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Buying homes today can be a very expensive undertaking. Nevertheless, it can also bring highly valuable and priceless assets.

With the growing market value of most homes, alleged home specialist say that people should think about their lenders first before they even think about buying their homes. In this way, you can estimate and foresee what kind of home you can afford.

This can literally make a good implication of something positive. However, lending money doesn't always provide 100% guaranteed satisfaction. It has its drawbacks and you will always be the one on the losing end.

For this reason, some experts provide more sensible advice such as buying homes that are below the market value. You may not be aware of it but it is possible that you can buy your home below market value. Yet, it doesn't necessarily mean that buying a home below market value is the best solution to today's skyrocketing prices.

Buying homes below market value requires guts, strength of mind, and patience to get the best deal. Keep in mind that there is a very strong reason why these kinds of houses are being sold below market value. And most often than not, these reasons aren't something you should be happy about.

Buying a fixer upper home is one of the best targets if you really want to buy a home below market value. These kinds of dwellings are usually being sold on the market at very low prices because of their structural and cosmetic defects.

Fixer upper homes aren't all bad. In fact, you can fix them up and live comfortably like the others, but you still have to consider the cost of expenses you have to take when fixing a fixer upper home.

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What Is A Christmas Tradition?

Year In And Year Out. Without Fail.

In its simplest form, a tradition is something we do, either individually or collectively in a group, each and every year around or on a specific date or time. And, because of this, we call it a “tradition”, because it’s something we, and everyone who knows us, knows we do. Year in and year out. Without fail.

Of course, in this instance, we’re talking about Christmas as that specific time or date when we do these things. Hence the term “Christmas Tradition.”

Some people may give presents to one another. Others may take gift giving to a whole new level and only give gifts to those that are poverty stricken. Still, others may not give any store-bought gifts and have gift qualifications of those that are only “hand-made” by their loved ones.

Every single family has their own rich, historic, family traditions that go back generations. And others make up their own for a new generation to enjoy.

Figure 4 – Vintage postcard. Lovely Young Woman in Blue Chiffon holding a Bouquet of Pink Rose. Published by G.G. Co. and Printed in Prussia.

All traditions whether new or old, are practiced greatly upon what each individual family, or person, feels should, or likes, to be done.

Traditions can be simple, or they can be complicated. Say, for instance, that every year, you and your family decide that there should be one new Christmas tree decoration purchased to mark that year. To preserve that moment in time when your family was together and things were at their best.

In other cases, it can be a bit more complicated. Almost like a ceremony if you will. Take this example:

One family may have lost a dear loved one 2 days before Christmas, or maybe even on Christmas, so every year, before doing anything else, they drive out to visit the cemetery where their dearly departed has been placed. They purchase new flowers or a grave blanket and place it on the grave, paying their respects.

Figure 5 - Unusual and simply beautiful Alfred Mainzer Christmas postcard, with illustration with boughs of a fir tree gently caressing a glowing lit white pillar candle, an open book, and a long stemmed pink Rose bud. Rays of light are filtering into the room in the upper right of the card from an unseen source. Printed In Belgium.

Maybe they have a family prayer or simply have a conversation with their loved one letting them know all the things that have happened throughout the course of the year.

Then, maybe they light a candle. After this is over, they leave the cemetery and return to another relative’s home for a wonderful Christmas gathering to further celebrate the life of their loved one and also the birth of Jesus Christ.

Or, maybe a person who doesn’t regularly attend Church, or hasn’t done so for years, goes to Church only on Christmas Eve, or Christmas Morning.

The point is, a tradition is something that people do every year at the same time, no matter what that “something” is. In this case, we’re speaking of a Christmas tradition, which is something you specifically do around Christmas time.

Figure 6 – Tinted vintage postacard. Two Adorable Children posing at the Piano with a small Vintage Christmas Tree atop it. Published by E. A. Schwerdtleger & Co.

This would be where things such as decorating the Christmas Tree, hanging stockings up, wrapping presents, visiting family and friends you don’t normally see throughout the rest of the year, going sledding with your children, going to school plays or pageants, going Christmas caroling, collecting donations for local charitable organizations, making cookies or home-made candies, drinking egg nog, and so on, come in to the picture.

Obviously, some things we do are steeped more in history than others. But, every tradition has a history, whether it’s a new tradition or one that has been passed on from generation to generation. That’s the important part about Christmas traditions.

It’s not really the act of doing them that makes them an integral part of our lives. It is how doing them makes us feel inside - and outside, really.

