Do you love your traditional Christmas dinner but want to try a delicious new menu? Skip the ham or move it to a Christmas Eve meal and experiment with a few new ideas for Christmas Day. You may get some resistance, but with these delicious dishes, the push-back won’t last long. If some family members are on tight budgets, try making a game out of exchanging gifts and filling stockings. Before the family gathering, have each person assigned one recipient to give a gift, and have everyone bring enough of one item for each person’s stocking. Lifting financial stress could be the best gift your family gives each other. This year, try to focus less on buying the latest and greatest decor and gifts and turn your focus to spending more quality time with your family. You might just find that these new ways to celebrate Christmas become yearly traditions. A favorite is Pass the Present or the Left-Right game. Here’s how it works: Everyone brings a small, funny gift (set a low-dollar limit) and wraps it however they like. Then, everyone sits around a table with their gift in front of them as a poem is read out loud (here’s one we like). Every time the word ‘right’ is read, you pass the gift in front of you to the right. You pass to the left when the word ’left’ is said. At the end, you unwrap the gift in front of you and guess who brought the gift. This year, consider a new way to celebrate Christmas. Rather than guess what people want or will use, ask your family members to make a wish list of practical gifts instead. Consider a meal kit subscription service to reduce grocery bills, household tools or kitchen appliances that need to be replaced, or gift cards to save money at most-frequented stores.
