence of well-known poems in New Year's theme, and the guests come up with a continuation so that the verse rhymes. For example, the presenter says: “A Christmas tree was born in the forest, it grew in the forest.” Guests: “Both day and night, prickly, she lived with me all year.”
sparkler
Light up sparkler and pass it around. Whoever picks up the light must say a task for the next participant. Whichever player the fire goes out on must fulfill the wish of the previous participant.
Homemade talisman
The names of all guests are written on pieces of paper in advance. Each person pulls out a piece of paper with the name of another guest. For him, it will be necessary to mold a talisman for the coming year from the hardening mass for modeling.
Poets
In the bank, notes with words on New Year's themes (snow, Christmas tree, Snow Maiden, etc.) are passed around in a circle. Each participant recites a poem or sings a song with this word. You can come up with your own quatrain.
Happy New Year!
Each participant uses the means at hand to post the inscription “Happy New Year!” Suitable props include fruits, toys, decorations, napkins, dishes, etc. The winner is the author of the most beautiful or original inscription.
Snowflakes
The presenter throws snowflakes from napkins. Participants blow on them to prevent them from falling. The owner of the longest lasting snowflake wins.
Spiders
Take a long rope, tie pencils to the ends, and a prize in the middle. At the same time, on command, the players begin to wind the rope around the pencils. The first one to reach the prize wins.
Water procedures
Each player must use a straw to pour water from a full glass to an empty one.
Painting
On a large piece of cardboard, make two holes for the arms. Players put their hands through these holes and draw a New Year's picture on a blank sheet of paper. In the absence of cardboard, you can simply blindfold the players with a scarf.
When the time comes to change active games to calmer ones, invite the children to color a large New Year coloring book. To do this, find a Mega coloring book on the Internet in advance, print it on several A4 sheets, glue them on the back side with glue or tape. You can buy a ready-made large coloring book.
List of New Year's songs
Just the sound of Christmas bells puts you in the right mood. Well, a selection of the right songs simply works wonders. If you add the smell of cinnamon and tangerines to the songs, then consider half the job done. You probably have your favorite New Year's hits. You can take one evening and download songs from the Internet - they will definitely come in handy.
New Year's playlist- Alan Silvestri - Suite from the Polar Express; - Aly&Aj - Deck the halls; - Andrea Bocelli - The Christmas song; - Andy Williams - It’s the most wonderful time of the year; - Billy Mack - Christmas is all around; - Bing Crosby - Sleigh ride; - Bing Crosby & The Andrews Sisters - Santa Claus is coming to town; - Bing Crosby & The Andrews Sisters - Twelve days of Christmas; - Bing Crosby - Winter wonderland; - Bing Crosby - White Christmas; - Bobby Helms - Jingle bell rock; - Brenda Lee - Rocking around the Christmas tree; - Saint Saens - Carnival of the animals aquarium; - Chris Rea - Driving home for Christmas; - Christina Aguilera - Have yourself a merry little Christmas; - Christmas songs - Here comes Santa Claus Doris day; - Christmas songs - We wish you a merry Christmas and a happy new year; - Darlene Love - All alone on Christmas; - Dean Martin - A winter romance; - Dean Martin - Rudolph the red nosed reindeer; - Dean Martin - Silver bells; - Destiny's Child - Opera of the bells; - Donna Summer - Winter melody; - Elvis Presley - Blue Christmas; - Eri Kawai - Silent night holly night; - Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby Nat King Cole - Have a holly jolly Christmas; - Frank Sinatra - I wish you a merry Christmas; - Frank Sinatra - Jingle bells; - Frank Sinatra - Let it snow; - Frank Sinatra - Silent night holy night; - Frank Sinatra - Have yourself a merry little Christmas; - Frank Sinatra - Mistletoe and holly; - George Michael - Last Christmas; - Glen Miller - Sun Valley Serenade; - Jack Jones - Strangers in the night; - John Williams - Carol of the bells; - Justin Bieber - Fa la la; - Mariah Carey - All I want for Christmas is you; - Marilyn Monroe - Santa baby; - Nat King Cole - The Christmas song; - Paul Pritchard - Seeing is believing; - Perry Como - Magic moments; - Perry Como - Frosty the snowman; - Perry Como - It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas; - Queen - Thank God it’s Christmas; - Ronan Keating - It’s only Christmas; - Stevie Wonder - What Christmas means to me; - Toni Braxton - Snowflakes of love. - P. I. Tchaikovsky - Waltz from “Sleeping Beauty”; - P.I. Tchaikovsky - Waltz of the Flowers; - P. I. Tchaikovsky - Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy; - Shchedryk (Christmas Ukrainian folk song) in musical arrangement by Nikolai Leontovych.New Year's films
To create a holiday atmosphere and relax a little, it would be nice to watch good New Year's films with the whole family. Nice fairy tale or comedy allows you to escape from routine affairs, and New Year's stories create the right mood. Everyone's preferences in choosing films are different, as is the age of the children with whom you will watch them. But I’m sure that on my list you will find something interesting and new for yourself.
