Kid Birthday Party - Birthday Video

Most people shoot some random video of their child’s birthday party, then toss the video in a drawer and forget about it.

Hey, we’re talking about some precious video of an important event in your child’s life. So if you’re going to shoot some video of your child’s birthday party, why not turn that footage it into a video everyone will want to see?

With just a little planning you can turn your child’s birthday party video footage into a fun music video that’s sure to become a treasured family keepsake and heirloom.

Choose A Favorite Song

Before you shoot your video, choose the song you want to use for your completed music video. It can be one of your child’s favorites, or one that fits your party theme. Now you can shoot your video to go along with the music. Most songs are about 2 and a half minutes long which tells you how long your completed music video will be.

10 Things You Need To Shoot

Putting up the decorations

Party guests arriving

Activities and crafts

Party Games

Bringing out the birthday cake

Opening cards and gifts

Finished decorations and balloons

Parents, brothers, sisters, family members and pets

Staged shots of your birthday child and guests being silly

Guests saying good-by and leaving

The birthday child’s parents collapsing on a chair after the party.

You may find other shots you want to include as well.

Fun Camera Angles

A series of short, fun shots will help make your music video more fun to watch. Try to make your shots at least 5 to 10 seconds in length, this will be very helpful when your footage is edited.

Stay away from using the zoom lens. Unless a zoom is done very well it tends to look amateurish.

Get lots of candid wide shots of your group.

Then move in and shoot medium shots with 2 or 3 people together.

Shoot close-ups of individual faces

Have fun by shooting some shots that are tilted to one side or stand on a chair and shoot down on the party. Put the camera on the floor and shoot up.

Editing Your Birthday Video - Music Video

If you have video editing software in your computer, you first need to digitize (transfer) the footage you’ve shot into the editing program. Then lay down your music track (the song you’ve selected).

Now start your music video with a simple but creative title like “Mary’s 6th Birthday Party” with a sub title related to your birthday theme like “A Royal Celebration.”

From the title you might want to use a fun wipe into your first shot. Try to keep your shots about 5 seconds long. That will keep the music video moving nicely without being too fast and visually annoying.

Also try to edit your footage together to tell the story of your party rather than just randomly mixing everything together.

Titles within your music video can also be fun. A title leading into some party game footage might read “Extreame Musical Chairs” or “Time To Pop The Balloons.”

As you edit your footage together, take a minute and preview the entire video from the beginning. This will help you to get a better feel for the overall pace. You might need to slow things down or speed then up. Check your video from the top when you have 30 seconds edited, 60 seconds edited and 90 seconds edited just to make sure the video is coming together the way you want it to.

Give yourself a little song time at the end to add your closing titles. Give yourself a screen credit, your party producer, and of course this video stars your birthday child.

At the very end of your credits you can have a little fun by cutting to one last silly shot.

If you don’t have access to a video editor, take a quick look at

Fun-Kid-Birthday-Parties.com

Birthday Video - Music Video “World Premiere”

After you’ve edited your award winning music video together, it’s time for your world premiere. Why not invite all your party guests and parents over for a private screening? Make some popcorn and have some fun.

Years From Now

Imagine years from now when you and your child sit down to watch this video together. You’ll both be very happy you did something with all that precious video footage.

And as the years pass, your granchildren might just get to see your treasured keepsake DVD from so many years ago… I wonder if they’ll still call them “music videos?”

Mike Dougherty is a video editor and regional Emmy award winning videographer. Mike is now the webmaster for http://fun-kid-birthday-parties.com and the movie themed http://best-dvd-movie-club.com

Q. “I’m just getting my business going, after being last off last year. So the lasthing I want is a silly twenty-dollar jokegift. A year ago, it would have been great. Now all I can think is, ‘I could use a couple of twenty-dollar-bills right now.’” Signed: New Scrooge

A. Many of us have friends who are cutting back rather than racing forward. Some may be stressed out by cash flow crunches of a new business. Others have experienced personal losses. If they’re feeling scroogier than ever, we can understand.

You don’t have to limit your gifts to socks and underwear (although a good friend may welcome woolly socks from Eddie Bauer or a treat from Victoria’s Secret). So, by request, here are tips on combining fun and function for the holiday season.

DON’T send a free e-card! Many of those sites collect email addresses for their own nefarious uses.

DO send gift certificates: for a restaurant — even a pizza delivery service for amazon.com, magellan.com and other online boutiques for an office supply house — Staples, Kinkos, OfficeMax

Tip: A friend is moving? Send her a gift certificate for a store or restaurant in her new city. Send a season ticket for theatre, ballet, symphony or basketball — get him out of the house! (from my book, Making the Big Move)

DO send gifts for pets. Catnip, pet beds, and gift certificates for grooming all work well. I have one dog bed in each room and Keesha never, ever tries to sit on the furniture.

