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3 Simple Tips for a Minimalist Christmas
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- Опубліковано 12 сер 2024
- The holiday season can fly by in a blur and the only thing left is the credit card bill! Today Diana and I will talk about three practical tips to simplify this Christmas season so that we don't feel slimed by it!
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Thank you so much for watching! We'd love to know what you do to simplify Christmas? Find links to the things we mentioned in the description!! Have a great weekend! - Dawn
I have 3 foot tree that I keep decorated and wrapped… just pull it back out and ready to go! This year I am sharing my decorations with my grandson who just married!
I love Simply On Purpose's Instagram highlights tips on this. My love language is gifts too.
My husband and I are only purchasing very simple and usable gifts for our nearly two year old. For each other- and the rest of our family- the time together is enough, especially after the past two years.
BTW, I have a small business friend at Green Country Creative that created a Bible and historical based flexible avent calendar to follow with ideas of how to celebrate the days leading up to Christmas. And she has a 12 days of Christmas version too. They're really beautiful reusable items that will add value to family traditions every year.
Years ago we dropped presents with siblings. Hub and I also dropped presents to each other (for financial reasons) but now we're doing better, but still don't care about gifts. Last year I started only edible food for the 2 sets of parents from Goldbelly. It means they get fun food experience and no "stuff." Kids get 3-4 gifts each as young kiddos, now it's more like 4-6 things, mostly smaller. I find humor goes a long way - my son likes Twizzlers and I found an epic Twizzlers T-shirt that he wears.
Last year for Christmas I told my two adult children I would provide at least one meal prepped for them each month. I gave them a checklist of meals to pick that they'd like to receive. I've purchased their favorite BBQ from a local business, made Philly cheesesteak filling for my son, made several desserts, sides, and other dishes for both. I package them up, and send them home with them. My daughter lives 2 hours away, so I meal prepped several dishes for their freezer while I cat sat for them during their vacation. Meals are a great & useful gift and lets me give all year! I'm planning to do the same thing this year for them.
I'm gonna do this! Mine is in dorms but about to get her own place.
I love this!
Cooking is not my strong suit, but I would LOVE to be on the receiving end of this!
Brilliant! I am going to talk to my family and see if they are interested.
I absolutely love this idea!!!!! Your children are blessed.
My extended family has the most awesome Christmas gift giving tradition. Everyone high school and older draws one name and must give a gift to that person without spending any money! We call it the free gift exchange. You can give something you already own, something you make or bake, something you barter or trade for, you can use buy one get one free items, shopping reward perks, credit card points, anything you want as long as you don't spend money. This is the most amazingly fun and meaningful thing we do. I highly recommend giving it a try!
Wow, that is a great idea.
Oh my gosh that is an amazing idea!!
Years ago (I mean my youngest is over 40) I urged the family to do this. It was an amazing experience. We drew names and had to make something for the person whose name we drew. I couldn't get the family to do this another time but the homemade gifts from that one year were legendary!
We do that as well ! We have such a huge family except for the lil ones , the slighy older kids and my new grandson!
My brothers family and my myself live in three different states. I live in the same state w
Our parents and my three adult kids , and my 4 month old grandson. SO the adults including adult kids do a grab out of the hat and each adukt gets one gift from other family. We set a budget 50 or under.
Last year was the first truly relaxed Christmas I’ve had in many years. Due to COVID we did not have 4 different family events, food planning, gift exchanges, etc. I asked my two twenty something daughters & my husband to each pick one day, of the four we had together, and plan the meal plus an activity. My husband picked the 23rd where we ate dinner out & drove around to look at the Christmas lights like we did when the girls were little. One daughter picked Christmas Eve and did a grinch themed dinner with roast beast (beef), Who hash (cheesy potatoes), green beans & garlic in your soul knots. After dinner we watch the original Grinch & the more modern movie version while we drank green grinch punch & had key lime cheese cake. I fixed Christmas morning breakfast and we truly enjoyed a relaxing day with no place else to be. That evening my eldest daughter fixed a fantastic charcuterie board that we snacked on while watching Christmas movies. It was so relaxing because I did not have to plan every meal….and we just enjoyed being together.
Yes! It was such a nice calm Christmas
I've been singing in my church choir since I was a child. Last year our church was closed, and it was the first free Christmas Eve I've had in 60 years! I loved the lockdown!
What great ideas!
That sounds absolutely lovely and amazing! My birthday is December 23rd and it’s our tradition to look at Christmas Lights the night of my birthday! So sweet to hear you do this! Hope you have another lovely Christmas!
