You can make Christmas creative this year just by putting a little extra thought into your normal Christmas activities.  What does “creative” mean?  Well, in this case, the main objective is to

breeze through holiday shopping quickly and easily

keep gift costs down to a reasonable level

enjoy the holidays instead of feeling frazzled, and

have more time to spend with those closest to you.

There are many little things that help make Christmas creative, more peaceful and more enjoyable.  Enjoying Christmas cookies, or special Christmas cakes, can be some of our fondest sensory memories.

If you want to host a Christmas party or a dinner party, try to have most of the work done ahead of time, so you can enjoy your guests at the party.  Remember, they came to see you, not your 12-hour lasagna!

Family crafts are another thing that children will remember forever.  For example, you can make dough ornaments using Christmas cookie cutters, and then decorate them with paint and sparkles.

The emphasis at Christmas should be on fun and operating efficiently  — not wearing yourself down by scrambling to complete every task on time.

If writing Christmas cards is too taxing, just send everyone an email message or an online greeting card this year.

If you need to save money on gift wrap, you can use colored tissue paper, or the comic section of the newspaper.  Or buy butcher block paper and color it using rubber stamps or tempura paints.  You don’t actually have to buy 20 different colors of Christmas wrapping paper, just to have some variety.

Then there’s the fun of making homemade Christmas tree ornaments, stringing popcorn and cranberries, or maybe painting a picture which will be a gift for someone.  There are tons of things you can make, and a ton of ways to make Christmas creative!

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Do you find gift giving a challenge, and long for the old days when it was easier to have a creative Christmas?

Most people seem to find their greatest challenge when shopping for gifts.  But a large part of the stress can be eliminated just by shopping online.  That’s why I have searched for the best holiday gifts this year, which I offer to you as possible suggestions.  Even if these are not exactly what you want, they just might give you some further ideas that you hadn’t considered.

Start off by creating a Christmas list of all the people you wish to shop for.  Jot down some preliminary ideas for gifts, if you have any.  Perhaps the person even has a wish list they have created.  Then look for possible gifts online, and add to the possibilities for each name.

As you complete the shopping for each person, check off each name as it is done.  This makes it easy to see what you have finished, and what you still need to do.

Figuring Out What People Want

For those who are especially hard to shop for, you might want to consider a holiday decoration of some kind.  You could choose anything from a special tree ornament to an elaborate holiday village that displays lights and plays music.

You can ask someone to name their favorite stores.  Chances are, if they often shop somewhere special for gifts, that store will have items that they secretly want for themselves, too.

Another good bet might be something that is personalized.  And there’s always candy, food gifts, and original gift baskets.

It helps a lot to know something about the person’s interests, favorite colors, and perhaps clothing sizes.  Take notice of any special hobbies, or especially things that the person collects.

Maybe they enjoy certain special treats or candy that would make a good gift.  One year, my daughter and I bought a roll of uncolored marzipan and shaped it into little fruits for grandma.  It was a lot of fun to mold and color the fruits, sort of like working with play dough.  My daughter was simply thrilled to be able to create her gift by hand, and I don’t think grandma ever forgot it, either!

That’s just one example of how to combine the spirit of giving with a little joy and creativity.  And the whole gift giving experience does NOT have to be a huge chore.  You just have to do a little sleuthing and planning to solve the whole big shopping mystery and to make Christmas creative and fun.