
‘Tis the season for sweaters, gifts (take a peek at our ample gift guides for good ideas), and sweet treats, like this holiday rainbow cookie cake, and for some who are expecting, it’s also the time to decide on a unique baby name. Whether you’re preparing for a holiday birth or just adding to your baby name wish list, you’re going to love how merry and bright these names will make you feel. While these monikers all have a seasonal spirit, they’re still perfectly suited for a brand new bundle of joy born any day of the year.
1. Holly: From Holly Hobby to Holly Golightly, this name conjures up images of sweet, whimsical, headstrong women steeped in classic American pop culture history. It’s also, of course, a flowering plant with a very pretty berry associated with the holiday season.
2. Noel or Noelle: French for “Christmas,” Noel is a beautiful word associated with the peace and joy of the holiday. And depending on how it’s pronounced, it’s commonly known as both a boy and girl’s name.
3. Joy: It doesn’t get much simpler than this when it comes to naming a baby after the very emotion it’s bringing into the world. Bonus points for brevity!
4. Carol: Naming your kid after a joyous piece of music? Sweet indeed. Oh, just think of all the puns you can make with those birth announcements (“Here we come a-Carol-ing…”)
5. Leila, Laila or Layla: Hebrew for the word “night,” this lovely trio of names bring to mind both a classic rock anthem and the calmness of each evening of Hanukkah. Versatile, no?
6. December: As all-encompassing as a holiday name can get, this quirky name stands out in a crowd with its distinctive sound and a hint of twinkle in there too.
7. January: Sure, we’ve all heard of January Jones, but the name is lovely because it’s the first month of the year and a promise of new beginnings.
8. Natalia: Meaning “Christmas Day” in Latin, this word conjures up festive images from around the world — namely Italy, Romania, Spain, Portugal, Greek, Russia, Ukraine and Poland: all places where it still means exactly the same thing.
9. Cinnamon: It’s the signature spice of the holiday season, and even the word itself sounds cozy and wonderful. (Granted, we’re a little biased since one of our very own Brit + Co contributors has the very same name!)
10. Joseph: Whether he grows up to be Joe, Joey or just J, any little one born with this name is going to have lots of ways to abbreviate it.
11. Angel: Pure and sweet, this name couldn’t be more perfect to bestow on a newborn. After all, that’s exactly what each one is… before diaper duty kicks in, anyway.
12. Mary: For new parents who are holiday traditionalists, it doesn’t get any more Christmas-inspired than Mary herself.
13. Merry: For parents who are less traditional but every bit as in love with the holidays, this is a very cool alternative. Plus, it just brings to mind a very happy, jolly time of year.
14. Gabrielor Gabrielle: All babies are angelic, so what’s better than the Hebrew name of one very important celestial messenger in a seriously famous story?
15. Bell: Particularly perfect for new parents in search of a name with a certain ring to it (pun intended), this name has subtle holiday ties, but is also generally pretty any time of year. Also, it’s a departure from the more conventional spelling of “Belle,” which means beautiful in French.
16. Rosemary: Who doesn’t love the chic beauty of a tiny rosemary bush doubling as a holiday tree? This fragrant herb is found throughout all sorts of natural holiday decor, and it’s an old-school name with lots of vintage charm.
17. Eve: Classic and beautiful, this name carries both the verve of a 1950s screen goddess and the natural wonder of a sunset. It’s also an amazing name for someone born on December 24 or 31. Just saying.
18. Shamash: A Hebrew word meaning “attendant,” this word describes the highest candle in a menorah, used to light the other candles. The beautifully symbolic name is a touching tribute to a family’s spiritual heritage.
19. Claus: Greek for “people’s victory,” this name can be pronounced more like “Klauss” than “Clause,” giving a subtle nod to the jolly man with the sleigh while maintaining some shred of schoolyard dignity.
20. Rudolph: Sure, it’s a little on the nose (see what we did there?) but hey, it worked just fine for Valentino and Giuliani, both of whom grew up to be leaders in their fields… just like a certain red-nosed reindeer we’ve all heard stories about.
What’s your favorite holiday-inspired name? Tweet us @britandco!
Welcome to Selfmade Finance School, our new money series with Block Advisors to help small business owners with their tax, bookkeeping, and payroll needs year-round. This week, we explore the tax implications of bringing family members into your business.