Great idea! Love it. Happy Christmas x
There are so many places and circumstances that we all come from . My husband and I are older (really old, 75 and 80) and our kids are 52, 53, and 56. 2 grands 13 and 16. We are financially blessed so every Christmas depending on how well our portfolios did, we gift our children generously. the grands are at the age when they would prefer gift cards or money so that is what we do. Our decorations are things that we love, anything that doesn't fit in the designated bins has to go, so it is easy to decorate and tear down. We have dinner with friends since all family lives far away. My favorite thing is baking and sharing cookies with friends and neighbors in holiday boxes. We've stopped exchanging gifts with other adults since we all simply but what we want when we need it. The holidays are so much more joyous when you're not exhausted by all the preparation. I love your videos and all of the great advice you give. hugs, eileen
Granny Eileen, you 2 sound like such a lovely couple and lovely grandparents. You're generous with your family and don't fuss with the things that arent important. So nice :)
This sounds awesome 👍
Last year, because we couldn't have guests, I decided that hauling the tree out of the basement and going through the trouble of lugging up the many bins of decorations could be bypassed. Instead, I bought a "birch" tree online. The sparse tree, literally, took five minutes to set up. I went through the bins in the storage room and got rid of lots of them (either donated or given to our grown kids). Then I selected about twenty special ornaments and put them on the tree. Both my husband and I LOVED that tree. (My kids, on the other hand, thought I'd lost my marbles and kept asking for assurance that it would be a one-and-done idea. In answer to that, I gave away our heavy tree. No going back for us!) I just decided that I couldn't be everything to everyone. I needed to do what worked for us. I'm pretty sure they'll eventually get over it. :)
🤣So good for you Noreen! Kudos!
Ah poor kids
Picture of tree pleas
Glad you stuck to your redo…Remember it’s about what you love and what makes YOU feel good!! 💖
I have been wanting to do this for years! Glad I’m not the only one.
My uncle used to take my aunt, their grown children and spouses, and their grandchildren to a special event in the city every year instead of buying gifts. They would get all dressed up and eat in a nice restaurant, then go see a play, a musical performance, or something similar and they would look forward to it and talk about it all year round. He is gone now, but his family still remembers all of their special Christmas outings.
My adult daughter and her family of 8 live 2000 miles away. So we send a check for Christmas they can spend it however they choose. They always tell us how it was used and send pictures.
What a sweet uncle and aunt you had.
Great idea
My grandparents would give us PJ's every year, and I loved it so much. The smell of new PJs at Christmas was the best. That was the only time we got new ones, so we loved them.
In our family, our tradition was getting to open one gift on Christmas Eve. It was always a new set of pajamas. The reason was twofold, one reason was there were 8 kids so getting new anything was a treat. The other reason was so that everyone looked nice in Christmas morning photos... We wore our new PJs all day on Christmas!!!
@@jenniferfischer163, We were a family of 9, so I know that getting anything new was so fun. Handmedowns sometimes were nice too. lol
I think that is a great idea!
Last year, I was faced with a cancer diagnosis and surgery, losing my mom, and my husband being in the hospital and then rehab. My son(18 tomorrow!) and I had thankfully so many friends that stepped in and drove me to appts, brought meals, offered to clean our home, so many things. My Christmas was all about care packages of thanks to those special folks, and my son and I agreed our gift was me and my husband still being here, and just being together. It was definitely a wake up call, that I’m going to carry on this year. We’re getting my son one large/necessary gift for birthday/Christmas, a laptop, and then we
‘lol do stocking stuffers. Most precious gift is each other and time together!!
Hope this Christmas is better for your family. You are so correct that the most precious gift is just being here on earth and being able to spend time with the people you love. Hope your health & your husband's continue to improve. (donna here writing on husband's computer)
@@williamsmith4899 thank you!
I have some friends who adopted the mantra: "Three gifts were enough for Baby Jesus..." with their kids and they found it really helped control the chaos. Thanks for another great video!
This is really good!
But I know my 9 yr old would argue that he was also given lambs and possibly other animals too so technically he was given more than 3. 🤦🏼♀️😂 I know how it would go! 😆
Having just spent weeks clearing out my mother in-law’s apartment, she passed away on Nov 1, her “stuff” ended up just being that. Some gifts of the past holidays were not even used. So especially those in our lives who have everything, her most valuable “gift” was that of time spent with family and friends. She has been the most wonderful mom and she has reignited my desire to continue the declutter my own things! Never will be forgotten -RIP Bunny!😇❤️
My sincerest condolences
My sympathies to your family on the loss of a matriarch. May her memory be as a blessing. 💕 I agree, the best gift is quality time spent with someone.
I am so very sorry for your loss!
I'm sorry for your loss.
