Holiday clutter brings extra stress. Avoid it this year by reimagining gifts, making your own decorations, and skipping matching outfits.

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When I was a kid, my father didn't want a Christmas tree. As a minimalist, he didn't enjoy dragging it into the house only to throw it out a few weeks later. But my mother insisted, in order to create some magic for us kids. So every year, we went to the woods behind our house in Texas, cut down a cedar tree, carried it inside, and decorated it with family-heirloom ornaments and a string of chili pepper lights.