You know what I want to give every single person for Christmas this year?
Marie Kondo’s book on not buying more shit! We are a society obsessed with goods!
I don’t want more shit. I don’t need more shit. Please stop buying shit.
I told myself I would not be one of those parents whose home was filled with toys. We honestly don’t buy Franco that much. [The exception is books. I go to used bookstores and buy out all the board books.] But our house has become a Toys R’ Us warehouse. We get stuff from family, friends, neighbors. It is ridiculous the amount of crap an 18-month-old can accumulate.
You know what’s a gift? Minimalism! Or how about shared experiences instead of material possessions? If I think back on the most memorable times in life, I wouldn’t name a single time when I opened up a gift. I think of sharing a meal, or drinking wine, or caroling around the neighborhood, or playing charades.
Can we get more creative and try to think of ways to celebrate the holidays without giving something straight out of Amazon.com?
I’d like our family tradition to be one of sharing memories vs opening up a present that is quickly dismissed after a short amount of play time. When Franco is older, I’d like us to volunteer as a family so that he can see how blessed we are and how imperative it is to give back. Another example I read about is a grandfather giving his granddaughter a check every year on her birthday. The money was to be given to her favorite charity/charities. One of the best ideas I’ve seen on thoughtful gift-giving.
What do you think?
What gifts are you giving this year?
Patrick Weseman
December 10, 2015 at 10:49 amAmen on that. Everybody I know wants stuff. I would rather have experiences. See new things and meet new people.
The funny thing as I get older, I want less stuff. (This will sound strange) One of my fears is someone will have to deal with my shit. I have a friend whose mother died a couple of years ago and she is still dealing with all of the material crap her mother has. I don’t want people to have spend a lot of time with my clutter. That takes time away from others living to deal with my material shit. Not fair.
Roaen
December 10, 2015 at 12:17 pmMy siblings and I just recently agreed to gift each other an experience (like tickets to a game, event, or something), instead of things this year. I def. need that book – I struggle with minimalism a lot, especially with a new baby!
Janine Huldie
December 10, 2015 at 3:10 pmHaving small kids, I just can’t help, but shop as they have checked off half the Toys R Us catalog, but still I get what you mean here and trust me I wish I could be more of a minimalist. Maybe when the girls are older there might be more hope here for this still.
Emily
December 10, 2015 at 11:27 pmI am with you, loved this book and I’m always working to minimize (which is hard because I’m sentimental!), but I am against going to Target and just buying random crap financially & ethically (all the ingredients and practices behind that stuff). I am mostly giving body-care gifts made with essential oils, and the girls and I painted ornaments to give family.
Dana
December 11, 2015 at 2:24 pmWe celebrate Hanukkah, and I try hard to not make it into a Jewish Christmas – which it definitely is not. My kids get small gifts for seven of the eight nights, and we buys gifts for a local child (through the Salvation Army or a similar organization) on the remaining night.
I do like giving tickets to events as gifts – we give my in-laws theater tickets most years, and one of my kids’ gifts this year are tickets to a college basketball game. Family time and no more “stuff!”
Tamara
December 13, 2015 at 10:14 amCassidy is reading this book! With so many relatives and friends, the kids can tend to get a lot of toys. We’ve been asking lately for experiences and museum memberships, as I think that goes farther in the long run.
Cece
December 15, 2015 at 9:47 amI kind of hate stuff right now too! My nephew doesn’t get a lot of toy presents from me for that very reason. I ask mom what he wants and what he needs. He gets one toy and a bunch of boring clothes.
Catherine
December 22, 2015 at 3:36 pmwe haven’t even gotten to christmas and my son has already gotten a bunch of toys from friends/family/neighbors who we won’t be seeing on the actual holiday. it’s insane!