2. Have your children make gifts for each other. My children did this last year getting ideas from books in the library and using materials found at home. They still talk about the gifts they made and received from each other with a sense of pride. Submitted by Debra K. O'Fallon

4. Instead of making lists of things we each want to get,  we all sit down at Thanksgiving and make lists of things we each want to do together as a family during the holiday season. Each person "gets" at least three or four things on his/her list; e.g., old movie night, or Monopoly marathon, or cross country skiing at night. This also helps instill those family traditions (my daughter's list always includes watching It's a Wonderful Life and having fondue) and helps to emphasize that what we value most is our time together.

6. I'd recommend the book Unplug the Christmas Machine: A Complete Guide to Putting Love and Joy Back into the Season by Jo Robinson, Jean C. Staeheli.  An especially good time to read it is right after the holidays when everything is fresh in your mind and there is time to evaluate on how things went for your family and reflect on what you might want to do next year. Submitted by Bonnie Buckley

7. I noticed how my kids got so focused on themselves - on GETTING - over the holidays, so we started using half of the days of Hanukah to focus on giving. Every other night we do a "mitzvah" - bringing food to the local Ronald McDonald house, jump ropes to the neighborhood public school after school program, homemade book marks to the elderly, etc. Submitted by Jenni Watts Evans

8. Although my family and I are not Jewish, I like the tradition of making the time that candles burn be family time.  We have a menorah and light the candles, and play a game, talk, or cook together while the candles burn down (takes about an hour). Submitted by Caroll Lothrop.

10. When my youngest son was 3 1/2 he wanted everything he saw or heard about during the holiday advertising bonanza. He would come running to show me the latest item in a catalog or to tell me about an item from a TV ad. At first I tried to reason with him about the pluses and minuses of each item and to remind him of the limit our family had on presents. I quickly realized that this strategy was not working. Instead, I got a little notebook and started writing down each of his suggestions. He still came running to me several times a day with a new gift item but was satisfied to have me add this to his list. He didn't really want all these things; he just wanted me to listen to his ideas. When the holiday rolled around, we had nearly filled the little notebook with gift possibilities. Yet he was happy with those few special things that he actually received. Submitted by Kathie L. Dormanen

11. We have a 'too much stuff' day prior to the holidays. This is the day they look through their toys and 'stuff' and figure out what they can give away. They are actually very willing to do it. We position it in a few ways that seem to make sense to them:

• by giving away things, you'll make room for new stuff that you'll be getting for Christmas

• if you have fewer things it'll be easier to keep your room clean

• we talk about it not as "getting rid of a toy", but as "do you think we could give this to a little girl who doesn't have any dolls?".  I think this makes them feel good and let's them know that the toy will be loved/appreciated rather than just discarded. Submitted by Stephanie Molliconi

12. It is always difficult to cut down on delicious yummy food during the holiday season. One trick is to pick up a "smaller" plate than usual so it looks full, thereby giving a subliminal message that you have a FULL plate. Friends and guests at the party will not be the wiser. Submitted by Danette Akina

13. We make sure that we have some traditions that the children will remember and look forward to. Since we are Swedish, we celebrate St. Lucia Day, and it is very low-key but fun. Submitted by Cindy Gardner

14. No one should go into debt in an effort to celebrate the holidays. Set a realistic budget taking into consideration decorations, food, gifts, cards, entertaining, special events (music, theater, etc.) and figure out what you can and can’t do. Be really open about this so your children can see the process. Give each child a budget to follow for gifts they will purchase for others. Submitted by Rose Allen

15. Make the time you spend putting up holiday decorations a time to spend with the family in doing so choose to make it a fun family activity rather then a holiday duty or chore. Submitted by Leanne Weyrauch

16. We make our own wrapping paper with inexpensive roll paper, sponge shapes and paint. Submitted by Cindy Gardner

17.  First, take half or more of the money that would normally be spent on presents in the family and spend it on presents for those in need.  Going shopping could be a family event. Second, draw names for Christmas in the family and put a limit on the amount of money spent. Third, give back to the community: soup kitchens, habitat for humanity, United Way, etc. Submitted by Melissa Melby

18. One idea our family will be trying out this year is called "Advent Angels." Each person in the family draws another person's name. He or she becomes that person's Advent Angel during the Advent Season. The advent angel is to do kind things for his or her person without letting that person know who is doing it. For example John might make Julia's bed for her before she is able to do it. Or, Jay might empty the dishwasher for John even though it isn't on his job chart at that time. On Christmas Eve we will reveal who is each persons Advent Angel and the Angel will give that person a home made gift. We hope that this will emphasize the idea of giving is as fun as receiving and giving from yourself is better than giving gifts of monetary value. The children will also get to work individually with mom or dad on making the homemade gift for their person. Submitted by Lynn Baldus

19. A few years ago our extended family decided that instead of drawing names for gift giving we, would each contribute to a charity of our choice and talk about it at our family Christmas gathering.  This has worked well for us! Submitted by Lenore Bayuk

