Colorful lights strung upon houses and ornament-covered trees framing windows. It’s clear to see that Christmas is coming, but what do you do if you don’t celebrate Christmas? As a child who was raised never having celebrated Christmas, my family and I are experts at finding creative ways to spend the holiday season.

I was raised in a relatively strict household: no candy, no TV, no video games. So it wasn’t hard for my parents to come up with an alternative way to spend December 25 rather than going to Church or opening presents. The holiday my parents’ came up with was “The Great Extravaganza,” a day of childhood bliss.

Any junk food my sister and I wanted, we received on The Great Extravaganza. Watching TV shows for 12 hours straight wasn’t just an opportunity, but a necessity for this holiday. On The Great Extravaganza, the kids’ word was law and adults had to listen.

My fondest memories of The Great Extravaganza aren’t of the actual day, but the shopping done before it. My mom, dad, sister and I would spend a day travelling from store to store feeding my sister’s and my gluttony. Hostess cakes, ice cream and white bread were just a few items my sister and I loved to buy in preparation for our one day of freedom.

As my sister and I got older, however, our parents became more lenient and eating junk food and watching TV was something my sister and I did regularly. The Great Extravaganza became old and something new had to replace it.

In 2013, we decided to visit my mom’s side of the family during winter break to experience a true “Jewish Christmas.” And how do Jewish people spend Christmas day when barely any store is open? By going to the few places that don’t close on Christmas: Chinese restaurants and the movies.

I remember that visit well. We watched “Frozen,” ate sweet and sour chicken, and spent the whole day with family. The best part about the trip was that when we got back, my sister and I celebrated The Great Extravaganza anyway, even though Christmas had already passed.

That’s the beauty of celebrating made-up holidays, you get to make the rules about when and how you want to spend them. And as long as you’re celebrating the happiness your family brings you, it doesn’t matter what the holiday is called.