I keep in mind just a handful of the Christmas presents I obtained as a child: My initial Barbie doll with her skinny black sequined gown. My soft, pink Pat-a-Burp doll. The microscope I acquired in second grade.

But I have many, many memories of our holiday traditions. The lovely aromas of holiday ethnic food. Riding the South Shore train into Chicago to visit the “real” Santa. Utilizing a paintbrush to decorate sugar cookies with coloured frosting. Setting up our manger scene.

Traditions add so a lot joy to the vacations. Traditions give a child a sense of belonging and identification. They strengthen bonds throughout generations and reside lengthy in memory.

A family rich in traditions has a powerful antidote to commercialism. The much more focused you are on pleasures that cost little or nothing, the much more all the gifts tend to remain in their appropriate place.

Best of all, many traditions are perfectly suited to today’s active families. Right here are a couple of favorites:

Simple PLEASURES

Light candles at dinnertime. If December mornings are dark exactly where you reside, mild candles at breakfast, as well.

Consider an evening stroll or car ride to look at Christmas lights.

Serve warm chocolate with candy canes for stirring.

THE JOY OF Providing

Let your kids in on the exhilaration of discovering and wrapping gifts for these they adore. Compliment them for becoming big sufficient to maintain the shock a secret.

As a family, determine on a charity and make a donation. Our preferred is Heifer International (www.heifer.org).

Consider a plate of cookies or other holiday treats to a homeless shelter or to a police or fireplace station.

GRATITUDE

Give family members strips of paper in holiday colours. Let everybody create or draw something they are thankful for on every strip. Link the strips into a chain and hang as a decoration.

Create thank-you cards to every other. Decide collectively when to open them.

CONNECTING GENERATIONS

Interview grandparents, aunts, and uncles about holiday traditions they keep in mind from their childhood. Adopt any traditions that match your family.

Inquire family members for holiday recipes that have been handed down in your family. Or, lookup the Internet for holiday recipes associated to your ethnic origins.

NEW YEAR’S EVE

If your kids are little, it functions great to celebrate the new yr at 9 PM instead of midnight!

Pull out pictures and videos from the previous yr and reveal your memories.

Maintain a box of affordable noisemakers and celebration hats that you can re-use every yr. The kids will appreciate pulling out their previous favorites.

NEW YEAR’S DAY

Decorate a box in which you will put pictures, ticket stubs and other souveniers of the coming yr. Talk about your hopes and wishes.

Let every family member put New Year’s resolutions into their personal envelope. Writer Mimi Doe (“Active But Balanced”) has a custom of sealing the envelopes with wax — a nice, magical touch.

(c) 2004 Norma Schmidt, Coach, LLC

Norma Schmidt, Coach, LLC, specializes in helping working mothers produce balance. She provides workshops, teleclasses and person and group coaching. Her free e-mail newsletter, “The Stability Stage,” is published bi-weekly. Visit http://www.NormaSchmidt.com