By Sally Treadwell

If all the holiday season means to you is a feverish round of shopping and extra chores, whoa, slow down! Holidays, originally holy days, are a time to turn aside from daily routine and take time to worship, to relax, and/or reconnect with friends and family. Stuck in a rut? Here are some suggestions for tweaking your family’s usual celebration and gift-giving, plus ideas for staying well.

Six-Word Memoirs for the holidays
Six-word memoirs have been sweeping the nation ever since the publication of the provocative book Not Quite What I Was Planning: Six-Word Memoirs by Famous and Obscure Writers. They’re kind of like haikus, only even more terse and often a whole lot funnier—‘nose broken; beauty queen changes profession,’ or, ‘Wasn’t born a redhead; fixed that’ —and sometimes more poignant: ‘I still make coffee for two.’

Hmmm. How about six-word memoirs to immortalize those non-Kodak holiday moments? It’ll take a few minutes to get into the rhythm of it while you’re lingering around the table or fireplace, cracking walnuts and sipping coffee, but before long, even surly teenagers will be snickering over their efforts. Make yours silly, sentimental, appreciative, loving, funny, whatever comes to mind. Vote, and give a prize for “best in show”. Scrapbookers can incorporate the whole family’s howlers and loving memories into their pages. Here are a few to get you started:

“Turkey’s dry.” Daughter-in-law banished.
Flaming chimney. Memo: don’t burn wrappings.
Dad botched bikes; kids went flying.
Two kittens, one Christmas tree, CRASH.
Ate Santa’s cookies. Tears. No presents?
BB? You’ll shoot your eye out!
Dear Santa: I want it all (from a toddler of my acquaintance!)

Giving thanks for miracles
“The miracle is not to walk on water. The miracle is to walk on the green earth, dwelling deeply in the present moment and feeling truly alive,” Vietnamese monk Thich Nhat Hanh once said.

The man has a point. Over the years I’ve interviewed many cancer patients, and every one of them has said pretty much the same thing. That although they would never have chosen to learn to appreciate life’s miracles in such a brutal fashion, learn appreciation they did—appreciation of rime ice encasing a tracery of dark branches, of the total absorption of a toddler stacking blocks, of the stretch and pull of their muscles steadily pedaling a mountain bike. Fighting for life does tend to bring with it the ability to truly be engaged in—well, life.

Of course, my family claims it’s a miracle if I cook anything edible. And I think it’s a miracle if anyone else does the dishes after Thanksgiving dinner. But seriously, we shouldn’t wait for disease to make us take the time to appreciate the incredible miracle, the perfect storm of biology, that enables us to put one foot in front of the other and feel the living grass beneath our soles as we turn our faces to the winter sun.

Now that’s something else to give thanks for as we gather around the table with our loving friends and families.

Throw a storybook holiday party
No, not a Martha Stewart-perfect party—I mean, literally, with storybooks. On the very day we brought our first child home from the hospital, in mid-December, I read her The Night Before Christmas by Clement C. Moore while she slept in my arms. And since then, holiday books have been a cherished part of our children’s Christmas.

Come to find out, we’re not the only ones who exclaim with delight when we dig our collection of holiday books out of the boxes of decorations. Look! Here’s A Child’s Christmas in Wales (by Dylan Thomas), and remember how you used to run your fingers over the embossing on The Snow Tree (by Caroline Repchuk)?

All our friends have their favorites, too. Margie’s family reads Hannukah Cat by Chaya M.Burstein every year; Maggie’s reads The Year of the Perfect Christmas Tree: An Appalachian Story by Gloria Houston and A Wish to Be a Christmas Tree by Colleen Monroe. Rashna and her children read Lights for Gita by Rachna Gilmore when Diwali rolls around. Come Eid al Fitr, Abdul reads Night of the Moon: A Muslim Holiday Story by Hena Khan to his kids. Carolyn’s girls like knowing that every evening during Advent, they’ll hear a story from The Jesse Tree by Geraldine McCaughrean. Jack’s mom used to read him Seven Spools of Thread: A Kwanzaa Story by Angela Shelf Medearis; now he reads it to his little sister.

