We've been working on this issue -- more from a consumerist aspect than a religious one, admittedly, as the religious side of the family (mine) is pretty laid back about religious choice and not into buying a lot of crap, and the side that's all about plastic and sugar (dh's) thinks we're the uber religious ones for being even nominally pagan!
We've had some good casual discussions with dh's family about the amusing joys of living in a small house with no attic or basement for storage, about how crazy it is to give a small child sugar and then expect any kind of good behavior for the rest of the day, ditto dyes and preservatives, how plastic isn't the greatest material to make toys out of, etc. Never a lot at once, never confrontationally . . . these conversations usually start with dh or I saying "I read an interesting article. . . . " or "I saw something neat on the news yesterday. . . . " or "Check out what happened at playgroup. . . . "
It's kind of like Chinese water torture.
Little drops here and there that add up, and we're starting to see a difference. For Easter, dd did get Easter baskets from both FIL and MIL, and they were from WalMart, which sucks. 
BUT, instead of the crap she normally gets, they were actually pretty well thought out, and I was really touched by the effort and imagination they put into it. FIL got her a bug observation kit and two containers of sidewalk chalk, and MIL got her some wildflower seeds and containers so she can watch them grow and "Runny Babbit" by Shel Silverstein. How cool!
So we're taking the slow road, but so far that's kept everything friendly and I like to think we're maybe helping dh's family expand their horizons a little bit.
We've had some good casual discussions with dh's family about the amusing joys of living in a small house with no attic or basement for storage, about how crazy it is to give a small child sugar and then expect any kind of good behavior for the rest of the day, ditto dyes and preservatives, how plastic isn't the greatest material to make toys out of, etc. Never a lot at once, never confrontationally . . . these conversations usually start with dh or I saying "I read an interesting article. . . . " or "I saw something neat on the news yesterday. . . . " or "Check out what happened at playgroup. . . . "
It's kind of like Chinese water torture.
Little drops here and there that add up, and we're starting to see a difference. For Easter, dd did get Easter baskets from both FIL and MIL, and they were from WalMart, which sucks. BUT, instead of the crap she normally gets, they were actually pretty well thought out, and I was really touched by the effort and imagination they put into it. FIL got her a bug observation kit and two containers of sidewalk chalk, and MIL got her some wildflower seeds and containers so she can watch them grow and "Runny Babbit" by Shel Silverstein. How cool!
So we're taking the slow road, but so far that's kept everything friendly and I like to think we're maybe helping dh's family expand their horizons a little bit.
I am an atheist; dh was raised Catholic but doesn't practice. Not a prayer or a bible or anything at all in 14 years that I've seen.
