So you want to film you and your lady doing the nasty, huh, Spielberg? It’s a big step in a relationship, and definitely not as simple as recording and capturing your next romp in the sheets. How do you talk your girl into it? How will you set it up?

You better read on because you’re about to enter erotic film school with this article. By the time you’re done, you’ll be able to capture your most intimate moments on video — with her eager consent.

__________getting her to agree to it
One way to convince her to have sex on film is to drop very subtle hints and make her think that she came up with the idea. For instance, you could comment on what a jerk Rick Solomon was for releasing Paris Hilton’s video romp and mention how you would never dream of doing that if you two made a movie. Let her connect the dots.

Another way to persuade her is by making it seem innocent, unplanned and spontaneous. Just casually have a video camera handy, drink a couple of glasses of wine together and see if she goes for your proposition. If she says “no,” then don’t push her on it. Just let the idea take root in her mind and she might eventually come around.

Essentially, to make this happen, you must convince her of two things:
1- No one else will ever see it
2- She won’t look bad on camera

__________make her come around
Her possible objections could be the result anything from a negative body image to an overall hatred of porn. Here’s how to respond to them.

If she says: “You’re a pervert!”
You say: “I’m just trying to explore your kinky side with you and it will be intensely fun, not gross.”

Is she says: “I’m gonna look fat.”
You say: Reassure her that she’s beautiful and you’re turned on by everything about her body. Offer to re-shoot the video if she’s unhappy with the way she looks. Hey, that will even give you a second chance to film her in bed.

If she says: “You will show your friends.”
You say: “Are you crazy? I would never dream of doing that, and besides I wouldn’t want my buds to see my pecker.”

__________choose your equipment
First, you must choose your camcorder. Digital is excellent quality that won’t deteriorate, but it’s easily copied and can be distributed limitlessly on the Internet. If decide on a digital camera, make sure you have enough memory and battery life. You don’t want to find yourself needing a replacement battery or memory card in the middle of the production.

Lighting is also vital, but simpler to handle. Use ceiling-lit lamps to provide decent, low-impact lighting. Don’t use night vision, like in the Paris Hilton video. It’s not aesthetically advantageous for the woman (her breasts won’t look as good).

__________get the right angle
Now a few words about angle and perspective. “First-person” view is when you hold the camera and just film her, like most of the Tommy Lee and Pam Anderson video. This hides your face from being seen and focuses most of the attention on her, a good choice if you fancy a career in politics someday. And let’s face it, as men, we’re not really interested in seeing ourselves naked anyway.

If you can’t deal with shaky camera handheld work, a tripod can’t be beat. You certainly don’t want your sex tape to give you motion sickness.

And if it won’t kill the mood, do some test shots first to figure out which angle makes her look best. Now’s the time to apply the “knowledge” you’ve learned from all the porn you’ve watched in your life.

__________how to make the video hot
Sex scenes are always hotter when the woman interacts with the camera. Get her to talk about what she likes sexually during the video. Get her to open up a little bit, have some fun. Also get her to make eye contact with the camera. There is no greater turn-on than a sexy woman staring right into your eyes (even if it’s on a TV screen).

Get her to dress up in a sexy outfit and strip for the camera. If she’s up for it, it’ll add heightened anticipation and excitement to the experience.

Try to give her an orgasm on-screen. If she is at all nervous or embarrassed about being filmed, this could be more difficult than normal. Just take it slow and do your best to make her comfortable and it should happen.

__________avoid the wrong hands
Showing your new creation to your buddies might be tempting, but it’s extremely unwise. If your friends even find out you have a private video, one of them may betray you and search for it at some point.

Here are some safety tips you can follow, which will also serve to ease her mind on the matter:
# Keep the original (and only) copy of the video
# Store it in a safe place that’s mutually accessible, so she feels in control
# Agree that if you break up, you’ll destroy the video together

__________the new national pastime
It seems everyone who’s anyone has made a very public, amateur adult video these days. With big-name celebrities like Paris Hilton, Pam & Tommy, Vince Neil, and even Fred Durst appearing in bootleg triple X-capades, it’s no wonder couples are filming their most private moments more often than ever.

But unlike them, your video is going to be for your eyes only, and you won’t cash in on it. Unless that’s what you both want…

• T-shirt washed and dried. The problem with a lot of cheap blank t-shirts is that they shrink.
• Foam Roller. Just buy cheap ones because they don’t last long anyway.
• Fabric Printing Ink (textile ink). You’ll find it at craft shops. I highly recommend the brand PERMASET
• Baking Paper. This is to put between the t-shirt and the iron when heat sealing.
• Cardboard and masking tape for securing the t-shirt.