List of New Year's films - « Real love", 2003; - “A Christmas Story”, 2009; - “It's a Wonderful Life”, 1946; - “Miracle on 34th Street”, 1947; - “Sorcerers”, 1982; - “A New Christmas Tale”, 1988; - “Holiday Hotel”, 1942; - “A Christmas Tale”, 2008; - “Yolki” 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017; - “Evenings on a farm near Dikanka”, 1961; - “Carnival Night”, 1956; - “This cheerful planet”, 1973; - “Poor Sasha”, 1997; - " Snow Queen", 1966; - “New Year’s Tariff”, 2008; - “101 Dalmatians”, 1996; - “Happy New Year, Moms!”, 2012; - “The Nutcracker and the Rat King”, 2010; - “Sleepless in Seattle”, 1993; - “Intuition”, 2001; - “Orphan of Kazan”, 1997; - “A Gift for Christmas”, 1996; - “Holiday Romance”, 1949; - “12 months”, 1972; - “The Shop Around the Corner”, 1940; - “The Bishop’s Wife”, 1947; - “Mrs. Doubtfire”, 1993; - “Snowmen”, 2010; - “How the Grinch Stole Christmas”, 2000; - “Samantha: An American Girl’s Vacation”, 2004; - “Welcome, or No Neighbors,” 2006.Cartoons for children about the New Year
I have selected a separate list of cartoons for children. Although many parents are not against exchanging their beloved Shurik for Uncle Fyodor. The list contains New Year's cartoons on different ages and different tastes. Perhaps there is something you haven't watched yet.
List of New Year's cartoons- “A Christmas Story”, 2009, Robert Zemeckis; - “The Polar Express”, 2004, Robert Zemeckis; - “The Secret Service of Santa Claus”, 2011; - “Winter in Prostokvashino”, 1984; - “Last year’s snow was falling”, 1983; - “The Night Before Christmas”, 1941; - “The Nightmare Before Christmas”, 1993; - “Umka is looking for a friend”, 1970; - “Father Frost and the Gray Wolf”, 1978; - “The Little Match Girl”, 2006; - “Snowman-Postman”, 1955; - “Santa Claus and Summer”, 1969; - “When the Christmas trees are lit”, 1950; - “The Night Before Christmas”, 1951; - “Dragons: Gift of the Night Fury”, 2011; - “The Nutcracker”, 1973; - “Keepers of Dreams”, 2012; - “Mickey’s Christmas Carol”, 1983; - “Once Upon a Time in Tokyo”, 2003; - “Snowman”, 1982; - “Penguins from Madagascar in Christmas adventures”, 2005; - “The Secret Service of Santa Claus”, 2011; - “How a hedgehog and a bear cub celebrated the New Year”, 1975; - “Christmas in South Park”, 2000; - “Mickey: Once Upon a Time at Christmas”, 1999; - “How the Grinch Stole Christmas”, 1966; - “Preparation and Beginning”, 2009; - “Christmas Madagascar”, 2009; - “A Christmas Story”, 2001; - “A Charlie Brown Christmas”, 1965; - “Annabelle”, 1997; - “Beauty and the Beast: A Wonderful Christmas”, 1997; - “Niko: Path to the Stars”, 2008; - “Shrek frost, green nose”, 2007; - “The Adventures of Rudolph the Reindeer”, 1964; - “Eight Crazy Nights”, 2002; - “A Garfield Christmas”, 1987; - “The Adventures of Frosty the Snowman”, 1969; - “A Year Without Santa”, 1974; - “Santa Claus has come to town!”, 1970; - “Arthur’s Perfect Christmas”, 2000; - “Frozen”, 2013; - “The Snow Queen”, 2012.Winter books for children
Fluffy flakes of snow are quietly falling outside the window, or the wind is hitting the window, or the rain is drizzling monotonously, and you are reading a cozy and kind book about magic, love and friendship. What could be cuter than this picture? If you and your child are not avid book lovers, then the lists below will help you when choosing books as gifts for friends. The gradation by age is very arbitrary. And sometimes children love to reread beautiful books year after year, long past the stated age on the cover.
