Snowshoeing at Paradise, Mount Rainier National Park

I was snowshoeing at Mount Baker last night with seven friends when the talk turned to Thanksgiving and Christmas. Since  I’m basically anti-materialistic, this time of year with its emphasis on consumerism makes me a little crazy.  I’m especially sensitive to it this year, when so many I know are going through hard economic times.

When the folks who have money and decent jobs insist on celebrating the holidays in traditional blow-out fashion, it makes it very hard on those who have little money right now. Even if the better-off types want to pay for everything, that can cause bad feelings among families and friends, because everyone likes to participate and be considered equally generous. So I thought I’d throw out some ideas that make the holidays much easier and more fun for folks without big bucks to spend.

For Thanksgiving, if you’re having a crowd, make the meal a potluck instead of making one cook create a lavish dinner. Let all guests contribute something, even if it’s drinks or napkins or flowers for the table. Have everyone help prepare and clean up. That way nobody gets too stressed out and everyone helps to create the occasion.

Plan a happy party for everyone

Christmas is always the hardest. I truly wish that families and friends didn’t give gifts but instead got together and did something participatory that they all enjoyed, whether that’s playing charades, heading off to the beach, or going snowshoeing. Why not use your money and time to create memories instead of accumulating more stuff? But maybe that’s just me.

If you really must have a gift exchange (and I know that for most families it is a must), consider having a low-cost exchange of practical gifts only.  Have each person get a practical gift under $10 (think cake or soup mixes, hammers, screwdrivers, books of postage stamps, packs of colored markers, flashlights, kitchen utensils, potholders, sewing kits, duct tape, hand lotion, soap, etc.–things that anyone at the party can use). The first person chooses and opens a gift. The second person can either take the first person’s gift or choose a new one. If the second person takes the first gift, then the first person gets to choose a new one. The third person gets to take either of the gifts already opened, or choose a new one, and so on down the line. I’ve been to a lot of these round-robin practical gift exchanges; they’re a lot of fun, and everyone goes home with something useful.

Another truly old-fashioned possibility is having everyone create their gifts. Don’t panic if you’re not creative! Make cookies, Chex mix, string an interesting bead on a small chain, or, even better, offer a service–babysitting, sewing, auto repair, carpentry, house cleaning–whatever you know how to do. Many people would be thrilled to get a card that said “Good for four hours of babysitting” or “Good for three sessions of lawn mowing.”

Christmas doesn’t have to be expensive. Resolve to spend time doing things with the ones you love instead of spending money. Holidays should be about memories, not about merchandise.