Our main Christmas celebration usually involves going to a candlelight service on Christmas eve, occasionally even performing, e.g., providing the traditional guitar accompaniment for a traditional rendition of Silent Night. Then on Christmas day, either having a small gathering at our apartment or going to a similar small gathering at friends or relatives. Dinner and general merriment.

If the "Commercial Christmas Industry" relied on Barbara and me, they'd be in pretty sad straits.

Gifts? Yeah, a few. We're getting my brother-in-law, John (my sister's husband), a book we know he wants. He searched for it, but couldn't find it in any bookstore. Being fairly resourceful, I managed to find copy, which we'll give to him for Christmas. Borders and Barnes & Noble aren't going profit much off that deal. John, in turn, often buys me a software CD for my computer. Last year it was a "Galaxy Explorer" astronomy program. Star finder. Hubble telescope photos. Lots of moving graphics. About $10.00 off the rack at Best Buy. We're giving my sister Pat a couple of CDs that we know she wants.

Most of the Christmas gifts Barbara and I give are of that nature: we buy for a very limited list (close friends and nearby relatives), we stick to small items, and we give what we're pretty sure they're about to buy for themselves anyway.

The kind of gifts we exchange with friends and relatives are generally—   Well, let me give you a couple of examples. Our friend Phoebe makes unique, one-of-a-kind jewelry, and is very good at it. She usually gives Barbara a pin or a pair of earrings or something like that, and she usually gives me a big box full of several kinds of cookies that she bakes herself. Barbara psychs out what Phoebe might like and gets it for her. Often a selection of soaps and lotions. Things like that. Generally small stuff. Personal stuff. And usually not very expensive stuff. And since everybody already has a lot of stuff, we usually try to give each other consumables. Sometimes it will be something like tickets for a concert or a play. Not something that's going to wind up in a closet or in the basement.

I can't remember the exact figure, but some news commentator mentioned the average amount the pundits figured people would spend for Christmas gifts this year. It occurred to me at the time that Barbara and I would probably be spending about a tenth of that, if that much. And it ain't because we're just plain cheap. It's because we're judicious and we're not inclined to unhinge our brains and follow the herd into bankruptcy. And, happily, the friends and relatives we do exchange gifts with are equally judicious.   

We don't drink Coke or Pepsi either.

Don Firth