A selection of winter books for children under three years old
- “New Year's Eve. A Mouse's Tale." Clark Moore; - “Christmas Night.” Clark Moore; - “Oh, you winter-winter.” Artist: Vasnetsova Yu.A. Publisher: "Labyrinth"; - “Miracles for the New Year.” Victoria Kirdiy; - " New Year's round dance. Poems, fairy tales, riddles." Barto A.L., Alexandrova Z.N., Berestov V.D. Publisher: "Makhaon". Artist: Danilova V.V., Sharikova I.V.; - “Mitten.” Russian folk tale" Artist: Koopmans Luke. Publisher: " Good book"; - “Happy New Year, Karlchen!” Berner Rotraut Susanna. Publisher: “Melik-Pashayev”; - " Winter fun" Evgeny Migunov; - “Find and show. Hurray, New Year! Artist: Galieva Dinara; - “Tree of Wishes.” Keo McLear; - "Winter. Finders and developments.” Minthe-König Bianca, Dering Hans-Günther. Publisher: "Peter"; - “Winter Book”. Berner Rotraut Susanna. Publisher: “Samokat”; - “How a little fox celebrated the New Year.” Motshiunig Ulrike. Publisher: "Nigma"; - “A gift for a mouse.” Zartaiskaya Irina Vadimovna. Publisher: "Nigma"; - “Chick and Bricky. Snowman". Axel Scheffler. Publisher: Clever Media Group; - “Winter of Bruno the Bear.” Gunilla Ingves. Publisher: “Melik-Pashayev”; - “Hat.” Jen Brett; - “One winter night.” Nick Butterworth.A selection of winter books for children 3-6 years old
- “The Adventures of Julius Dandelion. Save the New Year." Schmachtl Andreas H. Publisher: "Polyandria"; - "Christmas in Petson's house." Sven Nordqvist; - “Every year is New Year.” Eva Tarlet; - “Marusya and magical holidays.” Gilbert Delahaye, Marcel Marlier; - “The sun and the snow men.” Artist: Svetozar Island. Publisher: “Rech”; - "New Year's labyrinths." Smith Sam. Publisher: Clever Media Group; - “New Year’s tasks for boys and girls.” Bowman Lucy, McClain D. Publisher: Clover Media Group; - “Gnomes all year round. The magical world in stories, poems and useful recipes forest medicine." Haugen V. Publisher: “Makhaon”; - " Christmas tree" Nikolay Ustinov. Publisher: “Rech”; - “Tomten.” Astrid Lindgren; - "Orange". Anya Dobrochasova. Publisher: “Meshcheryakova ID”; - " Magic tree" Andrey Usachev; - “Magic sled”. Brian and Cynthia Paterson; - “Adventure in the fox forest.” Brian and Cynthia Paterson; - "Snow". Mavrina, Koval; - “Christmas porridge.” Sven Nordqvist; - "Father Frost". J. Taits; - “Christmas in the Woods.” Ulf Stark, Eva Eriksson; - “Chelovetkin.” Julia Donaldson; - “Long live winter!” Yurie Genevieve; - “Christmas secret.” Yurie Genevieve; - "Christmas. An incident at the museum." Vincent Gabriel; - “The Adventures of New Year's Toys.” Rakitina Elena Vladimirovna; - "Land of New Year's toys." Rakitina Elena Vladimirovna; - “Liselotte. Big surprise." Steffensmeier Alexander; - “Twelve gifts for Santa Claus.” Kunnas Mauri; - "Santa Claus and the Magic Drum." Kunnas Mauri; - “Visiting Santa Claus. The Story of Santa Claus and the Christmas Gnomes." Kunnas Mauri, Kunnas Tarja; - “Winter in Prostokvashino.” Uspensky E.; - “Little Santa Claus.” Shtoner A.; - “Little Santa Claus is coming to town.” Shtoner A.; - “Little Santa Claus is growing up.” Shtoner A.; - “Little Santa Claus travels around the world.” Shtoner A.A selection of winter books for children over 6 years old
