Simplicity in the Winter Holidays

Another place for conversation was about the winter holidays -- namely Christmas -- and the challenges that can arise for families that participate in a fairly mainstream way but want to be more intentional about the value of simplicity. Some ideas included : --- encouraging family members to give the gift of time through coupon exchanges -- talking with kids about peer pressure and helping them recognize that they won't get all the things other kids might -- making explicit the connection to values (a book about a Quaker girl, entitled The Hannah!, was suggested) -- creating community norms about when particular technology gets introduced to kids (some discussion about how to do this in a way that doesn't promote exclusivity) -- suggestions are needed for how to bring this value and set of ideas to a less welcoming audience, like in-laws.