Danielle Tate

Top 10 Things to Do In Bed This Christmas

Don’t miss the top 10 things to do in bed this season! Now that Christmas is right around the corner, you may be a bit frazzled from shopping, baking and wrapping. What could be better than climbing in bed for a long winter’s nap? Well, we’ve come up with a list of alternative bedroom activities to put you in the holiday spirit!

Top 10 Things to Do In Bed This Christmas

10. Play a Christmas themed board game in your pjs
9. Open tiny surprise Christmas Eve gifts
8. Cuddle up and watch the snow fall
7. Play naughty Santa
6. Drift off to sleep with visions of sugar plums dancing through your head We weren’t sure exactly what a sugar plum was, so here’s the scoop so you know exactly what you’re dreaming about.
5. Give and receive a sugar cookie scented massage
4. Watch Holiday Specials and Movies. Here’s a guide to help you find the perfect flick to put you in the holiday spirit.
3. Have Christmas Morning Mimosas and breakfast in bed. What better way to kick off your first Christmas day as newlyweds!
2. Make love with your favorite Christmas music and a fire crackling in the background
1. Dream about the fabulous Sleep Number Comforter that you’ve entered to win on the MissNowMrs.com newlywed blog!

Sleep Number has teamed up with MissNowMrs.com to offer one of our newlywed blog readers the chance to win a completely customized Create Your Perfect Comforter (A $280 value)!

The Sleep Number Create your Perfect Comforter is the ideal solution for couples who disagree on bedroom temperature as each side of the comforter can be customized. You get to choose the fill, customize your warmth level and then relax with your perfect comforter. Say goodbye to sleepless nights and blanket wars!

Ready to win our cozy December giveaway? Leave a comment on this, or any of our Newlywed Bed Posts on Mondays this month and you’ll be automatically entered to win. Tell us all about why you and your spouse should win this custom comforter. We’d love to know what lengths you’ve gone to to solve your temperature differences.

The randomly selected contest winner will be announced on December 31st!! If we don’t hear back from the winner within 2 weeks, we will randomly select a new winner to make sure someone ends up with this great prize!

Also, if you’re in the mood for newlywed bed giveaways, you can win a memory foam bed, a Flexfit adjustable base, and $500 in Sleep Number bedding through Sleep Number’s holiday sweepstakes at: www.sleepnumber.com.

Your First Christmas:Tips For Handling Your In-Laws

Oh in-laws. Can’t live with them and can’t live without them. Well, maybe. But the fact of the matter is that the majority of people have in-laws – mothers, fathers, and siblings – and eventually have a holiday where everyone can come together and celebrate. We’ve all heard comedians joke about awful in-laws and dealing with them at the table, but that doesn’t have to be your holiday experience!

Talk to your spouse first. You may be surprised at how helpful it is to know how your partner spent their holidays, that way you can better predict how your in-laws may act. Some families place more significance on some holidays than others. For example, to you Christmas Eve may not be that big of a deal, but your spouse’s family has a whole set of traditions and all sorts of things that they do on that day.

Before in-laws even come over, it might be a good idea to lay out a few basic agreements. For example, you and your spouse have just moved into your new home. Your spouse’s mother typically cooks the turkey for Christmas. But since the holiday is at your home, you want to do the cooking. Let them know! You can always suggest that they bring a favorite dish or two, or that you’d love some help from your mother-in-law, but overall, you want to be the one doing the entertaining.
Taking the time to talk to your in-laws about certain things can help holidays go more smoothly. This can be especially true if you come from a different cultural or religious background than your in-laws. By prepping them beforehand, they will have a better idea of what to expect as well as how to act. Remember, this is your home and your new life – everyone may have their own family traditions, but now is the time for you to start a few traditions of your own. Don’t let family members (from either side!) try to control everything.

This doesn’t mean that you can’t be flexible. If someone suggests an idea and you love it, then go for it! Holidays are about being together, having a good time, and enjoying one another’s company. Allowing variety into the holiday will keep it from being predictable and dull. You shouldn’t have to work too hard in order to make a holiday memorable or special.

By keeping the lines of communication open, remaining versatile when it comes to new ideas, and focusing on having a good time, your holiday should be met with plenty of love and lots of good cheer. Do you have any stories of how you prepared for your first holiday with your in-laws? We’d love to hear about it!

Holiday Parties – Ho Ho Ho!

‘Tis the season for corporate and family holiday parties. Now let’s talk about not looking like a Ho, Ho, ho as a newlywed or newly engaged lady! There is definitely a way to look attractive at events, without raising any in-law eyebrows or causing the CEO’s blood pressure to spike.

Here are a few tips to keep you looking your best during the holiday season:

1. Choose to accent your upper body or lower body with an outfit, not both. A great mini dress that has sleeves or a or a high neckline will allow your legs to take center stage without causing catcalls. If you’ve got killer arms or cleavage, choose a longer dress or pants and then show A LITTLE skin up top.

