Holiday Tree and Trim a Bayonne Landmark located at 750 Broadway, Bayonne is being torn down, after closing more then ten years ago.

Originally opened in 1967 by Philip Minchello, Holiday Tree and Trim was known as a “Year-round Christmas wonderland,” by both customers and employees.

Once employing 75 full time workers the iconic store would have customers lined up many months in advance leading up to Christmas.

Mr. Minchello in a New York Time article was quoted saying that “December 26th was his busiest time.” and employes said working at Holiday Tree and Trim “didn’t feel like work at all.”

The store supplied artifical trees and a building filled with Holiday decorations of all types.

In the years since their closing the Bayonne landmark would remind Bayonne residents of Christmas’ gone by. However, the Holiday Tree and Trim tradition is still available through a website Christmastopia.com which was created in 1990 by Team Santa which has been involved in the Christmas industry for over 60 years in honor of passed members of Holiday Tree and Trim family, according to the Christmastopia website.

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 By Sally Deering

 

Not all shoeboxes are the same; some hold heels, some hold sneakers; while still others hold toothbrushes, combs, socks and a whole lot of love.

Since 1993, more than 100 million children have received shoeboxes through Operation Christmas Child, a project from the Christian organization Samaritanâ€s Purse (www.samaritanspurse.com) with more than 100,000 volunteers creating and distributing the shoeboxes  filled with trinkets to put a smile on a childâ€s face Christmas morning.

Operation Christmas Child brings shoeboxes filled with trinkets – both the necessary and the fun kind – to underprivileged children throughout the country. Participating for the fifth year are Michelle Mandaro – owner of Ameliaâ€s Bistro in Jersey City – her 9 year-old son Alexander, and 7 year-old daughter Emilie.

“My sister-in-law Fortune Mandaro has been doing it for 20 years,” Michelle Mandaro says.  “This is my fifth year doing it with my my children. Last year we created 54 shoeboxes and this year weâ€re making 60. My kids love shopping for the boxes they love stuffing the boxes, they write letters to the children and they receive letters back.”

Through local churches like the Christian Church of Bayonne, people are encouraged to take their old shoeboxes, wrap them in holiday paper and fill them with goodies. Volunteers who want to participate can pick pick a boy or girl in different age groups: 2-4, 5-9, and 10-14. Then, just fill a shoebox with age-appropriate new items. The cost to fill a shoebox can be anywhere from $12 and up.

“Most of the items can be inexpensive,” Mandaro says, “like toothburshes, toothpaste, wash cloths, coloring books, pencils, school supplies. It means so much to the children and itâ€s a great way of teaching your kids to give back and help children in need. My kids use part of their allowance. My son makes and sells bracelets and uses the money to make a couple of boxes. He gets a deep sense of satisfaction buying items with money that he earned himself.”

Operation Christmas Child is a great way to teach children about empathy for others and helps them realize thereâ€s more to life than video games, laptops and iPhones, Mandaro says.

“I think its very important for kids to learn to give back,” Mandaro says.  “Kids today have so much and too much of everything and its very important to know that there are children who donâ€t even have the basics. It breaks my heart that weâ€re putting toothbrushes and toothpaste in these boxes.”

Mandaroâ€s compassion for underprivileged children goes back to her childhood in Czechoslovakia.  Mandaro remembers how difficult it was growing up – kids didnâ€t have much, not like kids today.

“I came from nothing,” Mandaro says. “Now I do what I can to help kids.”

The program continues to expand, Mandaro says, and this is the first year Hudson is being represented. Years back, Mandaro would take her shoeboxes and deliver them to a church in Staten Island.  All

“This is the first year they will be collecting boxes in Hoboken, Jersey City and Bayonne at the Christian Church in Bayonne,” Mandaro says. “ Iâ€m trying to get the word out.”

If youâ€d like to donate:

The Christian Church of Bayonne

133 W 24th St

Bayonne
(201) 339-5110

For more info: (201) 208-7626

www.samaritanspurse.com

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Knights before Christmas!

 By Sally Deering

The classic Christmas movie, “It’s a Wonderful Life!” is a holiday tradition that seems to make us all remember the true spirit of Christmas isn’t how much money you spend, but the friends and family who stick by you when the chips are down.

 As we all get ready to spend the holidays with family and friends, let’s not forget the more than 1.5 million U.S. Servicemen-and-women deployed overseas and on active duty here in the states who won’t be home this holiday to eat dinner with the family or steal a Christmas kiss under the mistletoe.

