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creative ways. They make great gifts not only because of this, but because it's hard to find someone who can't accept a few cookies or a warm, new scarf.

Get Personal

While the Holidays are about loving the people around us, we easily get caught up in our to-do, to-buy, and to-eat lists. We don't only forget to be close to others because we're busy. Sometimes, we build walls of trinkets between ourselves and others to avoid being up-close and honest. The gifts of the holiday season, meant to show love, sometimes end up showing an empty materialism when we give them habitually.

This is understandable! Being honest about our feelings for others can be ridiculously difficult, and this makes many of us shy, especially those of us who are like me, and are returning to families with strained, difficult histories. It's tough to mend emotional wounds because we risk opening them up again - so over the holidays, we're likely to pretend they aren't even there. And then we miss out on real closeness.

The task can be worked at, bit by bit. Try making your own cards or stationery out of wrapping paper or old cards, and writing long messages in them, or writing letters to go with them. This is a good idea when mailing distant old friends, but can work just as well for mom or dad. Reminisce about a fond memory you shared with the person you're writing to, for example, or tell a joke you think she'll laugh at.

Go Green

It's a happy truth that what's good for the environment tends to be good for the wallet, too. Reuse whatever you can, and encourage the use of reusable wrapping.

If you're the head of a family, make a decree that all gift wrap will "hereby be made of cloth and cloth ribbon!" While this unfortunately may cost a little more than disposable wrappings the first year, it will make up its cost within three seasons and will last an indefinite amount of time. Decorative paper bags are also reusable, and less expensive than cloth bags and wrappings.

Still, everyone loves the feeling of a good r-r-r-RIP Christmas morning. To make your own wrapping paper, just grab some potatoes, lots of newspaper, and some acrylic paint. Cut the potatoes in half, then carve them to make festive stamps for painting the newspaper. Great swaths of new wrapping paper can be made this way in very little time. The newsprint on the paper becomes less noticible if you use dark, rich liquid acrylic paint.

Bonus: Take Good Care of the Props!

Seasonal decorations last decades if stored properly. To keep your homemade and heirloom holiday decorations in good shape over the eleven month off-season, try to keep them in cool, dry places. Most people store seasonal stuff in the garage or the basement, out of the way, but where moisture can creep in to do damage.

When storing your decorations, try to keep them a few feet off the floor, on shelves, and packaged in plastic, like garbage bags. So the bags don't get mistaken for actual garbage, cover them in bows or paint some quick stripes on them for "Keep Me!" flare.

What makes the Holiday season special isn't what we have, but what we make of what we have. We must teach ourselves emphasize the best in things despite noticing the worst in them, no matter how dismal the situation gets.

If you're still feeling bummed about the recession's effect on the empty space under your Christmas tree, talk to someone who was around during the era of the great depression. Ask her if her Christmases were still worth celebrating. She's very likely to say, "Of course!" and tell you all about it.

Learn more about this author, Currie Jean.
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