For a small group, it's always a good idea to celebrate Christmas in a warm and memorable way. Here are some ideas to get you started:
- Meet on a Sunday afternoon, or at a time when you can enjoy each other's company for longer than usual. Have everyone bring food, and allow yourselves to feast on goodies all day long. See if there is a Christmas pageant or play your group could attend in the evening. You may also want to invite your group members' spouses or family.
- Plan a Christmas celebration date for some time in January. Gifts are on sale then, and schedules are much less busy. Just leave your Christmas tree up and read the Christmas story together to recapture what you are celebrating.
- Two months before your celebration, write everyone's name on a slip of paper and have each person draw one out of a hat. Make sure no one gets his or her own name. Have everyone e-mail or write up a wish list with ideas of things they might need, colors they like, sports they play, and so on. Then see how many presents you can come up with for $20 or less. Make things, buy them on sale, or look around your house for things to can give away. Pile your presents under a Christmas tree and take turns opening them and watching each other. Just like when you were kids!
- Purchase or make stockings for everyone in your group and hang them from a fireplace or from a string tied up like a wash line. Do stocking stuffers instead of (or in addition to) exchanging presents. Some possibilities are: Christmas ornaments, homemade peanut brittle or biscotti, small picture albums, golf balls, cashews, homemade bath scrubs or bath oils. A favorite idea is to make Christmas globe terrariums, which can be used all year long. (See here for instructions.) Be sure to collect and store the stockings at the end of the celebration if you think you'll use them again next year.
- Do something as a group for a family in need. Ask your church if they know of a need, and collect presents to drop off at a home in your area. Take pictures and keep in contact with the family if you can, and share with them some of the warmth and hospitality you have established within your own group.
