...of More
Meaningful Holiday Celebrations
In the November 15, 2000 issue of the e-zine, we asked
readers to share with us some of the ways they have found to take some of the
craziness and stress out of their holiday celebrations. Here are a few of the
good ideas we received:
| "When we were just starting out in our marriage
and with our first child, we would race through Christmas morning and
then to my parents for Christmas morning and lunch with them, and then
race to my in-laws for Christmas night and dinner with them. It was so
exhausting and we always ended up taking a nap in between, missing out
on the visiting part! My wonderful mother-in-law came up with a plan
that was a godsend for all of us.
We now go to visit my husband's family on Christmas Eve and have a
nice dinner and all the grandchildren finally get to open their
presents. We then have dessert and go home to do the Santa thing. The
next morning we have more time to enjoy Christmas at home. We then head
to my parents’ for an early dinner, present opening, and dessert. It's
so much nicer than squeezing such a special holiday into one day!"
~ Kathleen B. |
| "A recent holiday tradition that has caught on in
my family is a ‘white elephant’ gift exchange. We have a very large
family so this has been very popular.
The gift is not supposed to be a new gift bought at the store. It
can be from a garage sale, a gift given to you that perhaps you didn't
care for, or it can be practical things like used books and magazines.
Just something you already have around the house that you no longer want
or use.
You would be surprised at the creativity of some people and I
don't think any of us have gone home disappointed. Of course the older
generation (the 50-60's bunch) was a bit skeptical the first year, but I
think they now enjoy it more than we do (the 30-40's group)....." ~
Sheila from South Texas |
| "Our family decided to put a 10.00 spending limit
on gifts this year. I know, it doesn't sound like much but if you don't
mind searching a little you can get nice, if slightly used, gifts for
that amount. I bought my brother-in-law a CD that he had heard and loved
for only 7.48 on eBay; my sisters are getting books from eBay for under
10.00 each; my niece and nephew will receive books from the local
library book sale (each for under 5.00)...Gifts don't have to cost a
fortune to be meaningful..." ~ Anita D. |
| "...We no longer exchange gifts with
family members. Instead we contribute the amount we would've spent to a
cause or charity, such as animal shelters, our local volunteer fire
department, a residential treatment center for drug and alcohol abusers,
and so on. Many companies match employee contributions, so the organization
gets double. I hope others will consider doing this." ~ Sue K. |
| "I just wanted to share what our family is doing
this Christmas season. Since there are so many people to buy gifts for, we
are having a $5 gift exchange... Here's the idea. Everyone is welcome!
Kind of like a Christmas open house. Everyone who wants to exchange
presents is asked to bring an item that didn't cost more than $5. That
doesn't mean that the item is only worth $5, though.
These items can be purchased on-sale, at consignment or garage sales
or homemade. Each person can bring as many $5 gifts as he or she cares to
exchange. The gifts should be useful to whoever opens them.
Everyone who brings a gift is given the chance to select a gift from under
the tree. Gift swapping is also allowed, which can be quite a lot of fun.
Because the dollar limit is small, each guest can bring several gifts and
the tree will be packed with wonderful wrapped presents. Guests feel
welcome because they also can be included in the fun.
We will have our normal gift exchange for our children, but this is great
for a large get-together. Food is also a snap! Buffet style with
traditional Christmas menu items. With the house all lit up with Christmas
lights, holiday music in the background, food and a group of fun people,
this should be the most enjoyable Christmas yet!" ~ Tonya |
| "We started a tradition in our family that seems to
have stuck and really set our priorities. Since we're all heavily involved
in the church, it actually makes the holidays lose a little meaning. You
can easily get lost in the work of the church and not see the purpose of
it (think Mary and Martha!). So, with Christmas Eve being as hectic as it
is around our house, we meet at 4:30 on Christmas Eve.
Everyone can be home at that time and we use this simple activity to
kick-off the evening. We buy or make a small cake, usually with a
Christmas decoration on it. We add and light little birthday candles, turn
down the lights and sing ‘Happy Birthday’ to Jesus. My little girls
love it. We talk about how all our busyness is centered around making
Jesus' birthday special for us and for other people. It really has been a
way to focus our whole family's priorities." ~ Stephenie H. |
| "One thing my family has done for many years now is
to stop buying expensive sparkling apple cider. We instead make our own
from frozen apple juice concentrate. We add three cans of seltzer
(unflavored) or club soda instead of regular water. It is cheaper and
serves more...No one needs to know that you never got it out of the
expensive green bottle! Just put it in a pretty pitcher. This is also good
with white grape, cranberry, cranraspberry, cranapple (it just isn't as
good with citrus-based juices). Keep an eye out for seltzer (unflavored)
or club soda on sale." ~ M.R. |
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Editor's Note: Thanks to everyone who took time to respond. |
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