Based on the book Unplug The Christmas Machine: A Complete Guide to Putting Love and Joy Back into the Season by Jo Robinson and Jean C. Staeheli, the four-hour workshop at the United Methodist Church in Willow Glen helped several residents get an early jump on their holiday psyche.

"I read the book about nine years ago," said workshop facilitator and local resident Ingrid Quigley, "and wanted to host this workshop to help people identify the expense and stress associated with their holiday preparations and offer satisfying alternatives with the goal of creating joyful, fulfilling holiday experiences."

Quigley considered herself a long-time proponent of living a simple lifestyle.

The workshop centered around thought-provoking exercises designed to help participants inventory holiday preparations, set a budget, identify family and social commitments and evaluate their typical level of physical and emotional stress associated with the season.

After raising awareness about these fundamental issues, participants were asked to outline a fantasy Christmas celebration and set goals and create an action plan for the upcoming season.

At the end of each exercise, the group came together to share answers.

"The exercises in the book can be completed by oneself, but I think the group dynamic of exchanging thoughts and experiences is most beneficial," Quigley said.

Although individual experiences varied, a common theme arose of a yearning for simpler, more meaningful celebrations with less stress and a desire to break old, unsatisfying holiday traditions.

Participants agreed there were degrees of societal and family pressures to conform to the norm.

"One year, instead of buying a tree, I made a tree out of branches and limbs," said workshop attendee Virginia Bogard. "I thought it came out nice, but my son didn't like it and wanted a traditional tree."

When it came time to assess values associated with the season, time with family and friends make everyone's top-three priority list. Traditional gift exchanges and home decorating fell significantly farther down the list. Further discussion also revealed the strain of creating a festive, beautiful home environment and fighting crowds at the mall, which often sapped time and energy that could be better spent on more satisfying pursuits.

"This is great," said participant Amy Fall. "I'm identifying some places where I can make choices, which will help me relax and enjoy the holidays."

As part of the workshop, the group was also asked to write down their vision for a deeply satisfying celebration. Though the time, place and activities varied, the themes centered around a calm, relaxing season full of solid connections with family and friends. Suzann Shelby, for example, visualized a quiet dinner with a few special people sharing stories of past Christmases. Fall, who has a large family, desired to stretch the celebration to a week allowing her quality time with her relatives, including being at home with her daughters, baking and playing games. Still another individual outlined a desire to be outside in the peace and calm of nature.

Once the visions were set and communicated, the group was charged with creating a plan for the upcoming holiday season. This involved setting goals and outlining the steps necessary to make each goal a reality.

"It helps to write down the plan," said Kathy Benedict. "It makes it real and something you have to stick to."

For those wanting a more in-depth look into the topic of unplugging the Christmas Machine, Quigley suggests buying the book.

"The chapters deal with very specific topics," Quigley said. "There's a chapter on the pressures women respond to, things men deal with, and how to tone down the materialism."

Everyone also agreed, that after recognizing and evaluating their past levels of holiday satisfaction, the workshop gave them a way to develop and establish a game plan, as this year's season quickly approaches.