Some tips from the Center for a New American Dream (www.newdream.org) around the holidays.
Have a cookie swap. Six friends who each make six dozen of the same kind of cookie can meet for coffee and go home with a dozen of each kind.
Frame a picture of the family home. Send it to distant friends and relatives who can't make it home this year.
Take a friend off junk mail. Generate automatic forms with your recipient's name and address at www.newdream.org/junkmail to reduce unwanted mail by 50%. Present the forms in stamped, addressed envelopes ready to sign and mail.
Make an emergency kit for the car. Create a gift basket with a blanket, flashlight, gas can, jumper cables and flares.
Make a donation in someone's name. Heifer International is one great recipient. Buy a village a goat!
Give the gift of reconnection. Call an estranged friend or write a letter to someone you haven't seen in a few years.
Share the love of reading. Give away the last great book you bought and enjoyed to someone who shares your taste.
Storytelling is a powerful way to preserve family memories, especially if you exaggerate a few details for posterity.
Designate an amount of money to donate and let your kids pick the charity.
Give a gift of kindness: shovel snow for an elderly neighbor, leave potted flowers or herbs anonymously on a friend's doorstep, clean the cat box without being asked!
Scaling back at the holidays takes an extra effort at first, but it can be deeply rewarding, leaving more time for friends, faith or just some self-care.
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