- “Among Elves and Trolls.” Jon Bauer; - “Letters from Father Christmas.” Tolkien John Ronald Ruel; - "Christmas tree. Latest edition." Publisher: "Labyrinth"; - "Christmas tree. A hundred years ago." Publisher: "Labyrinth"; - “The Snow Queen”. Hans Christian Andersen; - “Mechanical Santa Claus.” Sven Nordqvist; - “Two brothers.” E. Schwartz; - “The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus.” Frank Baum; - "Queen Bertha's Ears." Anna Nikolskaya; - "Polar Express". Alsburg Chris Wang; - “New Year's treasury. Stories, fairy tales and poems." Publisher: Egmont; - "Christmas tree". Zoshchenko M.; - “Puss in Boots.” Dragunsky V.; - “Enchanted letter.” Dragunsky V.; - “The Nutcracker and the Mouse King.” Hoffmann Ernst Theodor Amadeus; - "Snow Maiden. A spring tale in four acts with a prologue." Ostrovsky A.N.Classic New Year's recipes
When you've watched the movies, listened to the songs, re-read the books and put up the Christmas tree, it's time to use the New Year's magic of scents. Traditionally, winter aromas are considered to be: the aroma of tangerine, orange, pine needles, cloves, cinnamon, chocolate. You can put an aroma lamp with essential oils. But it's better to create magic in the kitchen. And your children will help you with this again.
Gingerbread cookies
Ingredients:- 1 egg; - 250 gr. flour; - 100 gr. butter; - 100 gr. powdered sugar; - 1 tsp each cinnamon, ground ginger; - ½ tsp. baking powder; - 1 tbsp. l. honey; - 1 tsp. cocoa. For the glaze:- 1 chilled chicken egg white; - 130 -160 gr. powdered sugar; - ¼ tsp. lemon juice.
We take all the products at room temperature, mix them, and make a non-sticky dough. Roll the dough into a ball, wrap it in film and put it in the refrigerator for an hour. Then roll out the dough to a thickness of 5-7 mm. Press out with cookie cutters and bake at 180 degrees for about 10 minutes.
Decorate the cooled cookies with icing.
Beat the egg whites with a mixer at low speed. Once the whites bubble evenly, add lemon juice and gradually begin to introduce powdered sugar. Adjust the amount of powdered sugar as you beat. When soft peaks form, turn off the mixer and cover with a damp cloth for 10-15 minutes. We transfer the finished glaze into a tight bag (to start, take a couple of spoons of glaze, not the entire volume), you can use a ziplock bag. Cut off the corner of the bag; the hole should be very small. And squeeze the glaze along the contour of the gingerbread cookies. Let it harden.
Mulled wine for children
Ingredients:- 1 l. cherry juice; - 1 orange; - 2 tangerines; - 0.5 lemon; - 4 buds of cloves; - 0.25 tsp. ground cinnamon; - 4 pcs. allspice; - 2 tbsp. l. honey and raisins;
Bring the juice with raisins to a boil, reduce heat to low and add sliced oranges, tangerines and spices. Simmer for 10 minutes.
Turn off the heat, add lemon juice. Leave for 10 minutes covered. Add honey, pour into mugs and drink hot or warm.
Marzipan
Ingredients:- 1 cup raw almonds; - 1 glass of sugar; - 1/3 glass of water; - 3 drops of almond essence.
Boil the almonds in boiling water for 2 minutes, then cool the nuts and remove the skins. Dry the kernels in a frying pan, stirring constantly. Do not fry! Grind the nuts into puree. Pour water into a thick-bottomed pan and add sugar, boil the syrup. The syrup should be quite dense so that a drop can be rolled into a ball.