Put your cardboard inside the t-shirt making sure that the t-shirt is mildly stretched out. Using the masking tape stick the acetate stencil in to place. See image below.

Next mix up the ink color that you want to print. I would recommend that you buy only the small containers of ink because it goes a real long way. I normally buy the primary colors (blue, red, yellow) and black and white ink. I then mix up my own colors from there. Mix the ink on a plate (or something similar) and repeatly roll the foam roller over it until you have loaded up the roller. Remember lumps of textile ink are bad so spread it out.

The first roll over the fabric should be reasonably light. You will notice that the acetate sort of sticks down after the initial roll so you can start applying more pressure. Do a lot of passes over the stencil to build up a nice even coat the textile ink. If you are using the Ben Harper Stencil be sure to roll from right to left only. See image below.

If you have a hair dryer, I find that a 2-3 second blast of heat now helps. You want to remove the stencil before the ink dries completely. Take extra care!

Finally, when the print is dry to the touch, you need to heat seal it. Leave the cardboard in the t-shirt, place a place of baking paper over the print and iron. You’ll have to check the ink label for details of how long to iron for.

Wear your new t-shirt with pride! They also make great gifts!!
I hope you enjoyed this tutorial and become as addicted to printing t-shirts as I have. If you have any questions or suggestions please contact us.

1. Pay off high-interest debt
The longer you carry debt, the more money you’ll end up paying. Therefore, the first step in a successful financial timeline is paying off the money you owe. But not all debt is created equal, so it pays to pick and choose. The first thing that has to go is high-interest credit card debt. If you’ve been carrying a balance for a while, you could be paying 20% or more. Since you’ll probably never find an investment that provides you with more than that amount in interest, there’s no sense saving money until you’ve completely paid off this debt.

2. Pay off additional debts
Additional debts that should be paid off, but on a different timeline, include student loans and mortgages on first homes. Typically, these loans have two things in common. First, the interest on them is tax-deductible, so it can pay to have that deduction in April. Second, the interest, especially on student loans, tends to be lower than on credit cards. That means you have a choice to make. If you’re able to safely make more interest on a given investment than the amount of interest you’re being charged for your student loan, it could be wise to invest rather than pay off the debt. This way, the interest you generate will pay off the interest on the loan and eat away at the principal. And once you’ve paid off the entire loan, you’ll still have the principal from the investment to work with.

3. Set up savings
There’s no hard-and-fast rule for how much you should save. If you’re like most Americans, you don’t save at all, and that’s not a good thing. If that’s the case, try to put aside 10% of your income. If you’re already saving 10%, try to squeeze a few more dollars in. But remember: The number isn’t as important as the circumstances. If you’re a single guy without a lot of responsibilities, you’ll probably want to save enough for three months of unemployment in case the worst should happen. On the other hand, if you’re a family man, you’ll need to put away a larger chunk because children and a spouse could mean many more unforeseen expenses.

4. Plan for retirement
This is the big one, and most guys don’t do it early enough. The fact is that you’re never too young to start thinking about your retirement. If your office doesn’t have a 401(k), go to your local bank and set one up. If your employer matches your contribution, put in the maximum and take advantage of the free money. If your employer doesn’t offer this, ask your tax adviser how much you should contribute; the money you sock away for the future won’t go into the hands of the IRS.

5. Build an investment portfolio
This is where you’ll want to put the rest of your money. In all likelihood, it’ll be your biggest sector for growth, because savings and retirement funds alone probably won’t cut it. Think of it this way: Your retirement money should give you enough to survive when you stop working, while your investment money is the extra that will allow you to really enjoy that time. And the bigger the pie, the faster you can stop working and start enjoying life.

To make the most of your portfolio, you’ll need to put money in stocks and bonds. If you’re young and you can afford it, your investment portfolio should be an aggressive mix of risky and safe bets because you can always build back your losses should things go south. If you’re older and you started late, however, concentrate on growth with as little risk as possible; that way, you won’t find yourself talking to the guys at work about getting your AARP card.

Link

Most Colleges and Universities organise job fairs round about graduation time to allow students to meet new employers - it’s a fairly common method of recruiting recent graduates.

Job seekers can use job fairs to find out a bit more information about employers, working life and general industry information. This is what most people use job fairs for.