Figure 7 – Traditions! Doing them is what is important, and how it makes us feel. Now, you may be sitting there wondering, “Why do I put up that Christmas tree every year?” It does seem silly to cut down a tree and bring it indoors. But, there’s a rich history behind this tradition. As well as several others that people all over America partake in every year.

And, in the next sections, we’re going to learn all about the history of some more well known and followed Christmas Traditions.

The Christmas Holiday - Many Holiday

Traditions

Christmas is a yearly holiday when Christians celebrate the birth of Jesus and many families exchange Christmas gifts. It is celebrated on December 25th. Figure 8 - This embossed postcard features two kittens inside a heart shape. Just look at their adorable faces! Era: 1907 - 1915

There are many holiday traditions including Christmas dinner, sending Christmas cards, visiting Santa, baking Christmas cookies and making homemade Christmas candies. Homes are decorated inside and out with colorful lights and holiday decorations. People usually try to spread goodwill, compassion and peace during the Christmas holiday season.

Some countries celebrate on Christmas Eve, other on both Christmas Eve and Christmas day, while other countries celebrate Boxing Day on December 26th. One church, the Armenian Apostolic Church celebrates Christmas on January 6th. Eastern Orthodox churches celebrate Christmas on January 7th. The date is just a tradition and is not considered to be Jesus’ actual birth date.

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Chapter 8: Planning A Video

Now that you have learned all about researching YouTube, what video equipment you will need, how to brand your video with your URL, and how to upload the video, it is finally time to discuss some methods to actually create a great quality video.

A little bit of planning will go a long way to helping you create better videos.

Below, I’ve outlined 7 steps to making a video blueprint. A ‘Video Blueprint’ will make it easier to create a good video, and if you don’t want to make the video yourself, you can simply give the blueprint to a video producer and pay them to produce it for you (outsourcing resources at end of this chapter).

Step 1: Brainstorm

When brainstorming, it may help to find other videos that you want to emulate. Here you are just jotting down notes and ideas about how you might put together a promotional video. Anything goes...Any idea that strikes your fancy should be recorded.

You might imagine whether you want a voice to narrate the video, whether you want actors speaking, or whether you want a musical soundtrack (or any combination).

Spend a few minutes trying to visualize what a killer promotional video might look like...Is there lively techno music at the beginning? Or maybe classical music? What will your title screen with your URL (if any) look like? Will you personally be in front of the camera talking? Will you use actors in the video? Employees? Or will you just use images, or pictures of your product in action? Who will narrate the video? Do you need narration? What will be the tone of the video.. .Serious? Funny? What will the end of the video look like? Maybe the video will fade out and then show your company name and website URL.

Step 2: Create A Script

Once you have thought up a theme for your video, it is time to create some sort of script. The script doesn’t have to be perfect. You may discover new ideas you want to add to the video later or you may think of words that sound better as you are speaking them. But do you best to create some sort of script.Even a rough outline can go a long way towards helping guide you to video success and the smaller pieces will fall into place as you go.

Step 3: Choose Your Actors

*This step may not be applicable if you are not using people in your film. But if you are using humans, you have to think about who they are and what they’ll be doing in detail.

Getting Actors:

You don’t need to hire Erik Estrada to pitch your product. Some of the best people for the film will probably be members of the organization for which you are doing the project. Actual people who are related to the product or service in some way will be genuine, authentic, and fun. Using members of your company or even the company CEO is also easier on the checkbook!

Friends & Family:

The least expensive people to use in your videos are friends and family. While they may not be the most talented actors, you may find that friends who appear in the video will want to send a film to their friends , and on and on producing a viral effect.

Hiring actors:

The pool of hired actors available includes theatre and media students from the local high school or college and local theatre groups; and of course professional actors.

You may also want to consider voice talent if your video has a lot of narration. The voices you use in your video can make it wonderful or dull, so if you have someone else narrate your video, choose someone with a good voice without a mumble or monotone.

Step 4: Choose Your Backdrop And Lighting
Lighting:

Try to get decent lighting for your video. If you are shooting indoors in an area that has windows, open the curtains and let as much outside light as you can into the room. If there is enough sunlight, it can light up your shooting area. You may also want to look at artificial light, or experiment with different lamps for 15 second clips to see which works best. Try not to have so much light that you look like a deer in the headlights though. And remember, you don’t have to be ultra-professional, just do the best you can and remember that most of the videos on YouTube aren’t professionally produced, so people aren’t likely to notice that your lighting isn’t perfect.

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It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to heaven, we were all going direct the other way - in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only.

Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities English novelist (1812 - 1870)

Is The “Worst Of Times” Right Now, In 2008? The human race has gone through endless sieges of difficult times. Our current USA and global economies are suffering as we enter the 10th year of our new century. Financial institutions are toppling, people are losing their homes, and many do not have enough to eat, even in the USA. But ARE these the hardest of times?

This Ebook and the video with it, show without a doubt that indeed, each “section” of our time span on planet earth has held extremely difficult scenarios. Thanksgiving in 1951, right here on American soil, was hard for many families. Sixty years in passing has not done a whole lot to change the fact that Figure 4 - "Hearty Thanksgiving Greetings." This vintage postcard depicts a lovely girl in red shirt, blue skirt, and blue plaid apron. Her bonnet is white with a blue rosette. She seems to be talking to a large gobbler.

we don’t always “get” what we think we deserve out of life. Times change, but truly, times don’t change all that much!

What everything boils down to is a mindset. A belief system. And a knowledge that “this too, shall pass.” When one learns the deep benefits for being thankful in all situations, it literally can turn your world around!

(Shotlist: Overview Of The Movie)

[Educational Screen, Oct 1951] This film relates the experiences of a middle-class American family when they are stimulated to review the things for which they are thankful.

The Family Cannot Afford A Turkey For The Holiday

Bill Johnson, a garage mechanic, comes home from work on the day before Thanksgiving to find his children completely disheartened by their mother’s announcement that the family cannot afford a turkey for the holiday.

Shocked at his son Dick’s statement that there won’t be much to be thankful for, Bill gently reminds him and the other children that while turkey on Thanksgiving is a great American tradition, its presence sometimes obscures the real meaning of Thanksgiving.

Making A List - The Things They Feel Deeply

When Dick concedes that modern Americans are a lot better off than the Pilgrims, the others suggest that they all make a list of the things for which they are thankful. Their father cautions them to give serious thought to their list, which should include only the things they feel deeply. He then watches them mulling over their thoughts as they play during the evening.

The Belief That Family Unity Can Become World-Wide Unity At the Thanksgiving dinner table, each member of the family offers part of the thanks.

Tommy is thankful for plenty of food and free library books to read. Susan mentions clothing, Sunday school, and her family.

Dick gives thanks for a chance to get an education and a chance to play. Bill thinks as he looks at Baby Janet that she must be thankful in her own way for fun in the bathtub, playtime, and security.

Mrs. Johnson is thankful that her children can grow up healthy and strong, that she can guide them, that her family can have many of the modern conveniences, that she can have freedom of speech, and that Mr. Johnson’s job brings peace of mind.

Figure 5 - Just as in 1951, today we pray or meditate on world affairs. The wise choose an attitude of gratitude. Bill Johnson then finishes the list with the things for which he is thankful: a home with privacy, freedom from fear of political reprisal, the right to pick a vocation in which he is happy, freedom of opinion as represented by his newspaper, the right to vote, and the belief that family unity can become world-wide unity.

[Ken Smith notes --] The Johnson family -- Mother, Dick, Susan, Tommy and “baby Janet” -- are eagerly anticipating their Thanksgiving dinner when Dad (“Bill”) comes home with some bad news -- no turkey! “We’ve had a lot of expenses this month,” he explains, but the kids still want their giblets and drumsticks (“Even the pilgrims had a feast!” they whine).

Dad suggests that they spend some time “toting up the common, everyday blessings we all have to be thankful for,” and thus we find ourselves at the Johnson family dinner table, listening in on their Thanksgiving dinner prayers (with a heavenly choir “ahh”-ing and “umm”-ing in the background). Dick reflects that he likes being in a country “where school books are studied -- not burned”

Mother is grateful for “hot water out of the tap” Tommy gushes, “If I didn’t live in a country where there was plenty to go around -- goll-leee!”

Dad is simply thankful that when someone knocks on his front door, “it’s not going to be some political gangster come to drag us off to jail because we believe in freedom!”

Figure 6 - As in 1951, we are concerned for... and thankful for... our homes.

Things Weren’t Going So Well For The Free World In 1951 Centron really pulled out all the McCarthyesque stops for this film -- things weren’t going so well for the Free World in 1951, so perhaps it’s understandable. Dad: “For all these things, we are truly and humbly thankful. Amen.” Heavenly Choir: “Ahhhhhh-mennnnnnnn!”

In the midst of the Cold War, a family who cannot afford a Thanksgiving turkey instead counts its blessings. What they discover -- that what’s on the dinner table isn’t as important as the freedom under which we eat it -- is at once a cop to Cold War mentality and a rejection of rampant consumerism, Fifties-style.