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East Oregonian/Hermiston Herald
HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS
Wednesday, November 22, 2017
Four ways to survive holiday gifting
Family Features
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
Jerilynn Stephens signs Christmas carols while bell ringing for the Salvation Army
in front of Wal-Mart on Tuesday in Hermiston.
Put giving twists on
holiday traditions
Family Features
If giving is an important
aspect of your holiday tradi-
tions, you may find yourself
repeating the same activities
year after year. While the
giving feels good, it can also
grow monotonous. This
season, make your generosity
feel fresh and new by putting
your own unique twist on your
favorite holiday traditions.
Cook extras for the cookie
exchange. A baking party is a
wonderful way to kick off the
holiday season. The delightful
aromas and hours of laughter
blend with the sweet treats for
a cheery (and tasty) tradition.
This year, instead of simply
baking cookies to trade with
your friends, encourage
everyone to bake several extra
batches and take them to a
local soup kitchen or senior
living community.
Extend a seasonal icon.
The ringing bells and red
kettles found outside of
retailers across the nation
are nearly as symbolic of the
holiday season as twinkling
lights and red-nosed reindeer.
During the holiday season,
more than 3 million families
and children rely on The
Salvation Army to provide
them with a warm meal on
Christmas Day or toys for their
children. This year, the orga-
nization is making it easy to
extend those kettle collections
offline as well with the Fight
for Good campaign, which
allows you to create your own
fundraiser, including setting
a goal and designating the
cause you’d like to support.
Visit redkettlereason.org to
create your own fundraising
page and encourage friends
and family to donate and start
While the holidays might
be the most wonderful time
of the year for children, the
gifting season can quickly
spiral out of control for
unprepared shoppers.
These four tips can help
you conquer holiday gifting
like a pro:
1. Get organized. The
secret to conquering the
holiday season is having a
plan. Take 10-15 minutes to
update your calendar with
all your holiday parties,
family engagements, secret
Santa exchanges or any
other gifting commitments.
Make sure to include dates,
locations, times and even
specifics, like themes, if
they’re available. If you
have multiple holiday
events, you might even
color-coordinate
your
planner for an easy visual
reminder. Sync your events
across all smart devices for
an easy glance at the touch
of a button.
2. Find your go-to
gifts. As an adult, deci-
phering what kind of gifts
a child wants in this digital
age can be tricky. Some
classics like brick toys are
still a hit with kids of all
ages. Studies show that
60 percent of children
love playing with brick
toys and more than half of
parents love that their kids
Gilliam County
Light Festival & Parade
their own pages.
In addition, you can donate
to the Red Kettle Campaign
by dropping dollars and
coins into the thousands of
Red Kettles found in front
of retail stores and on street
corners, or donate your time
by contacting your local
Salvation Army for volunteer
opportunities.
Add a special pre-dinner
starter. The holidays bring
plenty of opportunities for
celebratory meals, and it’s the
perfect time to ask everyone to
lend an hour or two to a good
cause. Instead of spending
hours around a table, spend
some of that time catching
up while you volunteer at a
food bank or other charitable
organization. When you make
your way on to dinner, your
festive spirit may be even
stronger for the difference you
made together.
Travel with care. As you
flit from one place to the
next checking off your list
of holiday chores, you may
encounter any number of
homeless and needy families.
Instead of simply handing
over a few dollars as you
pass by, keep a supply of
holiday care packages in the
car. Include items like warm
socks or gloves, toiletries and
non-perishable snacks. You
may even want to include an
uplifting note to share some
festive seasonal cheer.
Give gifts with meaning.
If you’re like most people,
there are many on your shop-
ping list who truly don’t need
a thing. Instead of wracking
your brain, donate to a cause
in their honor. It may be the
foundation of a beloved alma
mater or an organization
serving orphans in the country
where they honeymooned.
The more personal the
connection, the more grate-
fully it will likely be received.
After making your donation,
simply gift your recipient
with a card that explains the
contribution you’ve made in
their name.
No matter which cause
you support, a fresh approach
to your charitable giving can
renew your spirit and enthu-
siasm for helping those in
need this holiday season.
•Saturday, Dec. 2; 5:30 p.m.
•Downtown Condon
www.condonchamber.org
Free. People are encour-
aged to come early to shop at
local merchants, enjoy caroling
on Main Street and to view a
4 p.m. showing of “A Charlie
Brown Christmas” at the Liberty
Theater. After party at the Elks
Lodge includes food, drinks and
pictures with Santa.
Winter Walapalooza
•Thursday, Dec. 7; 4-7 p.m.
•Gronquist Building & Alkali
Park, Arlington
www.facebook.com/Arling-
tonORChamber
Free. From 4-6 p.m., people
can build a snowman (using
any materials EXCEPT snow)
for the S’no’man Contest
at Alkali Park. They remain
on display through Dec. 21.
From 6-7, enjoy chilly dogs,
hot chocolate, door prizes,
live entertainment by the
“Community Carolers” and the
official tree lighting.
