24 Meaningful and Frugal Family Christmas Traditions

You don’t have to break the bank to celebrate Christmas! Here’s a quick list of ways to make memories. It’s so easy, you can’t afford NOT to take a look.

• Make decorations for your house and the Christmas tree as a family. Gather nature items outside (now before it snows!) and make them into a garland for the tree. Make Christmas ornaments together.
• Get in the kitchen and make Christmas cookies or candy as a family, then take a few plates to neighbors and sing Christmas carols while you’re at it.
• Attend a free/cheap concert or play in your community each year.
• Go sledding, build a snowman, or have a snowball fight.
• Read Christmas stories from the library or have Mom and Dad talk about memories of Christmas from the good ol’ days.
• Have a fun sleepover a few nights before Christmas in front of your lit tree. Watch a Christmas show, read Christmas stories, or listen to Christmas music.
• Have a gingerbread house or cookie decorating contest. Then donate the houses or cookies to your local Festival of Trees event, if you have one.
• Turn off all the lights on Christmas Eve and use candles as you tell the story of the Savior’s birth. If you have young children, act out the Christmas story from The Bible.
• Talk about the most significant event that happened to your family this year and how that has helped you grow closer.
• Write special memories from the past year and keep it in a Christmas box that you open each Christmas to see how you have changed over the years.
• Write a family Holiday letter and then send it to loved ones.
• Require that all gifts be homemade and be sure to draw names so each person is only focused on making one gift.
• Run in a Christmas 5K event together.
• Do the 12 days of Christmas for a family in need.
• Put together a few boxes for Operation Christmas Child.
• Serve the homeless at your local shelter.
• Drive around and look at Christmas lights, and, if you feel like it, find someone you can bring home for the evening to share the spirit of Christmas.
• If you live near a Festival of Trees event, attend and/or donate a tree (you probably will have to start this several months before the event). Attend another charity event if you do not have a Festival of Trees in your area.
• Instead of Elf on the Shelf, buy some Kindness Elves* and discover all the wonderful things you can do for each other this Christmas season!
• Purchase a few toys and donate them to Toys for Tots.
• Volunteer at a local senior citizens center. Make cards, sing songs, or just visit with the elderly for an evening.
• Let the kids pick out 3 toys that they would like to give to another child in need.
• Make a dinner for a family who needs it and take it to them on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day.
• After all gifts have been opened, ask everyone to gather at least 3 things they no longer want that they can put in a bag and give to charity.

Adapted from: http://humbleinaheartbeat.com/meaningful-and-frugal-family-christmas-traditions/

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How to Avoid Stress This Holiday Season