However, the opportunity exists for job seekers to use the brief few minutes they have with employers to create a lasting impression (er, a “good” lasting impression!) and sell themselves, for job fairs are also an opportunity for the cream of the crop to rise to the top!

So who are those people hanging about the tables?

Employers and recruiters tend to send HR personnel along to job fairs to either weed out unsuitable candidates or pick out some young potentials from the crowd.

Unlike trade shows (which have basically the same format), job fairs aren’t “staffed” by marketing people - they aren’t trying to sell you anything. They are there to be sold by YOU! (the obvious exception is where you are such an attractive prospect, you get them chasing you, but let’s face it - if that was the case, then you wouldn’t be reading this!)

You are a salesman competing for business amongst hundreds of others. You could leave your CV with the recruiter. Would they remember you?

Dress for an interview!

Yes, job fairs are interviews and you should treat them as such.

Simply sauntering along in jeans and a t-shirt to see what’s going on isn’t going to get you anywhere, regardless of your skills and abilities. There are literally hundreds of other people there with the same aim as you - finding meaningful employment!

So, go along to job fairs and be prepared to make an impression!

Do your homework on the fly!

You see those glossy brochures the recruiters have strewn all over their little tables? And the posters on the walls? And the conversation the recruiter is having with the other jobseeker next to you?

This is all valuable information! And you NEED to use it to make your impression!

Find out about the company. Find out about the jobs they are offering or their graduate programme. Listen to the questions the recruiter asks other people and the information he or she gives out.

If you wander on up and ask some vague question about health plan or holidays, the recruiter is simply going to answer you and will soon be distracted by someone else. There it was. That was your chance. It’s gone now.

You need to engage the recruiter - not simply hold a one sided conversation with them! At a job fair, a conversation is your best friend, because the longer you spend talking with the recruiter, the more likely they are to remember you.

At least….

The least you should leave a job fair is with some background about your industry (an idea of the types of jobs available), and some information about employers. At best you leave having made a positive impression on several employers and have a few job prospects to look forward to!

Good Luck!

Link

take the risk

No one hears about how much money one can make investing in real estate. That’s probably because it is a little well-kept secret. If everyone knew about it, everyone would be doing it, right?
Wrong. Much like starting your own business, investing in real estate requires entrepreneurial skills and a vision. Which is why not everyone is jumping on the real estate bandwagon.

Not everyone is willing to take the additional risk that real-estate investing entails. And these are the same people or renters that will make you rich. The little secret is that there are hundreds of individuals who choose to procrastinate for every one individual who has a vision and chooses to take the risk with investing in real-estate.

what lies ahead?

When I initially started investing in real estate, I really didn’t have a clear vision. The only thing I was sure of was that I wanted financial freedom. Of course, achieving these goals did not come without a price, and only afterwards did I develop a plan and vision of where I was headed.
Investing in real estate requires a lot of time; you need to deal with a vast array of tenants — good ones as well as bad. Just like a business, you also have to deal with operating and fixed expenses — such as heating and electrical bills, as well as renovation costs.

On the other hand, I don’t have to wear a suit and tie all day, and run around doing someone else’s bidding. You see, to me, that’s big. My dress code consists of shorts and a shirt 6 months out of the year, unless I’m on vacation of course — then it’s 10 months out of the year.

If I want to go out of town for a few days, I go. I don’t have to ask for vacation time. While I’m out of town, my rents keep ticking away 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, whether I’m on the job or not. And those loans keep amortizing. The magic is happening just the same.

the benefits

Aside from being your own boss, having the freedom to travel while earning profits, increasing your net worth, and having a place of your own to call home, there are greater benefits of investing in real-estate:

1. Cash Flow
Cash is the difference between your income and your expenses on a piece of property. You can have a positive or negative cash flow. Obviously, you’ll feel a lot better if the cash flow is positive.

Some people prefer to reduce debt as quickly as possible and sacrifice a little, and keep a negative or zero cash flow. My advice on cash flow is this: Never use all of your positive cash flow with rapid debt reduction. You will be walking a thin line. By keeping a strong positive cash flow, you will have more options and space to maneuver.

2. Appreciation
Appreciation is the increase in value of a property. There are 2 kinds of appreciation. The first is from economic conditions beyond your control, such as inflation. But you wouldn’t gain much from this type of appreciation since the gain is offset by the higher cost of living.