Reminds me of a friend who went to clear out her mother-in-law's house and discovered 10 years of Christmas gifts UNOPENED in the closet. As in, the things she and her husband had sent this woman. She never even opened them, just stored them wrapped. o.O
I can’t remember any gifts from my childhood. There were gifts I just don’t remember them. But oh how excited I was when Aunt Carol and uncle Ed arrived on Christmas Eve! My aunt brought home made fudge (I ate it until I got a tummy ache). I sang in the youth choir at church feeling warm and loved. Our family put lights on the bushes, and Mom placed the poinsettia on the nail in the front door. A simple happy Christmas to look forward to each year.
that is so true, I do not remember any gifts from my childhood (except the year I got a bike when I had a broken arm) but what I do remember are the traditions. That is what really matters.
Same here. I probably got the typical dolls. I do remember getting a suitcase but I think I was already 20. But loved the get together and singing!
How beautiful!!
Huh, I totally remember all my favorite toys- scooter, Raggedy Ann desk set, Holly Hobby, lite brite, terrarium, potters wheel, rock tumbler, art easel, ballerina doll, Crissy doll that grew hair, ez bake oven, etch a sketch, Winnie the Pooh. Guess I got an elephant memory. 😁
I remember getting luggage for Christmas as a kid- definitely killed the mood :/ But my love language is gifts so go figure (I also remember getting gifts I loved)
Dawn! You have changed my life, my house is peaceful because of God and you . What I started doing with my three daughters is that we give them 3 gifts (like the wise men gave to Jesus) 1) pajama set 2) educational toy 3) one gift they asked us for 🤷🏻♀️🤷🏻♀️🤷🏻♀️ is working for us and we are actually spending $20 only for our nephews and nieces and our parents… that’s it, no more people 😉 and we have stay in our budget and debt free for 2 years ♥️
We love doing consumable goods like memberships to the great zoo we have nearby and fun food treats. This year we’re taking a trip for Christmas so we are not buying any Christmas for each other or the kids. It has been a great decision to give the family memories this year instead of a a bunch of toys.
Stephanie, in my opinion...traveling is the best gift of all! My parents have surprised us with a few trips for Christmas (they were for travel that next summer) and those are the most memorable gifts to receive. I hope you and your family enjoy your trip!
I literally just got off the phone with my sister-in-law and said “how about instead of gifts for the adults, we all go out for a nice dinner between Christmas and New Year’s and just split the bill. Takes so much pressure off.
Wonderful idea.
Yes! Love this idea!
In the Netherlands 🇳🇱 we celebrate Sinterklaas at the fifth of december. Therefor we celebrate Christmas without gifts.
To keep it minimal at Sinterklaas we limit the number of gifts and the amount spend on a gift. And we ask each other for wishlists that fit the amount, to maximize the chance every one is happy with the gifts they recieve.
Last year my family decided to give donations to each other’s favorite charity. It’s something meaningful to the person it honors. It also helps those truly in need as we are fortunate to have everything we want/need. We all felt it really embodied the spirit of the season.
That's what my grandparents do every year. I always appreciated it.
Now THAT is the truest spirit of Christmas. 👍😊
We’ve just all agreed to this this year. All the adults just donate if they can to their chosen charity. Presents for children only and we’re going to ask the parents what the child would like. We all are blessed and don’t need more stuff.😊
As a minimalist, it's really hard to have a good Christmas in these times. It takes a lot of strength to stick to your guns and value people over products when it's so consumercentric
Exactly! I'm glad we can all work together.
When you were talking about your mom sacrificing to provide gifts at Christmas, it reminded me of how mom got presents for the 7 of us kids. The grocery stores gave stamps (based on how much you spent I think) that you put in a stamp book and the stamp books could be exchanged for toys, etc. I remember looking at the gift catalog. We each got one present and then games, etc. to share.
@@Julie-rc7wl
I think there were green ones from one store and orange (?) from another.
I remember both stamps also! 😊
I seem to remember green ones and yellow ones!
We used to call them green stamps. They had a sticky side & mom used to put them in a little booklet.
We had Gold Bond and S and H Green stamps. It was so much fun collecting them over months and years and then taking them to the redemption store.
After having years when my children were younger dreading Christmas I made a decision we were going to keep it simple. Gifts to just give a gift drives me crazy. It’s basically my $20 for your $20. When I could have used that money for something purposeful. So, our decorations are simple. We focus on food, fun and some quiet time. For those who have children they become very overwhelmed with gifts and there stimulating effects.I like the four gift rule : something you want, something you need, something to wear and something to read. Books are very important in our home. Then a stocking, too but we keep that simple as well. We like to make gifts as consumable as we can.
Reminds me of what Sheldon from The Big Bang Theory says that I give you $50 and you give me $50 and we keep doing that year after year until one of us dies $50 richer lol. Definitely focusing on making memories is the best!!!
@@karmichk773 That is funny and the time you put into finding that probably imperfect gift. Plus Christmas decorations seem cluttery to me. Before I simplified I felt our house was always a mess at Christmas even when it wasn’t.
