How to Cope When You Are Alone on Your Birthday

By Arlin Cuncic, About.com Guide

Birthdays are generally fun when you are a child. As you grow older, birthdays become a nuisance for some in that they are a reminder that you are getting older. For people who suffer with social anxiety disorder (SAD), they can also be a reminder that you are on your own. Here are some tips to cope if you find yourself alone on your birthday.

    Give yourself a makeover. Whether you are a man or a woman, your birthday is a great chance to give yourself a makeover on the outside and the inside. Treat yourself to a new outfit, new hairstyle, and anything else that will give you a boost of confidence. Read books to work on coping with social anxiety so that you will not be alone on future birthdays.

    Bake a cake. Even if no one is coming over, that doesn't mean you can't bake yourself a cake. Don't take a shortcut and buy a storemade version; the goal is to take your time and enjoy the process of baking. Feel proud of what you have accomplished. Share leftovers with a neighbor and you will have the chance to make a new friend.

    Treat yourself. If you aren't expecting any gifts, why not treat yourself to something new? Choose a gift that might help you with your social anxiety such as chamomile tea, or buy yourself something that you have wanted for a while.

    Go hiking. Exercise is a great way to clear your mind and hiking outdoors gives you a chance to connect with nature at the same time. You can feel good about spending your birthday out of the house and doing something good for your health and your mind. If you have a dog, all the better; bring him along and let his natural joy and curiosity lead the way.

    Go see a movie. Treat yourself to a night out at the movies even if you have no one to go with. If you want to lift your spirits, choose a comedy at a time when the theatre will be full. Laugh out loud with everyone else and you won't feel so alone.

    Volunteer. If you are really feeling down about being alone on your birthday, consider offering your services as a volunteer. Spending time chatting with folks at an old age home or offering to walk dogs at an animal shelter are two ways that you can be productive and feel good on your birthday. You might even make new friends and become a regular volunteer. Be sure to call in advance to learn about any requirements prior to volunteering.

    Read. Your birthday is a great time to sit down with a good book. If you have no other plans, at least start that novel or non-fiction book you have had on your list. Your birthday is yours to spend how you choose, and curled up with a good book can be a rewarding day in and of itself.

    Follow your normal routine. If you are really feeling down about having no one to spend your birthday with, consider making it just like any other day. Go about your usual routine, and don't mention to anyone that it is your birthday. This strategy works best if you are not much into birthday celebrations anyway.

    Plan a party for next year. Start thinking about next year if you don't want to be alone on your birthday again. Are there relatives you could visit or friends that you could invite over for dinner? Take the year to make new connections so that you don't find yourself alone again this time next year.

    Be appreciative. Birthdays are a reminder that we are all on the earth for a limited time. Make the most of each day and be appreciative of the little things that make you happy. You never know what is around the corner and how many birthdays you have left.

Create an Online Wish List

Setting up an electronic wish list during the holidays can be extremely helpful. It can reduce duplicate gifts and ensure that your child receives age-appropriate toys he or she will really play with.

However, if you're going to utilize wish lists, it's also important to teach your child how they work, so that he or she understands that they're optional. Rather than being a "must-buy" list or a "guaranteed to receive" list, wish lists merely provide suggestions for those friends and relatives that ask what your child might like to receive.

Pros of Using a Wish List:

    Decrease the chances that your child will receive items she already owns

    Reduce toy clutter, since your child will theoretically receive items he really wants

    It's also an opportunity to introduce some items you'd like to see your child start playing with

Cons of Using a Wish List:

    It could be misinterpreted if you send it friends and relatives unsolicited

    Your child could get the impression that she's entitled to all of the items on the list

    Store-generated wish lists can be limiting if items quickly sell out

Tips for Using Wish Lists:

    Discuss the wish list with your child

    Explain that it's a list of suggestions

    Make the list together and include your child's input

    Include a wide range of items which reflect your child's interests

    Don't forget to include low-cost items

    Only share the list with people who ask you what your kids might like to receive

    Consider using an Internet-based wish list that allows you to include items from many different retailers

The following Web sites offer free wish list services:

MyGiftList.com

    You can create a wish list with items from any store

    Visitors to your wish list can see what's already been purchased

    You can create different categories of potential givers, so that not everyone sees the entire wish list at once