Even if you don’t have a family member or friend in the Armed Services, there are many ways you can share your holiday spirit with our soldiers and one way is with a donation to the USO, the United Services Organization that since 1941 has been providing our soldiers with services and programs that help raise their holiday spirits when they’re far from home.  

 The USO is a non-profit, congressionally chartered, private organization that is not part of the U.S. government, but recognized by the Department of Defense as a main support link between servicemen-and-women and their families back home. The USO provides ways we all can help including Operation USO Care Package and USO Operation Phone Home which give a little Christmas cheer to our soldiers during the holidays and programs like Wounded Warriors which provides support to wounded men and women from the battlefield back to the community. Sesame Street TLC is for soldiers’ children who are experiencing the affects of deployment, combat-related injuries and the loss of loved ones.  

 All these programs need donations to keep them going and you don’t have to break the piggy bank to contribute: $25; $50; whatever you can afford will make a difference and all you have to do is go to www.USO.org to make a secure online donation. Trust me, Santa will be thrilled!

 

Operation USO Care Package

We all can remember the excitement of opening a care package back when we were kids at camp or freshmen at college. Jars of peanut butter, bottles of shampoo, little things our parents boxed up that tied us to home.  Well Operation USO Care Package gives our soldiers a similar experience.

 For a small donation ($25-$50) you can send a USO Care Package packed with toiletries, a deck of cards, sunscreen – little things that boost morale and give a soldier the feeling that someone back home cares, a lot.  You can even include a personal message of support and appreciation in with the care package. This program is so successful the USO receives many thank you notes from soldiers who received a USO Care Package sponsored by a civilian back home. One soldier wrote:

 “First I want to tell you how much this raised our morale. I overheard a few people saying it felt like Christmas all over again.” – Jolly Rogers 103 Line Division, to Operation USO Care Package.
 
Another thank-you note, this time from a sailor stationed on the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower:
 
“I received one of your care packages from Operation USO Care Package. You have no idea how much it means to the Sailors at sea to know that people support what we do.” – MC2 Matthew D. Leistikow, USS Dwight D. Eisenhower.
 

USO Operation Phone Home

Cell phones have become such a big part of our lives and we often take for granted the convenience of getting our loved ones on the phone in a snap!  And if you’ve ever forgotten or lost your cell phone, you might remember that feeling of anxiety you went through until it was back in your arms again.

 

Well, try to imagine being stationed overseas with little means of communication with your family. The USO realized this dilemma and since 2003, it has sponsored USO Operation Phone Home that lets deployed service men and women connect to their families with prepaid phone cards.

 
USO Operation Phone Home delivers prepaid international phone cards to deployed troops free of charge. The phone cards are distributed through USO centers or delivered directly to military units. As deployment increases and the needs of the military change, the USO has also developed a Private Telephone Network (PTN), available in USO centers throughout Southwest Asia.

 
One hundred percent of the money raised for the USO Operation Phone Home program goes to the purchase of phone cards and operation of the PTN and with just a $50 donation you can provide our Servicemen-and-women with a connection to their loved ones back home.

 
Wounded Warriors

According to Wikipedia, since the War on Terrorism began in 2001, 4,000 US soldiers have lost their lives and close to 32,000 have been wounded, with 20 percent of those injured living with serious brain and/or spinal cord injuries. The USO Wounded Warriors program addresses the needs of wounded servicemen-and-women and their families by providing health services, recreation, and family strengthening activities, job education and skills building. Here are just a few ways your donations can give support:
 
Purchase adaptive bikes and gear for wounded warriors so that they can train and participate in Ride2Recovery (R2R) rides nationwide-helping to build their self-confidence and independence.
 
Send children and families of fallen soldiers to camps where they can heal and connect with others who have lost loved ones-and through the USO’s relationship with the “Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors” (TAPS), send these families “Grief Care Packages” to remind them they are not forgotten after their loved ones have passed.

Provide education and employment training to wounded Servicemen-and-women through Hire Heroes USA that will help them build a resume, network with other veterans, and learn necessary financial management skills that will help them in their transition back to civilian life.

 

 Purchase portable games, DVD players and DVDs to send to trauma hospitals in Afghanistan to help wounded soldiers relax and get their mind off their injuries.

 Provide Emergency Funding to help wounded soldiers and their families when they don’t have the money to travel to visit loved ones undergoing treatment in stateside hospitals.

 Let’s not forget our Servicemen-and-women this Christmas. Just a small donation can give a soldier a touchstone to family, friends and the home they love.

For more information on how you can show a soldier you care this Christmas and every day of the year, go to www.uso.org.