The second kind of appreciation is market appreciation. This kind of appreciation, you can control . When you improve a property (through renovation), you are, in effect, forcing its value higher. You can purchase a piece of property in need of repairs and bring it back up to neighborhood standards or slightly higher. This will give you a property that is much higher in value.

3. Leverage
Leverage is the ability to borrow a percentage of the value of a piece of property. Real estate, in comparison to other investments, offers a very high degree of leverage. In some cases a couple buying a single-family home can obtain 95% financing. This allows individuals to purchase real estate with little, if any, of their own money. What other investments offer such a high degree of leverage?

4. Amortization
With leverage, or the use of other people’s money, comes a repayment schedule. Your outstanding balance is being reduced with every payment you make. Part of each payment goes to interest (applied first), and part of your payment goes to principal. The principal reduction is called amortization — reducing debt. Hence, amortization can make you wealthy — slowly and steadily.

5. Tax Advantages
Owning real estate with the goal of making profit allows you to deduct interest payments and other expenses come tax time. But, don’t be fooled into buying real estate for the tax advantages; buy real estate because it makes economic sense to do so.

Owning a real-estate business is a great way to achieve your financial freedom. What could be more worthwhile than taking up real estate as either a full-time business or even a hobby? The benefits are definitely there.

Link

Understanding of New Commands: Less than 5 repetitions.

Obey First Command: 95% of the time or better

1 Border Collie
2 Poodle
3 German Shepherd
4 Golden Retriever
5 Doberman Pinscher
6 Shetland Sheepdog
7 Labrador Retriever
8 Papillon
9 Rottweiler
10 Australian Cattle Dog

Excellent Working Dogs

Understanding of New Commands: 5 to 15 repetitions.

Obey First Command: 85% of the time or better.

11 Pembroke Welsh Corgi
12 Miniature Schnauzer
13 English Springer Spaniel
14 Belgian Tervuren
15 Schipperke, Belgian Sheepdog
16 Collie, Keeshond
17 German Shorthaired Pointer
18 Flat-Coated Retriever, English Cocker Spaniel, Standard Schnauzer
19 Brittany
20 Cocker Spaniel
21 Weimaraner
22 Belgian Malinois, Bernese Mountain Dog
23 Pomeranian
24 Irish Water Spaniel
25 Vizsla
26 Cardigan Welsh Corgi

Above Average Working Dogs

Understanding of New Commands: 5 to 25 repetitions.

Obey First Command: 70% of the time or better.

27 Chesapeake Bay Retriever, Puli, Yorkshire Terrier
28 Giant Schnauzer
29 Airedale Terrier, Bouvier Des Flandres
30 Border Terrier, Briard
31 Welsh Springer Spaniel
32 Manchester Terrier
33 Samoyed
34 Field Spaniel, Newfoundland, Australian Terrier, American Staffordshire Terrier, Gordon Setter, Bearded Collie
35 Cairn Terrier, Kerry Blue Terrier, Irish Setter
36 Norwegian Elkhound
37 Affenpincher, Silky Terrier, Miniature Pinscher, English Setter, Pharaoh Hound, Clumber Spaniel
38 Norwich Terrier
39 Dalmatian

Average Working/Obedience Intelligence

Understanding of New Commands: 25 to 40 repetitions.

Obey First Command: 50% of the time or better.

40 Soft-Coated Wheaten Terrier, Bedlington Terrier, Smooth Fox Terrier
41 Curly-Coated Retriever, Irish Wolfhound
42 Kuvasz, Australian Shepherd
43 Saluki, Finnish Spitz, Pointer
44 Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, German Wirehaired Pointer, Black & Tan Coonhound, American Water Spaniel
45 Siberian Husky, Bichon Frise, English Toy Spaniel
46 Tibetan Spaniel, English Foxhound, Otterhound, American Foxhound, Greyhound, Wirehaired Pointing Griffon
47 West Highland White Terrier, Scottish Deerhound
48 Boxer, Great Dane
49 Dachshund, Stafforshire Bull Terrier
50 Alaskan Malamute
51 Whippet, Chinese Shar-pei, Wire Fox Terrier
52 Rhodesian Ridgeback
53 Ibizan Hound, Welsh Terrier, Irish Terrier
54 Boston Terrier, Akita

Fair Working/Obedience Intelligence

Understanding of New Commands: 40 to 80 repetitions.

Obey First Command: 30% of the time or better.

