Start a new family holiday tradition this year.

For millions, much of the joy of Christmas comes from participating in family traditions that date back many years or possibly many generations. But although nostalgia and reminiscence has always been a key part of the Christmas experience, there's always room for new ways to celebrate. If you, your family, or your friends are in a bit of a holiday rut, try doing something a little different this year by starting a brand new Christmas tradition.

Chef J, a.k.a. Jason Harley, is an accomplished restaurateur, event producer, author and TV personality who sees to the culinary needs of some of Hollywood's biggest stars. After graduating from the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, NY, in 1989, Harley went on to train with some of the world's greatest chefs and start several very successful restaurants, including Chef J's Kitchen in Los Angeles, where he creates healthy and exotic dishes far a star-studded clientele. Here he offers some suggestions for new ways to celebrate at the holidays:

• Throw a fondue party.
  One fun and inexpensive idea is to throw a fondue holiday party. Invite friends and family members, asking each person to bring a different food to fondue. For a chocolate fondue, for example, have guests bring different varieties of fresh berries to dip into the delicious melted chocolate.
  
• Repair & donate toys.
  Another great idea is to set up a toy workshop for the kids. Find all the broken toys and game sin the house, or ask others to bring some over. Then get the toys all fixed up so that you can donate them to a charity that will make sure they get to needy children.
  
• Create photo ornaments.
  And finally, it's always fun to personalize your ornaments using family photographs, Using scissors and hot glue, or by printing photos onto sticker paper, it's easy and inexpensive to put images of yourself, friends and family members onto ornaments for the tree. Your tree will look all the more festive when the faces of your loved ones decorating it.
  
• Keep it simple!
  Try to be creative with your holiday traditions this year, but don't forget to have lots of fun and keep things simple. The most important tradition, Harley believes, is just to spend quality time with the people who mean the most to you.

For more Christmas celebration ideas, check out the following organizations or websites:

Chef J
www.chefj.com

Yahoo Directory: Christmas
dir.yahoo.com/Society_and_Culture

So You Wanna Throw a Christmas Party?
www.soyouwanna.com

Food Network: Christmas
www.foodnetwork.com/food

HGTV: At Home: Holidays & Special Occasions
www.hgtv.com/hgtv/ah_entertaining_occasions

Parent Soup: Inventing New Christmas Traditions
www.parentsoup.com/offline