Holiday blues

wdwghettogirl

The holidays have lost their excitement and fun over the years (maybe I've just worked retail too long). I miss the family traditions we had growing up. Hubby and I (no kids) want to try and start our own traditions to help the holiday blues... what are some of your traditions that make the holidays special for you?

Qarol

I quite love the rare holidays where it's just me and husband, no outside family. It's quiet, peaceful...and totally stress free.

Pandorian

Waiting til Dec 1st to begin to decorate, one or two items a day, keeps it changing and doesn't overwhelm the joy of the season by being in my face from Nov 1st right through til tree disposal in January.

Baking Christmas goodies can start in mid-November though especially if any of it is to be sent to distant family. I don't stress about the gifts, just being together with friends and family enables me to celebrate the happiness of it, while gifts if you get the wrong item or give the wrong item or mean well with a gift that someone takes wrong... too loaded. I personally avoid travel during the holidays too (Mexico/ Caribbean etc, for myself Christmas is to be a snow-white holiday)

I tend to avoid shopping a lot any time of year but from Mid-Oct until January I really limit how much I'm in the stores, get so tired of the piped in carols for months on end.

Football_N_Guns

Copious amounts of drinking.

deeharley

Just the two of you - SO many possibilities.

Throw a party at your house at any point in December

Shop for a couple Angel Tree kids together

Bake for neighbors

Go on a holiday cruise

Buy a new Christmas ornament each year

Edit: I don't do all of these - I throw the party and bake for neighbors. And I have a vivid imagination.

dsjohndrow

Interesting, I wrote a blog about this the other day.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/dsjohndrow/view/don-t-get-plucked-during-the-holidays-169685

We try to do 2 or 3 Christmas things. And we like to cook Thanksgiving dinner at home. Christmas morning is our family, and the rest is variable. We are already done shopping for presents. We like to to do thing sof rothers, having folks over tht are alone, or a soup kitchen...

Simple and yearly, that is our motto. Our favorite is a Christmas stroll in an antique village. We used to take all the kids into Boston to Fanuiel Hall, but got to be too much. Good luck.

Pandorian

Best part of the holidays for me will be going to all the local second-hand shops in January / Feb when everyone got their latest and greatest upgrade and therefor dispose of their perfectly functioning "last years model" scoring some good stuff cheap. Know your prices so you don't get burned IE a canning pot sells for basically retail price at all the local secondhand shops... so I buy new as it comes with the rack inside etc which the used ones often don't.

WarriorMom2012

Copious amounts of drinking.

Why should Christmas be any different from any other family get together?!

Tori_356

my family always does a nice breakfast on Christmas morning

ShandiH

I always liked the idea of doing 12 'something' days of Christmas . . . last year I did 12 Drinks of Christmas for work. You could do 12 Desserts of Christmas. Or, 12 Movies of Christmas. Put whatever you want in there . . . even 12 Workouts of Christmas would suit. Build a fire (if you have a fireplace) put on a good flick and drink something yummy and snuggling with the honey . . . that would be a perfect way to enjoy the holidays, I think.