Most Americans associate Christmas, Thanksgiving, and New Years with lists of obligatory gifts and large amounts of debt with little time to handle either.  Despite the growing commercialism of the holidays, however, you can avoid both gift-giving stress and the inevitable debt that usually follows.

The solution is simple:  Don’t give gifts.  Seriously, avoid gift giving altogether.  There are certain holiday scenarios that require wrapping paper and bows but most of these revolve around children and bosses.

In these instances, consider a “Secret Santa” if you have a large family so that each person can focus on a single, meaningful gift for one person rather than a slew of cheap, rushed gifts for everyone.  A Secret Santa usually end with everyone enjoying their gift and presenting a meaningful and heartfelt thanks to the giver. 

Regarding bosses – give your boss a gift he or she would actually use.  If you don’t know enough about his or her hobbies, give a gift certificate to a local restaurant or trendy café.  This is easy if you know that he or she likes coffee, a certain type of food, or dessert.  A complimentary cooking class, Yoga, or massage works just as well.

And then there’s the rest.  Anyone deserving of a gift is probably a good friend or at least a descent acquaintance.  Unless you have already picked out and purchased the perfect gift to top all gifts, try and avoid wrapped packages.  Those familiar and practiced at the art of card writing may continue this practice, but consider removing yourself from obligatory gifts. 

How do you accomplish a gift-less Christmas?  With the proven methods of communication.  Good friends generally appreciate a mutual agreement to avoid gift giving, especially if it is replaced by something infinitely more meaningful:  your time.  Agree that, instead of wrapping pretty packages for one another, you will spend a very special evening together in celebration of the coming holidays.  After all, Christmas and Thanksgiving are about friends, family, and the wonderful relationships that develop and support you.  You’ll be surprised on how well this works.  Try it with one friend and monitor their response.  You’ll soon find yourself approaching all your friends and filling your social schedule at the same time.

Cookies and Pies work just as well as gifts, especially if you make them yourself.  This, again, is a gesture of time and energy as opposed to monetary wealth.  The gesture of presenting food dates back thousands of years and has not yet gone out of style.  Not only is this a subtle and subconscious gesture of fertility (as in harvests) and health, it also promotes sharing and giving by the recipient.  Few people can eat a whole pie by themselves and, by sharing it with other people, your gesture will be acknowledged and appreciated by many. 

As for the questionable few who don’t fit into the category of friends, but still require some sort of gesture, consider a party or a dinner gathering for all of them.  Ask each one to bring an ornament or have them string popcorn or cranberries at your party so that you can all partake in decorating a tree.  Not only do you provide them with a meaningful memory, you’ve also provided a great opportunity to introduce new friends.

Holidays are about cherishing the relationships we’ve developed over the years.  Try and ignore the blatant commercialism of the holidays, grab a bottle of wine, and invite a few friends over to share it.  Celebrate old stories and gift wrap new memories by the light of a fire with a cup of hot cider and a snowman under a full moon.