DO send coffee for caffeine fiends, wine for connoisseurs and Florida fruit baskets for the healthy-minded. My Seattle friends sent fresh-roasted beans one year. Mmm!

DO respect boundaries. Some people want to be alone on holidays, especially if they’re single, newly moved or mourning a loss. Keep it low-key: “If you don’t want to come for dinner, come by for coffee afterward– if you feel like it. Don’t bring a present. Do bring the dog.”

And I’ll share a secret. Just about every single person I know welcomes a take-home serving of holiday dinner. We always pretend it’s for the cat. See my article on “being single on holidays.”

And what if you’re the one who’s cutting back? Maybe this is a tough year and you’re not feeling much holiday spirit. Maybe you lost a friend or family member, temporarily or permanently. Or you’re getting over the flu.

There are no easy bromides. Some people create their own rituals. Some find comfort in the old rituals they know so well. Do as much as you can, comfortably. Whenever I say, “I just don’t feel like it this year,” I usually wish I had — one year later.

One tip: Write down your experiences, feelings and wishes. Hide your writing for at least six months. A year from now the world will look very, very different.

About The Author

Cathy Goodwin, Ph.D., is an author, speaker and career/business consultant, helping midlife professionals take their First step to a Second Career. http://www.cathygoodwin.com.

“Ten secrets of mastering a major life change” mailto:subscribe@cathygoodwin.com

Contact: cathy@cathygoodwin.com 505-534-4294

As we reach the time of year when Christmas items start to appear in the stores, and thoughts of vacations start to wind down with the shortening daylight, it is a good time to think about gifts. Not only the gifts, though, but also the practise of giving.

Offering a gift can be a mutual pleasure; some might say it should be a pleasure for giver and recipient. A problem with a modern commercial Christmas, however, is that buying gifts can become a chore. Often it is a stress ridden chore in the dying days before Christmas Day, as everything gets left to the last minute.

A true gift, though, should bring with it no stress; it should come from the heart to be a true gift, and not be out of duty. If someone is resentful of having to spend time and money buying Christmas gifts, then the result is not a gift but a token of duty.

Why not make this next Christmas a time to make the choosing of individual gifts a pleasure for yourself, and for the recipient. Often in the last minute haste to buy gifts in time for Christmas Day, people become detached from not only the purpose, but the person to whom they are giving. Bought hastily in a crowded stress filled store, scarcely a thought may pass for the individual on the receiving end, however close they may be to you.

Most of the year, if not all, can be filled with work, commuting, rushing here and there, stress, and self focus. How about time and attention for those who really matter in your life, whether spouse, offspring, other relatives, friends or colleagues? The choosing of a gift, and presentation of it, can be a silent way of giving each of them special attention, and then culminating with their pleasure at the receipt of the gift.

Behind every good present there is a person who worked hard to make the best choice. The secret to buying the perfect gift is to think about the message you want to send out, when the receiver opens it. If you think about his or her hobbies, to his or her vacation plans etc. It means you have really studied that person and you bought the present precisely for them, for that occasion; in this case, Christmas.

Friendship and caring are themselves are a gift, so you can see that if you put some real selfless effort into choosing gifts, the value of the gift is magnified. That is something which will shine through the wrapping paper, and in the moment of giving the pleasure that you feel in making the gesture will radiate in the warmth of your expression. The choosing and the giving of a gift are inseparable.

With Christmas some way off, now is a good time to start thinking about the meaning of giving, so that by the time Christmas comes, there will be no thinking “oh, this Christmas gift business is a chore.”

Instead of thinking about the physical aspects and “inconvenience” of buying Christmas gifts, of the costs and effect on your credit card, think about the love, respect and caring that you feel for those to whom you will be giving. That way you will beat the stress before it surfaces, and enjoy the act of giving as a true pleasure.

This Christmas article was written by Roy Thomsitt, owner of the Gifts For Xmas website and http://www.xmas-ornament.com

We are all familiar with the stories that most students have when they finally get through those last days of college. Their financial states are in ruins, with accumulated credit card debt along with the student loans. Grants and scholarships are indeed blessings, but the reality is that students cannot possibly survive on financial aid alone.

Most parents would love to send their kids to school. Unfortunately, many parents just do not have the funds necessary to pay for tuition, books, housing, and all the hidden costs that come with college. This does not mean your kids should stay away from college. It simply means that the financial planning starts now.