The question for today is this: Does hiring your family members make sense for your business? Let me be clear. This is not a piece about whether hiring your family members makes sense for your relationships with those family members. As someone who is part of a family business, I could fill up a lot more than 600 words on my opinions about that. For today's purposes, we focus on whether it makes sense from an overall "good business and tax implication" perspective. As it turns out, there is a decent amount of tax nuance when it comes to employing your family. Let's break it down based on relationship to the employee:
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Spouses Who Are In Business Together
Personally, if I had to be in business with my husband, it would not go well. However, many couples build viable, strong businesses together and I say, good for them! Depending on how you have your business entity structured, it will make a big difference on the tax treatment of you and your spouse working as partners. Because a business jointly owned and operated by a married couple is generally treated as a partnership for Federal tax purposes, the spouses must comply with filing and record keeping requirements imposed on partnerships and their partners. The election to file two Schedule C (Form 1040) forms, (one for each spouse) permits certain married co-owners to avoid filing partnership returns, provided that each spouse separately reports a share of all the businesses' items of income, gain, loss, deduction, and credit. Under the election, both spouses will be subject to self-employment tax and on net earnings from self-employment and receive credit for Social Security earnings.
One Spouse Employs Another
If you have a dynamic where your spouse is an employee of your business, then your spouse's wages are subject to income tax withholding, Social Security and Medicare taxes. If you are self-employed (not a corporation or a partnership), your spouse's pay does not have to be included in your federal unemployment tax account (FUTA) contributions and payments. However, if your business is a corporation or a partnership you must include that spouse's pay in your unemployment tax contribution calculation.
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You Employ Your Child
First, let's be clear. I work in my family business, but I am an adult, so I am treated just like a normal employee. However, if you, for example, run a family restaurant and want to hire your children under 18 to work for you, there are some tax benefits. But first, you should check with your state for rules on how many hours minors can work (in non-agricultural jobs) and reference the Fair Labor Standards Act for information on limitations on the kinds of work children can perform.
"This is an often overlooked or under-utilized strategy. Paying your children for true services they provide in your business can be a powerful tax-saving tool," says Cathi Reed, Block Advisors Regional Director. "If you are a sole-proprietorship or single member LLC, and the child is less than 18 years of age, the business is not required to withhold FICA or payroll taxes. The child can use his or her standard deduction against income you pay."
You Hire Your Parent
Oh dear. If you are brave enough to do this, know that you will need to pay Social Security and Medicare taxes on your parent's wages and make the appropriate withholdings, but you don't have to pay unemployment taxes. Now all you have to do is convince your parent that you are the boss. Have fun with that!
Is Hiring Family Members Worth It For The Tax Benefits?
"There are some positive tax advantages to hiring family members. It's important to treat a family member like any other employee. Hiring your children can result in substantial savings for businesses. Make sure your child has real, age-appropriate work to do and a reasonable pay rate, comparable to other employees. Consult with a Block Advisors small business certified tax pro to ensure that you are complying with all requirements," advises Reed. "Block Advisors, a team within H&R Block, is dedicated to meeting the tax, bookkeeping and payroll needs of small business owners year-round. To start working with the tax experts at Block Advisors, visit blockadvisors.com."
In my opinion, you should not hire a family member solely because of the tax benefits. You should always hire based on whether that person is right for the job and keep in mind how this hire could materially impact your relationship with that person and others in your family. Finally, as I mentioned, make sure you have a tax professional on your team when making these determinations. As you can see, things can get a little tricky!
*All details were sourced from IRS.gov and blockadvisors.com
The opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and may not necessarily reflect those held by Kestra Investment Services, LLC or Kestra Advisory Services, LLC. This is for general information only and is not intended to provide specific investment advice or recommendations for any individual. It is suggested that you consult your financial professional, attorney, or tax advisor with regards to your individual situation. Comments concerning the past performance are not intended to be forward looking and should not be viewed as an indication of future results. Securities offered through Kestra Investment Services, LLC (Kestra IS), member FINRA/SIPC. Investment advisory services offered through Kestra Advisory Services, LLC (Kestra AS), an affiliate of Kestra IS. O'Keeffe Financial Partners and any other entity listed herein is not affiliated with Kestra IS or Kestra AS Investor Disclosures: https://bit.ly/KF-Disclosures