Happy New Year!  Whether you watch the ball drop in Times Square or spend a quiet evening at home with the family, we each ring in the New Year in our own way.  Here are some fascinating ways that New Year’s is celebrated around the world:

Denmark:  In Denmark, broken glass is meant to bring good luck, so on New Year’s they smash their broken or unused china and drop it on a friend’s doorstep to bring them luck and fortune in the new year.  The bigger the heap of broken glass, the more popular you are! 

France:  In France, New Year's Eve is usually celebrated with a feast, called le Réveillon de Saint-Sylvestre.  It consists of traditional dishes like pancakes, foie gras and champagne. This special dinner is supposed to bring prosperity and good luck to the lives of all those attending the feast.

Spain:  In the last 12 seconds of the year, people in Spain eat 12 green grapes to ring in the new year.  It is thought that the 12 grapes will bring good fortune in the coming year – and is thought to bring bad luck if you can’t eat them all before the clock strikes midnight! 

The Philippines:  In the Philippines, you’ll find people celebrating the New Year with 12 round fruits, representing prosperity and wealth for each month in the coming year.  Apples, oranges, melons and grapes are popular – but as long as it’s round and a fruit it works!

Ireland:  In Ireland, the tradition is to bang bread against their house walls on New Year’s Eve.  This serves two purposes:  one, to chase away bad luck and evil spirits, and, two, to invite good luck into the house.  It also ensures that the New Year will be filled with an abundance of bread and other food. 

Greece:  An onion is traditionally hung on the front door of homes on New Year’s Eve in Greece as a symbol of rebirth in the New Year. On New Year’s Day, parents wake their children by tapping them on the head with the onion.

Scotland:  During Scotland’s New Year’s Eve celebration of Hogmanay, “first-footing” is practiced across the country. The first person who crosses a threshold of a home in the New Year should carry a gift for luck.

Colombia:  In hopes of a travel- and adventure-filled new year, residents of Colombia carry empty suitcases around the block at midnight.

If you are looking forward to a new year filled with travel and adventure, Luxury Destinations Concierge can help!  Give us a call at (805) 236-4437 to start planning your dream vacation today.

The holidays are infused with traditions.  Some traditions are very specific to our families, while others are cultural.  In fact, how others celebrate Christmas around the world could surprise you.  Here are just a few of the many varied traditions around the world.

Australia:  For Aussies, December is the middle of summer, so Christmas is usually an outdoors affair – trips to the beach and cookouts.  In fact, Santa is usually dressed for a dip in the ocean!

Holland:  In the Netherlands, children await Sinterklaas who brings them presents on December 5th – St. Nicholas Eve.  Sinterklaas parties consist of games and treasure hunts where children follow clues and poems to find their gifts.  Christmas Day, on the other hand, is a quiet celebration with families attending Church and then sharing a family meal.

Ukraine:  Spider webs and Christmas don’t normally go together, unless you live in Ukraine. Local tradition tells the story of a poor woman who couldn’t decorations for her Christmas tree. On Christmas morning, she found the tree was covered in spider webs, which turned into strands of gold and silver when the morning’s first light hit them. So people in the Ukraine cover their trees with spider webs, hoping for the same good fortune.

Japan:  While Christmas isn’t an official holiday, folks in Japan have an unusual way of celebrating:  eating Kentucky Fried Chicken!  Thanks to a huge advertising campaign in the 1970s, KFC promoted it’s chicken as the ideal way to celebrate Christmas – so much so that you need to make reservations if you want KFC on December 25th in Japan!

Venezuela:  If you are in Caracas during Christmas, you’ll see one very strange site on Christmas morning:  everyone roller skating to Christmas Mass.  No one is exactly sure how it started, some suggest that it is an alternative to sledding (especially since it is summer in Venezuela!).

Scandinavia:  Move over Rudolph…in Scandinavian countries it’s all about the yule goat!  While its origins are in Scandinavian pagan customs, the julbock (yule goat) is now associated with bringing presents to children.  Yule goat decorations are made of plaited straw and red ribbons.  In fact, the largest yule goat erected in Gävle, Sweden  – measuring 49 feet tall – made the 1993 Guinness Book of World Records!