This sounds perfect to me.
Love it!
That's great, I would add up;something to eat/drink (like good Coffee, chocolate, Tea...)
This reminds me of when I was working many years ago. My department would have a gift exchange (drawing names) at our annual Christmas party. Of all the gifts I needed to shop for, the name I drew was the one that caused me the most stress, time, and anxiety. This was for a person I barely knew. No joy at all. I did this for several years and finally decided I was going to skip it. It was crazy how this shook up the office but I stuck to it and am glad I did. I recommend the book How to Simplify Your Christmas. It suggests ways to make the most of what is meaningful and eliminate things that are not.
Oh I remember all of those office gifts. I remember working at a bank when I was 18 and everyone was either getting married, having a baby or retiring and I was constantly asked to give $ for people I didn't even know. It was terrible. I felt terrible and I remember saying once when being strong armed that I didn't know X on the third floor and boy was I hated after that. It was a toxic environment, to say the least.
@@Living_Your_Best_For_Less Coincidentally, my story was when I was working at a bank, too! Thanks for commenting. It's nice to not be the only one going against the grain!
@@belyndaperry7877 Who is the author of the book you mentioned?
@@wendygarner6931 Simplify Your Christmas by Elaine St. James. You'll like it, I think!
This has been on my mind and I’m so grateful that you are talking about this now BEFORE the season punches me right in the face!
When our daughter was young, I went crazy over Christmas! Growing up myself, my mother basically was over being a mother/wife & holidays were not pleasant so I overcompensated. I remember I would drag over TWENTY apple boxes out of the attic of just Christmas decor! Understand we moved to a small home with less than 1000 square feet! I took me until late February to pack it ALL back up & well over half of it was NEVER used! I kept doing this for years until we moved from her childhood home. That first Christmas was extra special. I didn't have ALL those boxes (had more stuff than I needed which I eventually culled down to one large tote!). That Christmas was in 2009 & my daughter still claims that was her all time favorite! We had a simple brunch picnic while opening a few gifts on the beach, listening to the ocean waves & enjoying each other!
I still have a few apple boxes filled with the special decorations 🌲❣
Wow! Christmas on the beach! 🌞😎
My love languages are almost tied for physical touch (which for me includes happy smells and sights) and Acts of Service. Christmas morning in our home finds our floor almost completely covered with gifts. And as much as I enjoy the simplicity of being minimal, it is likely never going to change. I do find myself making smarter choices on what Santa brings, thanks to Dawn. So that they are consumable or needed items that are replacing older items. I try to make sure that very little of it is clutter. I also tell the children that they are more than welcome to donate anything they don't feel like they will use especially while it's in new condition, and that Santa's feelings never get hurt when a toy goes to a good home, because he knows the REAL reason for Christmas. Also, we are not a shopping family. We don't spend any time at malls and we only go to Target or Walmart a few times a year. We do use Amazon but only for household supplies like shampoo and towel hangers, so my children get their main supply of clothes and toys from Santa at Christmas. And not to mention, wrapping each and every one of those Christmas presents is a huge labor of love 😍 (I don't usually comment but thought I would put this out there incase there are others like me that are like kids in a candy store on Jesus's birthday) And it's never too early 😀 Merry Christmas
I do a lot of KITS. like a new towel. toothbrush and razor. Or bath soap and lotion. Or movie snacks and popcorn.
We are the same. Most clothes all come at once. I take inventory in fall of what they've grown out of.
How do we find out what our love language is??
@@briannab5296 check out the book the Five Love Languages. It changed my whole perspective with husband and my needs! And what a difference to know that our youngest is the only "gifts" so we're sure to send her some extra special items despite the others wanting quality time and words of affirmation.
so this year we as a family (there are 3 of us) have decided to make the basement room in our townhome a "gaming" room. So for Christmas we are gifting the family a new TV and we're all working at cleaning up the space and making it homey with some of our older furniture we raided the rest of the house for. AND we all decided to just get each other a few things and keep it simple. So our true gift is going to be creating the game room together and putting our money into the TV we need for it. I think we nailed it this year and I'm so happy to keep it simple.
I sent out a text message to family members on Nov 1st and asked them to please not buy us any gifts (including the kiddos) I explained that we are trying to be more intentional about what comes into our home and that we have been blessed to not need anything. Some sent back some salty texts and some were super understanding.
Good for you - your extended family will adjust!
This year for our 4.5 yr old we're sticking with "something you want, something you need, something you'll wear, something you'll read." We've already bought all her gifts and they're less than $50. We also like to do an experience as a combined Christmas and bday gift, that's been really fun for her. She's earning her own money to buy simple Christmas gifts for family and friends. I think that will help her appreciate the season and the gifts more.
