<p>Like many, our Christmas tradition is to get up Christmas morning and open presents. However, this year, we’re cash strapped, and with 2 kids in college, money for the kids has been spent or will be spent. For example, D needed warm clothes 1 month ago and they were bought then. She also needs money to train for her sport in a warmer climate during spring break. S has few needs and wants besides transportation to New Mexico in the summer for his job. Mr. GT and I have already spent Christmas and birthday money on a plasma TV in hopes to drop cable and go to internet only TV. So, what other Christmas tradition do others do that don’t revolve around presents?</p>
<p>just having everyone around the table is enough for me. this year will be the first that won’t happen, but we’ll figure out some alternative. </p>
<p>gifts at our house sound like gifts at your house–my kids often get what they need when they need it. once we planned a vacation instead of gifts. </p>
<p>make a new tradition–that’s what i have to do this year. i am thinking of volunteering somewhere. or looking for some other friends who have kids that have to be somewhere else and having a chili supper–i think anything you decide to try will be a success!</p>
<p>Family activities…playing games together and doing jigsaw puzzles. (At our house there are always a couple of jigsaw puzzles to unwrap on Christmas morning).</p>
<p>Spending time together playing games is nice for us. I usually try to get a new game as a gift for the family. They don’t have to be expensive…last year we got “Farkle” and it was less than $10. One year we got poker chips, and spent Christmas Day teaching the D’s how to play Texas Hold’em. (That felt a little wrong. 
)</p>
<p>I’m glad to see this thread and hoping to see more ideas come up.</p>
<p>Finally, after years of lavish gift-giving my H’s family has decided to go a different route now that most of the kids are college age or older. That’s fine with me since I dislike all the gift hoopla and because I usually have no use for the presents I receive I will often re-gift most of them to charity. Plus, I dislike spending time shopping for gifts, many of which are unappreciated by recipients. (I know I sound like a real grouch lol) So the family proposal is for us to draw names, but only for nieces and nephews.</p>
<p>One idea is to find a local charity that sponsors poor families for Christmas. Sometimes the children will create a wish list for donors to shop for. I think that getting our families to shop for other families who are more in need than we are would be a nice new tradition.</p>
<p>Members of our extended families (18 and older) research and nominate charities for a group gift. URLs and info are shared. Then all the names of the charities are put into a “hat” and one is drawn. We all write checks to that organization instead of buying presents for each other.</p>
<p>Just plan a simple, family oriented day. A few splurges maybe, but minimum in terms of the usual hoopla.</p>
<p>Some ideas for a great family day:
Everyone submit suggestions for 2 great meals - a lavish brunch and a special dinner. Have everyone’s family favorites.
Do a family gift exchange. Each pick ONE name and put a low limit on money spent, like $10 or $20. Or, just do stockings filled with little gifts.
Watch a movie together - pop REAL popcorn and turn out the lights!
Yes, a family game or puzzle would be great.<br>
If you all like the outside, everyone head outside sometime during the day for a nice walk at a local park. (or other scenic place depending on your area).</p>
<p>This way, you combine the “best” of everything. Family together, good eating, gift exchange, quality time together. And you know what? Bet you won’t be all stressed out and holiday-ed out at the end of the day!!!</p>
<p>from the time our oldest was 6 till a couple years ago when our dog became so old & ill that we didn’t feel comfortable leaving her ( she died this past august), we had been taking our family vacation around christmastime, as my H also had from xmas to new years off every year( he works @ Boeing and they forgo most other holidays to do so)
We spent about 4-6 days at a family run bed and breakfast type place in the mts, where we x-country skiied outside the door, played board games with other families and had the same room for 20 years.
