Parental Advisory: Holiday Gift Overload. How to Keep the Fun in Holiday Traditions.

My husband is Jewish and I'm Catholic so we have a lot of holiday celebrations at our house. The celebrating part is great, but the piles of gifts for the kids is ridiculous. I'm sure my husband (although he hasn't said it) doesn't want us diminishing Hanukkah excitement for kiddos too young by not giving the kids small gifts each night. And I was raised with the belief that a pile of gifts under the tree and a full stocking is the best part of the season - but enough is enough. Eight nights of gifts followed by a visit from Santa (not to mention, two sets of Grandparents) has us drowning in toys/clothes/socks. How can we stop the madness without taking the presents out of one celebration or the other?

- We Need More Closets!

Dear Closets,

If you want less merchandise in the house, you and your husband are going to need to make some edits to your respective nostalgic expectations. You'll have to give up the idea that Christmas is only Christmas when Santa's generosity overflows to the front door. And your husband will have to give up the idea that Hanukkah is an eight-day marathon of continuous excitement. But you can build traditions and associations that work better for your new family.

You both know you want to dial down. Now you just have to hash out the details of your hybrid holiday plan. A good place to start is by sitting down with your husband and working out what's important to each of you about your holiday memories. What do you think you'd miss most? What's most special, and what might be redundant? Are there broader family plans and traditions you need to take into account?

Read the rest of this advice here.