In most households, today, two careers are required to make ends meet, so finding the time to do everything the season demands is harder than ever before. Every year, parents are forced to figure out how to manage careers and the events that make the holidays so special. Some activites just can't be enjoyed.

It's sad, but many of those once-sacred Christmas customs-customs that have been around for many, many years and that we used to engage in-are being lost to the busy-ness of the season. When was the last time most families actually made their own Christmas cakes and cookies? Remember how good it felt to sit down with Dad and cut your own decorations out of construction paper?

It's a shame to let these customs vanish, simply because our time is so consumed with the business of fitting Christmas in between our career obligations. Parents who find themselves lamenting the fact that they don't have enough time should find ways to help each other, during this season.

When we were young and early December rolled around, for instance, we used to gather pencils and papers, and we carefully crafted the perfect letters to Santa Claus, asking for those goodies we wanted to find under our trees on Christmas morning. It took time, and Mom and Dad always helped us with the letters, mailing them when we were done.

Parents today can help each other by sharing in those kinds of duties. A Santa letter-writing party, at which several children gather for a Saturday afternoon, can solve the problem for many families at once. The host parents can act as the monitors, helping all of the kids create their letters to Kris Kringle.

The parents of the children who attend the party can help to provide food, drinks, desserts, and the materials necessary to write and mail the letters to Santa Claus. Then, those parents who bring their kids to the party have a whole afternoon to shop or attend a party or put up the decorations at home-whatever they need to get done.

By staging these kind of creative Christmas parties, parents can help each other get through the modern version of the Christmas bustle, while possibly helping to preserve some age-old customs which might otherwise be lost to time.