1. Zen Habits for Christmas

2. Do other things with family, such as caroling, baking, watching It’s a Wonderful Life, playing football outside.

3. Volunteer as a family at a homeless shelter.

4. Ask people to donate to your favorite charity in lieu of gifts.

5. Do a gift swap where you put a valued possession (that you already own) into the swap.

6. Bake gifts.

7. Have an experience instead of giving material goods: do something fun together, go to the beach or a lake.

8. Find hope. Christmas has so much potential to be about so much more than buying — it can be a season of hope, renewal, loved ones, inspiration contemplation. Talk to your family about this — how can we find ways to be hopeful, thankful, cooperative? How can we be more present instead of worried about getting presents?