There are some basic strategies to follow in order to be in the best shape possible after college. The learning starts before college, the rewards will come after.

• Get a part time job - in the chosen field. Most students find jobs to help out with the bills and to gain some spending money. The mistake many of them make is not finding a job in their future field of expertise. If a student is to go into banking, it would be wise for them to seek any job at a local bank.
• Don’t drive a fancy car. For whatever reason, many students want to go out and buy a new car. These cars also come standard with a brand new car payment that quickly eats up funds. Drive a reliable car that doesn’t soak up cash.
• Buy a house. This may sound a little scary for parents, but it is better than paying rent. A home is an asset that will appreciate over the four or five years while in school. Sell the home after school for a profit. Homes teach responsibility, and roommates can help pay the rent.
• Maintain an accurate personal checking account. With online checking services, there is no reason to let it get out of control. If it gets out of control, get help fast. The bank can get you back on track for a small fee.
• Start your own business. By starting a small business, students can learn valuable lessons in service and business administration. They’ll have hours that work around the school schedule. It doesn’t have to be complicated. Think out of the box in the field you like. A friend detailed cars on the weekends, his competitive advantage was going to them.

As described above, there are ways to help students from going into debt, while learning valuable lessons at the same time. Common sense rules the college finance game. It just takes creativity and initiative to make the most of it.

If you cannot help financially with your child’s education, help them with careful planning. They will be better off, both financially, and professionally.

Robb Ksiazek is a successful author and publisher for Checks-4U.com. He believes that financial responsibility comes through education and smart decisions.

Online health insurance quotation

Use an online health insurance quotation to take advantage of the best rates and coverage’s. Shopping your needs has never been simpler or easier. Simply type in the search box what you’re looking for and numerous quoting services will assist you in finding what you want. This is the fastest way to get an online health insurance quotation.

Varying the amounts of benefits and coverage’s will produce different price points for you to consider. Lowering and raising the deductibles and co-pay options will also impact your rates. When you make these various changes you’ll have a good idea on what you can do and what it’s going to cost you. Generally insuring you medical need is safer than self insuring.

Most carriers pay a slight fee to the quoting services to offer their products. That’s quite different than buying through a licensed agent of the company. The agent normally is paid a pretty hefty commission to sell the policy with less emphasis on objectivity because of a limited portfolio to sell from. Shopping a broad range of companies will normally produce the best results for you.

The issues should focus on what your mains concerns are and place you emphasis there. The input screens where you shop let you tell it where you want your focus to be and shop accordingly. Complete unbiased objectivity and poof in seconds the answers and rates are laid out in front of you. Consequently you’ll be able to get the best online health insurance quotation.

Learn more about health insurance and
free quotes

If your feline friend could speak your language, here a few things she would probably like you to know.

1) I am the boss of you. Get used to it. I decide when I want your company. I am not a dog who relies on you to make these choices in our relationship.

2) I am fenicky. I like the food I like and I will not eat the cheap stuff. I prefer to have the nasty, overnight water left in my dish dumped first thing in the morning. If you cannot accommodate this need, Do Not Yell At Me when you see me desperately dipping my head into the toilet for some fresh water. Believe me, it’s not something I Want To Be Doing - But If You Don’t Take Care Of Me Properly - I simply have no choice.

3) I like my space. I choose my space. I pick special places through out Our House to lay in the sun, take my afternoon nap, relax after dinner etc… Deal with it. Do not expect me to clean up my own hair. I cannot help it if I shed on your precious sofa, and I personally don’t really care if I leave a little bit of me behind on my Favorite places.

4) I do not want to have a new “sister” or “brother” ie: feline relative. If they came to live with you when I did that’s fine. If you’re trying to improve the quality of my life by giving me a new friend, Forget About It… I don’t want one. I like being the Queen/King of Our Domain. I do not want to share my palace with anyone.

5) I like you and I like your children (or most of them). But I chose when I want to be bothered with the youngsters. Please do not push them on me when I’m clearly not in the mood to play, which consequently results in me being forced to let them know I do not want interact with them in the only way I know how - by hissing, scratching, or trying to run away. My actions inevitably lead to you yelling at me for showing my feelings. So we could make life much simpler, if You prevented this whole scenario from the start.

