Well, they are just around the corner! What is??
Gift-giving holidays are almost here! Are you ready?
Are you like me and tired of too much stuff? Have you already been trying to prepare the family?
Introduce Simpler Ideas Early On
I have. How? Oh, just peppering in things like let’s try doing things instead of getting things, and bringing up sponsoring a less fortunate family.
Remember last year how the train derailed when the Wish Books came and were highlighted and marked up like a NY editor had been to the home?
Those statements went over really well, but we’ll see now that the Christmas Wish Books are flooding the mail. Ah, and I remember that all too well myself, but some of these gifts are one-and-doners. You know, the type the kids get that once they get out, they play with for like 15 minutes and then otherwise it lives silently in your house taking up precious space for another 2+ years?
Do Experience Gifts Instead
One of the ways we’re trying to change is to give experience gifts instead. Something we can do together as a family tends to bring us more joy than a toy that makes noise and is only played in a short time.
We’re also making out-loud intentional decisions about why something may or may not be the best choice to bring into the home. Talking about how we might use something and where it would go if it would replace something already in the home helps us envision if this new item would really bring us joy.
Simplify Expectations based on Categorical Gifts
After researching, it seems like there are a couple of schools of thought for the simplification. It is to set rules BEFORE all the gift shopping begins.
That way, we can know some limits and adhere to them.
One of the strategies is to pick a few groupings, where the child will get to get one of each.
Gifting Categories
For instance, select about three of the options from this list:
- Something they want
- Something they can read
- Something they need
- Something to do (an experience!)
- Something to share among the kids
- Something practical
- Something decorative
- Something personal
- Something for the entire family
- Something unique for them
Then, make sure the rules are clear, so there won’t be a build-up of expectation.
Not only does limiting the gifts upfront help reduce clutter overall, but it allows the children to focus on what they received. This is much better than the never-ending riptide of gift opening, where that’s the central point, and nothing is played with. The simplified holidays have been such a joy for us now. We have more time to spend being together!
Gifting Name Swap
Choose a Partner
Another option, usually reserved for adults, is to swap names. Gather everyone who wants to participate in an exchange and have each person put their name on a piece of paper along with several items or themes they enjoy. Set a dollar limit, then mix and draw names. Come back together at a time in the future with gifts and have fun seeing what people came up with!
Decluttering Exchange
Okay, so this is sort of hokey but when our friends where also decluttering, we decided we would do a sort of ‘recycle’ gifting, where we would find something we already owned that we were willing to give up, that was in good shape, and we felt the recipient would really like. The things we ended up with were actually really neat matches for us and we didn’t spend to treat each other.
We usually still do stockings, typically they have edibles, practical gifts, candy, and some experience (tickets to a local movie).
Remember that looking back, it will be the overall love and sharing that come through the memories, not the specifics of who got what!