So here’s an idea. Share! Ask everyone to bring their favorite holiday storybook to a party. Take turns to read aloud, or pass books around, and learn about each other’s cultures and beliefs. Discover charming new favorites and find out things you never knew about your friends—who’da thunk your wise-cracking buddy from New York has a wonderfully gooey side?

For extra credit:
Have each person bring a dish that’s found in their book, whether it’s hot chocolate, latkes or Bûche de Noël.

Ask everyone to dress as characters from A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens (stringing clanking cashboxes around your person is surprisingly fun) and then maybe go see the new movie as a group.

Suggest that kids draw, model or act out scenes from their favorite books; then guess which book it is.

Let’s hear it for the Official Holiday Fruit
They’re huge this year—more unutterably crimson, more glorious, than ever before. Pile them in silver bowls as eye-candy and simple centerpieces; savor them in salads, desserts, and cocktails. And if you don’t have a clue that I’m talking about pomegranates, hey, get with it! Pomegranates are only in season for a short time (a fabulous consolation for the end of raspberry season) but they’re nutritional powerhouses. They’re full of potassium and more antioxidants than red wine, helping to zap the biological damage that causes cancer, diabetes, clogged arteries, and high blood pressure. Ideally, you should both eat the juicy seeds and drink the juice sold separately—pomegranate juice incorporates the skin, which contains goodies not found in the yummy, fiber-filled seeds.

For a festive “cocktail” for non-drinkers and kids, mix one part pure pomegranate juice with two parts limeade, Sprite or sparkling apple juice. Add a twist of lime. Drinkers can indulge in champagne poured over 1 TBS of pomegranate syrup in the bottom of the flute—spike with a lemon twist.

Sweep those zipper-busting ‘50s Jello salads right off your holiday menus and replace them with something prettier, easier, and lighter. Arrange the lettuce mix of your choice on dainty salad plates; then top with a little watercress for pungency if you like, spiced walnuts, cored and thinly-sliced pears, and a handful of vibrant pomegranate seeds. A little goat cheese is optional. Drizzle with a dressing made from 1/2 c olive oil, 3 TBS wine or balsamic vinegar, 3 TBS pure pomegranate juice, a dash of walnut oil, ½ tsp good mustard, and salt and freshly ground pepper to taste.

Your children will love helping de-seed the pomegranates (no-mess method: cut into sections, plunge into a bowl of cold water, and twist or scoop to pop the seeds out; then drain) and make the salad.

A child’s holiday “chores.”
Let your children count down to the holidays with a daily chore—to provide the centerpiece for your breakfast or dinner table. No, not a complicated flower arrangement! Ask them to find something meaningful, something that is the essence of the holiday spirit, and tell you about it. It could be an ornament from the tree, one you picked out together on vacation in San Francisco. Maybe a river pebble from a kayaking trip with Grandpa; or perhaps that picture they drew of the family as a toddler, the one you can’t bear to take off the fridge. Record their choices with a digital camera and create your own family advent calendar.

People talk a lot about self-esteem. But self-esteem doesn’t come from absurd amounts of praise; it comes from competence and making a real contribution. Deputize your elves to each be responsible for one aspect of the celebration. That might mean making sure that your entrance hall stays tidy and festive, ready to welcome holiday guests; being responsible for making sure that every guest knows where the bathroom is; unloading the dishwasher ready for the next round of glasses; or wrapping gifts. Older kids are great for that last one—once they are old enough to keep secrets, they revel in being part of the mysterious gift-giving process.

Christmas around the world
If you celebrate Christmas, you’d be amazed at how differently every other country does it. Italians gorge on seafood on Christmas Eve and tear into the gifts right after Midnight Mass—Christmas day just means a big nap. In India, Christians decorate banana or mango trees and put the little clay lamps also used for Diwali on their rooftops and windowsills. In Iraq, all members of the family read the story of the Nativity in a candlelit courtyard and then light a bonfire made from thorns—once it has burned to ashes, everyone jumps over it three times and makes a wish.

