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| Four Seasons Hemet Herald | DECEMBER 2025 | 9 This year resolve to be prepared. The Resolve to be Ready social media toolkit offers practical emergency preparedness tips individuals and families can use to be ready for disasters and emergencies that could happen at any time. You can share these messages on your social media channels directly as written, or customize them for your audiences. Make a Resolution • Make an emergency plan: choose a safe place to meet, learn evacuation routes, and establish an out-of-town contact. • Take a current photo of you and your pet together in case you get separated during a disaster. • Get to know your neighbor and invite them to be a part of your emergency plan. • Snap photos of important documents and save them in a secure place or online. • Set up group text lists so you can communicate with friends and family during emergencies. • Take a class in CPR and first aid. • Keep and update emergency supplies; remember to include cash. • Have back-up power sources available to charge devices in case of a power outage. • Snap pictures of your property for insurance purposes. • Check your insurance for coverage on disasters like floods, hurricanes, and earthquakes. • Sign up for alerts and warnings. Download the FEMA app to get real-time alerts, safety tips, and locate open shelters. • Save for a rainy day! Start and grow your emergency fund. • Financially prepare for the New Year. Find out how with the Emergency Financial First Aid Kit. • Spend within your means. Use a personal budgeting worksheet to help plan for holiday expenses and beyond. • Build up your savings. Put a small amount in your account the first of every month beginning Jan. 1. Our Mission: The Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) Program is designed to increase individual and community preparedness and self-reliance in the event of man-made or natural disasters. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has officially recognized CERT as an important part of a community's disaster preparedness readiness. Four Seasons CERT continues to need your participation. Become a Street Captain or CERT Auxiliary. Step up. Plan. Prepare. Survive. Emergency Preparedness Library Committee It's December! Not only are many homes, but also the Four Seasons Lodge beautifully decorated in preparation for the holiday season. This includes your library! Usually, one thinks of library news as primarily focusing on all types of books — fiction, nonfiction, religion, large type — to name a few. However, our library includes seasonal magazines, audio books, as well as puzzles in the computer room with the middle bookcase dedicated to Seasonal Puzzles. This article is going to further develop this theme, focusing on the Advent season. The library often receives donations of yearly calendars that residents can't use; we leave them out for others to take, if interested. The last month of each calendar typically encompasses the Advent season and major religious holidays. As Four Seasons focuses on the special days and activities this December, so does your library. Library committee member and vice chairperson, Shirley Etemadfar, has provided the following information concerning the calendars: "Advent means coming. The calendar was created in Germany in 1851 as a Protestant method of counting the days until the birth of the son of God. The days were tracked by putting marks on a wall or lighting candles. Nowadays, some residents use their calendars to count down the days until Christmas, keeping the anticipation of the busy holiday alive." "Many variations/types of Advent calendars exist. Most are generally constructed of paper/cardboard with little windows or doors that open to reveal a treasure — a picture or small toy. For women, the windows and calendar can be bigger with beauty items, make-up, or bath products behind them. For men, calendars can contain socks or fishing lures. For children, the sky's the limit… plush toys, tree ornaments, and books. For example, there could be a small book behind the door to read this year and again next year. Then there are puzzles with 24 little boxes that contain about 15 to 20 puzzle pieces. Each day, you open one and join them together with the previous day's pieces. By Dec. 24, you'll have a beautiful picture with a secular or religious theme or one focused on a tree and presents, depending on your preference. Wait! I almost forgot to mention the calenders with chocolate behind the 24 doors. My favorite!" No matter how you choose to celebrate the end of 2025, your library will be ready and waiting for you in 2026! ~ Shirley Etemadfar and Betty Crase