Add almond puree to the syrup, add a drop of essence, mix thoroughly. Cook over low heat for another 3 minutes, stirring constantly. Place the mixture on the table, roll it out and cut into pieces. Store in film.
Nuremberg gingerbread
Ingredients:- 100 gr. butter; - 120 gr. sugar or honey; - 3 eggs; - 300 gr. flour; - 1 packet of baking powder; - 250 ml. milk; - 1 tsp each cinnamon, ground ginger; - 2 tbsp. l. cocoa; - 150 gr. peanuts; - 100 gr. candied fruits; - 50 gr. raisins; - 50 gr. coconut flakes.
Mix butter, eggs and sugar and beat until smooth. In another bowl, mix all the remaining dry ingredients and combine them with the butter mixture, mix thoroughly, add milk and mix again. Form round gingerbread cookies. Bake at 180 degrees for 15-20 minutes.
What is a holiday? This is a special time when people want not only to relax, but to forget about all their problems for a while. To make an event impressive and unforgettable, it should be carefully thought out. For example, when it comes to the New Year, it is important to take into account many points. Not only will you decorate the house, you should not forget about other nuances. So, in order for the holiday to be remembered and liked, you need to start with the mood.
Christmas mood
Of course, it is difficult to predict this moment, especially if there are a lot of people at the event. It is impossible to guarantee that everyone will arrive in a great mood, but you can create a favorable atmosphere at work.This will be easy to do if you listen to the advice. In fact, everything ingenious is hidden in the simple. Therefore, in order for everyone to feel good on the day of the holiday, and a wonderful atmosphere to reign in the air, you need to start the morning correctly.
Just imagine how happy your friends and colleagues will be if everyone has a nice souvenir at their workplace. It could be a balloon or Christmas tree decoration. You can choose any small items for a small gift. Even one sweet candy on the table will please a person. Do not forget that on this day you need to hurry to decorate the room. As psychologists say, this is also an important point.
How to decorate your house for the New Year?
It is worth noting that on the eve of the New Year you need to take care not only of your work space. The mood of colleagues is important, just like the mood of relatives. Therefore, you should initially start with the comfort of home. People always clean up and strive to ensure that everything goes well during the holiday. Buy a Christmas tree and garlands, think over gifts - all this must be done as a family. If you have small children, then you will need to devote a lot of time to creating the interior and beauty. 
It’s very good if, on one of your days off, you start creating snowflakes, garlands, toys, and decorations. Firstly, it will be interesting and fun, and secondly, you will save a lot of money. Once the preparation at home is completed, you can practice the same at work. Creating toys with best friends, you will be imbued with the spirit of the holiday and harmony.
What to wear for the New Year?
This question is relevant for everyone, so we will examine it in detail. Every year is the year of a certain animal eastern calendar, but the editors of the site advise you to adhere not only to a certain range of colors suitable for the symbol of the year, but also to certain recommendations:1. When wearing an outfit in the color of the symbol of the year, try not to overdo it. The color of the coming year is, of course, good, but looking like a parrot is completely unnecessary. Combine bright colors with discreet shades. Remember that there should not be many accessories. Do not wear too revealing outfits; New Year is considered family holiday, your acquaintances or friends may not understand you. And, don't forget that New Year is a holiday, and therefore your clothes should be festive, unless you are going to a pajama party.
2. Dresses, skirts and beautiful dazzling suits are what women will have to wear. Men are obliged to follow the rules and wear beautiful colored shirts. On New Year's Eve, children have a lot of opportunities in terms of carnival costumes.
New Year's dishes
It's not just what you wear that matters, but also what you cook. This year is completely different, so you need to think about dishes in advance. You must think through the menu well and include your guests’ favorite dishes. Each prepared recipe must contain something that will please the lady of the year and your loved ones.Gingerbread recipe
One of the most delicious options is baked meat with vegetables. This recipe will satisfy the requirements of all guests, and absolutely takes into account the monkeys’ love for vegetables and fruits. Simple ingredients and simplicity of the recipe will be available to you.