    For each item you add to the list, you can include up to three web addresses and a detailed description of where the item can be purchased

    You can also add your favorite charities to your list, in case you'd like friends and family to make a donation on your behalf


ChristmasWishList.net

    Allows you to include items from any store

    Include an optional shopping link so visitors can easily purchase items online

    Rank items by their importance

    You can also create groups with your family members and friends and view one another's wish lists


ListIdeas.com

    Easy to set up

    Allows you to add a button to your browser's toolbar so that you can just click "Add to ListIdeas" as you browse the Internet

    Allows you to create several unique wish lists under one account

    Allows you to add items from any store

By Jennifer Wolf, About.com Guide

Top Wish List Websites

Gift registries used to be available only for weddings, but soon they opened up for baby showers as well. Now you can create a registry, or wish list, for any

occasion. Create one for each of your kids and make birthdays and holidays less stressful for relatives.

This list is comprised of the top gift registry sites. The best sites have a wide range of products available and are easy to use. If you'll be making gift lists for

your children, you'll also want the option to create multiple lists.
Amazon.com
Amazon was one of the first sites that encouraged the creation of personal wish lists for birthdays and holidays. Although you are limited to the products

that Amazon carries, they have enough variety for a fun wish list, especially for kids. In addition to books, CDs and movies, you can find clothes, electronics,

household items, tools, furniture and even grocery items. As a bonus, Amazon.com has great discounts and free shipping on many of their products.
Visit Amazon.com
Ads

Kaboodle
Kaboodle combines the elements of a classic wish list with the community building aspects of social networking sites. Install a bookmarklet in your browser

and you can quickly and easily add cool things you see as you browse the web. Friends can "reserve" items on your list so others don't buy duplicates.
Visit Kaboodle

List Ideas
List Ideas allows you to add items from any website that interests you using a simple bookmarklet. You can share your list with others, browse other wish

lists for ideas, and even add your list to your blog or website.

Visit List Ideas
boxedup.com
boxedup.com is another wishlist-meets-social-networking site with the option to add lists to MySpace pages, Friendster, Facebook and hi5. Add items as

you browse the web with an easy-to-install bookmarklet.
Visit boxedup.com

WishList.com
WishList.com is a basic wish list site without any of the social networking bells and whistles some other sites have. That said, in addition to using a

bookmarklet to add items, you can use a camera phone to send items directly to your account while out shopping. WishList.com also has several thousand

stores available to shop with.

From Christy Matte

Advice Every Mom And Dad Can Use

Being an effective parent can sometimes be a daunting task - being charged with the responsibility of caring for another life is a great responsibility, after all. Throw in sleepless nights, plenty of temper tantrums, and unexpected expenses, and the average parent is often left feeling confused and overwhelmed sometimes.

When teaching your teenager to drive, the key is practice, practice, practice. Try to plan specific skills to go over each time you go out with them- coinciding with skills learned in a driver's ed program if possible. Make sure to test them in various types of inclement weather like fog, rain, snow, and the like.

A great parenting tip is to be aware of how your actions can influence your child. If you curse a lot at home, don't be surprised if your child gets suspended or sent home from school for bad behavior. Always try to set a good example for your child.

As a parent it's your job to encourage character growth. Children are often inexperienced and need someone to guide them through new tasks and experiences. All you need to do is set the ball rolling and people along their way will help guide them through the rest. It's a small investment to advise your kid, but a more profitable one to physically set them on the path.

If you are trying to keep track of your baby's feedings, nap cycles, diaper changes and many other things, try locating one of the great apps that are available for smart phones. It will make it quite simple to keep track of the many things that a baby needs during the day.

To make hair washing an easier process, pretend like your child is visiting a hair salon. Allow her to lay her head up to the sink and place a towel underneath her neck. Give your child a head massage while you are rinsing her hair. Engaging in imaginative play, will make this task fun for your child.

Let your child go barefoot as much as possible. There are multitudes of adorable footwear these days to adorn your little ones tootsie's, but for the health of baby's feet, barefoot is the way to go. Many pediatricians suggest that non-constraint of a child's feet will promote their natural growth and your child would probably say it's a lot more comfortable, anyway!