20. One of my son's favorite holidays is when we watched movies all day and just ate pizza and sat by the fire. Works for me - don't need to spend the day in the kitchen making a meal nobody really wants. Submitted by Eileen Piersa & Steve Dahl

21. In our family we follow the example led by the 3 Wise Men. They each brought baby Jesus a gift, thus he received 3 gifts. We give each of our children 3 gifts for Christmas (plus some little stocking stuffers.) Family and friends will be giving them gifts, too, so there is no need for us to go overboard. If there is something specific I want for them to get I might suggest it to my sister or Mom who would be getting them something anyway. My boys are little now, but we figure if we start this tradition now they won’t know any different later on!  Andrea Jones

22. We take different routes home in the dark to see the lights on different streets and houses. Submitted by Cindy Gardner

23. Take the opportunity to have the children go through their toys and books. We all have things that are just like new but we are tired of. And then prepare a "care package" for a needy family and involve the children in leaving it on the family's doorstep. Submitted by Leanne Weyrauch

24. We know that Christmas is SO exciting and that there is so much to be excited about besides presents. We focus on those exciting parts also. If our children don't receive a present that they wanted, we talk about this too...Christmas and birthdays are special times and we can't get everything we want. Ask, "How do you feel about the gifts that you did receive?" Submitted by Danielle Koresky

25. Work at a local soup kitchen/shelter serving a meal during the holiday season, or volunteer at a local hospital or nursing home. Submitted by Barb Clare 

26. We also decided that visiting all the far away relatives was very stressful on our family and children at Christmas. It was such an exciting time for the kids and then all the travel just about put everyone over the edge. So, we decided that the relatives were welcome to visit us at the holidays and that we would travel to visit them in the summer when we had more time and excitement was less intense (also the weather was better!). Submitted by Bonnie Buckley

27. Request that grandparents and others put money into an education fund instead of buying too many toys. Education funds, ideally, can be used to cover sports, music, theatre, other lessons, and summer camps that broaden the horizons of children and youth, but drain family budgets.

28. I use money from grandparents to buy Zoo/Museum annual memberships instead of more toys. Submitted by Debra K. O'Fallon

29. Even young children can be involved in making cards, small gifts and remembrances for the adults in their lives. Perhaps the best way of avoiding the holiday "gimmees" is to help the child become a giver, not just a taker. Recognize that some small indulgences cannot be avoided and it is okay for children to have fun with the special moments.

30. We decided to say "no" to a lot of the invitations and activities of the season. We decided what the most important things about the holiday season were and then selected one adult-only activity for the month of December, and prioritized the rest of the family activities. Submitted by Bonnie Buckley

31. Model caring for others.

32. Make a new year's resolution to overindulge your children less this year and to reread "How Much is Enough?" to understand what to do instead. Submitted by David J. Bredehoft

33. A few years ago we had a "lean" Christmas. So I told everyone that they had to find 3 things in the house that we had either never used or hadn't used in a long time - a book, game, puzzle, etc. Everyone dragged their feet - but once they got into it - we had LOTS of wrapped gifts under the tree and "re-gifted" them to ourselves. Our kids saw how much they already had and didn't need more. This is still something that we do each year. The kids are older and don't get all the gifts they used to get from relatives - so it makes them appreciate all they have and their "abundant" life. Submitted by Eileen Piersa & Steve Dahl

34. That same year we each wrote out 10 things we appreciate about each other and read them to each other on Christmas eve. It teaches the kids how to express their appreciation for others. Submitted by Eileen Piersa & Steve Dahl

35. Now that my kids are older - we talk about what is most important to them for traditions and then we do those. It changes as they get older. We are more into "making memories" than "stuff". Its really nice. People ask me if I'm done shopping and I never really start. The kids write up a list - they get one "big" thing and then stocking stuffers. I don't buy for nieces and nephews any more since they are all older. I'd rather give them a gift when I see them and enjoy it. Submitted by Eileen Piersa & Steve Dahl

36. I curb overindulgence during the holidays by going each year to India where I can celebrate Christmas in a spiritual environment far away from the materialistic processes that occur here.  There I experience being happy and exceedingly grateful for the small piece of cake that my spiritual teacher personally gives us to commemorate the day.

37. I am giving each of my three children a scrapbook that I'm trying to catch up on -- for my second-grade son, it'll be his 1st grade scrapbook. For my middle child, who is in kindergarten, it'll be her baby book (which has been half finished for years now!) For my 15-month-old daughter, it'll be an album of her first year. I find it's helpful for me s a mom to have a deadline (Christmas Eve!). I imagine it will be fun to look through these books on Christmas Day, and the books will be treasures in years to come, too (I plan to give the kids books for each year of their life up until they graduate from high school). I hope to give them each scrapbooks on birthdays and Christmases from now on. Submitted by Molly Guthrey Millett

Names of submitters were printed with permission along with their idea.