55 Skye Terrier
56 Norfolk Terrier, Sealyham Terrier
57 Pug
58 French Bulldog
59 Brussels Griffon, Maltese
60 Italian Greyhound
61 Chinese Crested
62 Dandie Dinmont Terrier, Petit Basset Griffon Vendeen, Tibetan Terrier, Japanese Chin, Lakeland Terrier
63 Old English Sheepdog
64 Great Pyrenees
65 Scottish Terrier, Saint Bernard
66 Bull Terrier
67 Chihuahua
68 Lhasa Apso
69 Bullmastiff

Lowest Degree of Working/Obedience Intelligence

Understanding of New Commands: 80 to 100 repetitions or more.

Obey First Command: 25% of the time or worse.

70 Shih Tzu
71 Basset Hound
72 Mastiff, Beagle
73 Pekingese
74 Bloodhound
75 Borzoi
76 Chow Chow
77 Bulldog
78 Basenji
79 Afghan Hound

Myths that lead to wasted time, frustration and if are taken blindly as truth, can really set back your progress in the gym. Don’t believe everything you hear when it comes to exercise and weight gain, do the research yourself.

Lets take a look at some of the most common weight gain myths:

High repetitions burn fat while low repetitions build muscle.

Progressive overload is needed to make muscles bigger. Meaning that you need to perform more reps than you did for your last workout for that particular exercise. If you perform the same amount of reps at each workout nothing will change on you, also “if the weight doesn’t changes on the bar nothing will change on you” You need to become stronger

Definition has two characteristics, muscle size and a low incidence of body fat. To reduce body fat you will have to reduce your calories; the high repetition exercise will burn some calories, but wouldn’t it be better to fast walk to burn these off? Better still; use the low reps to build muscle, which will elevate your metabolism and burn more calories (less fat).

Vegetarians can’t build muscle.

Yes they can! Strength training with supplementation of soy Protein Isolate has shown to increase solid bodyweight. Studies have shown that athletic performance is not impaired by following a meat free diet, and people strength training and consuming only soy protein isolate as a protein source were able to gain lean muscle mass.

Strength Training will make you look masculine.

If it is not you’re intention to bulk up from strength training you won’t. Putting on muscle is a long hard slow process. Your strength-training regime coupled with quality food will determine how much you will bulk up. To bulk up you also require more food. Women don’t produce enough testosterone to allow for muscular growth as large as men.

By working out you can eat what ever you want to.

Of course you can eat whatever you want, if you don’t care how you want to look. Working out does not give you an open license to consume as many calories as you want. Although you will burn more calories if you workout than someone who doesn’t, you still need to balance your energy intake with you energy expenditure.

If you take a week off you will lose most of your gains.

Taking one or two weeks off occasionally will not harm your training. By taking this time off every eight to ten weeks in between strength training cycles it has the habit of refreshing you and to heal those small niggling injuries. By having longer layoffs you do not actually lose muscle fibres, just volume through not training; any size loss will be quickly re-gained.

By eating more protein I can build bigger muscles.

Building muscle mass involves two things, progressive overload to stimulate muscles beyond their normal levels of resistance and eating more calories than you can burn off. With all the hype about high protein diets lately and because muscle is made largely of protein, it’s easy to believe that protein is the best fuel for building muscle. However muscles work on calories that should predominately be derived from carbohydrates.

If I’m not sore after a workout, I didn’t work out hard enough.

Post workout soreness is not an indication of how good the exercise or strength-training session was for you. The fitter you are at a certain activity, the less soreness you will experience after. As soon as you change an exercise, use a heavier weight or do a few more reps you place extra stress on that body part and this will cause soreness.

Resistance training doesn’t burn fat.

Nothing could not be further from the truth. Muscle is a metabolically active tissue and has a role in increasing the metabolism. The faster metabolism we have the quicker we can burn fat. Cardio exercise enables us to burn calories whilst exercising but does little else for fat loss afterwards.

Weight training enables us to burn calories whilst exercising but also helps us to burn calories whilst at rest. Weight training encourages muscle growth and the more lean muscle mass we possess, the more fat we burn though an increased and elevated metabolism.

No pain no gain.

This is one myth that hangs on and on. Pain is your body signaling that something is wrong. If you feel real pain during a workout, stop your workout and rest. To develop muscle and increase endurance you may need to have a slight level of discomfort, but that’s not actual pain.

Taking steroids will make me huge.

