A No-Stress Christmas Brings a Season of Joy

There is no tree or other Christmas decorations in our house this year and are no gifts to put under the tree. It’s not that we’ve fallen on hard times but that my sister-in-law started something when she e-mailed us a few weeks ago to announce that they had spent enough money this year and had decided to provide gifts only for the children in our family. Of course, we’ve been down this road before, and it always ends with someone breaking the ban to buy a bunch of gifts for us, thereby creating guilt and the need to reciprocate the following year.

However, for the time being, we’ve spread my sister-in-law’s request to all other members of the family and, so far, have received unanimous cooperation. Even my wife and I will not be exchanging gifts, and for the same reason that my sister-in-law put forth -- we’ve just moved into a new house and have spent huge sums on furniture, landscaping and other “necessities.” Clearly, we’ve done more than our share of bolstering the economy. But we’re not ignoring Christmas; we’re still going to have family get-togethers and enjoy each other’s company. What’s different is that for the first time in a long while we’re also getting to experience a stress-free Christmas, and I like the feeling.

Lou Einung

Palm Springs