What do you do for the holidays?

Having 4 young kids the holidays can get quite hectic. Thanksgiving we usually run to families, although the past 2 years we have had our own Thanksgiving right here at home. This year we are probably changing things up again and going to friends who are like family. The day after Thanksgiving is the day we put up our tree. Then comes Christmas. Usually every year we try to go all out and buy a bunch of stuff. This year we sat and thought, why? What is the need to go all out? They get things from us and from the family. They get plenty and don't really need most of it and a majority gets played with a short while and then tossed aside or broken. It really is quite a waste.

This year we decided we are changing things up. We are doing the 5 gift rule. We are doing something they want, something they need, something to wear, something to read, and something they want that they didn't know they want. This is really going to cut down on things that they don't need. Having 4 kids things add up really quickly.

Normally on Christmas eve we go to family on my husbands side and sometimes my grandma on my dads side. In the evening we go to church. Christmas morning we wake up and kids open gifts then in the evening we go to my family on my moms side.

How do you guys celebrate the holidays? Do you have any traditions?