2. Leave the leave-em-on boots at home. Don’t get me wrong, some boots are appropriate with dresses. But, if you have patent leather over the knee boots there are certain call girl connotations that will enter most people’s minds when they meet you. Frankly, you don’t want to be that girl, especially as someone’s wife or fiancé!

3. Get your hair done! Now’s the time to touch up any roots or split ends that you have showing. A quick trip to the salon or some do-it-yourself tricks will have you looking polished and presentable wherever you go. It will also ensure that you’ll love the way you look in holiday photos and not kick yourself for that hair. If you already have a few photos you regret, you can use this cool root touch-up software to erase any hair color mistakes.

4. Go easy on the make-up. Choose to do a smoky eye and neutral lips or play up your lips and do very muted eyes. This tactic allows one feature of your face to stand out and keeps you from looking like you were hit by the paint truck!

5. Smile. You’re a newlywed or newly engaged and the world is your oyster. No need to be serious or nervous, just be yourself and let everyone get to know the real you.

With these few tips you should be able to focus on having fun at the flurry of holiday parties you attend. You can rest assured that you’re presenting yourself in a wonderful way and everyone that meets you will be impressed.

What are you wearing to holiday parties this year and what are you avoiding wearing? We’d love to hear about your outfits and the dreadful ones you saw last holiday season, so please leave a comment!

Newlywed Name Change Worries

Being an online married name-change service we are asked questions about every aspect of a name change: from “Can I change my first name, middle name and last name?” to “How do I notify my professional licensing board of my new married name?” —and everything and anything in-between! Helping individuals navigate through the married name change process is exactly what we pride ourselves on doing each and everyday…and we love it!

Recently, we were asked, “If I change my name will I no longer receive my emails?” We want all of you to know the answer to this important question. Of course you will still receive your emails under your old email address unless you close your account. Many employers will set-up a new work email address to reflect your new married name, allowing you to set up an auto-response email to notify your contacts of your new email address (as they contact you via your old email address). You may even be able to do this with your personal email account (using a free platform such as: Yahoo, Google, Hotmail, etc.) if you’re lucky. If not, you will need to set-up a new account under your new married name. Either way, be sure to notify each of your contacts of your new email address to ensure that you don’t miss any incoming emails. If you went ahead and set-up a new account using your new married name, it is recommended that you continue to check the old account (unless it has been closed) until you are certain that ALL your contacts are using your new email address to contact you.

Obtaining a married name change can sometimes be very stressful, but it doesn’t have to be. We at MissNowMrs.com are here to help you with any questions you may have to ensure that you become a Mrs. as smoothly and easily as possible!

Do you have a name change question you would like us to address on our Newlywed Blog? Post it as a comment so we know what questions to answer for our loyal blog readers!

Addressing Your In-Laws: Mom, Mrs. So-And-So, or Something Completely Different?

Anxious about addressing your in-laws? If there’s one thing you’re almost certain to get along with your mate once you get married, it’s in-laws. There are many cases in which you will already know your in-laws, even get along great with them, be invited to family functions and so forth. All of this long before you get married. If this is the case, then great! You’re probably already past the stage of awkward introductions and being unsure of what exactly to call your spouse’s mother.

However, there are occasions in which you may have never had the chance to meet them before the wedding. Perhaps everyone lives too far away for any visits. Whatever the case, at some point the manner of addressing your in-laws will come up…especially during the holidays with holiday cards, gift tags and party introductions.

In general, as with any person, the correct way to start off is by using the traditional Mr. and Mrs. forms. Doing so shows respect and doesn’t make anyone feel uncomfortable, as opposed if you just start calling one of your in-laws “Mom” right away. As time goes by, you may feel more comfortable with them and can either try to transition into a first name basis on your own, or ask if it is all right for you to call them by something different.

Respect is the key to the whole situation. Some families will correct you the moment you finish – but in a good way. Such as:
“Why, hello, Mrs. Winston.”
“Oh, don’t be silly – you can call me Gail!”

And suddenly you’re already on a first name basis. A lot of married couples simply stick with first names. They are familiar enough with their in-laws for this to be normal (after all, Gail is her name).
Of course, there is also the occasional switch to Mom or Dad. Families that are close may transition into this naturally and feel comfortable with it. In-laws might encourage you to call them by these names. If you have no problems with this, by all means call them Mom or Dad. But if you are at any time uncomfortable with doing so, then quietly sit down with them and explain your reasons. They should understand your feelings and allow you to call them by either their first name or by using Mr. or Mrs.

The general rundown of addressing in-laws tends to go from the most formal to the least formal. So unless someone insists you use something else straight from the get-go, over time you should be able to move through these with relative ease: Mrs. Winston – Gail – Mom.

What do you call your in-laws? Were there any truly uncomfortable moments at the beginning of your relationship or unusual name requests when it came to addressing your in-laws? We’d love to hear your comments!