Santa Claus has come and gone. You are brainstorming--trying to come up with activities for family members to participate in. By noon on Christmas Day, you can't wait for midnight December 31st to cheer about the New Year. To help you through the trying time between Christmas Day and New Year's Day, here are 13 activities to consider for celebrating this week:

Here is a great family activity. From your files full of receipts, organize (and show your kids how to organize) information so your tax preparer can whiz through the paperwork for your annual tax return. Here is an ideal time to teach kids how the family income is distributed. If you want to maintain confidentiality among some financial categories, organize these files yourself.

Visiting with family and friends on neutral turf (cruise ship or train/out-of-town hotel) appeals to me because no one has to feel obligated to have a clean house. Everybody--just leave your house the way it is and congregate somewhere out-of-town for a few days with loved ones.

For travelers headed to Boston, New York, Seattle, Chicago, Hollywood, San Francisco, Philadelphia or Southern California, consider buying a CityPass. Each booklet contains tickets to a half-dozen local attractions. If you live in a CityPass region, buy the booklets for guests who want to sightsee while visiting you over the holidays. For details, visit http://citypass.net/cgi-bin/citypass/ or call 888-330-5008.

I like to work real, real hard and then go to a spa to be pampered. If you are an enlightened husband giving this gift to your wife, she will likely reward you with a back rub after the day at the spa. This reminds me of my cousin who would give his parents Christmas presents that he knew they did not want and would gladly pass on to him (immediately).

Many nice restaurants give a complimentary dessert to a person dining in their establishment on the customer's birthday. My wife and I have a list of several nice restaurants closeby where we go on our individual birthdays to enjoy a delicious meal (we pay for this) and splitting a big, hedonistic dessert (this is complimentary). Thank goodness, my wife's birthday is in August and my birthday is in January or we would have to live on the treadmill. Use this last week in the year to map out your family fine dining on birthdays.

While you have a few days to breathe, clear out the clutter in your lists and calendars, making way for 2005. Again, this is a perfect opportunity to involve your family by sharing ideas on what information to keep, change and discard. Visit an office supply store to stay up-to-date on new ways to stay organized and maybe your zeal will rub off on other family members.

Again, while you have time to breathe, enjoy cultural venues in your area. No rush, no fuss, no cell phones, just relaxing time to re-connect with your creative side.

At the top of your list can be Husband-ry 101 (How to Train Your Husband to Be the Spouse You've Always Wanted Him to Be) at http://www.Husband-ry.com or Connecting with Key Decision Makers (How to Reach Hard-to-Reach Businesspeople Who Can Say Yes) at http://www.globalbusinesscafe.com, both written by yours truly. Both books focus on optimizing your communication capabilities to enjoy life with your husband or other businesspeople. Kids need to develop healthy reading habits and will follow your lead in curling up with a good book.

Go back in time, when you were a kid, going to the local sports event. Take advantageous of the cotton candy, slurpies and hot dogs at the arena.

During the last week of the year, many cities have events ranging from big-name acts to ice-skating in Central Park. Many associations have special events the last week of the year (e.g., Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania at http://www.rrmuseumpa.org posted on their Web site.

Ordinarily observed on the first day after Christmas. A legal holiday in Canada, the United Kingdom and many other countries. Formerly (according to Robert Chambers) a day when Christmas gift boxes were regularly expected by a postman, the lamplighter, the dustman and generally by all those functionaries who render services to the public at large, without receiving payment therefore from any individual.

What better way to adjust what you got for Christmas with what you can find on sale this week. While you are shopping, select restaurants in your area that you haven't had time to enjoy during the year and plan a round table program incorporating various stores and one food item at each of several restaurants.

A few years ago, when the Millennium bug scare was rampant, I bought a streaming tape backup unit from Sony that makes a complete system backup take only moments. A few moments for long-term peace of mind--not bad.

December 31st is the last evening of the Gregorian calendar year, traditionally a night for merrymaking to welcome in the new year with loved ones. Check out the spectacular Space Needle of Seattle on the West Coast (http://www.spaceneedle.com). First Nights are occurring throughout the United States and Canada (www.firstnightintl.org).

Here you have it. Now, if you become bored between Christmas and New Year's Day and don't want to look like you're anxious for a change, you can reach for this article and tell everyone about these 13 ideas some guy you know came up with. Happy New Year!