Family focused, eco friendly , ideas to celebrate Christmas

Okay last time I threw out ideas for activities to do as a family. This time I am going to focus on more eco friendly gifts that don't require a lot of wrapping paper, and will not take up a lot of space. Gift that keep giving .... and giving : memberships and subscriptions.

Christmas gifts Part 2:

-membership to AAA. Roadside assistance, plus discounts on hotels, airfare, rental cars etc. This is great for the single lady, a military wife, maybe an older couple , or anyone who likes to travel a lot.

-membership to an Association of Science and Technology museum. A yearlong family membership to our local museum is only $75. Galleries and planetarium shows are free with membership. IMAX movies are only $2. per person. Plus there is a great little thing called reciprocity. It means that my family can also go to any other AS&T museum for FREE!. There are hundreds of these in the US and some in other countries as well. So rainy day for vacation go the museum, family tags along for dad's business trip; go to the museum during the day. Family fun and its educational.

-membership to the zoo Pretty much the same thing as above. Most of these have reciprocity with at least some zoos though you might not get in for free. There are also special deals for members. We had a membership to the Columbus Zoo for one year and went up for their members' only opening night of the Christmas season displays. Model railroads, cookie decorating, hot chocolate, lights display, life size cartoon character, and feeding reindeer. It was a great family trip.

-For a couple who likes culture try season tickets to the symphony or ballet. If there is a family friend theater production buy one time tickets for the whole family. If the kids are smaller though, you might just want to offer babysitting services. Perhaps even go with another family and they can offer babysitting and you could buy the tickets.

-If the family or couple is more into sports try season tickets for a local sports team.

-For the family who likes to read, try magazine subscriptions. There are usually grade school kids selling them in Sept or Oct for a reduced rate as part of a fundraiser. These are great because they receive a gift at least 6 times over the next year. If you order several different magazines they can then take turns reading each others for an added benefit. My kids love it when they have magazine subscriptions. They literally knocked the postman over one day when he was delivering their National Geographic. Even my 9 yr old who is not a big reader loves the magazines because it interests him, and its an easy read. He also loves gifts, and mail. I love to see him excited about reading.

-fruit of the month club, yes I know it was an episode of Everybody Loves Raymond which was based on a true story. Personally though fruit is healthy and my whole family loves it. Maybe not an ideal gift for everyone but for those who are into health food or just really love fruit it might not be a bad idea.

next Part 3 homemade gifts
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Merry Christmas Charlie Brown

A few years ago we were at Blockbuster around Christmas time. We could not find the Christmas movie we were looking for, so we ended up checking out Merry Christmas Charlie Brown. I could not remember much about the video, and I was not sure if the boys would like it or not. My fears were quickly however as they started to watch it. They began to life harder than I had ever heard them laugh. They found this simple , no nonsense , old fashioned video to be hilarious.

As I sat down to watch it, I was pleasantly surprised. Not only was it entertaining my kids rather well, but it actually had a pretty solid biblical message as well. The whole point about how the Christmas season was too commercialized rang very true with me. I also loved the point where Charlie Brown in frustration asks if anyone knows what the real meaning of Christmas is. The oh so wise Linus responds by quoting the true Christmas story from Luke 2.

At one point Lucy sends out Charlie Brown to find a Christmas tree. She wants a shiny, pink, aluminum one. He brings back this small , scraggly, live tree. Everyone is furious with him, and he leaves in disgust. It epitomizes his desire to bring something true and real to Christmas despite everyone else's desire to have it be artificial and materialistic.

Fast forward to last night when I was at a grocery store. Before my astonished eyes, I saw it. A small , red box with a picture of a Christmas tree on it, and the words Merry Christmas Charlie Brown on the box. Some marketing guru came up with the ideas to mass produce an artificial replica of the Charlie Brown Christmas tree. Are they serious? Wasn't the whole point to show how unnecessary all the fake decorations and commercialization are? Weren't people supposed to understand that Christmas was about celebrating the birth of a baby King who was born in Bethlehem over 2000 yrs ago? That it does not require a lot of money and hoopla to celebrate HIS birth, but simply a servant's heart.

There are so many ways to celebrate the Holy day ( holiday) season. Why is it a prerequisite to be stressed and spend lots of money? I am not against decorations or gift giving if done in a good spirit. If it becomes stressful and the source of angst and ill will, then why do it? Personally I think people of any religion would be a lot better off simply to find something which they can do to help others and do that wholeheartedly. If it helps them in the process, then all the better. I don't know.

I do know that I want to spend quality time with my family this season, and I want to teach them to serve others. And I do not need to buy an artificial Charlie Brown tree to do that.