How To Celebrate an Eco-friendly, Creative and Traditional Christmas
These days, the world is rapidly changing and so is Christmas. We are now living in a virtual world surrounded by gizmos and gadgets, tablets, social-networking and such. Christmas is 6 months away......unfortunately it is very much part of the already commercialized world and hence Christmas is no longer celebrated in the right spirit. People, instead of enjoying traditional Christmas festivities, are now more interested in the festive sales, corporate parties, online-shopping, latest movie releases and all. A year ago, I had witnessed many dramatic changes concerning the Christmas season: people preoccupied with the theme of Christmas parties; modern makeovers of Christmas trees, the Nativity of Jesus Christ, wreaths, etc; many shopping malls started "early Christmas" for their own monetary benefits; food delivery replaced home-preparations; preference of ordered gifts over personalized presents; rising demand of hi-tech toys by kids; aggressive web-marketing of Christmas gifts; eating out with friends at swanky restaurants or clubs instead of home family-gatherings and the list goes on........
Not only Christmas got commercially exploited but also lost a touch of creativity and the considerable amount of enthusiasm to preserve the important Christmas traditions.
How many times these wonderful proverbs such as 'It is better to give than to receive', 'Share and share alike', etc ring a bell yet we have remained deaf to them! Christmas, as we all know, is the birthday of Jesus Christ, who taught us so many valuable lessons yet we have discarded them for our own self-interests! Instead of considering Christmas as a season of prayer, pure joy and togetherness, we look upon it as a materialistic festival of enjoyment.
It is high time we need to pull up our socks and make plenty of amends to revive the rightful traditions of Christmas.
Solutions for a meaningful Christmas:
1. Instead of going out for lavish dinners or outside parties, opt for a home get-together with your loved ones
Remember that the family comes first. There is a great sense of harmony and amity in private Christmas celebrations with your families. Nothing can ever be better than a lovely close-knit family gathering on Christmas day in the world!
How to make a 3-D Christmas tree cake
2. Instead of ordering food, cook homemade food and bake typical Christmas desserts
Christmas is about celebrating love. Preparing a delicious feast for your loved ones is a beautiful way of expressing love.
For easy Christmas recipes, visit the following:
www.nigella.com/
www.rachelallenbake.com
3. Participate in Christmas carol-singing groups
No Christmas is complete without singing carols. Take part in them with zest and zeal to keep the traditions of Christmas alive and also to spread cheer around.
4. Involve in charity works
Remember one important verse from the Holy Bible - 'Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitability'. This single line should transform into massive action by actively engaging in local charity organizations and donations for the needy and the underprivileged.
To get involved in charity organizations, visit the following:
- www.christmasspiritfoundation.org
- www.crisis.org.uk/
- Angel Tree
- Operation Christmas Child
- Make a Wish Foundation
- Toys for Tots
- Donation4Charity.org
- www.toybox.org.uk/
- www.operationgive.com
- www.salvationarmy.com/
5. Set up fetes / carnivals for causes
I remembered that a few years ago, in my college they hosted Christmas carnival year after year not just for the students to indulge in Christmas festivities but also for charitable services. Create your own carnival / fete in your neighbourhood, charity-fundraising event, etc to ensure the striking balance between bestowing the traditional Christmas festivities on visitors and lending your hands to the deprived.
For setting up Christmas carnivals, visit www.ehow.com
6. Add a creative element to the Christmas season
Make gorgeous Christmas tree ornaments, using your ideas and imagination. There are loads of art programmes, books and websites which guide you in making homemade Christmas crafts. Also create your own personalized presents for your relatives and friends, using your talents. These creative activities save heaps of dollars and time in crowded malls!
For creative ideas, visit www.artattackfun.com and www.artattack.com
DIY Nail Polish Christmas Ornaments
7. Educate your children
Teach your children to observe the original traditions of Christmas and initiate them into the partaking of the creative activities, charitable causes and carol singing groups. Let kids believe in Santa Claus, stockings, mistletoe, etc to ignite their innocent imagination and experience the magic of Christmas! Advise your children to preserve the true Christmas traditions and pass them effectively to the next generation.
9. Adopt Green Christmas
Today global warming issues and Al Gore Jr's strong environmental concerns propel us to go green in Christmas time.
Some eco-friendly tips included:
i. Make your own Christmas tree either out of recyclable handicraft materials or young trees from your garden. Try to opt for potted trees which can be re-planted into your garden after Christmas season. Avoid synthetic Christmas trees as they are made of harmful chemicals.
ii. Make the best use of recyclable materials for creating cards, presents, decorations, etc.
iii. Instead of neon lights, use your creative handicrafts in creating décor and outside-home decorations.
iv. "Reduce, Reuse, Recycle" rule!
For more eco-friendly ideas, visit the following:
www.greenchristmas.com
www.greenchristmas.org.uk
8. Stick to the traditional Christmas
I am not a fan of ultra-modern makeover of Christmas trees. The Christmas tree in space avatar or sort of Picasso style is a big turn-off!
The traditional Christmas tree represents Christmas season and need not be distorted to one's fantasy!
The same principle of originality applies to the Nativity of Jesus Christ, wreaths, etc.
10. Last but not the least - visit a church on Christmas day
I remind all of you that Christmas is not only the time for sharing, caring, helping but also praying to Jesus Christ on his birthday and thanking him for all the small and big joys he brought to our lives. Sing hymns in his glory and at the end of the day, all of you will be filled with peace and renewed faith.
It is never too late. If we all make sincere effort, the overall result would would be a mammoth success not only to celebrate Christmas in its true spirit but also rejoice Jesus Christ's arrival into our world and seek his divine blessings.
Copyrights © 2011 by Ishwaryaa Dhandapani
An amazing hub by the well-known hub-author
Here is an extremely helpful hub by billybuc (Bill Holland) filled with economical ideas about celebrating Christmas in a creative and reasonable manner.
