exchanging christmas gifts

Instead of buying gifts for one another, sponsor a needy family. If you have kids, talk to them about the difference the gesture can make to the other family and make sure theyre okay with giving up presents (you can always get them something little). You can find a needy family through your local Salvation Army branch, which will provide a wish list to shop from.

Jeanne Benedict, an entertaining expert, suggests adding a philanthropic twist to the game Instead of buying material gifts, make a $20 donation to a charity your recipient would support. For instance, is he or she an animal lover Donate to the ASPCA. It makes a more meaningful gift than another stocking stuffer.

Along with cookies and milk, leave (gently used) old toys under the tree on Christmas Eve for Santa to take back to the North Pole. You can donate them to an organization like Toys for Tots or Goodwill.

Benedict suggests making handmade ornaments out of 4 inch by 4 inch boxes that are light enough to hang on the tree. Inside the box, fashion a small kit of some kind, like a stamping kit, a jewelry making kit, or a knitting kit something fun that would be easy to pick up as a hobby. Each guest should bring a kit to the party and then exchange it, so that everybody takes home a handcrafted ornament and gets a new project to start on in the New Year.

Incorporate your furry friends into your holiday celebrations. Dress up your pet in holiday garb, like a Santa hat (if hell allow it), then gather with your friends and their pets to share gifts. Obviously you want to stay within the same species, either all cats or all dogs, says Benedict. Theme the presents toward the pets bones and biscuits for dogs, claw scratchers and catnip for cats.

Give the gift of holiday spirits Have guests bring gift bags full of the items needed to make a certain cocktail (like coffee liqueur, orange cognac, and Irish Cream for a B 52), and then exchange the bags. Or choose to exchange red, white, or sparkling wines.

Czech and German families hang an Advent calendar on the wall four Sundays before Christmas Eve. Each day on the calendar has a little window, behind which tiny toys and pieces of chocolate are hidden. Children open a new window every day until Christmas, delighted by the unveiling of a new treat and the countdown to the big day.

Dutch children receive their gifts on December 5, St. Nicholas Eve, when families gather to play treasure hunt games and exchange riddles. Presents are anonymously signed Sinterklaas, but a dedication is written on the wrapping paper to offer clues to the real gift givers identity. A rhyming verse teases the recipient (in good humor, of course) or offers a hint at whats inside. Other small, unwrapped gifts are hidden in odd places, like inside a potato or a cup of pudding the more surprising, the better.

Those presents arent going to wrap themselves, unfortunately, so why not have fun while getting the job done? Divvy up responsibility for supplies ribbon, paper, decorative bags, bows, tags, scissors, and tape to your guests so no one is shelling out for everything. Guests bring their own unwrapped presents. Set out the supplies, cue the festive music, and have everyone work together to get the job done.

Think of this as a holiday cookie exchange plus. Besides cookies to swap at the party, guests bring extras, along with metal tins, takeout containers, plastic boxes, and packing materials. Together, you carefully box up the extra cookies to ship to out of town family and friends.