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  The holidays should be a time of joy, good cheer and high hopes for the upcoming new year. However, after the gift shopping, holiday decorating, and family get-togethers are done, many people are often left with elevated levels of stress or depression this time of the year.

The holidays are also a time when people feel the loss of a loved one more sharply. Even the memory of a traumatic event, such as a serious illness, can dampen one’s holiday spirits. Older adults, for example, may feel isolated or forgotten, as the season reminds them of happier times.

Whatever the reason, there are strategies that we can use to fight holiday depression.

 The health care professionals at Christ Hospital offer the following suggestions to help ease the stress in the midst of this holiday season:

 Make a list and prioritize the activities that are important to you.

•  Limit your alcohol consumption. Drinking too much can lead to uninhibited behavior, hangovers, and remorse, all of which can lead to depression.
•  Make an active effort not to worry too much or get bogged down with details.
•  Avoid overeating and get enough rest. Though it may be hard to do, the benefits of both are obvious.
• Play games to keep your brain sharp. There are many different kinds of games — such as trivia, memory and math — and skill levels to suit all kinds of people. Games can also be a fun way to spend time with others.
•  Increase your physical activity. Go for walks at safe and warm locations, such as the mall, which will help improve lower body strength, maintain mobility and help prevent cognitive decline. Being active increases your endorphins, which decreases stress levels.
•  Spend time with supportive and caring people. These kinds of social connections are good for your emotional well-being.
•  Laugh a lot. Laughing increases circulation, immune system defenses and mental function. As the saying goes, laughter often is the best medicine.
•  Remember to take some time for yourself. Do the things that you enjoy, such as reading a book or listening to music.

 For more information about depression, anxiety, and substance dependence, please call Christ Hospital’s Department of Behavioral Health Services at (201) 795-8375.

 

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 While gift-buying consumes the lionâ€s share of most budgets, holiday decorating doesnâ€t have to be expensive. A little ingenuity goes a long way!

Here are a host of ways you can decorate your home without spending a bundle this year:

Round up whatever teddy bears are living in your home and arrange them in a chair.

• Give them bright red ribbon neckpieces and pile small, brightly-wrapped packages and on their laps.
• Cut lacy snowflakes from heavy white paper and hang them in your windows suspended from red and green ribbons.
• Buy some small ornaments and hang them on your houseplants. Use skinny gold ribbon instead of hangers for an especially festive touch.
• Collect the prettiest pine cones you can find an spray paint them gold and silver, covering some completely with paint and letting some of the natural color show on others. Pile them into a basket, put the biggest, fanciest ribbon you can fin on the handle and set near your fireplace or on your porch near your front door.
• Buy a big, inexpensive clear glass bowl (flea markets, thrift stores, and dollar stores are good bets for these) and fill it with individually wrapped candy canes of peppermints for family and guests to enjoy.
• Make cookie cutter do dual duty: After youâ€ve finished your holiday baking, hang them on your tree.
• Gift wrap your front door with fancy foil paper. Glue a red ribbon diagonally from top to bottom.
• Make a collage of old Christmas cards, put it in an inexpensive frame and hang it on your wall.
• Use evergreen boughs liberally. If you donâ€t have any evergreen trees of your own, contact tree trimming services in your area and ask if you can get some for free. Make evergreen garlands and wrap them around stair and deck railings and drape them from your fireplace mantel, using plaid taffeta or red velvet ribbon to secure them with inside and red weatherproof ribbon outside.
• Group several white or ivory candles of different sizes and heights together in the middle of your coffee table on a fireproof plate. Stick brightly colored Christmas ornaments around and between them and edge the arrangement with small pieces of evergreen. Make sure greenery is far enough away that it wonâ€t catch fire.
• Spend an evening with the kids stringing popcorn and cranberries to use as garland decorations on your tree.
• Make some spicy pomanders by sticking whole cloves into oranges and lemons, making sure to cover the entire surfaces of the fruit. When completed, pile into a large glass bowl and use as a centerpiece or wrap in lacy ribbon and hang in closets to lend a lovely holiday scent now and repel moths later.
• Tie bunches of cinnamon sticks with red, green or plaid ribbon. Use in arrangements of greens on mantels, end tables and elsewhere to lend an additional wonderful scent.
• If you have any old toys such as vintage train sets, arrange them around the base of your Christmas tree.

Implementing any or all of these holiday decorating ideas can be a fun experience that involves the entire family and perfectly expresses the spirit of the season.

Read more Holiday Ideas

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