Germany:  Like Holland and other Central European countries, St. Nicholas is more important than Santa Claus, with big celebrations on December 5th.  Germany is also known for its Christmas markets, which start popping up at the beginning of Advent.  These markets were originally designed to bring a bit of cheer to the cold winters, and have become a cornerstone of the Christmas season.  The most well-known markets are in Nuremberg, Dresden, Cologne and Frankfurt.

Italy:  One of their most unique traditions is La Befana, which dates back to the 13th century. Coinciding with Epiphany (January 6th), La Befana (an old witch) travels on a magic broom to each house the in Italy the night before to bring gifts to the children. Like Santa, she climbs down chimneys and gives candy to good kids and coal to naughty kids. Children leave out stockings for her and even write notes to her. She's basically the Italian version of Santa Claus!

Iceland:  In Iceland, children get presents from 13 Yule Lads – one on each of the 13 nights leading up to Christmas.  If they are good, the Yule Lads will leave candy.  But be careful – if you are naughty, they leave rotting potatoes!

Want to celebrate other holiday traditions around the world?  Give Luxury Destinations Concierge a call at (805) 236-4437 to start planning your dream vacation today.

Our Entrepreneurs’ Empowerment Cruise is fast approaching.  This 5-day seminar at sea cruise is an excellent opportunity for you to meet like-minded entrepreneurs and find inspiration for your journey through 2020.  If that hasn’t convinced you that this is the event for you, consider one more thing – especially if you are a coach or speaker:  This is a great model for you to replicate.

Think about it.  As a speaker and a coach, you are always looking for ways to get in front of your audience, to impart your expertise to them and help them along in their journey.  You’ve held events at hotels or other accommodations, only to notice that your audience has a tendency to get distracted by emails, phone calls and more.  You feel as if you aren’t connecting with them the way you had hoped, and they aren’t connecting with each other to exchange ideas, form relationships or even fully process what they have learned.

What if you could get away from those distractions, provide an opportunity for your participants to connect with each other on a more personal level, and impart even more of your knowledge to them in an all-inclusive setting?  That’s what can happen when you hold your seminar or event at sea.

Here are some of the other benefits of holding an event at sea:

Budget Control:  Meeting spaces, meals and AV equipment are all included so you don’t have to worry about being nickeled and dimed to death

Relationship-Building Environment:  On a cruise, there are less distractions, so meeting attendance and participation is going to be much higher.  Your participants will be highly focused on the program and learning.

Built-In Entertainment:  There are so many entertainment options aboard a cruise ship that everyone can take advantage of.

Family Affair:  Even though your event may be for a specific audience, this is a chance for the entire family to take a vacation.  While one member is in meetings with you, there are many activities to keep the rest of the family entertained as well.

Think this may be a good option for you in the future?  Check out how it’s done on the Entrepreneurs’ Empowerment Cruise, February 1-6, 2020.  For details, click here.

In Parts I and II of this series, we’ve given you an overview of what you can expect on this remarkable event at sea.  Today, we’d like to introduce you to some of our speakers:
 
CASEY EBERHART - INTERNATIONAL SPEAKER, BUSINESS CONSULTANT, & TOP 3% NETWORK MARKETER
No matter what business you're in, this internationally recognized speaker and trainer is someone you deserve to know. Why? Because Casey Eberhart has connections! He's made it his mission over the years to collect and connect: he collects relationships and connects people, so they can do business together. He's focused on your success. He's sought after as a Speaker, Consultant and Business Coach.  He is well known for creating EXTRAORDINARY RESULTS for his clients. Casey has a special affinity for saving businesses time and making them more profit. Sit back, buckle up and hear Casey roar. Sharpen your pencil. You'll hang on every word.
 
