Carl Pettit

Christmas traditions around the world can be quite different from what we’re used to at home.

Christmas is the time of giving and families, but it also has a darker side.

Santa Claus, who without a doubt really does exist, doesn’t have time to make a personal appearance in every Hollywood movie about Christmas ever made. Instead, he relies on a number of talented actors to portray him on the silver screen.

Globes and angels and stars are fine, but for the folks who like to be a little more imaginative with their Christmas-tree decorations—whether from boredom or budget—we’ve come up with a list of five unusual ways to help get the creative wheels in your noggin spinning:

Christmas means toys, food, holiday cards, laughter, singing, family squabbles and lot of sweets stuffed inside your belly. The festive season also means a ton of money will be spent on those near and dear to us—and with so many sales going on, maybe just a bit on yourself as well.

“Come on! It’s lovely weather for a sleigh ride together with you.” Those famous words, from the song ‘Sleigh Bells Ringing,’ signal the arrival of lots of snow in the colder regions of the planet—and tons of winter fun. What better way to enjoy the crisp air, and the cold outdoors, than by taking a “cool” sleigh ride?

Christmas is a time for brotherly love, family, friends, good food and presents. It’s also a time, apparently, for setting some pretty astonishing—and often downright wacky—holiday records.

Snow falls from the sky, shops sell their Christmas wares, and the sweet fragrance of gingerbread houses fill the air—'tis the season! In the United States, there are plenty of Christmas traditions around to keep everyone happy. Gift giving, holiday meals and ornament-covered trees are in abundance everywhere.

Christmastime means garlands, garlands all over the place. When you see them hanging about shopping malls and your neighbors’ houses, you know the holiday season has arrived. As widespread as these decorative wreaths of flowers, leaves and twigs are, most people don’t really know why they’re associated with Christmas.

Santa Claus, that jolly fellow who races across the sky in his reindeer-pulled sleigh on Christmas Eve after judging who has been naughty or nice, needs no introduction. But his wife is another matter.