If you want your child to have a healthy emotional intelligence, make sure to validate their emotions and discuss emotional expression with them. Children learn when it is appropriate and inappropriate to express emotion - show them that emotions are a natural and valid means of expressing our feelings by labeling emotions for them, discussing both their and your emotional expressions, and validating their feelings.

Learning how to be an effective parent, and how to strengthen your relationship with your child, is a lifelong process. This article has presented numerous tried and true suggestions for developing healthy patterns of parenting, and we hope that they will be helpful to you as you engage in the process of developing yourself as a parent.

Happy Valentine's Honey!

This Valentines Day don't just wait until the last minute, then buy the same old heart shaped box of chocolates or a dozen long stemmed roses like you did last year, although they are always acceptable Valentine's gifts for your wife, there are some other gift ideas you may want to consider to add a little extra special twist to your gift this year and knock her off her feet with a unique Valentine's Day gift and really surprise her.

Have been feeling like your love life is getting well, dull? This year rekindle the passion and desire of your relationship with some romance on Valentine's day because it is the best time for it.

Exactly where Wants Actually Are available Accurate

A child's globe is actually a world of wonder, fascination, entertaining, wonder, excitement, as well as creativity. The newborn's imagination may well appear farfetched for the mature thoughts. Nevertheless, to get a youngster, what they desire is what they wish for. Occasionally, the actual dream of getting one thing may well stop met. While their needs usually are not met, they build any wishlist within their heads. The generation is only a mind image. Nonetheless, these people reside within this produced field with expectations that their needs will come accurate.



A World of Wonder. Youngsters query exactly how items are produced. This kind of wonder could be addressed by taking them areas. Allow them witness producing a few of their own preferred issues such as ice cream, natural cotton candy, milk shake, playthings, and online games.



A World of Curiosity. Kids are generally a number of the the majority of curious individuals alive. Some issues that may well advantage their curiosity generally have to have replies. They generally start with exactly where, the reason why, how, as well as who. As an example, "Where can food originate from?" "Why is definitely the sky blue?Inches How does an airplane keep upwards within the air flow?" "Who is definitely the highest man or woman living?" Awareness is usually a all-natural characteristic in young children. Hence, grown ups must seek approaches to provide the answers within a entertaining approach.



A World of Entertaining. These are enjoyable, youngsters despise boredom. You'll find many areas which are certain to become on the wishlist. Adults could produce the wishlist of enjoyable areas in order to pay a visit to. Greater nonetheless, that they should really enable your youngsters for you to recommend exactly where these people need to move. Some locations that will could always be around the checklist are theme park attractions, which include, Disney Globe and also SeaWorld. Also, kids appreciate participating in outings just like ball game titles, fairs, picnics, and comparable activities.



A World of Amazement. The idea will not get incredibly a great deal for you to amaze a new kid. They may be surprised in the approach horses gallop, the way a lion roars, and how a crocodile moves. That they discover that difficult to think that will an individual may in fact experience within a mechanism. They may be actually amazed concerning the rate of specific cars and the way they're created. Adults can exploit this wonder. They will do that by organizing young children to view some astounding instances in genuine life.



A World of Excitement. The actual minds with the youthful are usually interested in thrilling points. Kids may be determined, encouraged, along with inspired through adventurous pursuits. Adventures may include things like motorboat rides, walking, skiing, riding a bike, and camping. Meeting their own favored Big t.V. individuality and animated characters may also produce excitement.



A World of Creativity. Creativity is synonymous with getting a kid. Due to this characteristic, their imagination is often extended far and wide. Hence, young children must possess possibilities to convey their inventive factors. Possibilities may well contain factors such as baking and cooking, performing scientific findings, drawing along with painting, as well as developing numerous physical objects.



As a result of the actual organic make-up of young children, the causes of wonder, curiosity, enjoyable, awe, excitement, as well as curiosity, may well become distinct regarding adults. Thus, ahead of grownups generate a new wishlist, they must discover in regards to the little one's dreams and wishes.

