Casey

Anyone else here not really do Christmas? I have friends who do not celebrate Christmas in a 'traditional' way. They do some charity work and spend the day with family just eating and relaxing. No tree, no gifts, just a simple day other than doing the volunteer stuff. On the other hand I have friends who are already stashing stuff away in preparation for the upcoming season. Are you either of these or somewhere in between?

M&M

We're between... we have a *small* (3') tree on top of the piano, and usually get 3-4 gifts per child. One gift is usually a jar of cherries. We love playing Christmas carols, though, and generally have them going constantly!

Arial

There are only three of us, but we do a big Christmas. Big tree, lots of food, lots of music. The whole house gets decorated and we play only Christmas carols from after Thanksgiving until Christmas day. My husband and I started shopping for our daughter already, but we do that because it makes it easier on the budget to buy one toy a week or every other week instead of doing it all at once in December.

I love December evenings in our den with just the tree lights on and the fireplace lit and Christmas music in the background. It's my favorite time of year. Just because we go all out doesn't mean we miss the point of the season though. We spend a lot of time reflecting and reading the Bible together. We also donate to all the food and toy drives in our area in an effort to help the community.

Karie

We do the normal Christmas with gifts and families and such. We also sponsor a family, kids and parents that are in need. It's great to give back and I'm glad that I can help others.