5 Ways to Enjoy a More Meaningful Christmas

Push aside the commercial push for materialistic items at the holidays and discover 5 ways to have a more meaningful Christmas with your family.

This time of the year is exciting for many. The holiday spirit, cool down in temps, and all of the amazing holiday festivals we can take part in with the family.

It’s also a time of the year for tunnel vision. Every trip to the store leads to aisles of toys (much similar to a minefield…) with kids asking for things. More things. This thing. That thing.  It’s also the same time that you grab the Sunday paper and have to dig through {what seems like} 50 or 60 ads from retailers showcasing the “lowest price of the season” deals…

I love the holidays. But sometimes this time of the year makes me cringe.

And I love a great deal just like many others. However I feel like the entire sense of the season is lost in stuff.

Articles fly around the internet and on Facebook about consumer spending and the economy. People are reminded that spending may lead to a boost in the economy and be great for the market. That in turn justifies our need to spend.

Couple that with the stress of holiday parties, expectations to give, and in some ways – guilt.  What should be a happy holiday season can definitely be quite the opposite for some. 

There are so many people who struggle to provide for their family each week during the regular year. Then what happens is the stress of the holidays just compounds that pressure. It’s time for folks to consider what the holidays should really be, not let it be what the stores think it should be. Right?!

5 Ways to Have a More Meaningful Christmas

It is possible to have a wonderful, enjoyable holiday without the guilt of buying tons of gifts and living up to the expectations of others.

A few years ago, we decided to put our focus on doing things at the holiday instead of making the holiday about stuff.  Our kids were smaller then. As a result, they did not realize what we were doing. Now, a few years later, they know this time of the year as the time that Mom and Dad take them to all kinds of fun places. That was and still is our goal.

Here are our ways to make this holiday season more meaningful.

Take Part in FREE Family Activities

Thankfully there is always plenty of family fun – from tree lighting ceremonies to ornament making, pictures with Santa, crafts & even multi-cultural celebrations.   The library is always a great place for book readings and special events, too!  

Not to mention there are all of those things that you do each year as a family. Driving around to see the lights, watching holiday movies, putting together cookie & dessert plates for neighbors & friends, or even heading up north to Flagstaff to have fun in the snow.  You can even go to Bearizona!

Be Happy/Content

This is not just something that comes up because of the holidays.  If you aren’t careful, it’s so easy to forget why this time of the year is so amazing in the first place.

There is no question that as the holiday draws close, kids will want stuff. Lots of stuff. They will make lists for you, for Grandma, and every day they will tell you more things they want on that list. And that is O.K.. But the novelty wears off.  Which is why it’s so important to emphasize more about the quality of giving than what you can or may receive.

Your kids will pick up on your actions. So if you are stressed out, buying tons of gifts and going crazy in the store, chances are, they will probably do the same. But if you focus on the season, and the aspect of giving, your kids will learn to accept that as part of the holiday routine.

I think we stopped giving gifts to the kids about after our second was a few years old. Now .. fast forward several years later, my kids get more excited to do things at the holidays than get things. That doesn’t mean they don’t ask for things… but usually asking involves going places versus physical gifts.

“Can we go grab hot chocolate and drive around to see Christmas lights?”

“Mom, can we go to Flagstaff and play with snow?”

“Hey Mom, can we go to Schnepf Farms and use the ice skates to skate on the rink?” 

They love to do things… and we’re happy with that. Because they tend to remember these times {years later} easier than they remember toys.

Throw Away Store Ads

Ads and store fliers tend to lead to kids to having a desire for this, that and everything else.  It’s all just stuff. And it’s easy for them to get distracted by stuff and forget about all the other wonderful things you an do at the holidays.

Help your kids recognize these advertising tactics at the holiday. In turn, they will understand why you prefer to transfer their focus to other areas. All those limited time offers are merely just there to get you to assume a trip to the store is detrimental.

In most cases, you can get some of the same deals at a later time.

Buying with Meaning

Every year it becomes a mission to find inexpensive toys our kids will like. But what usually happens is that we end up with lots of stuff under the tree, and after that paper is ripped off, within 20-30 minutes kids are onto the next toy.

A few days later the novelty of the toy has worn off.

And then a year later, it’s taking up space and you find yourself throwing it out, or donating to the Goodwill.

Choose to pick up more meaningful gifts instead of bedazzling them with tons of stuff that will eventually find its way to the trash. Watch this 20-minute flick “The Story of Stuff”.  It’s a great way to see the cycle of the things we buy. It would be a great video for your older children to watch.

Take Time to Give

This is the perfect time of the year to give to those who are most in need. From the mail carrier to the neighbor, teachers, and even to those in your community who are in need.  Giving doesn’t always require you to spend.

Giving can also be done by showing kindness to those who we come into contact with.

We have, in the past, spent a great deal of time on this blog finding deals for Black Friday and for Christmas. A few years later, we have moved away from that.  We really hope that your family can find an overwhelming amount of joy this holiday. Not from the number of gifts under the tree, but from giving to others.