Have a happier Christmas with more giving and less stuff. It’s a great way to enjoy the holidays without spending a lot of money or ending up with a lot of clutter.
Think back to last Christmas, what do you remember making you the happiest? Is it the gifts you got? I’m going to guess it isn’t. My favorite memories from last Christmas are the homemade waffles and mimosas we had at my parents Christmas morning, the trip my husband and I took before Christmas, and the NBA Thunder game my family went to after Christmas with my family.
Sure I got a lot of nice gifts and I enjoyed them and I still am enjoying them but those weren’t the best part of Christmas and I would have still had a happy Christmas will many fewer gifts, but without the time with my family and friends, it would have been a sad and lonely Christmas.
It’s amazing to think what we could do if all of us brought a few fewer gifts and used that money to help others. Here are some of my ideas for making your holiday more about giving and less about stuff.
Ways to Have a Happier Christmas
Watch Your Favorite Christmas Movie Together
Growing up my family always watched It’s a Wonderful Life shortly after putting up the tree. My husband and I still make it out there some years to watch it.
My husband and I also watch a lot of Christmas movies throughout the season, often I bake some cookies or something for us to have with the movie. We always watch the first Harry Potter while we put up the Christmas tree, this year I made Butterbeer (the drink in Harry Potter) to have with the movie.
Check out 15 Perfectly Paired Christmas Movies and Treats for some fun ideas of treats to make that pair well with your favorite Christmas movies.
Bake Together
My husband and I like to make gingerbread cookies each year. I guess I really bake them but we eat them together. Even if only some of the family is doing the baking the smell of the baking is likely to make everyone happy!
Make Decorations
Making decorations can be fun for adults and child. Keep watching here for ideas and also a quick Google search will find you lots of great ideas.
Give Back
Giving back can be very rewarding for your family as well as the one you are giving to. You can sponsor a kid from the Salvation Army Angel Tree, help at a soup kitchen, volunteer at a local animal shelter, make scarves and blankets for your local homeless shelter, the ideas are endless.
You can also make sure your gifts give back by donating to causes for gifts. Look for a cause that is dear to the person you are giving the gift to, for animal lover you can adopt an animal from the World Wildlife Fund or give to a local animal shelter, for the tree huggers you can donate to have trees planted, etc…
Have a Handmade Christmas
Make a rule that at least one gift for each person has to be handmade. This can mean either by the person or from a store like Etsy. It can be fun to see what everyone comes up with. I try and do as much of my shopping as possible from stores like Etsy and also from handmade Fair Trade goods that help those that are making the items.
The traditions don’t even need to be normal holiday traditions. The year before last my family went to a Flaming Lips concert on New Year’s Eve as part of our Christmas and last year we went to an NBA game. Just do something together and have fun, you will remember the things you did together more than the gifts.
Related post: 25+ Homemade Christmas Gifts
Be sure to keep track of your favorite new traditions for a happier Christmas in your Christmas Planner.
Green girl in wisconsin
December 1, 2011 at 8:54 amWe have a great tradition of making homemade pizza after church on Christmas eve. No gifts, just the prepping and the fun in the kitchen. We eat on the good china with candles lit and drink “sparkling pear juice.” Then we snuggle down in front of a classic Christmas movie. The focus is on each other and my family enjoys this as much as the gifting on Christmas day.
Robbie @ Going Green Mama
December 1, 2011 at 8:46 pmOur Christmas eve is simple as well. Noshing most of the day, then evening Mass. Someday, the kids will be old enough to try Midnight Mass.
nancy baldwin
December 1, 2011 at 9:34 pmWow I just did a post today about this same topic. My personal favorite thing about Christmas is all my decorations I have gathered over the years. They are all vintage items that you cannot find in the stores. You know, back in the day when they made things to last.
nancy baldwin
December 1, 2011 at 9:35 pmOops you can click my name here and read my blog. I took pictures of everything. Go ahead and take a peek because I can almost guarentee you remember all of these things.
CLM
December 3, 2011 at 10:43 amThanks for the post. I touched me and made me more resolved to focus on the spirit of giving time to family and friends and give monetarily to those who are truly in need.