10 tips for a simpler, more meaningful Christmas

Bread for the World (BFW) shared these thoughts from Gary Cook, BFW's director of church relations. He wrote the introduction for this year's Whose Birthday Is It, Anyway?, the annual resource from Alternatives for Simple Living.

1. Plan ahead. Instead of going on auto-pilot the day after Thanksgiving, hold a family meeting to decide what the group really wants to do and who's going to do what.
2. If you need a symbol for giving (in addition to Jesus and the Three Wise Ones), learn about St. Nicholas. Santa Claus has been completely taken over by commerce.
3. Avoid debt. Refuse to be pressured by advertising to overspend.
4. Avoid stress. Give yourself the gift of time. Don't assume that things have to be the same way they've always been.
5. Draw names rather than everyone giving something to everyone else in your giving circle. Set a ceiling for each recipient. Give children ONE thing they really want, rather than so many gifts. If need be, pool funds.
6. Give appropriate gifts. Get to know the recipient. Give what they want to receive not what you want to buy.
7. Give alternative gifts. Give 25 percent of what you spent last year to the needy--individuals or groups locally, nationally, or internationally. Buy crafts and clothing from developing countries at alternative gift markets, not from commercial importers, so that the artisans receive a fair price for their work. Give of yourself, not just "stuff"--a coupon book for future services (such as baby-sitting or an "enchanted evening"); something baked, sewn, handmade, composed, etc.; or a family service project, such as working together at a soup kitchen.
8. Celebrate Advent for four weeks before Christmas.
9. Put the gifts under the tree shortly before opening them. Then take turns opening them around the tree, not all at once, so that each gift can be admired and each giver thanked.
10. Make changes slowly but persistently. Don't try to change everything and everybody all at once. The resistance will make you feel defeated and lonely.

ADVENT AND CHRISTMAS HUNGER RESOURCES

Whose Birthday Is It, Anyway? includes reflections, activities, how-to's, and other ideas, and it is designed to be used as a congregation, family, or by an individual. To order, visit www.simpleliving.org.

A collection of Advent and Christmas resources for hunger awareness can be found at www.bread.org/go/advent. These downloadable documents include activities for both children and adults. Be sure to check out the Christmas Cards to Members of Congress (PDF).