I felt like Arnold Schwarzenegger in the hilarious comedy, "Jingle All the Way" that you have got to see. In the movie, Arnold only had one present to buy but he kept putting it off and it was the "one" toy that everyone wanted. He and Sinbad both fought for the "one" available toy so their kid would get it for Christmas that turned Arnold into a "hero" with his family unlike what you would ever expect. If you haven't seen it, please rent this DVD and watch it over the holidays and I am sure it will become a new tradition in your home.
My task was to get the new Wii interactive computer game for Christmas and I have been looking for 2 weeks. Well, last Tuesday morning, I waiting in line in the electronics dept in our Super Wal-Mart in Laurinburg for an hour because this when UPS "might" deliver some, we were told. I got there early and was the 3rd in line and as we waited, the line grew and grew until around 30 people were anxiously waiting to see if today was the day. Some drove in from other towns we learned while standing around watching the clerks go about their work. The lady at the head of the line was there an hour before me and she had waited at the K-Mart in Fayetteville for over 8 hours only to be too far in that line to receive the Wii when their shipment arrived a few days before.
It was my lucky day because around 15 Wii's came in!!
Now my kids are going to flip because they are old enough to know that it's not Santa and that the Wii's are impossible to get.
Here's my idea for extending the fun at Christmas this year past the usual 10 minutes of madness with the opening of presents that I wanted to share with you so it might become a tradition at your home too!
Like the many movies out like "National Treasure" and its sequel coming out any day and the "Da Vinci Code" and the "Amazing Race" television show, I thought I would put out clues for the kids to find the "BIG" surprise after "they thought" the fun was over. I did this one year for one of my son's birthday parties and it was a blast. For that one, I had a series of separate clues for 2 teams to solve which brought both teams together at the final destination. It only took 10 minutes but was the most fun of the whole party.
To help you with this idea, here are several clues that you can use to do this with your family or you can think of them on your own:
3. Round with a ribbon, Santa on my side, surrounded with beautiful lights and hung with care. - Christmas ornament with a Santa scene.
6. You can always find money when they look for it in here? The tabbing makes the searching fast and easy too. I am an American classic - American Heritage Dictionary
7. Formed long ago, not made yet today, employed while others sleep - Bed
9. Dry or cool, I keep you, in a can you keep me. - umbrella in metal umbrella holder.
10. I get wetter as you get drier but in a few days, I'll get all clean and fluffy again! - A towel12. Poke your fingers in my eyes and I open wide my jaws. Cloth or paper, I am hungry to devour them all? - Scissors
13. This ball will not move! Maybe if we both weren't so bronzed. Oh well, at least we look good and we are such an accomplishment! - Soccer trophy of a girl kicking a ball.
Matthew 1:18-25 - this makes them read the Christmas Story so they don't forget the reason
for the celebration and then put your next clue on the Jesus in your nativity
scene, etc.
And if you have older kids, you can put a dollar bill in the dictionary under the word "money" from the tip above with a note that the bill may hold more clues. Then add this paper as another clue after they find the money as your final clue. (Fix your sequence to match your serial number sequence first.) Mine was A86173489B so here's the note I am including...
Using the sequence between A & B complete each row with the corresponding letter.
J S F R Y P W D L
T A E B Q C F X N
H M J E Z A U I P
E S X B F H A P R
L G M S T O D W N
W R B P I C H S A
Y D N A J O U E B
M N W L S A D G R
_. _. / _ _ _ _ _ _
If they get it right, it will say D. C./HAMPER and then they'll have to noddle a bit to think of dirty clothes hamper.
Sam Thompson, PHH Mortgage Advisor - Helping you GROW your business!
www.activerain.com./luckydog1 - SC
www.activerain.com/luckydog2 - NC
http://samthompson.phhmortgage.com/
Many of you already utilize postcards to promote yourself and your listings and here's a site that you probably already knew about. In case you didn't, this website is pretty inexpensive because you do all of the work and they just print and mail. They can also mail out to your clients for you if you give them the addresses and will probably save you money if you consider your time and postage that will probably be higher than what they pay. The good thing about postcards are that they are a quick read without having to open the envelope and they are more attractive and cheaper to mail. They can help you promote a listing, houses just sold, your business, your town, etc. That's right, promoting your town can help you in many ways... 
