I know it is July. But, I am thinking about Christmas.
Scott & I have been trying to de-clutter our home.
We accumulate so much stuff,
that we don't have the time to maintain it & even know what we have.
It doesn't seem to us that we are always buying stuff.
But, we are somehow, gathering too much stuff.
The reason why the decluttering brings me to think about Christmas is,
I like gift giving.
I love the tradition of giving generously & thoughtfully,
to show you love someone.
In our family, there are a lot of birthdays.
And, there are many, many gifts exchanged at Christmas.
I have an idea how to lessen the stuff,
but not the giving.
We are talking about doing a "Consumable Christmas".
That means, we give things that aren't going to collect dust on the shelf.
Ideas I have come up with so far
Baking a favorite treat - nice loaf of bread, a pie, a batch of cookies...
A special bottle of wine or other favorite spirit.
Fancy coffee
Gift Certificate for dinner
Labor of Love - babysitting, yard work, least favorite chore...
Special meat, beef jerky, sausages...
What do you think?
What would you do to minimize collection of stuff in gift giving seasons?
8 comments:
Great, great ideas! Also, excursions out, like you guys got the MBA passes, we've gotten Boardwalk passes, etc. And, I always tell the family that clothing is a good thing to get the kids. As for our giving, I will have to take some of these ideas and put them to use! My mom just said "don't buy me any more frames" after giving her some bday gifts, which included a grandma frame!
We have done small framed family photos for all our sisters and brothers.
Another one that was a simple was jars of home made salsa for everyone.
I like to share time with people and enjoy them. We also warn the family before hand if we're doing the same gift for everyone. "Hey Mom, just so you know, this year everyone is getting salsa. We really don't expect anything huge from you." For some family members who feel pressure to spend a lot, this relieves them from reciprocation stress. :)
I am just starting to work on homemade Christmas things for this year, so I think it's about time for holiday posts! :)
Are you thinking more of adult type things? (for instance, I think a loaf of bread or jar of canned goods would be lost on a three year old gift receiver...)
Last year we gave my brother and his wife a date basket: complete with gift card to rent a movie, and then snacks, drinks, candles, massage lotion, comfy socks, etc. Gift baskets are nice for couples (or even whole families), and can be themed in such a way that you can do them over and over without actually giving the same gift multiple times.
I make clothing and toys for the kids at Christmas (this year it will include personalized bath towels).
For adults I try to make other things that are useful: this year that will include sheet sets, cork boards, and a grandma's scrapbook that I will send monthly installments for.
And for "lesser holidays" like birthdays or Mother's/Father's Day, I do cookies, cinnamon rolls, breads, muffins, etc. - even mailing them across the country to grandparents or inlaws.
I find great help/inspiration googling for things like "homemade Christmas gifts" or even "edible gifts."
I even heard Ina Garten, The Barefoot Contessa, tell that she and her friends do the same.
Hey! I just wanted to thank you for visiting my blog. I really enjoyed your insights!
As to your question, I LOVE gifts like that! Clutter is a serious issue in our lives due to our living situation so if someone gave us gifts like that for Christmas, I'd be head over heals in love with it!
we do this and I love it!!! I do not miss the old, traditional ways of giving, at all. I can't say we hand make most or any of our gifts, but they've become more practical and less of them altogether. Last year I told all our family members that our kids were really only in "need" of craft supplies, so the gifts they were given were all craft oriented and boy, did we have fun with them all winter long - and still are!
I even heard Ina Garten, The Barefoot Contessa, tell that she and her friends do the same.
I am just starting to work on homemade Christmas things for this year, so I think it's about time for holiday posts! :)
Are you thinking more of adult type things? (for instance, I think a loaf of bread or jar of canned goods would be lost on a three year old gift receiver...)
Last year we gave my brother and his wife a date basket: complete with gift card to rent a movie, and then snacks, drinks, candles, massage lotion, comfy socks, etc. Gift baskets are nice for couples (or even whole families), and can be themed in such a way that you can do them over and over without actually giving the same gift multiple times.
I make clothing and toys for the kids at Christmas (this year it will include personalized bath towels).
For adults I try to make other things that are useful: this year that will include sheet sets, cork boards, and a grandma's scrapbook that I will send monthly installments for.
And for "lesser holidays" like birthdays or Mother's/Father's Day, I do cookies, cinnamon rolls, breads, muffins, etc. - even mailing them across the country to grandparents or inlaws.
I find great help/inspiration googling for things like "homemade Christmas gifts" or even "edible gifts."
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