It’s been talked about for ages, but now it’s happened! Prince William & Kate Middleton have married, and will now be known as the Duke & Duchess of Cambridge. If the official engagement photo weren’t enough to convince you that the new bride and groom will have no problem coming up with a beautiful Christmas photo card this year, the Royal Wedding should put any fears to rest, as both Will and Kate looked the parts for a fairytale – he in a military uniform and she in an Alexander McQueen gown!

Prince William and Kate Middleton are the newest Royal Couple - The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge

The future King and Queen of England have been together for almost a decade, after meeting at St. Andrew’s University when both were in college. The two have lived together for years, and, although they broke up a couple of times throughout their relationship, Prince William finally proposed in November of 2010. The engagement was announced a couple of weeks later, with Kate wearing the beautiful sapphire ring that belonged to Will’s mother, Princess Diana.

We all remember the fairytale turned tragedy as Prince Charles wed the nineteen year old Diana Spencer thirty years ago. The world soon found that a happy ending was not to be, as stories of affairs rant rampant and the Prince and Princess of Wales divorced eleven years after their widely watched wedding day. As if that weren’t enough, Princess Diana died tragically in a car accident at the age of thirty-six as reporters chased her car in Paris.

As Diana was known as “the people’s Princess,” Britain and the rest of the world have since watched with great interest as her sons, William and Harry, have grown up and followed in their mother’s charitable footsteps. Over the past thirty years, it seems the Royal Family has lightened up when it comes to the stiff, upper lip tradition of the monarchy. Whereas Charles was not permitted to marry Camilla Parker-Bowles, his true love, because she had already had relationships with other men, the same fate will not fall upon his eldest son. William has had quite a long time to get to know his bride and to come to the decision to marry her because he wants to, and not because of a duty to. We can only hope the paparazzi will keep their distance as the newlyweds adjust to their new lives together.

Perhaps the first royal Christmas card will also include an announcement of the next generation’s heir to the throne? Baby or not, we – and the estimated two billion viewers who watched them wed – wish William & Kate all the best!

Christmas cards sometime bring great surprises in them, as was the case with one particular card my husband received from a tenant in his building who happened to be the mother of Maroon 5’s lead singer Adam Levine.

Adam Levine’s mother had heard that my daughter was a huge fan of Maroon 5, so in a Christmas card that year (2004) she put three Z-100 Jingle Ball concert tickets and 3 back stage passes to personally meet the band.

Adam Levine and Maroon 5 can make Christmas wishes come magically true!

The concert was great! Going backstage to meet the band members with Adam’s mother was even better, they even autographed our programs. While we were backstage we also got to see Bruce Springsteen, Gwen Stefani & Kelly Clarkson.

Maroon 5 whose music is a mix of pop/rock with an R&B funk influence started in Los Angeles, California where all the band members were in high school together and formed a garage band called Kara’s Flowers that played alternative rock with little success. Then Levine and another band member Jesse Carmichael came to the East coast and enrolled in classes at the State University of New York where they were exposed to a whole new world of music – Gospel, Jay-Z, Missy Elliot and Biggie Smalls. Discovering this new music renewed Levine’s interest and in 1999 the band decided to re-start their band with a new name – Maroon 5. They started to record demos in 2000 and signed a deal one year later with a new division of J Records/RCA.

The band never looked back releasing their first album “Songs About Jane” in 2002. The band won their first Grammy Award for Best New Artist in 2005. Since 2002, the band has sold over 10 million albums in the United States and nearly 15 million albums worldwide, all totaled the band’s releases have gone gold and platinum in over 35 countries around the world.

Maroon 5 have won many awards since the beginning and attended many events; they were recently invited to the 87th anniversary of the National Christmas Tree Lighting with President Obama which was held on December 9th, 2010. Adam Levine can currently be seen on TV as a judge for “The Voice”, a singing competition on NBC that features fellow judges Blake Shelton, Christina Aguilera, and Cee Lo Green.

I know there are programs on television, such as Dr. Phil or Oprah, where people come on and talk about their personal problems and how to fix them.  Many of these shows bring forth serious subjects that not only entertainment but also inform the viewer.  But when celebrities talk about their personal issues and marital problems on talk shows that normally are for light entertainment, well, that bothers me. Courteney Cox and David Arquette are especially guilty of this. It looks like they won’t need Christmas cards together this year!

Courteney Cox and David Arquette have been sharing their dirty laundry with anyone who will listen.

For example, a week or so ago actor (and I use that term loosely) David Arquette appeared on one of the late-night talk shows and, between his being hyper and exhibiting uncontrollable laughter at odd times, talked about himself and his rocky marriage and his past behavior and the fact that he “in a better place now”.   He also spoke about how all of this had affected his relationship with his wife, former “Friends” star Courteney Cox.  While I was watching him, I was thinking, “Why do I need to know this?  Why would I be interested in his soiled underwear?”  Of course, the audience clapped in all the appropriate moments.  How utterly absurd!