Not true, strength training and correct nutrition will grow muscle. Taking steroids without training will not make you muscular. Most steroids allow faster muscle growth through greater recovery, while others help increase strength which allows for greater stress to be put onto a muscle. Without food to build the muscle or training to stimulate it nothing will happen. Most of the weight gain seen with the use of some steroids is due to water retention and is not actual muscle.

Strength training won’t work your heart.

Wrong! Strength training with short rest periods will increase your heartbeat well over a hundred beats per minute. For example, performing a set of breathing squats and you can be guaranteed that your heart will be working overtime and that your entire cardiovascular system will be given a great overall body workout.

Any intensive weightlifting routine that lasts for 20 minutes or more is a great workout for your heart and the muscles involved.

I can gain muscle and lose fat at the same time.

Wrong. Only a few gifted people with superb genetics and on steroids can increase muscle size while not putting on body fat. But for the average hard gainer, they have to increase their muscle mass to its maximum potential and then cut down their body fat percentage to achieve the desired shape.

In conclusion, simple basic principles that apply to all weight and muscle gain such as progressive overload, variable frequency of reps and high intensity workouts are the way to go.

Have you ever wished that you could take a sick day without having to actually get your lazy ass out of bed to make the call in the morning? We’ll admit it, we have. Really, who hasn’t?

Our agents just learned of a new service that allows you to call in sick without having to actually make the call yourself. It’s a website called Call-In-Sick.com. The concept is freakin’ ingenious. Frankly, we can’t believe someone hasn’t thought of this sooner! The site’s instructions couldn’t be simpler. Your dog could make this call for you, although we wouldn’t recommend it.

You’ll find a number on the site to call in order to get the ball rolling. When you call, you can record the message you want your boss to hear, set up the time you want it to be sent, and enter the phone number it should be sent to. The best part is that you can listen to your message and rerecord it as many times as you like to make sure you really sound like you’re dying!

When the call is made, your number will come up on your boss’ caller ID, so it’ll look just like you actually made the call. We do have one suggestion, though. Make sure to choose a time when no one is in the office so that you can be sure your boss’s voicemail picks up.
Think we’ll try using this service the next time we get too drunk watching the game!

Student and blogger Eston Bond describes in detail his methods for Getting Things Done with a Moleskine.

Intrigued by the cult of GTD, Eston tried many forms of GTD with little success. That’s when he decided to tweak GTD to his needs, the results of which he’s documented in detail. We’ve got a new year ahead of us, and if you’ve tried GTD before with no success - but you really want to get organized for ‘07 - you might want to check out Eston’s method to see if it sticks.

Instructions
STEP 1: Take the children to see Santa Claus, who can often be found outside shopping areas giving treats to children.

STEP 2: Expect neighborhood children to sing “kalanda” (Christmas carols) on Christmas Eve and offer their good wishes to you. Have dried figs, walnuts, almonds and - most important - coins on hand to offer the youngsters who come to your house.

STEP 3: Prepare a holiday feast for Christmas Eve. Serve traditional foods and wine with baklava for dessert.

STEP 4: Bake loaves of “Christopsomo” (Christ bread), a sweet bread formed into shapes of your choice. You can also decorate the loaves with symbols that reflect your family’s trade. Serve the bread with dried figs.

STEP 5: Display a wooden bowl with a piece of dangling wire holding a sprig of fresh basil wrapped around a wooden cross; this is the Greek symbol for Christmas. Keep fresh water in the bowl to keep the basil alive.

STEP 6: Immerse the basil and cross in holy water once a day and sprinkle drops in every room of your house to keep the sprites, or “killantzarin,” away. These sprites are known to slide down the chimney between Christmas and Epiphany (January 6) and play mischievous pranks on your family.

STEP 7: Remind your children to hang their socks over the fireplace, where small gifts will appear.

STEP 8: Serve vasilopita, or Christmas cake, on December 31. Bake a florin (gold coin) into the cake. Whoever finds the coin in his or her piece of cake will have good luck in the coming year.

STEP 9: Exchange gifts on January 1, which is St. Basil’s Day. Also perform a renewal ceremony on this day by replacing all the water in your jugs with St. Basil holy water.

Tips & Warnings

• Remember that St. Nicholas is considered the patron saint of sailors in Greece; he is said to save them from shipwrecks.
• Instead of giving large numbers of gifts to family and friends, many people in Greece give small presents to hospitals and orphanages.
• Greece is a country made up of many ethnic and religious groups, so Christmas traditions are diverse and cannot be generalized. The steps above represent a sampling of local traditions that may or may not be appropriate for your personal celebration of Christmas.