Have a successful birthday party for your child with a Birthday Wish List

Well before you get together family and friends to be singing “happy birthday,” while your kid blows out the candles on his birthday cake, you've got quite a lot of birthday celebration planning to do. You are assigned with the mission of satisfying your child's birthday wish list; right from picking out an ideal theme and creating a guests list to choosing the ideal adornments and the most scrumptious birthday cake. But as you plan, do not miss this pretty important detail: presents for the birthday girl or boy. There's really no denying it -- kids like opening gifts and playing with the new toys! Therefore, amid all of your planning, take some time to find out which presents are figuring on your child's birthday wish list. However you don't need a pen and piece of blank paper to do it, an online birthday wish list can aid you have your child's birthday wish list prepared and complete in no time.

Online Birthday Wish List

Technology is definitely changing almost everything, including the manner parents create birthday wish lists for their kids. Parents used to earlier grab a piece of blank paper and compose a list, then offer the list to family and friends who call and ask for it. Times have definitely changed; nowadays the parents generate online birthday wish lists for their children with easy-to-use tools like Wish List 4 Kids.

Make a Wish for the Best Kid Presents

Even at an early age, children have varied pastimes and passions. One eight-year-old may have a profound fascination with science, whilst another may take delight in playing soccer. The friends and family you invite to your child’s birthday celebration may know very little with regard to your kid’s passions, favorite movies and television shows or favorite colors. Creating an online birthday wish list can aid them pick birthday gifts your kid would definitely enjoy unwrapping and playing with on his special day and in the days that follow.

Share Birthday Wish Lists — Instantly

You invited your child’s grandparents, his classmates, aunts and uncles and the neighbors from down the street to your kid’s birthday party. At least 1 – 2 weeks before the birthday party, be prepared to get swamped with phone, emails and calls and even social media messages from them with regard to what to get your child on his birthday. Setting up an online birthday wish list for your child could cut down the number of queries you get since you can send party guests one concise list of possible gifts to select. What’s better still? Your guests can see which items have already been bought and decide on their gift choices accordingly. Once you’ve completed your kid’s online birthday wish list, there exist many different options to quickly share it, if you use an online wish list tool like Wish List 4 Kids. You can e-mail a link to friends and family through email or through social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook. In case you have a blog for your family, you could also quickly share the birthday wish list there. Online sharing is really ideal considering that people are very often on-the-go and rely on their mobile gadgets. They are also especially handy for friends and family who live out-of-town. They very often cannot travel for birthday parties, however almost always would like to send a present to the birthday girl or boy.

Bring down Birthday Present Mix-Ups

Choosing a gift for a kid's birthday celebration, having a birthday wish list, is no easy task, even for the most smart parents. Have you ever before turned up at a kid's birthday party with the same present as one another guest? It arises frequently. Here is why -- the most sought after toys are shown in commercials and have priority placement on websites and store shelves. Party-goers are inclined to get hold of the most popular presents. An online birthday wish list furnishes party-goers a list of specific items a child has shown interest. Another very common issue would be that friends and family who buy shoes and clothes as birthday gifts, select the wrong sizes and colors. Eliminate this by using an online wish list. You can quite easily list out just what size your child needs in pants, shoes, shirts, dresses or skirts, once you have included the items to your kid's wish list. Use an online birthday wish list to minimize these gift giving woes and also save yourself the trouble of standing in long return lines for exchanging your child's birthday party gift items.

Give the Gift of Charity

Your child's bedroom and playroom may possibly be overflowing with toys and books. On account of this, numerous parents tend to be electing to host "no-gift” birthday celebrations for their children. Instead, the party guests are requested to donate to causes, charities or organizations that are important to the birthday child. If perhaps you choose to go this route, you could utilize an online birthday wish list to list out the charities and types of donations your guests can choose from as gift items. Making use of a wish list helps you to ensure that funds are adequately dispersed amongst the organizations and also it offers party-goers an opportunity to decide which charitable organization suits their own interests.

Read our free birthday wish list guide for more tips and ideas.
Wish List 4 Kids is dedicated to helping parents and children create online wish lists for birthdays, Christmas, Christenings, baby showers, school supply lists, holidays and other special occasions.
Get great gift ideas for your birthday wish list by using our gift finder at http://www.wishlist4kids.co

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