I was just telling my husband yesterday about one of my fondest Christmas memories. I saved up my money and went shopping at a dollar store. I bought my grandparents coffee cups. They said World’s Best Grandfather/Grandmother. I was so proud that I saved up the money and go to go buy them a gift!
My sisters and I stop buying big gifts for each other, so we started going to dinner and then going shopping and buying each other one ornament for each other
. So through the years we could point out which year we gave each other that particular ornament. It’s a very nice tradition and it didn’t cost much to do.
When our children were at home we would give hand made coupons to give them. They usually would be for time spent with them, playing a board game, going on a walk or swimming. Others were to do one of their chores for them, dishes, feeding the dog and cat, picking up their room etc. They were only allowed to use one coupon per week and the coupon book usually had 20 to 30 coupons. Each child had their own coupon book and all books had duplicates of each thing. Worked great and they looked forward to them each year. Mrs Robert
such a great idea
I love this! Thanks for the idea!
My friends so this, and it's a beautiful book that they make each year. I've wanted too, but never seem to have TIME to.
re: Bows on Gifts... crafting fills my bucket in a big way. So, yes, there are bows on the gifts--often elaborate bows... and handcrafted tags. This year, I'm paper crafting small boxes and bags for the goodies we give to friends and extended family members. I'll also be helping some of the grands craft Christmas gifts for their friends and family members. As for simplifying, we have had a Christmas budget for many years, putting funds aside each month. This allows us to purchase throughout the year when we see something that is appropriate for one of the kids or grands. We generally do couple gifts for our children and their spouses, and for the grands it is hand-crafted clothing and items that can be learning tools. For instance, sewing kits, toolkits, scrapbooking supplies, and a child-sized apron & oven mitt set are among the items for grandchildren this year.
The two of you have been the greatest gift I've received this year! Your videos have been my motivation and my comfort, and in a way I feel like we're already friends ❤ God bless you and your families!!
Thank you so much Danielle 🥰❤️
Christmas is for memories. Some of my favorite times was when the adults played outside with us kids, hide n seek, snowball fights, sledding etc. We also had some fun games indoors... a fav was when you arrived, an old Christmas card was taped to your back, and we took turns asking questions to figure out what the picture was. We also brought a single gift, then a long ribbon was taped to the gift and put in a giant box w the ribbon hanging outside the box, then covered with a Christmas tablecloth. After dinner and games, we each took a ribbon, and ta-da, we had a fun gift with the "from tag" attached. Usually around $5, which was also creative and fun! One of my favs was the radio kit that required a potato! Great memories every year! Thanks so much for your videos!! They are so enjoyable!!
I am just like you Dawn. I’m not a big gifts person. I mean every now and then, but I am a quality time lady. Just being with my loved ones is what matters to me most!
Our family includes our two special needs adult sons, so although our kids are all adults, we still do gifts for the guys. We've focused on less material/bought gifts in favor of hand made or, believe it or not, thoughtful gifts from the dollar store or grocery store. Last year, we decided to focus on what made Christmas special for me growing up, so we did two full days of holiday baking and music with the guys. It was wonderful!
Your minute to win it inspired me. The “big” Christmas gift we will give our kids is gonna be those games all wrapped up in a big giant box. One of my kiddos is a gifts kids and one is a quality time kid. This way the both get what they love but it’s not expensive or hard to do. We are gonna have a play all day Christmas. I’m so excited! (We have a few other smaller traditional Christmas gifts that they can open as well, but they are mainly consumable so we can use it up and get rid of it!)
This is a great idea!
What did you include for your minute to win it games?
We eliminated adult gifts and went to a family charity when I was a teen. Each year a family chooses a charity and tells everyone why that one is important to them. Each family donates or not and no one knows the amounts. That way if your family can't donate there is no pressure. Then next year another family will pick a different charity. We have donated to the American Heart Association, Cancer Research, one was a livestock to developing countries, charities to help women escaping sex trafficking, and so many others. This has become something I love and even the years we haven't been able to donate I feel like we learn something and feel that this means so much more than a junk gift we wouldn't care about.
When I was in college I was on a really tight budget. In order to give gifts to my grandparents and my niece and all my other family members, I had to go very cheap and I could tell that my gifts missed the mark. I think I would have been better off just bundling up a dozen homemade cookies for each person.
People should never discount any gift. As a teacher, I received many gifts and I found joy in the eyes of the student. One little girl gave me a very dirty and broken basket. She said she got it out of the trash. She said she knew how much I loved baskets. Sometime in the school yr.. I had talked about my love of all things basket. She was adorable I thanked her very much.
@@virgierutledge3004 I definitely agree about teacher gifts. As a middle school teacher it just warmed my heart to know that a student or parent valued me enough to make the effort. The actual gift didn’t really matter.
