Joy to your home

Joy to your home- Christmas party checklist

Your checklist for a party-ready home starts here…

Every year party décor gets creative and a lot personalized. With retro revival being the buzz all things fashionable, it was only a matter of time before home décor too went down this route. Sophisticated metallic is the theme for party décor this season.

Christmas table setting at home
Christmas table setting at home
Image courtesy-pixabay

Be a party starter

Stick to one color theme– gold, silver or green. Even for the Christmas tree, use small ‘interesting’ (handmade, if possible) decorations. Here are a few pointers that will get your décor and party skills up to speed:

Color code Think delicate Champagne colors and beautifully bordered linens in velvet. Party décor is more about feeling good and mood elevation. Go for deep bold-colors, textured tablecloths and layered textures.

Think green– Go for more natural decorations. Use earthy colors mixed with gold for your tree. Get the green from outside and put it inside for a pollution-free party. Use solar-lights.

Floral fun– Over the top-floral accents continue to have a moment. But stick to only one flower. Be it roses, chrysanthemums, white tulips or orchids. Don’t forget to decorate every nook and cranny. Poinsettias in white ceramic pots also work.

Food in a Christmas home
Food in a Christmas home
Image courtesy -pixabay

Party basics – Entertaining is all about quality over-quantity with some personal touches. From the food and drinks to the décor, everything will be carefully crafted and thoroughly curated. Minimalism and mindfulness are the new high points in 2017.

Food facts Go for easy nibbles, not big meals. That’s why the cutlery is also smaller and elegant. Food shouldn’t get in the way of mingling. Create truly centerpieces with fruits like plums and pomegranates on a gold plate.

Joy to your home #Christmas party checklist”

Try these out for a great party

Use glitter-dusted candles sprinkled with Epsom salt to clear negative energies.

Put highlights of the evening and menu on an elegant chalk-board placard.

Place some floating candles with oranges and apples for a seasonal party decoration.  Use scented candles and lanterns.

Place some ribbon and flowers around the mirrors with fairy lights.

Use leftover gift paper to make glamorous streamers.

You may like to read Top Christmas traditions in Australia

7 Useful tips for traveling during holiday season

7 Useful tips for traveling during holiday season

With Christmas almost knocking on the door, what are the plans you have made for this year? It is great that you are planning a vacation with your family during the holidays so that you all get to spend some quality time with one another. The plan becomes even more interesting when the trip planned is an international one! Most of us think that traveling during the holiday season will be expensive, extremely busy and chaotic, but it is not so always. There are ways in which you can have the best trip of your life in this time and not compromise on any fun part. And for that, you need some planning and some thinking.

Read on to know about some highly effective tips which can make your international travel plan during the holiday season smooth and worthwhile from all aspects:

Passports
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  • Check all your passports in the first place – It is obvious that everyone in the family will be super excited on hearing about the international travel plan. But for that, the first thing that is needed is a passport. Your passport might be in place with the required amount of validity. But there might be members of the family who will need a passport to be done. Visit passport office Atlanta and arrange to get a new passport. If you are in hurry, you can opt for expedited passport Atlanta and even same day passport Atlanta by paying an additional fee. Arrange for passport renewal Atlanta if the validity of the passport is expiring soon within few months.
  • Try monitoring flight deals closely – If you thought that booking flights early can help in getting cheap tickets, you might not always be correct in that. As per experts, there is no time which can be termed conducive to booking flights. There are times when excellent discounts are offered right at the mouth of the holiday season. Flash sale offers are also provided by airlines on particular days. In fact, to match competition, another airline might offer even lower rates on the flash sales day. Keep your eyes open and browse through websites thoroughly to grab such interesting offers.

