Let's face it, times are tough. I don't know about you, but at our house, we're feeling the pinch. But, before we were willing to become a bunch of Scrooges, we held a family meeting and came up with a way we could keep Christmas jolly.

This is the year of the Re-gifting and Re-cycling Christmas. Each family member will "shop" through the stuff they already have for presents for the rest.The only rules are "gifts" have to be something the intended recipient would like to own (we're not just cleaning out closets here) and it still has to be in good condition.

The next thing we decided to do was use only recycled materials for wrapping gifts. If you're like me, the hoarder in the family, this is easy since I've been saving boxes, gift bags, and bows for years. Other suggestions, for those who do not hoard wrapping supplies, included using grocery bags, food storage containers, cans, and buckets.

Our family is so blessed. We have seen miracles at work - my husband receiving a life-saving heart transplant, the birth of our grandson - to name a few. We have so much to be grateful for. This temporary economic crunch has only made us count our blessings more and so this Christmas we'll take ourselves out of the hustle and bustle and give to one another what we already have. What could be merrier than that?