Like many great ideas, necessity was the mother of this invention. It was 2008, the stock market had plummeted and everyone was feeling strapped, wishing for Christmas to be simpler and less expensive. So we came up with a few simple rules for family gift giving — every present had to be under $10, recycled, or homemade — otherwise known as the "10 RH" rule. Once the rules were communicated and agreed upon, everybody went to work.

Christmas Day arrived and all the joy of the season came with it. My mother made fudge, and then we wrapped up her barely-used collection of purses for every woman and girl in the family, and to the men, she gave a slightly used briefcase or backpack. My in-laws gave away very special items from their home and the room filled with shouts of glee as sons, daughters, grandchildren, and in-laws unwrapped precious books from childhood and special pieces of family furniture or silver that had been lovingly polished anew. The farmers in our family presented frozen pork chops and sausage from Ralph the 4-H pig, dilly beans from their garden, figs in earl grey tea, pickled quince and fresh eggs from a new flock of chickens. I gave photographs in recycled frames, and Emily made incredible batches of olives brined in her secret recipe of spices and oils. And nobody spent more than $10 on any gift.

We set up a table for a CD Exchange, and what was one person’s tired music became another’s great discovery. And then, over eggnog and olives, we had the funniest Yankee Swap and watched a family of adult women fight over a Jane Austin CD collection that ended up being a box without the CDs.

Financial necessity changed our family Christmas. Since then, Christmas has become more creative, thoughtful and less hectic. That holiday season changed our family attitudes about consumption and gift-exchange.

Gift-exchange is circular in its very nature. When a gift is given and received in love, both the giver and the recipient are blessed. Our Jewish sisters and brothers call it a mitzvah.

Gift-giving is a part of the holiday season. I believe that the holiday gifts we give and receive are really symbols and reminders of the greatest gift of all — the love of God freely given to all of us. As history has shown over and over again, that love overcomes everything, even economics.

As you prepare for the holiday season, whether you celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah, or Kwanza, I offer “10RH” as one way of managing expectations, finances, and energy while magnifying the blessings and love that we share.