You may also like 6 Travel Tips to Book Tickets for International travel

  • Save money with one-way tickets – Round-trip fares are cheaper, true, but not always – particularly during the holiday season. Travel experts opine comparing one-way flight ticket rates between different airlines. It has been seen that flying in different airlines for coming and going can help in saving more money than booking a round-trip ticket with the same airline. Worth a try for sure!
Fly this holiday season
Image credit- elbo.in/3K5G
  • Either travel early or late in the day – This might be slightly inconvenient if there are kids and elderly people traveling with you, but the pain is worth it. Try taking early morning flights when the rush in all the places is comparatively less because people will be sleeping peacefully in their homes. For morning flights, delays are also less. As the day unfolds, rush starts. The same concept is applicable for late night flights. Choose the one option whichever seems convenient for you.
  • Pack carefully and wisely – very important – Since it is the holiday season, security checks and scrutinises will be on all-time high keeping safety and security in mind. Know things you can carry in the hand luggage. Keep minimal and very important items there only. For other things, there is the check-in luggage. Read the guidelines as what you can carry and what you cannot carry in the luggage and pack accordingly. There is no point in things being thrown off during security checks.
  • Have phone numbers handy with the phone on full charge – It is always recommended to have phone numbers ready for everything related to your travel. These include contact details of hotel, airlines, travel agency (if any), car rental agency, friends, emergency contacts etc. Before leaving to board your flight, make sure that the phone is fully charged so that you don’t run out of charge on the device while you are on the move.
  • Have patience and keep your cool – Traveling with your family might keep you slightly tensed. But see that you keep your cool even when things don’t go the way you expect. People are highly pressurized in these times and there are chances of errors. Try cooperating as much as possible.
Holiday season travel

These simple tips will help in enjoying a great holiday vacation with your family.


The author of the article Sam is an avid traveler and travel expert. He has worked in close connections with travel and passport agencies.

Live a healthy lifestyle for a healthy future

Pretty woman leading a healthy lifestyle

Lifestyle is like Karma, everything about you is connected to your lifestyle, and whatever comes to you is a result of your lifestyle. If we ever look back, we will realize that we’ve come a long way. The face of life has changed completely, art has its new definition, technology took over everything but somewhere between all these things, there’s one thing which we left far behind, and that thing is a healthy lifestyle.

Let’s don’t go too far and think of our lifestyle just a decade ago and compare it to how it is now. You’ll see that you’ve lost some very amazing things with time. Everyone is running out of time now, running behind money, fame and luxury. But the reality is, it’s all just an illusion without a good lifestyle because a good lifestyle leads to a healthy life and health leads to all the happiness of this world.

Though, we really are trapped in this so-called game called life. But there are some subtle things we can do to get our healthy lives back. Some small changes in your routine and lifestyle will bring about great health and precious happiness to your life. It’s never too late to change your lifestyle and make some changes for your own health.

Walk for yourself
Image by ijmaki from Pixabay

Walk for yourself: No doubt that you car or bike save a lot of your time but on the other hand you’re compromising with your health too. Start taking walk for short distances, it will make you feel active and more alive, and will make your body explore itself. Longer the distance your feet cover, longer the time you stay healthy.

Be confident
Image by R A from Pixabay

Be Confident: Never think of yourself less than anybody else. No one is perfect, everyone has their own type. Talk to people in a positive attitude with a blend of confidence.  Start wearing good and stop caring about what people think. Do the things that make you happy, it will make both your heart and mind feel good.

Be Grateful: Life comes in variations. Everyone has their own way of life. Never let your mind think about what other have and what you don’t. Be grateful for what you have and work harder to make things better around you. This positive attitude towards life will help you grow in all the aspects of life.

Push Yourself: Never spend your free time in bed and start doing new things. Try to do the things you always wanted to do. Explore yourself, go for travel, eat good, experience new things, go to gym, listen to music, spend time with your friends and take out time for your loved ones. Doing so will keep the depression and negativity away from you.

Entertainment on Television
Photo via Good Free Photos

Entertainment:  Make a schedule for the Television and social media. Start living more in a real world instead of virtual world of internet. Be with the people around you and laugh. Engage in different household activities with your family. This will help you release stress and make you more social.

Eat the right food
Image by Karrie Zhu from Pixabay

Eat Food: This is the basic of every form of life on this earth. Every living thing needs good food to survive and live a healthy and beautiful. Break up with the junk foods, sugary drinks and oily food. Indulge into green vegetables, fruits, dry fruits and natural remedies. Eat the right food in right proportions. This will help you prevent all the major diseases that we come across.