So later that week, on “Letterman”, here comes Arquette’s estranged (or is it strange) spouse, Cox, who, after showing off her tanned legs that were so shiny I thought I would suffer from sun glare, began to inform us of the state of her marriage and how, while on vacation at Disney World, she turned her husband down when he offered to renew the romantic part of their relationship.  Again, too much information!   (Dave’s audience loved it.)

The fact that both Arquette and Cox were appearing to promote their roles in the movie “Scre4m” was ironic since it was all I could do to stop myself from letting out a SCREAM listening to them moan and groan about their poor lives together.  Give me a break!

Pictured here is the 2007 Christmas card sent by actress Christina Applegate on behalf of PETA – People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.  The actress appears wearing a pair of fuzzy red & green gloves (and perhaps nothing else? – that’s left to the imagination) above a message reading “Cross cruelty off your shopping list by avoiding fur coats, collars, and cuffs (unless it’s fake, of course).  –Christina Applegate for PETA.org”.  She joins a list of celebrity A-listers to pose for PETA ads in recent years, including Pamela Anderson, Sophie Monk, Jamelia and Alicia Silverstone.

Christina Applegate believes in celebrating the season fur-free!

Christina Applegate was born in Hollywood, California in 1971.  When only a few months old, she appeared in an episode of Days of Our Lives and a commercial for Playtex baby bottles.  As a youth, she appeared in a handful of movies and television shows including a Family Ties episode and a prominent role in the police drama Heart of the City before landing the role of Kelly Bundy on the hit Fox comedy Married, With Children in 1987.  In the role, she portrayed the dimwitted and promiscuous teenage daughter of lovable loser Al Bundy on a show which garnered huge ratings and ran for eleven seasons.  After the success of Married, With Children, Applegate went on to star in a series of films including Don’t Tell Mom the Babysitter’s Dead, The Sweetest Thing, Heroes, View from the Top, Wonderland, Employee of the Month, and Anchorman:  The Legend of Ron Burgundy; as well as playing the title role in NBC’s critically acclaimed but short-lived sitcom Jesse, and the younger sister of Rachel (Jennifer Anniston) in several Friends episodes.

Recently, Ms. Applegate’s life has been an emotional rollercoaster.  In 2007, her six-year marriage to Johnathon Schaech came to an end.  Then, in 2008, she was diagnosed with breast cancer and underwent a double-mastectomy.  Recently, she and fiancée Martyn LeNoble experienced a moment of great joy when the couple first child, Sadie Grace, was welcomed into the world on January 27, 2011.  We look forward to seeing what Christmas card offerings Christina, Martyn, and Sadie Grace will provide us with in the future.

We all enjoy giving and receiving Christmas cards during the holiday season. There is something special about receiving a Christmas card with a handwritten note or a photograph enclosed that just doesn’t compare to the more eco-friendly e-cards. With all junk emails sent and the spam filters trying to stop them, e-cards may not even make it to their intended recipient and the sentiment of a Christmas card sent electronically can be lost entirely.

Dame Judi Dench is not just a highly respected actress but a true recycling crusader!

Rather then encouraging people to not send cards at the holiday, Dame Judi Dench is leading the crusade to motivate the U.K. public to recycle their Christmas cards once the holidays have passed. We have all been there, taking down the stack of Christmas cards from where they have been displayed for several weeks once the New Year has passed wondering what to do with them. The actress with multiple Oscar nominations and one win under her belt teamed up with conservation charity, the Woodland Trust, in December of 2009 to launch a drive where recycling bins (designated specifically for greeting cards) were installed in shops across the U.K. throughout the month of January in 2010.

The recycling campaign funded the planting of new trees. Once the participants recycled their Christmas cards they were able to go online and select where they would like to see the new trees planted. Dame Dench stated, “We all enjoy giving and receiving Christmas cards, well thanks to the Woodland Trust there is the chance for a second giving and receiving opportunity this year. I would like to challenge people to give to the environment, recycle their cards and then receive trees for their environment by going to www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/cards and choosing where the new trees generated by this year’s recycling should be planted!”

Dame Judith Olivia “Judi” Dench is better known to the younger generations for her role as “M” in the newer James Bond movies. She took over the role in 1995 when appearing in GoldenEye. She has played the role of “M” in each Bond movie, even as the character of James Bond has changed hands. Dench has been nominated for six Academy Awards.  She won the Oscar in 1999 for Best Actress in a Supporting Role when she played Queen Elizabeth I in Shakespeare in Love. Her appearance lasted only eight minutes and is one of the shortest appearances in a film that elicited an Oscar win.

Dame Judi spent the first part of her career establishing herself as one of the most acclaimed actresses in British Theatre before branching out into several successful roles in television and movies. Dench is considered by critics to be one the greatest actresses of the post-war period. She trained as a set designer before starting her acting career, directing and performing in both serious and comedic roles, and even dabbling in musical theater when playing Sally Bowles in Cabaret.