Now don't get me wrong, we love Christmas, but what we didn't like was all the hype building up to that one day. Then it comes, the kids rush in, madly unwrap everything is site and look up with that most amazing question, "Are there any more presents?"



Then there's the next level of madness trying to put toys together, the kids playing with everything at once, playing with each other's toys and then by the end of the day the "it's over" let down starts. If you are really lucky it might not start until the next day but it comes none the less.

It just didn't seem right and my wife and I wanted something different. We happened on our discovery by accident. Although we could have seen the model in how some other religions handle the holidays, but regardless of how it happened, it was a lifesaver for us.

We had the opportunity as a family to go to Scotland for ten days--five days before Christmas and five days after. Each night as we came to the dinning hall with all the other families who were there, we found a small gift awaiting each of us. It was not big or even special, just unique and meaningful. Each day the anticipation grew as to what we would get that night. The 25th of December came and went and even though we did recognize it, there was no bigger celebration on that day than any other—besides we had 5 more days to celebrate.

When we got home it was such a wonderful experience that we decided to start a new family tradition. When the children would get out for Christmas Vacation, we started their two weeks with a movie night. Then we sat together and planned out every day for the next two weeks. We had Cookie Day, pizza and DVD day, Chinese Lunch day, Mall Day, Go to the Movies Day, Board Game Day, Puzzle Day—you get the idea. Yes there was Christmas Day, where everyone received something special, but it wasn't the big blow out as before. It didn't have to be because there were more fun days to come.

As a family everyone had input and if we wanted two or three Pizza and DVD days, that was fine. Let your imagination go wild. If you live in the cold country you could have Sledding Day, Snowman Day, Take-a-Snowy-Hike Day. If you are in the warm climate it's Beach Day, Cook-Out Day, Watch-the-Stars Night.

Besides avoiding the big Christmas Crash, this was a life saver when my wife and I didn't have a lot of money for the holidays. It allowed us to fully enjoy our children's two week vacation on a very low budget and keep everyone extremely happy. One year we even had Make-Homemade-Gifts Day and it was a big hit.

So if you want to enjoy a different kind of Christmas in these tough economic times consider this alternative, it may start a new trend. Our twenty and thirty year old children still do this with us when they come home for Christmas and now have started this with their own families. In any case, enjoy the holidays and may God's blessing abound for you and your family.

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