Home And Family

Some Christmas traditions will never fade: hanging the stockings on the mantle, caroling, gift exchanging and romantic mistletoe-harbored kisses, to list a few. Nothing is wrong with sustaining these time-honored customs, but why not create your own special memories by starting an original holiday tradition your family will cherish year after year?

Thinking outside the box can bring everyone closer and give your family a more distinct identity.

Any Christmas tradition can be made original with a little creativity and a lot of personality. Trimming the tree and gift giving are two of the most common Christmas traditions with opportunities for enhancement. With just a few personal tweaks, these two customs will be more exciting and cure the humdrum Christmas humbug.?/p>

Trimming the Tree

Decorating the Christmas tree can be a fun family activity, especially when there is something new to look forward to each year. Infusing “newness” into your holiday decorating breaks the cycle of hanging the same ornaments year after year, with no real significance other than to dress your home.?/p>

Get crafty and have each member of the family hand make a new ornament each year. You may change themes annually, switch supplies or just have a free-for-all to test your family members’ creative capabilities. If your family is up for a challenge, make it a fun competition and vote for the winning ornament or choose unconventional materials that stretch inventive thinking. As little ones grow older, retrospect on past ornaments is humorous and triggers happy memories. ?/p>

Gift Giving ?/p>

Exchanging presents has become a focal point of Christmas gatherings. It began with small, often homemade gifts, then consumerism exploded, making must-have items like Tickle Me Elmo a standard, and now, gift cards run the gift-giving market. Everyone loves a gift card, and those Tickle-Me-Elmo items are at the top of every Christmas wish list. You don’t have to stop the wish list to put a twist on your gift giving. Incorporating a small extra tradition in the gift exchange adds a fun flare and breaks the predictability of wish-list items and bland gift cards.牋

For years, the “Secret Santa” concept of drawing names for gift designations has been a solution that saves budgets and adds mystery behind the wrapping paper and bows. But even this idea has become generic. However, adding an extra statute into the terms of your Secret Santa production puts a personal spin on the covert operation. Stick to a theme to find the wildest of everyday items; Instead of an open gift exchange, make it a sock exchange and be amused by the funky socks your party can conjure. Put challenging criteria on the gift, such as requiring it to be made from an obscure material, like rubber or metal, or come from an arbitrary store, like the hardware store or dime shop. New rules such as these will make your Christmas gift exchange less like taking inventory and bring you back to the sentiment of the holiday. ?/p>

Family is at the core of Christmas’ meaning, and making unique tweaks to age-old traditions imprints memories that will never be forgotten. Traditions all have to start somewhere, so why not with you? Trimming the Christmas tree and exchanging gifts are just two of the many traditions that lend opportunities for your personal touch. The key is to let your imagination reign. If you are in a Christmas rut, stop being a humbug and put your original flavor on Christmas.