Who Knew

 THREE-QUARTERS of people under 35 have NEVER been kissed under the

mistletoe. But there are plenty of
reasons to pucker up below the traditional festive decoration. Kissing can boost your
immune system, ease stress and
even help you lose weight.
 Pretending to like your presents, forgetting to buy batteries and arguing
about what to watch on TV are among
the biggest Christmas dilemmas, according to new research. Turkey-based
problems – like using up the leftovers
and finding one that fits in the oven – topped the 25 festive predicaments – along
with receiving a re-gifted present and
organised ‘fun’. Neighbours’ excessive use of Christmas lights on their homes,
finding a gift you got someone in the
Boxing Day sales and struggling to fit all the food you purchased into the fridge
feature as well.

 23% of millennials don’t do this at Christmas this year. What is it?

ANSWER: Christmas Cards.
 We spend around 10 months of our lives complaining about this.
What is it?
ANSWER: The weather
 People do this 20% more on the weekend. What is it?
ANSWER: Smile!

FACT OF THE DAY:

 Japanese researchers successfully developed a technology that can
put someone's thoughts on a
screen and say the same technology could eventually be used to
watch and record our dreams.
 Barack Obama has read every Harry Potter book.
 Every seven years, you lose about half of your friends and replace
them with new people.

Calendar

Sangria Day - What could be better than a day dedicated to wine? Sangria
Day is the perfect excuse to
meet with friends and sample the delicious, fruity drink that is one of Spain’s
claims to fame in the area of
the culinary arts. Make sure your December 20th really packs a punch!
 Games Day – Is it the last day at school? What kind if games do you
most enjoy, board games, card
games, or maybe video games? Whatever game is you favourite, this is the
day to play it and have some
fun for a change! After all, what better a break could you take from the
stresses of everyday life than to
partake in Games Day? As generation upon would generation of people the
world over would agree,
playing games is a great way to just kick back, relax and have some fun with
your family of friends.

Drivers are being warned about over indulging at in food over the
festive break - it could make you
lethal behind the wheel.
Driving soon after wolfing down too much food can have dangerous
ramifications as it results in
tiredness and a slowdown of reaction time to a level that's on a par
with being over the alcohol limit.
The riskiest time to drive is three hours after polishing off the final mouthful
of Christmas food - and the
drowsiness levels experienced are similar to those after having a few too
many, according to nutritionists.
So now it's "eat driving". Whatever next? Driving under the influence of
oxygen?
87 per cent of us are set to experience a festive food lag – when
we’ll suffer from adverse effects after
eating large, heavy portions over Christmas Day.

We can't know what the future holds - we all know that.

However, that's simply because we're not time travellers who've
already been up the temporal road and
are now back to tell us mere mortals about it.
With that in mind, let me tell you about Noah.
He claims that he's been along to the year 2030 and has come back with
some big news for the coming years.
The most suspicious thing about these time travellers is that they don't come
back and keep what has
happened to themselves.
Surely, you'd come back from next Wednesday and just stick a EuroMillions
ticket on, wouldn't you?
Or perhaps you'd bring back a copy of the sports paper from next Monday
and get stuck right into that – like Bif
did in Back to the future???
Anyway, putting our many aspersions aside, let's hear the guy out.
Noah's predictions for next year include an increase in sightings of
UFOs, and a cataclysmic
snowstorm that will destroy large swathes of the United States of
America.
It's fair to say that if Noah is right, it's going to be a busy year.
Starting from 2019 to 2020, January 2019 will see a huge and massive spike
of UFO sightings. People see
them everywhere.
In February, massive snowstorm hits Americas’ Midwest, multiple cities are
wiped out by snow storms. It’ll be
the biggest snowstorm in history.
Nice highlights include a robotic eye being, and a chip that will allow
'paralysed people to walk again'.
But wait, there is more.
In 2020, he claims that Donald Trump will be elected as US President for a
second term, proving just how
stupid the Yanks really are.
This time traveller (he has millions of followers on You Tube) claims
that he is a government employed
time-traveller.
Despite that, he remains committed to revealing 'the truth' to the masses.
He says that he wants to alert the public that time travel is real, and the
government is hiding it from us all and
secretly using it.
Aye, right.
So why doesn’t he just go back to the 1980s to invest in Microsoft and
Apple??
And give me this weekend’s winning Lotto numbers???
IN OTHER NEWS:

Exercise could as be effective as drugs for treating high blood

pressure, a study has found.
The benefits of jogging, cycling, swimming or weights were greater for those
with blood pressure above 139.
More than a third of us expect a family flare-up on Christmas Day –
with the first argument starting
around 8.30am.
Rows over board games cause 68% of fall-outs, according to a new survey.
That’s followed by 66% of us arguing over Christmas gifts.
Then comes warring over what to watch on television which sparks 63% of us
to have a go at the other half…
Surprisingly tension with the in-laws only causes just over 50% of rows.
One in five families’ fights will break out at regular intervals
throughout the day, starting as soon as we
wake up as we moan about not having enough space as we struggle
to find room for extended family
members.
Big arguments come at just before 1pm when children express their dislike of
their Christmas presents before
parents fall out over cooking the Christmas turkey amid accusations of too
much drinking.
Things quieten down until old family feuds are resurrected over Christmas
dinner at around 3.30pm as
everybody sits down to eat and old wounds are opened by family gossip.

