Traditionally Christmas has been a time when families get together and in New Zealand we’re pretty firm on that. We insist that we all see each other on 25 December. But has Christmas in your house become all about the gifts, or do you still have some family traditions that you follow?

Around the world, Christmas and other end-of-year celebrations have always been about sharing food and gifts, a custom designed to help us express appreciation and celebrate abundance. And even a few generations ago the gifts people exchanged would have been modest and nearly always home-made because gift giving had not become the huge commercial industry it is today. Here’s a guide to bringing your family back to more traditional Christmas values and help your finances in the process:

The joy of giving
Encourage your children to give gifts with meaning. It could be something they made themselves or a donation in their name – how about a piglet for an impoverished family in East Timor or a special baby emergency kit for disaster relief? Here’s a list of charitable organisations where you can shop:

• ChildFund New Zealand 0800 223 111 or www.childfund.org.nz
• Fred Hollows Foundation 0800 227 229 or www.hollows.org.nz
• Leprosy Mission 0800 862 873 or www.leprosymission.org.nz
• Oxfam 0800 600 700 or www.oxfamunwrapped.org.nz
• Save the Children 0800 167 168 or www.wishlist.org.nz
• TEAR Fund 0800 800 777 or www.giftsforlife.co.nz
• Unicef 0800 243 575 or www.unicef.org.nz
• World Vision 0800 245 000 or www.giftsofhope.org.nz

New traditions
Talk to your kids about creating new family traditions or reviving old ones you remember from your childhood, such as lighting a candle for each person in the family at the beginning of Christmas Day and getting that person to talk about what they’re thankful for. This moves the focus from material things and encourages a sense of togetherness.

Talk to your kids about big words like “commercialism” and “materialism” and discuss how advertising works. Ask them to look at the things on their Christmas wish-lists and ask them why they want them. Was it the advertisement that attracted them or do they see those gifts serving a purpose?

Design constructive presents such as volunteering to help an elderly neighbour for a year or writing out coupons for favours such as washing the car or cooking a meal once a week (obviously this is an older child idea).

If there are a lot of children in your extended family, consider organising a Secret Santa rather than everyone buying lots of presents. Each child buys a present for one other child in the family with a spending limit of $5 or $10. And take it a step further – added to the gift is the understanding that the Secret Santa recipient also gets looked after for the day with some special treatment. Talk about the symbols of Christmas.

Did you know that the pine tree represents everlasting hope because it is green all year? And that the pine needles pointing upwards are said to represent man’s thoughts turning to heaven? The star on top of the tree symbolises a heavenly sign from God, giving hope to humankind. The wreath represents the true nature of love, which like a circle never ends, and the holly represents immortality. Angels have significance because they first heralded the news of Jesus’ birth and the candy cane represents the crook carried by shepherds.

Christmas stockings come from a legend where St Nicholas threw pouches of coins down the chimney and they landed in stockings that were drying by the fireplace. And Santa Claus originated in the fourth century – he was based on a real person, St Nicholas, a generous man who was devoted to children and did many charitable acts.