You will need:
500-700t grams of meat (necessarily lean);
2 onions and 2 tomatoes;
One large carrot;
1 eggplant;
4 cloves of garlic (the proportion can be reduced to 2);
Spices, salt, vegetable oil.
This is the simplest recipe, because you need to place everything in a pot, put it in the oven for no more than 30 minutes - and be content with the result. You need to add salt and pepper in the last minutes of baking so as not to overdo it.
Gift ideas for the new year
There are countless options here, it all depends on who you are preparing the gift for. For children you need to choose a symbolic toy, and for adults something created with your own hands. If you are thinking about gifts for colleagues, then it is important to be attentive and learn about their tastes. Suitable for a wife beautiful decoration, and for the husband - any practical thing.Competitions and games for the New Year
When you have taken care of everything else, you need to provide leisure time. This is what is traditionally considered the most fun time. When everyone has eaten your treats, everyone will receive gifts and celebrate the chimes - it’s time to start playing. For some reason, it turned out that the famous children's game “Crocodile” managed to appeal to adults as well.New Year's salad recipe
So you can start there. Simple conditions and the opportunity for everyone to play together makes it very exciting. A person must show each hidden word without words, and when the word is guessed, the winner takes his place.
Everything is simple and clear, that’s what I like about the game. But, if you are set on a competitive program, then you should prepare not only assignments, but also presentations. In addition to playing Crocodile, you can also play the well-known game Guess Who You Are.
The rules of the game are simple: each participant writes a famous person or character on a piece of paper and passes the piece of paper to a neighbor, who attaches it to his forehead without looking at him. Thus, all participants see the papers of all players except their own. The goal of the game is to guess which celebrity or famous character is stuck on your forehead. This needs to be done, if possible, as quickly as possible. The process of solving begins with leading questions, for example, “Am I a person?”, “Am I a fictional character?” The difficulty of the game is that all your questions can only be answered with Yes or No. The first one to guess his character wins. The turn passes to the next player after the person asking the question hears the answer No.!
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As soon as the first snow fell and the temperature outside was below freezing, I got into a New Year's mood. I wanted to smell the Christmas tree and tangerines, hear a New Year's song or watch some good old film about this holiday. And this is not surprising, because the New Year is just around the corner, there are only a month and a half left before it! Therefore, to everyone who, like me, prefers to prepare for the holidays in advance, I advise you not to put preparations on the back burner, but to immediately begin this pleasant activity that lifts the New Year’s mood - preparing for the New Year. After all, our mood largely depends on the mood we set for ourselves.
I decided to prepare for the New Year from choosing an outfit. By tradition, our company celebrates the New Year at a ski resort, so I know in advance where and how the holiday will take place. This condition, it seems to me, is decisive when choosing New Year's costume. Maybe you are going to celebrate the holiday outdoors or in a restaurant, or maybe at home - in a close circle of friends and family. For each of these occasions, the outfit must be appropriate. To celebrate outdoors, you need to choose warm pants, a jacket, a hat, but don’t forget to decorate it all with New Year’s attributes. And for the room you can come up with a bunch of options - be it 
smart trousers with a top, a silk or lace skirt, a dress - long or short, with original trim or a deep neckline, with bare shoulders or a fashionable corset. It all depends on your taste, but the main thing when choosing an outfit is its comfort. You will have to spend the whole night in it - dancing, having fun and actively participating in competitions.
Yours New Year's dress I bought it a month ago, I just need to choose shoes and jewelry to match it. By the way, if you prepare for the New Year in advance, start shopping for dresses and accessories as early as possible, you can even find very unusual models at an attractive price, because the New Year sales season has not yet officially begun, and many stores may still have discounts and promotions on such light, summer dresses.
Get in shape.
One and a half to two months is enough time to start getting in shape and please yourself and your loved ones with amazing results by the New Year. This applies to both sports activities and home treatments for hair, face and body care. To those who have problematic skin, it is better to contact specialists. During this time, they will be able to cleanse and heal your face.
Preparing for the New Year - buying gifts.
