Have you ever thought about this?:  New traditions are being created all the time! Sometimes an idea you implement takes on a life of its own... It's really just a matter of it being enjoyed enough to want to repeat the experience.

Or sometimes you cherish the idea for years before being able to put it into practice (sort of a pre-tradition!)... Something I’ve long wanted to do is to decorate an outdoor tree for the critters in snow country - but I lived the first 48 years of my life where it didn’t snow! Now feeding the winter wildlife can be worked into my Christmas celebrations - and that preparatory anticipation does seem to have added significance to the tradition for me.

Got a grain elevator near you? ...Take the party there (or a vanguard?) to collect the sweepings from the floor - the local birds will be ever so grateful for a guaranteed supply of feed. (Great feeding stations for ground-feeding birds can be made before it snows by putting an old satellite dish on blocks.) Apportion out the gleanings for everyone to take home to their feathery neighbors. (Make other bird feeders while you gather? See "Bird houses/feeders" in Instructions.)

Is there snow in your area? Here’s an idea I’d love to implement for a gathering:  making snow angels and/or snowmen - and other shapes - in other people’s yards. This would have a "feel" along the lines of going house to house singing carols… only the shared gift (of the output - snow sculptures instead of songs) would be a surprise.after the fact. Imagine waking up in the morning to find a lovely little snow rabbit, for example, in the front yard, glistening in the morning light… (If you had to pick and choose from a plethora of yards, perhaps it would be useful to imagine a lonely elderly person, or an angry curmudgeon, or an only child waking to such a delight.)

I’ve always wanted to participate in a Handel’s "Messiah" sing-along... It would be a great hub for a party! Choral singing particularly (especially of the "Hallelujah Chorus"!) is a real invigorator and inspirer... and all the singers will be primed for the conviviality of a heartfelt toast aprés concert.

Or what other event might your group enjoy - The Nutcracker? The school Christmas play? In Los Angeles, spending an evening at Olivera Street is a favorite for old and young alike... What’s on offer where you live? (I love those parades of lights - boats, farm wagons, logging trucks, etc. etc.) And maybe it isn’t holiday-related per se, but still fostering togetherness and goodwill...

Is there a very special winter place near where you live? - take everybody there. Perhaps the moonlit snow viewed from a hill... An awe-inspiring tree in the silent woods... A bonfire at the beach... Viewing the lights of the city from atop a high tower... Near my home, if the weather’s right, December might be an excellent time to view the incredible "icicle falls" on the rocks along the river. Search your awareness for any place that deepens one’s appreciation for beauty, engenders personal peace... capitalizes on and magnifies the spirit of the holidays.

Just a thought can start a new tradition that will carry on in the lives of all the people present. Sitting around a bonfire, one person makes a wish as s/he throws a pinecone on the fire... One year, you decide to have everybody sleep around the lit Christmas tree on Christmas Eve, as a fire dies in the fireplace... Everybody drives around together looking at house lights, or just goes outside to look at the stars...