Sleep like a baby
Dvortygirl converted to svg by Amada44 [Public domain]

Sleeping Habit: A good lifestyle requires moderation in sleeping habit. Try to go to bed early and wake up before the sunrise. Watching the sun rise fills the body with a new energy. A sleep of seven to nine hours in the night is enough for the relaxation of body. It saves your time and keeps you active all day long.

Good Hygiene:  These minor habits have a major role in healthy lifestyle. To brush your teeth is the first thing you should do when you wake up, always clean your feet & cut your nails on regular basis. Take a bath and wear clean clothes every day. These good habits keep your body germs free and protect you from skin diseases.

If we look closely, we will see that these are just some basic and easy thing, but when it comes to follow these healthy habits. Where do we stand? It’s never too late to live a healthy lifestyle. It is the only way to live longer and healthier.


The article is authored by famous Dietitian Sheela Seharawat. She is the founder and chief mentor of Diet Clinic Health Care Pvt. Ltd. Also, she is one of the youngest successful entrepreneurs of India.

You may like to read Healthy living

Top Hostels You Should Try In Australia If You Are On A Budget

Hostels in Australia

Most people nowadays think that going to Australia would cost them a lot considering the fact that the cost of living in Australia is much higher than the other countries. While that is somehow true, someone who is on a budget can still enjoy Australia because there are cheaper options. You just have to do a thorough research in order for you to know the details so that you will be able to not just enjoy your trip but you will also be able to save a lot of money.

Budget hostels in Australia

If you are on a tight budget then don’t worry, here are the top five budget-friendly hostels that you may stay in Australia:

Colonial Launceston-Hostels in Australia
(photo source: Wotif.com)
  1. Colonial Launceston – Colonial Launceston is a hotel that can be differentiated to an office. It is designed to fit the people who are into business and especially those who went to Australia for a business trip. Colonial Launceston is the kind of hotel that they should stay in so that they will be able to maximize their time and that they can also enjoy the great services that this place has to offer.
Comfort Inn- hostels in Australia
(photo source: tripadvisor)
  1. Comfort Inn Port Fairy – This hotel totally lives up to its name. Comfort Inn Port Fairy is a high quality accommodation and has great features and facilities that will surely satisfy you. Comfort Inn Port Fairy is a 4 star accommodation with a restaurant that you can enjoy. It can be found right at the heart of Sackville St. in Port Fairy, Austra
Arcadia Village Motel- hostels in Australia
(photo source: magnetic island informer)
  1. Arcadia Village Motel – A lot of people have a misconception that motels are just a place for one night stands. That could be partly right but motels are more than just the motels that we all knew. Arcadia Village Motel is one of the greatest motels you will totally feel the luxurious vibe when you stay in here.
Reef Palms, hostels in Australia
(photo source: hotels.com)
  1. Reef Palms – Reef Palms may have received a lot of mixed reviews but still, it is one of the most successful budget hostels in Australia. It stays true to its unconventional vibe. Some customers say that some of their services are outdated but they already improved them. So Reef Palms is still definitely worth going!
Hotel Windsor, hostels in Australia
(photo source: TripAdvisor)
  1. The Hotel Windsor – If you are looking for a place that may remind you of either Game of Thrones or Harry Potter, The Hotel Windsor is the place to be. Not only that it will give you the feels of being in a set of the shows mentioned, you will also feel like a king or a queen when you stay in this hotel as the service and staff are very excellent.

You may also like to read Six reasons why having a staycation in Australia is a must


Traveling is not always about the luxurious things. You can still enjoy these hostels even if you are on a budget. You just have to know your priorities and it is also important to have an itinerary and to-do lists so you will have a checklist of your expenses.


Mark Aldrin Hipolito is a daytime writer for Holiday Inn Parramatta, one of Australia’s modern and luxurious hotels in the suburban district. Mark Aldrin gives hotel tips and hacks to help people make the most out of their vacation.