CAROL STANLEY - VOICE & PRESENTATION SKILLS EXPERT
Carol Stanley guides CEOs, entrepreneurs, authors, church leaders, and aspiring speakers and singers, to gain confidence, poise, and command over voice, body, mind, and spirit. Based on the science and physiology of voice and presentation, audience members transform from unsteady, shaky, and fearful to capable, confident, and compelling presenters. Whether they speak or sing boldly or stand with power and impact without saying a word, these transformed presenters inspire, motivate, lead, and achieve to make the difference they desire. She is a crowd-pleasing, LIFE CHANGING speaker who adds massive value with every innovative speaking strategy she shares.
 
JEFF STROUD - FOUNDER AND CEO / SOMNVIE
Jeffrey Lee Stroud is a successful entrepreneur, CEO, and former member of the Direct Selling Association Board of Directors. In 1990, Jeff left his career as a department store buyer and joined his parents, Bill and Joyce Stroud in a specialty retail venture, Strouds Linens. During the following 10 years they together opened 70 stores nationwide and achieved $200 million dollars in annual sales, leading to a $41 million-dollar initial public offering for the Company’s common stock. During the 25 years that Strouds Linens operated stores, cumulative sales exceeded $23 billion. In 2004 Jeff co-founded an innovative new company, Private Quarters, which sold decorative home products and accessories through the direct selling channel. Over the subsequent eight years Private Quarters generated over $70 million dollars of retail sales, rising to national prominence and empowering thousands of independent consultants with a home-based business opportunity focused on high quality products for the home. Private Quarters was nominated for the Direct Selling Association’s Success Award in 2011 and was acquired my MVP Direct in 2012. In 2008, Jeff was elected to the Board of Directors of the Direct Selling Association (DSA) in the United States. In 2011, he was appointed Chairman of the DSA Strategic Planning Committee for the $30 billion-dollar industry.

You do not want to miss this exciting, 5-day Entrepreneurs’ Empowerment Cruise, taking place February 1-6, 2020.  For more details, click here.

In Part I of this series, we were excited to introduce our Entrepreneurs’ Empowerment Cruise, setting sail February 1-6, 2020.  The idea behind the cruise is twofold: (1) to provide an opportunity for you to grow as an entrepreneur, meet like-minded business owners, and get inspired for 2020; and (2) relax and enjoy yourself.

Probably the hardest thing for us as entrepreneurs to do is to relax and enjoy ourselves.  We are usually so caught up in the next “big thing” for our businesses that we forget to take the time to slow down and enjoy our surroundings.  This cruise is meant to do exactly that on one of Princess Cruises’ luxury ships, the Royal Princess.

Here are just some of the amenities that you will discover aboard the Royal Princess:

• Vegas Style Casino:  Whether you are a novice or high roller, you will experience all the fun and excitement of the casino life.
• Broadway Style Productions:  Are you a theater buff?  You won’t be disappointed with the lavish original productions on board the Royal Princess!
• Lotus Spa:  Need a bit of pampering?  The Lotus Spa offers a variety of treatments, from facials and massages to aromatherapy.
• Lotus Spa Fitness Center:  For those who need an energizing workout, the Lotus Spa Fitness Center has state-of-the-art equipment and a variety of fitness classes to enhance your workout experience.
• High Tea and Chocolate:  Enjoy an afternoon celebrating the elegance of high tea, or taste some of the exclusive, hand-crafted chocolates of master chocolatier Norman Love.
• Superbowl Party:  Yes, we haven’t forgotten that the Superbowl is February 2nd, and the Royal Princess will celebrate in style, with a tailgate party on deck and projecting the big game on the giant screen.
• Princess Live!:  Be part of the television audience for a variety of game shows, culinary shows, entertainment, comedy and more.

In addition to all the activities available on board during the cruise, you’ll have an opportunity to explore Cabo San Lucas, visiting the shops and sampling some of the local cuisine.  Or you can purchase one of the optional excursions – from snorkeling to sightseeing and horseback riding, and more.

The entrepreneurs’ Empowerment Cruise is just the right mix of business and pleasure to recharge your batteries and get ready for 2020.  The ship sets sail February 1-6, 2020.  Will you be there with us?  Click here for more details.