Start your own holiday tradition

Every year when the calendar flips to the 11th month of the year, half the country moans that it's too soon for the festivities, a quarter of the country buries their heads in the sand (or snow) and the rest get that goofy feeling their gut and can't wait to break out the annual traditions.

Don't be a Grinch.

Pick one — or all — of these three best holiday traditions to start with your family and create something to look forward to as the cold weather seeps into your bones.

Adopt a needy family

Although it's something that needs to be done all year long, we Americans tend to think about helping one another near the holidays. And just because it's cliche doesn't mean it's not done with the best intentions and isn't met with appreciation.

So put on your white hat and help someone. Anyone.

But if you want to make a tradition of it, consider adopting a family and brightening their holidays with some much needed cheer.

HELP of Southern Nevada has several volunteer programs, including family adoption. You can choose if you want to adopt a single- or dual-parent family and the number of children you can support. The organization will pair you with a family screened for assistance and give you a wish list. Call 702-369-4357 to find out more.

Amazing Acts of Kindness, a fairly new organization that began with the desire to aid families at the Las Vegas Mission, touts that it helped more than 100 families last Christmas.

"Instead of being at home, we spent the entire day on Christmas Eve driving all over Las Vegas being welcomed into strangers homes, hearing their stories and bringing an unbelievable amount of joy to their children," the organization's website says of its experience adopting families in 2012. "Some parents laughed, while others cried — and something inside of us changed forever."

The organization asks you to wrap gifts for each member of the family you adopt and gives the donor the option to hand-deliver the cheer.

And if you can't afford to support a whole family, consider the Salvation Army's Angel Tree, which allows you to purchase a gift for a needy child.

What your family gets in return is a wonderful lesson in charity and giving.

Read the same book each year

Most go with the traditional "'Twas the Night Before Christmas" read by Pa as he sits atop the old rocking chair.

But family traditions don't always have to be traditional.

Pick your favorite wintery book — be it a holiday tale or not, prep yourself for a dramatic telling and get everyone to read a page, or pick a character to act out.

Use special voices and try to animate the actions.

Whatever you do, don't just flip the page. Make it an experience to remember and remember to experience it each year at your own designated time. It's a great way to create family time in an activity that's healthy and fun.

Buy children special ornaments

Each year, buy or make each family member a unique Christmas ornament. Consider what each child is into that year.

Have a comic book lover? Buy a Marvel character for the tree. A sports fan? Go with the team logo for the tree. Whatever their big thing is that year, memorialize it in an ornament.

As children age and begin to decorate their own trees, they have an ornament timeline that shows their personality through the years.

The added bonus? They also have a collection to decorate their tree during those lean, just-out-the-parents' house years.

But, don't just limit it to the kids. Buy an ornament to mark each year of your relationship and reminisce as you decorate your tree each year.