A few years ago I started asking each member of the family if there was one thing about Christmas and only one that they could choose what would it be. Presents is definitely one of the choices. A baking day is another. Going to see Christmas lights. Watching animated Christmas specials. Then we make a list and we make sure we each get to do that one thing as a family.
It’s been nice because will probably do other things additionally, but we know that each family member has gotten the one thing that means the most to them.
I love this idea. My kids are tiny, but when they are older I want to do this
@@rkhofacker 🥰🥰🥰
Yay! My heart was so happy to see both your beautiful faces this morning. Is it sad that I rewatch the old Sunday morning videos because I miss the two of you and your conversations so much? ☺️ I love the value that comes from your collaborations ♥️
Happy Friday ✌️
I felt the same way. It's not sad - the two of them together are priceless!👧👧💜
In case you missed it, there’s actually more of us than ever! You can find us on my channel now 👍 And THANK YOU for the kind remarks!!! 💛
that' a great idea! I miss those also. Sunday doesn't quite feel like Sunday without them. I loved the combo of minimalism and the Lord.
I’m glad to hear this and have been making regular appearances on Diana’s channel (just search “Diana Kokku” on UA-cam :)
Oh I’m there, Diana! 🙌 now I’ve got some catching up to do. See you on Sunday! ♥️
We lost all our Christmas stuff (plus everything else) in our basement to a flood this year. It has me rethinking how we want to celebrate and decorate and instead of 3 trees that we have to rearrange the furniture for, we are planning on just getting a tree for outside and just a few Xmas pillows inside. The kids are also older so we will volunteer and go see a special concert in the city instead of too many presents.
That’s turning lemons into lemonade!
When my husband and I got together, we had no money. At Christmas, we ended up going on a Christmas tree killing expedition. Easy to do here in northern Ontario. We got ourselves a little misshapen tree and had it set up in no time! For ornaments I baked a bunch of sugar cookies in various shapes. I hung them up on the tree with an inexpensive red ribbon. Our local store had inexpensive small red ribbons that I used on the ends of each branch. I also popped a bunch of popcorn and made a popcorn garland. It was so cute….Of course you would know that some of those cookies never made it to the end of the Christmas season!
I have a 2.5 year old. My husband and I decided in order to not overwhelm her on Christmas morning and to spread the gift giving fun out longer, we are doing "8 weeks of Christmas" where the 8 weeks leading to Christmas (every Sat morning) our daughter gets to open 1 wrapped gift. We take a pic or video of her opening it and then it gets added to that weeks' toy rotation! Last Sat was our 1st gift and it brought us all joy!
This is SO VERY wise of you! I have 5 daughters and I wish I would've done that! Actually I might borrow your idea and do a variation of it! Thank you for giving this seasoned mom a great idea! Enjoy your next 7 weeks!
I like this, but for me it would have been harder than a scaled back Christmas morning.
I love this . My husband and I started doing experiences vs. stuff....and our families have taken note and are better now about either putting cash twords an experience for us or giving tickets for something...it helps.
When my nieces were younger, up into their teens, I got them to make up new lyrics to Christmas songs with me. We sat around the table after dinner, laughing and creating. Then they would go into the living room and perform their new song and dance for the parents and the grands. They still talk about how much fun it was.
Their kids have made their own tradition. They like to play games after dinner. There's always lots of laughter, and that's what matters. They're forming happy memories.
It's not the gifts, but the time together they will keep and treasure forever.
I come a large struggling family. there were no big gifts. Mom sewed me a dress, maybe another fun gift, cannot remember. But our regular socks were hung up and we got fruit, nuts and candy in them. Love was there. All that matters.
I give "gourmet consumables" to my minimalist friends: tea assortments, flavored vinegars, fruit assortments, etc. These are things they can use that they might not buy for themselves that won't clutter up their homes. Fancy soaps work too.
I have a quiet Christmas - preferably alone but some time with one other person. No gifts and decorations or not depending how the mood takes me each year. Christmas and its traditions can be very painful for a lot of people and I am so grateful that I am able to do it my way these days 🙏🏻🧡
Maybe it would bring you happiness and joy(plus override painful memories) to volunteer or bake something for another family and take it to them? Or maybe give a gift basket to a family in need?
We've scaled back our gift giving with our grand's. Giving them more memorable gift, this year I'm making each a special quilt. No pressure for Mimi, HA!!! I have to go back to work on the quilts now!!
Ha! I feel for you. A few years ago I made lap quilts for all the kids and grandkids, 16 in all. Whew! Even though they were only strip qui,te, it was a lot of work! Not doing that again, lol.
I would absolutely melt with sheer joy if someone gave me a personlized quilt as a gift. . . I don't know anything about quilting but would love to be able to make them for family & friends.