Children love to research all these stories and incorporate elements into family celebrations. Ask them to find out about a different custom each day between Thanksgiving and Christmas, marking off the countries on a world map as they go. Before you know it, you may be lighting ghee-filled clay lamps to light the way for Jesus, as well as putting out carrots for Rudolph.

Taming the Gift Monster
Face it—your family is multiplying rapidly. When a dozen nieces and nephews each marry and produce a couple of kids apiece, even Santa starts looking martyred.

Does that mean that inveterate gift givers have to beg for mercy? Not necessarily.

Consider a family agreement to give only one gift per family. That could mean a board game, family passes to science museums or the Y, or a clutch of hula hoops and a hula exercise DVD.

Or agree to give gifts only to your own nuclear family and then plan an activity for the extended family, either splitting expenses or taking it in turns to host outings. You could zip up to the North Carolina ski slopes, carry a winter picnic into the Chattahoochee National Forest, take art lessons, go paintballing (we couldn’t stop laughing), try a zipline, visit the theatre, hit an indoor climbing wall facility or bouldering adventure, volunteer at a wildlife rehab center….experiences make the best gift of all.

Or agree that you will use your holiday cash for a gift to God or the universe via a family in need, or a home for abused children. Shop together for the things on their list and add a few extras; deliver with a smile; then simply share cookies and hot chocolate and a round of carols at home.

You might save money or not, depending on which option you choose, but you will certainly ditch the stress that comes with trying to find the perfect gift for 40 people—and have a fantastic time with the people you love.

Pediatrician-approved gifts for kids —Culture Shots!
Think the arts are just the frilly part of life? Well, they’re not. Endless studies show that involvement in the arts demonstrably improves IQ, self-confidence, communication skills, self-expression, tolerance, behavior, and of course creativity. In other words, the arts are essential to creating a well-rounded individual

In fact, according to a Christian Science Monitor correspondent, a number of pediatricians in Germany have committed to a new “Culture Shot” program, giving theatre tickets to every child aged 7 to 15 who comes in for a well check-up. Düsseldorf pediatrician Hermann-Josef came up with the idea as a way of supporting the physical, emotional and intellectual growth of all children, regardless of income or background.

Writes Isabelle de Pommereau, “Stefan Fischer, who heads the Düsseldorf Children and Youth Theater, calls the concept revolutionary. ‘It revolutionizes our understanding of theater and of medicine,’ Mr. Fischer says. ‘The project makes clear that culture is a basic nutrient and not a luxury.’”

More German pediatricians are signing on to the program every day. Maybe you can encourage your own pediatrician to think about starting up a similar program here, as a long-lived gift to all the children of your community. But in the short term--what a great gift to give the children of your acquaintance; tickets for theatre, puppet shows, concerts, dance!

Check southsideartsagenda.com, artrelish.com or atlantaperforms.com for door-opening ideas.

Staying well though the holidays
If you want to totally avoid both seasonal flu and the dread pirate Swine Flu, you’re going to have to stay home, encased in a bubble. And that’s not going to happen—what, and miss all those holiday parties, crazed shopping expeditions, and ice-skating excursions? Fie on THAT idea! Vaccinations might help—check with your doctor-—but regardless, it’s good to focus on ‘strengthening the host’ as well as ‘killing the invader.’ That means revving up your immune system.

So be sure you and your family have enough sleep. That’s essential. Eat plenty of fruits and vegetables, chock full of nutrients, to dramatically cut the chances of infection. If you smoke, quit (yes, I know, but it seriously depresses your immune system). Exercise EVERY day—it increases the activity of virus and bacteria-fighting cells for hours. Exercise EVERY day—it increases the activity of virus and bacteria-fighting cells for many hours. Lay off the sugar, which just fertilizes the bad bacteria in your gut, and consider twice-daily probiotics to increase the immune-strengthening good bacteria. Wash your hands often, and wipe germs off phones and door handles. And we swear by Jade Screen, a centuries-old Chinese formula that contains the immune-booster astragalus (when one child came home very sick, my husband refused to take it like the rest of us. He was sick for days. We dodged it).