holiday tradition

from 2 peas:
If there was one holiday tradition you could share with someone other than your family. What would it be and what does it mean to you?

I thought of 2... First, I send out family letters with Christmas cards, I would LOVE to receive some from friends and family (with pictures) . I love getting these (maybe thats why I blog)..maybe the why is because I am nosy.

And the second, is each year we participate in Operation Christmas Child


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and Angel Tree

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and both are a simple reminder of what Christmas should be about,
as opposed to getting swept up in the materialism...
(though I do love to shop, so I tend to overshop also)

I do want to decorate, but with our naughty grand-kitty, the consensus is he will climb the Chrismas tree.. the above pic was taken when he was a kitten (not a tree, but you get the idea) , he is now 3 years old..I am hoping he's outgrown the habit. Am I being naive?

I have the day off for a dentist appt, I think I'm gonna put up the tree (undecorated) and see what happens.