10 No-cost Ideas to Make your Christmas Joyful

Here are ten no-cost ideas that just might make your Christmas celebration a bit more joyful this year.

1. Forgive someone. The greatest gift from God is that we are forgiven! But, it comes with a price. We must also forgive.
2. Call someone. You have been meaning to pick up the phone and call a friend all year. But, somehow other things have always gotten in the way. We all have busy lives suffering from time famine. But, now is the time to do it. Pick up the phone Right Now, and call someone. Then finish reading the article later!
3. The Christmas celebration won’t be perfect! Even with all of the planning and stressing something will go wrong, something will be forgotten, someone will get on your nerves. Don’t stress, Christmas will be wonderful, just not perfect.
4. Be patient with relatives. Relatives and fish have one thing in common, after three days they both stink! Try to remember the good things and be patient with those things that bother you. Christmas celebrations end and your patience at those things that irritate you will be long forgotten come January.
5. Visit someone. An elderly friend or relative in the nursing home or assisted living facility would love a visit. A neighbor, whose spouse died this year, would love someone to reminisce with, even for just a few minutes.
6. Offer a random act of kindness. I love the stories of people who randomly pay for kids toys in a stores layaway department to the amazement of the parents. Paying for the latte of the person next in line at Starbucks, being a secret Santa for a kid whose name you got from the giving tree, and be rewarding and bring you joy.
7. Give some time to the less fortunate. Volunteer to help out at a shelter, food pantry, St. Vincent DePaul or Salvation Army center.
8. Help someone close to you with money. The relative that is unemployed, widowed, or has fallen on hard times could use some money for gifts for their kids, or to pay the rent or utility bills. One less gift for your family can help another family have something.
9. Make Worship part of your Christmas. Attending mass on Christmas Eve or day is one of the highlights of my celebration. To this day my eyes tear when we sing the refrain, “Today is born our Savior, Christ the Lord.”
10. Share the story of Christ’s birth. Young children love to hear the nativity story. Find the time to share the story of Jesus’ birth with them. If you have a nativity set in your home, use it to share the story having the youngest child place the statue of Jesus in the manger.

I hope these ideas are helpful, and may trigger some even better ideas that you can share as well. Let’s all try to have a Christmas with less stress and more joy!

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