Buy New Year's gifts for people close to me is the most enjoyable activity for me when preparing for a holiday, including preparing for the New Year. Last year at this time our baby was only a few months old, so I didn’t have much time to go shopping. 
was. I had to buy gifts just before the New Year, when there were huge queues and a lot of people in the stores. I didn’t get any pleasure from this at all, not to mention the New Year’s mood, and besides, in such a bustle, I wasn’t able to find the gifts that I originally came up with. I also noticed one thing - when you rush to the shops at the last moment, your imagination and all your ideas evaporate somewhere, and, as a result, you have to buy banal souvenirs and boring gifts.
This year I decided to do something different and prepare gifts in advance. Some I have already purchased, and some are under development. My husband and I decided to give photo souvenirs to our closest relatives. They can be either an independent gift or an addition to the main one. My photographer friend is helping me implement this idea. She organized a New Year's photo shoot for our son with costumes, New Year's toys and spruce branches. When the photographs are ready, they can be used to make calendars, refrigerator magnets, greeting cards or photo books, which have been especially popular lately.
Read about what to give your mother for the New Year on our website “Sunny Hands” in the article
“What to give your mother for her birthday, New Year and March 8th”?
For my beloved grandmother, I ordered cozy slippers on the Internet, and I’m also going to buy a healing herbal balm or some other
someday good vitamins. In general, you need to be especially careful when choosing gifts for grandparents. After all, they are sometimes very vulnerable and touchy. In their opinion, a gift that is too “expensive” can make you worry, and some trinket will seem completely unnecessary. It seems to me that a warm, soft blanket, healthy herbal teas, a jar of honey or a moisturizing body cream would be perfect for grandma. For example, my grandmother really loves it when people give her cosmetics. According to her, it makes her feel a little younger.
I really appreciate it when people give me handmade gifts. But, unfortunately, I myself don’t always have enough time or imagination for this.
But I try to wrap gifts myself. For this you will need bright ribbons, wrapping paper, boxes, candy wrappers, gold coins, “snowflakes”, fir branches and much more that your imagination tells you. You can cover your shoe box with wrapping paper, fabric, or fun photos printed on plain paper. Tie the top of the box with a ribbon and decorate it with a fir branch. It is not necessary to put a gift in such a box that matches its size. On the Sunny Hands website you can read an article about how to wrap and decorate any gift beautifully “How to properly and beautifully decorate a gift?”
By wrapping gifts yourself, even if it is not done very carefully, you are putting a piece of your soul, individuality and creativity into the gift. Your loved ones will definitely appreciate your efforts. This preparation for the New Year will allow you to choose good gifts and will already give you a New Year's mood in advance.
Home and office decoration.
The New Year's mood depends on ourselves. The sooner we start
prepare for the New Year, the longer we will be surrounded by a fabulous mood. That's why I like to decorate my apartment and office workspace not in the last week of December, but much earlier. It is clear that it is better not to put up a Christmas tree, if it is real, too early, since there is a possibility that it will fall off before the festive night. But you can do the rest of the decoration whenever you want.I try to decorate the Christmas tree in a new way every time. This year I decided to stick to one tone and only put red balloons and ribbons on it. My friend once decorated the Christmas tree with tangerines. I don’t know how she attached strings to them, but it looked very unusual. At the same time, there was an unusually fabulous mixture of aromas from fir and tangerines in the apartment.
On front door You can place a wreath of fir branches. I usually make it myself. Fir branches are woven around the wire frame and secured with ropes or similar wires. I like to decorate it with real pine cones, ribbons and balls.
Fir branches decorated with tangerines on the windowsill look very beautiful. To make it look more aesthetically pleasing, it is better to secure the branches, just like the wreath, with rigid wire. You can stick snowflakes on the windows, or paint the glass with special paints or toothpaste.
The lights hanging throughout the room and the garland on the Christmas tree look very festive.
If you plan to celebrate the New Year at home, then you need to take care of beautiful design festive table. Prepare a New Year's tablecloth and napkins. You can place candles in festive candlesticks along the entire table. A transparent vase with tangerines mixed with New Year's balls will look beautiful.
Probably, for many, preparing for the New Year is the most enjoyable part of this magical holiday. Buying new outfits, decorating the interior, decorating the Christmas tree, choosing and arranging gifts for loved ones - all of this exudes warm fairy-tale memories from childhood and the hope that the New Year will bring a lot of good, positive and unforgettable things!
Sincerely, Natalia Maksimova.