6) I have certain innate needs - like the need for something to scratch - Please make both of our lives easier by getting me something just for this purpose… So I do not have to resort to using the back of the chair, the carpet, the comforter or the front porch screen (which will definitely result in you having to Yell at me yet once more for something that I have a natural desire to do…)

7) Remember You picked me. You decided to bring me into your home. I did not pick you. I had no choice. Yet I treat you with respect and love, thus you should treat me equally as well…

Resource Box - © Danielle Hollister (2004) is the Publisher of BellaOnline Quotations Zine - A free newsletter for quote lovers featuring more than 10,000 quotations in dozens of categories like - love, friendship, children, inspiration, success, wisdom, family, life, and many more. Read it online at - http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art8364.asp

Everybody battles with their weight from time to time. It’s either too much junk food or not enough exercise. In many cases it is a poor diet and no exercise. We go to work and sit behind a computer or a counter, and we sit. Then we get up for coffee, and then we sit. On and on, day after day. It’s the ritual that many people get used to. They are creatures of habit. But the trend can be broken.

In many cases, folks just need to get out and about to enjoy life a little. As funny as it might sound, there are many hobbies that keep some people from being stagnant and growing fat. True fitness doesn’t have to come from the gym, there are plenty of fit people who simply watch their diet and do something everyday.

Golfing and Fitness

This is the one I struggled explaining to my wife. Then she bought some clubs and started coming along. It’s great exercise. Buy the backpack style straps for your bag or get a pull cart. Take the initiative to walk the course. If the weather is ninety five degrees and humid, ride a cart. On the nice days, walk it. It’s not only good for your body, it’s also good for your mind. The great outdoors has a lot to do with your happiness. And it doesn’t hurt if you make a couple nice birdie putts.

Getting out a couple times a week to play either nine or eighteen will keep your blood flowing and challenge your thought process. Golf is a game for life, in more ways than one.

Join a League for Health

There are organized sporting leagues for just about every sport that is played. Whether they are managed by your local community or your favorite watering hole, leagues offer not only a good time, but some good exercise as well. It doesn’t take too much to get your body involved in some good physical activity. You’ll circle the bases in a softball league, or cruise around the rink from red line to red line.

Leagues are designed to keep people active doing what they love. All ages are welcomed, and lots of good times are had. Softball, volleyball, tennis and more get your body moving and involved in the social arena. Where else can you ground out and meet friends?

Diet Hiking

It doesn’t take a game with eight hundred year old rules or an organized sports team to get outside and enjoy some exercise. Plenty of people enjoy the great outdoors just for what it is: the great outdoors. An activity as basic as hiking is some of the best exercise you’ll ever get. You control the level of difficulty that you want to endure.

All you need to do to participate is throw on some comfortable clothes and strap on your shoes. Go search for agates or take the dog for a walk. Get your exercise and keep your diet going.

It really doesn’t take a whole lot of effort to get your body moving. Once you get started, your routine will become easier and you’ll want top expand it. Health and fitness quickly becomes addicting. Choose your poison.

Robb Ksiazek writes and publishes diet advice and body moving tips for Body-Mass-Index-4U.com. He believes in simple common sense solutions to keep your body, mind, and soul in a state of wellbeing.

Q. My teenage son is turning 16 early next year and he’s already lobbying us for a new car. He says all his friends are getting new cars, that he deserves one because it’s his right when he turns 16, and he won’t drive what he calls a POS car. Do you think he is trying to manipulate us, and what do you think we should do? And since he won’t tell us what a POS car is, do you know?

A. What to do depends on what you want to accomplish.

If you want to teach your son that he can pester and manipulate you into giving him his way, then by all means get him a new car.

I know that’s not what you want to teach him though. What you have is an excellent opportunity to teach some important life lessons.

But first, let’s get that POS question out of the way. POS stands for “piece of s—” and is just another one of your son’s tools in his manipulation bag.

2 important principles

There are at least two important principles to teach in this situation. The first is the vast difference between rights and privileges.

Your son believes that getting a new car is his right as a 16-year-old. It’s not. In fact, turning 16 does not even entitle you to a driver’s license. It does make you eligible for the privilege of getting a driver’s license.

Fostering the belief that privileges are in fact rights leads to a raging sense of entitlement. Fostering a belief in privileges leads to a rare sense of ownership, appreciation and perhaps even stewardship, which is taking good care of what you have.

The second principle is the sometimes hazy difference between wants and needs. A need is a “must have” for survival, or to accomplish something important. A want is something you would like to have but can live without.

Your son might need a car to get safely from place A to place B and you may also want to stop chauffeuring him. He may want a new car, but he does not need one. Even if you can afford to give him a new car, I think that would do him more harm than good.

Sit down with your son and tell him that you have discovered what a POS car is and assure him you have no intention of getting him one. Similarly, you have no intention of getting him a new car either.

