Christmas

Once I registered for the ten-day course, it dawned on me that I would spend the holidays alone, meditating. I was also leaving behind parts of myself.

My sister and I aren’t the only people damaged by Christmases past. We're taking back the holiday and building new Christmas memories.

Christmas, Hanukkah, and Kwanzaa are nearly here. So, what do you do when your family doesn’t celebrate any holidays whatsoever?

If you grew up in a typical Christmas tradition, you probably had the same dinner at Thanksgiving and at Christmas.

We've got a little bit of everything: candles that smell like your favorite books, family pajamas that will last for years to come, and organizations to pick when giving the ultimate gift of a donation in your loved one's name to a cause they care about.

A weekly trip to Walmart would end in tears — first theirs, then mine. Them pining in the toy aisle. Me saying no. Over and over. It wasn’t so much that I wanted to buy my kids whatever they wanted, it was that I couldn’t.

A photo of your long-dead cat, Milo, in a brass Easter egg-shaped frame. Oh, sweet animal, I miss your furballs, you think when you hang it on a low branch. Milo had an uncanny ability to hork on laps when unwanted visitors overstayed their welcome.

Advertisers don't encourage us to believe that our kids need to make memories more than another toy to wage war on capitalism; they do it because these experience gifts support incredibly successful industries. When we shift our dollars from toys to travel, for instance, we are still supporting big business.