I am 62 yo and I still use the afghan my grandmother gave me as a child. She made each grandchild their own (color, pattern, size customized for each). She didn't try to make them all in one year. She started with the oldest grandchild and worked her way thru them all.
@@Dragonridermom That is a sweet and special thing she did for you. After all these years, you still treasure it, and her. I am 66 and I still have two of my grandmother’s quilts and a few doll clothes she made for me. I loved my grandma and she was a godly woman. I always felt like I was her favorite, lol.
We took your advice last year of "less toys and more time" with our kids and gave them a picture of us (the parents) and each of them individually, and they loved it!!! Thanks for the great ideas!!!
I am not a gift person and don't need anything, but my mum loves giving me gifts. Over the years I have got her to buy me blank cards eg "Thinking of you" "Get well soon" "Thankyou" "Blank" and "Birthday" cards.
When my mum goes on a day trip or holiday she will pick one or two cards to give me for Xmas.
On Christmas day when I get a stack of cards I will ask her were she got each card. I love hearing each story of her trips over that year.
I am giver so I am happy I always have a stack of cards on hand to give to people to made them happy.
Very cool! I am not a big gift person, but I love sending notes and cards.
@@juliastrom9218 the cards have come in handy the last two years, they have made a lot of people happy.. I tell my mum who I gave the card to and why so the cards keep giving.
Just an idea…. I sometimes send greeting cards at Thanksgiving rather than at Christmas. It takes one item off of the December to-do-list.
Dawn…I love the the concept of being “true to myself “. I’m going to try to process how that could apply in other areas.
My mom used to send new years cards!
Karen Haley - I switched to Thanksgiving cards last year! I hate it when Thanksgiving just gets skipped over.
I like that. I have also heard some people send Valentines cards instead of cards at Christmas.
Love this idea!!
We do the 4 gift idea in our family except we change the something to wear into something to share, like a game or movie for the family.
I LOVE "pick your thing." I fall into the trap of "making everything special" on my own and since last year it was just me, my husband and our daughter, I did it all. Special Christmas Eve, special Christmas, special New Year's. This year I will pick one thing. We moved to a new city last year, and in our last city I liked to do a Christmas Open House, where people could just drop by and spend some time with us and have drinks and snacks, so maybe I will start that tradition back up here, and invite family and a few friends. :)
Wonderful to see the two of you together! This is all great advice AND I think this makes God happy to have his birthday celebrated in this more meaningful way.
Love ya'lls heart! We play bingo with our large family- prizes are ' anything goes'. New, used, homemade- you name it. So no one is excluded & money isn't required. Homemade quilts or a batch of homemade cookies are always a hit!
Words of affirmation and quality time are what ticks the boxes for me. I care far more about the card with sweet words written to me by my dear fiance, family and friends than I ever do about a wrapped present. That itself controls the budget, by the way ;-)
This reminds me of the joy of Christmas expressed in the Little House on the Prairie series. They were simple and greatly appreciated. Quality time, family experiences, and simple traditions.
Thanks for the reminder about some being gift givers and that is a legit love language! I am the same as you so I struggle to enjoy (and not resent) the gift giving process.
I’ve been binge watching your channel for about 2 weeks now and you have DEFINITELY motivated me to get rid of stuff!!
Growing up my family instilled it in me to keep anything and everything because you never know when you’re going to need it or why get rid of it if it’s still good?
I can proudly say I have gotten rid of over 150 pieces of clothing, sooo many purses/bags/accessories, over 15 pairs of shoes, and a bunch of other random home items!!
I am absolutely loving how simple my home is becoming! Thank you thank you thank you for sharing your experiences and tips! 💜💜
I like when you two make these videos together as it offers two different perspectives and personalities while still bringing the same message. You are like two voices singing together in harmony. ♥
Thank you for talking about Christmas early! I love it. And thanks for the planner, Diana! Can't wait to go through this. I am so thankful for the peace of mind that your tips and encouragement around minimizing stuff and calendar clutter has brought to me and my chaos!
Thank you, thank you, thank you for reminding us about what is really important this holiday season!!! Also thank you for your honesty. I feel so blessed just to have ALL 3 of my adult kids are all coming home for Christmas this year!! I’m beyond so happy 😀 and grateful 😊!!!
I down loaded the planner the other day and I love it. I've been simplifying for the last couple of years and this planner makes it so much easier. I've cut it down to one white elephant party with all my girlfriends and I do a lot of cook ahead dishes for Christmas dinner.
I can feel your frustration…I went to a little informal luncheon and the hostess gave GIFTS to her guests. It was a generous thought, but absolutely nothing I needed or wanted. On the way home, I dropped them off at Goodwill. No point cluttering up my house with things I don’t need or want. I wrote a thank you note to the hostess but didn’t mention where her gifts ended up. At least someone would get some use out of these brand new items.