Briefly - and I mean short and sweet briefly - explain the difference between rights and privileges and wants and needs. Then tell him that you will be glad to help him find a Point A-to-Point B car.

If he wants anything better, tell him that for each dollar that he saves over the price of a basic Point A-to-Point B car, you will match it.

He will not walk away from this conversation jumping for joy. He will walk away with the beginning of some very important life lessons, which is really the best 16th birthday present you could get him.

Visit ParentingYourTeenager.com for tips and tools for thriving during the teen years. You can also subscribe to our f*r*e*e 5 day e-program on The Top 5 Things to Never Say to Your Teenager, from parenting coach and expert Jeff Herring.

Candy fundraising has to be one of the more popular fund raiser for any event. You can make the candy yourself or you can order from the Internet. There are many companies designed just to supply the candy products you need. There are many varieties of flavors for candy fundraising and you will find the selection very pleasing. Usually the candy will be shipped to you in one-pound boxes or whatever size you would prefer depending on the funds you have available to start with.

You will find that fundraiser candy is available all year around and most companies have a basic price. This price usually gives you lots of room to raise the candy prices in your fundraising candy blitz. Of course, a lot depends on how much candy you want to order. The bigger the order the sweeter the deal, meaning you will get a better price for your candy fundraising. There is also another bonus in free delivery with a minimum order.

There is a bit of work involved besides the ordering in a candy fundraising event. The candy does have to be sorted when it arrives. Hopefully there will be a enough volunteers that this will not be a problem.

Maybe you would prefer to go with candy bars for your fund raiser. Candy is an excellent choice also for all those people that have a sweet tooth. If your fundraiser is for a sports team, these bars could be sold at the games, which make selling easy when exposed to big crowds. Candy fundraising has got to be one of the best fundraising events.

Depending on the funds that are available to you to start your fundraiser maybe you could make your own candy. This is not so difficult as you would think. Candy apples are very inexpensive and easy to make and on a small scale can be made without to much hassle. All you require is apples, some caramel, a few sticks and some wrappers to wrap the candy apples in. This is a good project for little leagues or elementary schools. If you want to get a little fancier for your candy fundraising there are tons of recipes on the Internet that are fun, easy and inexpensive. Work according to your funds. However, you can presell the candy so you know exactly how much to order if you want to order from a candy company.

Candy fundraising, sweetly successful.

For a website totally devoted to Fundraising visit Peter’s Website Fundraising Answers and find out about School Fund Raising as well as Charity Fundraising and more, including Cheerleading Fundraising adn Church Fundraisers.

There are only two ways to get more money:

1) Increase your income and
2) Decrease your outgo.

B Buy what you need, not what you want.
U Use it up, wear it out or give it away
D Don’t ever spend in anticipation of earning
G Garage sales, consignment shops and hand-me-downs
E Eat at home or make it at home and take it with you
T Tracking your spending means you will have money to track
S Simplify your life.

Spend twice as much time and half as much money on your child and you
will all be happier.

Don’t buy your kids too many clothes. They need an outfit for every day and
a Sunday or dress-up outfit, a sweat outfit to play in, two pairs of shoes,
seven pairs of underwear and socks and two pairs of pajamas. A coat and
jacket and you are set. They don’t need twenty outfits that crowd the drawers
and fall on the floor and end up in the washing.

Limit the toys you give your child. When they have so many toys, it stifles
their imagination. They will really play with a few but are overwhelmed with
too many choices.

Buys toys, books and games on sale and keep in a “birthday box” for when
your children are invited to parties.

Trade your good or services with friends and neighbors. Start a babysitting
co-op or food co-op. Trade painting for fresh produce, haircuts for yard work
etc. Be creative.

Plan your menus around store specials and you will save a great deal and
avoid stopping at MacDonald’s. Have one night be cooking night and prepare
and freeze enough for the rest of the week. Consider joining with another
friend and sharing the prepared meals.

Recognize that saving or stretching of money is a part time job involving the
whole family. You can easily save as much as you would earn in a few hours
a week by being a smart shopper. Have a family council and decide what you
will be able to do as a family with the money you save by making wise
consumer decisions. Make it fun!

Good Luck and God Bless. You do an important work.

This handout© 2003 has been prepared by Judy H. Wright, Missoula, MT parent educator and author. You may have permission to
make copies for other parents and teachers but the entire article, including the signature line, must be included. A complete list of
parenting books, aids, workshops and a FREE ezine is available at www.ArtichokePress.com. To contact us, please write
judywright@artichokepress.com or call 406-549-9813.