We have had a stressful year, and the added stress of finding the 'right' gift and making sure you didn't forget anyone was too much. Instead, we are spending the day together, talking, reading, singing, enjoying our family and being together. I wasn't sure at first that I'd like not giving gifts to people, but I am truly looking forward to it. Well, ironically, I think you and your wife are giving a great gift to each other. She lives alone and could stay a couple of days.
Fools rush in where angels fear to tread.
My own strategy is unilateral, unconditional surrender. Tell her you want to establish your own customs at home, and you want to include her in them. Jackie's front-page story in yesterday's Post dealt with parents in the Washington area who feel it isn't Christmas unless they overwork themselves into a frenzy. You're welcome to file questions for her in advance. Everyone is so focused on the superficial meaning of Christmas, to the point where they totally take the Christ out of it by abbreviating it as X-mas.