Holiday cheer

Natural Health, Dec, 2007 by Mary Bolster

IN WHAT must be the fastest reform on record (five days and 35 e-mails), my family and I successfully modified a once-sacred holiday tradition--the Christmas-morn gift exchange. Most families probably spend a few hours between breakfast and lunch presenting and opening gifts. That leaves the rest of the day for enjoying the gifts, reading, chatting, or eating. In our family, we spend the entire day giving and receiving gifts. Starting with either the oldest or the youngest sibling (it alternates every year), we each stand in front of the assembled group and present to the person whose name we've picked out of a hat. This presentation can take anywhere from six minutes to 25, depending on the creativity, generosity, and delivery style of the Secret Santa--and the number of interruptions from the assembled crowd. We watch--and make comments--as each gift is opened by the recipient, then we clap and praise the Secret Santa before the next one gets up to present. On a good year, when all 14 children, 13 spouses or partners, and 19 grandchildren are there, our gift exchange can take nine hours. To outsiders it may sound fun and heartwarming (and it is!), but it can also be exhausting.

After many e-mails, my siblings and I came up with a thoughtful compromise: Cap spending at $50 and limit the presentations to five minutes per Secret Santa. In addition, we agreed to make a substantial group contribution to a charity every year. In less than a week, we had updated and improved a long-standing tradition without diminishing it.

Although the reform wasn't my idea, I was inspired to consider other options after reading "Simply Celebrate" (page 64), which suggests ways to create new holiday traditions or improve old ones. In fact, this whole issue is dedicated to helping you make this year's holiday as healthy and happy as possible: staying fit, baking sugar-free desserts, or throwing a "green" party. We hope you'll try some of our suggestions and report back to us about how they worked.

MARY BOLSTER

EDITOR IN CHIEF

editorinchief@naturalhealthmag.com