That was our Christmas present to ourselves and we kept to it, even when H & I were seperated & when we were out of work.</p>
<p>( our original motivation- was to get away from H’s family- they had heavy expectations of our attendance at their family functions, which they used to show that I had " made" H the black sheep by marrying him - so not a lot of reasons for us to stay in town)</p>
<p>This year, we are going to be spending time in the mts., but closer to where older D and her boyfriend live. ( Last year, I stayed home by myself with the dog & H went with younger D to see older D, as she had a job commitment)
Lots of family draw names or make/buy very inexpensive presents- it is more meaningful I think.</p>
<p>Volunteering at a soup kitchen together is a great solution.</p>
<p>Variation on post #5-- give everyone $25 to loan on [Kiva</a> - Loans that change lives](<a href=“http://www.kiva.org/]Kiva”>http://www.kiva.org/). Spend time together choosing the recipients.</p>
<p>I hear ya, GTalum! Here are some things that have become our traditions over the years that don’t cost much:</p>
<p>On Christmas Eve, we have the entire extended family and whatever friends/neighbors we want to invite over for a musical Christmas Eve. Several of us are musicians, and everyone brings over a bunch of instruments. younger kids play a Christmas piece they’ve usually learned in their lessons, people without musical confidence are handed a triangle, egg shaker, etc, we usually have a round of sing-a-long Christmas carols around the piano, and my sister usually comes up with something silly - I think last year it was a sing a long to some rap Christmas song. We’ve had a grandma sing ave maria accompanied by a grandson on guitar, and all kinds of combinations. I make a crockpot of while chili and one of beef stew, and everybody else brings something, so it’s not expensive.</p>
<p>We make a big deal out of getting and decorating the tree. We get it and set it up one day, then wait until we are all home at once to put on Christmas music, hot chocolate, etc. and decorate it. As they get older, the guys say they don’t want to actually put stuff on the tree, but the hang out and watch and inevitably get get sucked into it.</p>
<p>We have a cloth advent calendar with pockets that we put a little something in each day - candy, gum, a joke, chapstick, special dinner, activity, and once during the month they get a $5 bill.</p>
<p>We aren’t shy about giving presents that we would have bought anyway, if they can possibly wait until Christmas (new winter coat, supplies for an instrument, tickets to a show that I want to take them to anyway).</p>
<p>Board games (as mentioned already). I usually pick at least one new board game every year to give to the entire family.</p>
<p>I subscribed to groupon, and last year I gave the boys restaurant or activity groupons for things they liked, at about half price. Subscribe to their college town as well as your home town.</p>
<p>We also open each present one at a time and make it last. </p>
<p>Too late for this year, but it can help to buy things all year long too. you just have to be careful to only buy things you really want to give, not something you aren’t excited about just because it’s on sale.</p>
<p>We went Christmas caroling one year, but it turned out we weren’t good enough at singing to actually have a good time with it. Otherwise, it would have been a blast!</p>
<p>Write each kid a thoughtful, meaningful letter about why you’re proud of them, what traits they have that remind you of grandparents and great grandparents, etc. </p>
<p>Some families drive around and look at Christmas lights, but that’s never done it for us for some reason. We just never figured out how to stick 3 boys in the car together and avoid bickering, “he’s touching me” kind of stuff. </p>
<p>Rent Christmas movies from netflix or wherever you get movies -either funny ones or nostalgic ones. </p>
<p>Merry Christmas!</p>
<p>The tree is a big part of our Christmas tradition. When our boys were “believers” Santa brought the tree along with the presents; it was truly magical when they came down Christmas morning. Now we get the tree in the house and lit on the 23rd and decorate it on the 24th. This takes most of the day and in the evening we have a fire and cookies and egg nog.</p>
<p>If anyone is looking for a board game idea I recommend [Amazon.com:</a> The Settlers of Catan: Toys & Games](<a href=“http://www.amazon.com/MayFair-Games-4102480-Settlers-Catan/dp/B000W7JWUA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1289314767&sr=8-1]Amazon.com:”>http://www.amazon.com/MayFair-Games-4102480-Settlers-Catan/dp/B000W7JWUA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1289314767&sr=8-1)</p>
<p>As a family, we love to do puzzles. So I always try to have a special puzzle ready to go on Christmas morning.</p>
