For many Americans, Christmas is one of the most comforting times of the year. Families come together, hardships are set aside for the holiday and the focus is on celebration. Even companies get into the spirit of the season, with Christmas gift baskets arriving daily and offices brightly decorated. People socialize more, attending festive get togethers, dinner parties and parties. At the same time, there is a tendency to fall back into the comfort of home, complete with colorful lights, the Christmas tree covered with ornaments, good food, a crackling fire and surrounded by decorative touches like Christmas flowers.

Is there anything that beats sitting at your desk at work and having a courier drop off a Christmas gift basket from one of your associates or another company you have a relationship with? True, you’ll quickly have a horde of coworkers in your office, sampling the various treats, but you know you’ll have your snacking taken care of for the rest of the week, at least. Some businesses send out Poinsettias as well and the cheerful plants always add a welcome splash of color to conservative office decor. Here’s an idea that’s become increasingly popular with my friends and family. We leave our regular Christmas gift ritual as it is for our kids -nothing will ever complete with the latest toys or electronic gizmos with that crowd- but for each other we’ve stopped shopping for gifts and decided to send Christmas gift baskets instead. It’s been a perfect addition to our holiday ritual, cutting down on the stress of shopping while ensuring that everyone gets something they’ll appreciate and be able to enjoy for days to come. You can buy a Christmas gift basket in any number of themes, including fresh fruit, wine, cheesecakes, candy, spa treatments, you name it; there are even branded versions like those featuring Martha Stewart or Starbucks products.

Another area where some of our holiday traditions are changing is in the area of Christmas flowers. Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate a planter bursting with fresh Poinsettias, but I also like to shake things up a bit. To me, Christmas decorating is about bright colors and fresh smells and that doesn’t mean that everything has to be red, green and white. Of course there are some wonderful ways to decorate with red and white roses that stick to that color scheme, but I’ve begun to experiment with a bigger palette. For example, last year I used pink and pale yellow ribbon on our Christmas tree, and to complement this softer, more pastel approach to seasonal decorating, I kept an arrangement of Lilies and Carnations on the living room table. It was muted, but still bright and cheerful. Next year, I’m going to add a bouquet of spray roses to give even more color and to add that heavenly smell to the room. With their versatility, I might even go so far as to say that roses are now my favorite Christmas flower.