The average couple will have seven squabbles over Christmas,

according to new research - with
working out who to visit on Christmas Day and deciding how much to
spend on each other and the kids
most likely to spark a row.
Who does the washing up, over-drinking and working into too many hours are
also trigger points.
The study found 40% of us admit we have to bite our lip at the Christmas
table.
And a third of us say that the effort, money and stress that goes into
Christmas isn't worth it.
With the mounting stress kicking-in today, with December 20th
found as the average date for the stress
to set in.
In fact, beyond the bickering and pressure to put on the perfect day, there
lies a more serious warning - 44% of
us say that Christmas causes us genuine stress.
While a third of us say the festive holidays sometimes leads us to feel
depressed.
And 43% went as far as to say sometimes the thought of Christmas fills them
with dread when it comes to the
impact on finances.
TOP 30 FESTIVE ARGUMENTS
1. Who cooks the Christmas dinner
2. Where to spend Christmas Day
3. Which family to visit
4. How much to spend on other people
5. Who does the washing up
6. How much to spend on each other
7. You or your partner having to work too much over the
holiday
8. Can't agree what movie/TV to watch
9. Me or my partner picking at food before it's ready
10. What presents to buy for the kids
11. My partner drinking too much
12. Who washes-up
13. Whether to go out for Christmas dinner or stay at
home
14. The temperature of the house
15. People arriving late on Christmas Day
16. Whether or not to put Christmas spending on the
credit card
17. Who carves the turkey
18. Who has to drive to a party/Christmas drinks
19. No one helping Mum
20. Not tidying up after opening presents
21. Having to sit in traffic while on the way to visit people
22. Old arguments being brought up
23. Whether to get a real or fake tree
24. My partner not helping out enough when we have to
host people
25. You or your partner staying out too late with friends
and colleagues
26. Ownership of the remote control
27. Who decorates the tree
28. What time to open presents
29. Mum stressing over the Christmas dinner
30. The cost of entertaining relatives
Drinking a cup of tea a day could prevent a leading cause of
blindness, a study has discovered.
Researchers found tea-drinkers were 74% less likely to suffer glaucoma.
About 2% of the population over 40 have the condition .

Generational gaps are making watching TV and playing games

together at Christmas near impossible,
research shows.
Despite Christmas TV and family games remaining among the top festive
activities for families, most
youngsters can’t tell Jim Royle from Basil Fawlty and many over 50’s have
never even heard of Game of
Thrones or The Walking Dead.
That makes getting together around the telly or playing games such as
charades difficult.

One in five of us waiting in for a Christmas parcel haven’t received

it, a consumer watchdog says.
More than half of us say that deliveries were either too early, too late or left
in risky places.
THERE is a reason why snuggling up to your partner after a bad day
feels so good.
A study has found that smooching lowers levels of cortisol, a chemical that is
associated with stress.
The findings, which studied pairs of college students, also discovered that
kissing reduces stress more than just
holding hands.

Leaving in plenty of time, filling the car with toys and games to
amuse the kids and taking a 15- minute
break every two hours are among parent’s tips for a stress-free
drive this Christmas.
Having a fully-charged mobile phone also made the list, along with
filling up the car the night before
setting off.
Checking traffic conditions by listening to local radio before setting of also
emerged as a must.
A well-stocked picnic bag for the journey will also make sure the trip passes
pleasantly.
The tips emerged following a study carried out amongst thousands
of mums and dads across the
country.
It also emerged others who are well prepared will have their car serviced in
the weeks leading up to Christmas,
as well as checking fluid levels and having their tyres balanced.
And getting into a positive mind-set for the trip also appeared in the list of
things to de-stress us.
Supplies of blankets and pillows will help keep the kids quiet.
And if the kids aren’t ready to nap, a DVD player and a good collection of
films also made the list of things for a
stress-free journey.
Parent’s top 20 tips for stress-free Christmas travel:
1. Always leave extra time for your journey.
2. Check traffic conditions before you set off.
3. Make sandwiches, snacks and drinks for the journey.
4. Make sure you have a fully charged mobile phone.
5. Fill the car up the day/night before.
6. Clear your windows and mirrors completely of snow
and ice before you set off.
7. Give the family a chance to relax with a 15 minute
break every two hours for longer trips.
8. Compile the ultimate Christmas playlist beforehand to
keep attention on the road.
9. Take games and toys to entertain the kids.
10. Take emergency equipment (like extra water,
flashlights, road flares, a car jack and spare tire) for peace
of mind.
11. Take blankets and pillows with you to allow
passengers to sleep on the journey.
12. Maintain the season of goodwill with forgiveness for
driving errors.
13. Pack the car the night before.
14. Carry loose change for tolls or parking.
15. Play a Christmas-themed game with the family.
16. Have your car serviced in the weeks leading up to your
drive, with fluid levels checked and tires balanced.
17. Take a portable DVD player - with countless DVDs.
18. Join a roadside rescue service.
19. Get into the right mind-set before you leave. Be
positive that the journey will be stress free.
20. Charge your sat nav and program it before the drive.

MORE than half of us didn’t know that Father Christmas was a real
person, according to a new survey.
A poll found that 54 per cent of us thought Santa was 'just made up', and
didnt realise he was based on Saint
Nicholas, the patron saint of sailors, archers and brewers, who lived in the 4th
Century.
Of course Santa is real!!!
Also known as Nikolaos of Myra, Saint Nicholas, a bishop in Asia Minor - now
modern-day Turkey - was known
for secretly handing out gifts to people, sparking the tradition of Santa Claus.