<p>I have 5 kids (hence the name) and they have always loved to re-gift items to their siblings. Sometimes it is absolutely heartfelt (the special toy or game given to another sibling) and often they are just silly gifts. But right around the holidays they are all on the look out trying to find something in their closet, under the couch, out in the garage that they can ‘give’ to a sibling. It is actually a lot of fun.</p>
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<p>Not only are you helping others, but it brings home the point of just how blessed we really are.</p>
<p>I like the suggestion of picking a charity to sponsor. Several years ago, we gave each of my sisters’ families an animal sponsorship. If you go that route, be prepared to referee the sea turtle with GPS tracking device (so you can follow its travels around the ocean) vs. sea turtle nest with video link to hatching-day argument!</p>
<p>Volunteering at a soup kitchen on Christmas sounds nice, but as a regular volunteer I can tell you that there are usually TOO MANY volunteers on Christmas and Thanksgiving, and not enough the rest of the year. So giving your family a pledge to volunteer on several other occasions during the year might be a more meaningful donation.</p>
<p>BTW, I second Settlers of Cataan. Great game!</p>
<p>We tend to over do the presents, just one child and I always wanted it to look full under the tree. I cringe when I think about all the gifts that were barely used. The overabundance of toys was truly ridiculous. I love Christmas shopping, decorating, baking, entertaining, you name it, but I really don’t want it to be so much about stuff. I am enjoying the suggestions here. Thank You,I think I’ll buy some puzzles it sounds like a lot of fun.</p>
<p>We all pile in the car and go look at Christmas lights – we call it “Going to Visit St. Liberace”. When the boys started to drive, they would scope out homes around and create a route for us that included only the “best of the best”. (All time best, the house done completely in blue lights with a loudspeaker playing Elvis’ Blue Christmas on a loop. I bet their neighbors were ready to kill them by Christmas)</p>
<p>Lots of great ideas.</p>
<p>Years ago, I declared that all gifts needed to be homemade for our Christmas. I immediately regretted it, lol, because my S was about to turn 16. Easy to do homemade for girls (think beaded earrings, knitted items, decorative things for their room…). But for boys?!?</p>
<p>Well, I managed. Made him a keyfob out of clay as he was a new driver; gave him redeemable coupons for dessert of his choice on demand, made an easy fleece throw, etc. </p>
<p>The very best fringe benefit of this declaration: my S has become an extremely thoughtful gift-giver. He sometimes, but rarely, gives us gifts he buys. He mostly gives much more meaningful and valued items:</p>
<p>EG: a coupon to my H stating that every Sunday afternoon one summer was reserved for Golf with Dad. DH adores golf and wants to play with S; S can take it or leave it, mostly leave it. A generous and beloved gift.</p>
<p>a coupon to me promising that “one question will be answered.” This was in the age period when grunts were the norm and a three-word sentence from him would be the equivalent of a monologue. I held onto that coupon for 3 years and redeemed it when I really wanted to have a serious discussion with him about something. </p>
<p>a coupon to me for one week of freedom of having to prepare meals. (I never really fully redeemed that one, but certainly appreciated it).</p>
<p>I really like this thread too - keep the ideas coming!</p>
<p>This is a perennial problem for Jews. Not only is Christmas not part of our tradition, but our extended family wanted no part of it, either, so there isn’t even anyone to do things with.</p>
<p>Occasionally a Christian family will include us in their plans, but not frequently.</p>
<p>We developed a whole bag of choices, and yes, GT, they do vary depending on how much money we have.</p>
<p>We <em>do</em> have our own tree, which cheers me up a lot. I love decorating it. We have a fire. Some years we have invited over our Hindu friends. They are kind of at loose ends as well.</p>
<p>Some years we have made a fancy Christmas meal. Other years we have gone out. When we were flush (didn’t have to pay college tuition) we saw plays, though it was a challenge to find stuff open on Christmas. Sometimes it was Nutcracker, the Big Apple Circus, etc. One year we actually saw A Christmas Carol. It helps that we’re near NYC.</p>
<p>Now we often settle for a movie. It’s amazing how crowded the theaters are. We actually run into friends.</p>
<p>Chinese food and a movie are “The Jewish Christmas” here.</p>
<p>We have also provided a miniseries for the family. Something period like Dickens is always seasonal. They can be purchased, but if money is really tight we take them out of the library. It’s fun watching an entire miniseries in one day.</p>
<p>And then there’s always our family’s favorite: A West Wing Marathon.</p>
<p>Good luck.</p>
<p>And yes, gifts under $15 can be very useful, beautiful, whimsical, adorable and fun to give and receive. Our gift to our house is one Christmas ornament each year that is opened Christmas morning.</p>