Athena
Athena Holiday Bazaar
•Saturday, Dec. 2; 9 a.m.-3
p.m.
•Athena Elementary School,
375 S. Fifth S
Echo
Holiday Open House
•Saturday, Nov. 25; 10 a.m.-
6 p.m.
•Vintage Shops @ Echo
Station, 211 W. Main St.
www.facebook.com/shop-
satechostation
Free. Door prize drawings,
discounts, drinks and treats.
Echo Toy Run
•Saturday, Dec. 2; noon
Celebration
135 year Hamley tradition of the
finest quality that fits right
50-75%
OFF
Apparel, hats, boots, leather
belts, Hamley pewter logo
entertainment gifts
10% OFF
Turquoise Indian Antique
Jewelry, Vogt Silver,
Western Art & Bronze
Friday Nov. 24th • Saturday Nov. 25th
Sunday Nov. 26th
Open until 8PM • Friday and Saturday
30 S.E. Court Street, Pendleton • 541-278-1100
do, according to Mattel
Global Consumer Insights.
Try product lines like
Mega Construx and Mega
Bloks, which combine
the fun of brick toys with
popular franchises to create
exciting products for kids.
Find more holiday gift
ideas at shop.mattel.com.
3. Wrap gifts early.
Now that you have your
plan in place, save time by
purchasing all the gifts you
will need for the holidays
and wrapping them at one
time. Prevent the stress of
a last-minute gift wrap run
by pre-wrapping gifts and
simply labeling them with
removable sticky notes.
4. Build a gifting closet.
Once you have your gifts
wrapped and ready to go,
consider using an old crate
or storage container and
turning it into a “gifting
closet.” Insert dividers to
separate the gifts by age
range and set aside your
treasure trove in an easy-
to-reach storage area. You
can even use this closet
year-round for birthdays
and other gifting events. On
the day of the party, simply
open your gifting closet,
grab a gift for the right age
and head out the door.
Another
option
to
save time and money this
holiday season is to enter
for the chance to win a
gifting closet with $1,000
worth of Mega products
to help you conquer the
gifting season. To enter
the sweepstakes, post an
original holiday photo to
Instagram or Twitter with a
short caption that includes
why the entrant likes to give
or receive construction toys
as gifts. For full details,
visit rules.prizelogic.com/
MegaSocialSweeps.
•Main Street, Echo
Motorcyclists (and other ve-
hicles) invited to bring a new un-
wrapped toy to deliver to Good
Shepherd Medical Center.
Winterphest, Bazaar &
Light Parade
Christmas in Echo Holiday
Lights
www.echo-oregon.com/
christmas.html
Free. The Echo Booster
Club sponsors a Christmas
Lighting Contest. To encourage
people to put up decorations,
new homeowners are given a
strand of lights. Most years, at
least 60 percent of the homes
are decorated.
Helix
Light Up Our Community
•Sunday, Dec. 3; 1-3 p.m.,
light pick-up
•Thursday, Dec. 14; 6-7
p.m., contest
•Helix City Hall
Free. Helix residents can
pick up free Christmas lights
to encourage home displays. A
contest will be held Dec. 14, cul-
minating in hot cocoa and voting
at city hall. The winner receives
a water bill credit.
Christmas Tree Lighting
•Thursday, Dec. 7; 6 p.m.
Free soup starting at 4:30
p.m. Ceremony includes inno-
vation, carols and cookies.
Pilot Rock
Thanksgiving at Archie’s
•Thursday, Nov. 23; noon-
•Archie’s Restaurant, 194
W. Main St.
Free. In its seventh year, the
restaurant serves a Thanksgiv-
ing meal to anyone who shows
up. In addition, it serves as a
fundraiser for the Pilot Rock
Food Pantry. People are invited
to donate cash or non-perish-
able food items to help those in
need.
•Saturday, Dec. 2; 10 a.m.-2
p.m.; 5 p.m. parade
•Pilot Rock Community Cen-
ter
w w w. f a c e b o o k . c o m /
events/518993265118010
Free. After shopping for
homemade goodies and gifts,
get ready for the Light Parade,
followed by a chili feed ($) and
float awards.
Stanfield
Santa’s Workshop
•TBA
•Stanfield Public Library,
180 W. Coe Ave.
www.facebook.com/stan-
fieldpubliclibrary
$5. Craft, picture with Santa
and cookie decorating. Details
on the date are being worked
out with Santa’s agent. Call
the library at 541-449-1254 for
more information.
Umatilla
Christmas Trees & Gift
Shoppe
•Holiday season
•Fire Station No. 2, McNary
www.facebook.com/Umatil-
laVFA
Free admission. Photos with
Santa to be announced.
Weston
Christmas Lighting Con-
test Party
•Friday, Dec. 15, evening
•Memorial Hall
Free. The community puts
up lights and decorates. During
the party, trailers with hay bales
take people around to view the
displays. Refreshments served
at Memorial Hall.