We simplify our homeschool too. I know not everyone can, but after Thanksgiving the only "school" my girls have to do is practice math facts and read 15 min everyday. So our days are slower and we can do all the fun stuff. Read the Christmas books we love, make and deliver cookies, watch Christmas movies. Nothing is rushed and it is my absolute favorite. Love y'alls encouragement!! 💜💜
You two are so WISE. I value your tips. What you say really resonates with me. That sick hollow feeling of being forced to spend money that you don’t have on things for people who won’t value them.
You both are always so insightful. I love being inspired you! You make me feel like my minimalist desires are normal in a world that doesn’t make me feel that way.
For Christmas, I have been giving hand made gifts, one year it was a big container of homemade cookies wrapped with a big bow, another was small handmade paintings, in fact that was several years, things that I sewed or made, etc. Now that the kids are grown and the grandchildren are getting bigger, I do have a budget, the adults will be getting either a gift card or money along with something that they can open. These things might include their favorite snacks, etc. the two older grandchildren who are in school and college are getting an echo dot. Those are the only gifts I bought. And it fit into the budget. Last year I researched what kids wanted, and I bought blue light filtering glasses.
We have one big family gathering on Christmas Eve, since the family has grown, we have a secret Santa gift exchange with a $25 limit. This has simplified the occasion and the budget, not to mention the stress. There are often 40+ people there, I’m so blessed, I might also add, I am the oldest!
I don’t crave physical gifts, I really want to feel appreciated. The hugs I get from each of them is the best thing I could wish for. The laughter and friendship make Christmas and remembering the true meaning of Christmas is what it is all about.
I just found your channel and I’m loving it so much. My kids are grown with kids of their own now. So we don’t buy gifts for the adults but I do for the grandkids. I typically buy each kid three gifts. A toy, a book and an outfit. This has really simplified shopping and I can enjoy the holiday season with little to no stress.
I just love the act of wrapping up a present al beautifully (bows and all!). Also for the kids in my family. Last year I was scolded (good-heartedly ofcourse) that the presents were too hard to open for the little ones! Also I love sending out handmade cards. Fortunately we do secret santa gift exchange on a 50 euro limit. Everyone makes their own list so no one receives anything they don't already want or need.
We only buy gifts for kids. Like you Dawn I had got fed up of spending a fortune and wracking my brain to think of something to give people. We are a well off family and don’t need anything. So two years ago we called a halt. No more gifts for adults. We try to join in with the celebrations by devising games or contributing food. We give extravagant birthday gifts but not for Christmas. We buy for thirteen children and try to avoid filling their parents houses with plastic. We like to give creative presents like a craft kit, some special chocolate and a Christmas ornament. One of the high lights of the season for my grand children is the kids activity day at our church, where they can make Christmas gifts for home and their parents - they really love that.
We've decided to do an experience for Christmas...consumable gifts. Use it and enjoy it and then it's gone. We've done the gift that you wear, read, want and need...but have decided to trim it back even more. Love the idea of spending time with other adults! Merry Christmas! 🎄
Generosity is such a Joy. Sharing your thoughts of affirmation or love with others in writing is often is the most treasured gift. It’s budget friendly and increases the gratitude endorphins of the giver.🌸🌿
I am still a work in progress, so not perfect, but we keep these in mind for our children. Something to read, something to wear, something they want and something to eat. We also do stocking for each kiddo with some small toys and treats. Not perfect but it seems to be working for us to try to keep it simple and keep our spending in line. We also love gifting consumables to family and friends which I learned from Dawn, Thank you!
Thank you Dawn and Diana for sharing. I do like to recieve gifts like Diana but the reinforcement of the budget truly does help because I need to do that this year. I used to have years shopping was dreaded for certain people in my family because you never felt you would give them as much as they gave you. So I just have to not care about that. Just get them the best I know they would like in that budget. So many of your videos Dawn on decluttering and look at how much we want to manage has spoke and helped me thank you so very much. God bless you and Diana.
We do a very small Christmas because my kids are November babies and that's when they get more presents. For Christmas they get a few small things that fit into their stockings and a fun set of Christmas PJs. Not to mention grandparents and great grandparents still give them gifts, but my mom and I have a deal that whatever she gets for them stays at her house 👍
I love that you can take these great tips into any gift giving circumstance!
Thank you, Dawn and Diana!
Happy Thanksgiving!
Thank you for this great video! I have long struggled with Christmas and with trying to make it more enjoyable, more restful, more peaceful. Reducing the stuff of Christmas is key to that. Have a nice weekend!
I have also had years where I felt empty after Christmas. This year I am purging some of my Christmas decor and scaling back how much we spend on new decor. I’m also planning new, simple activities for my daughters like going out to look at Christmas lights and trying new cookie recipes. My girls crave the quality time that we share this time of year more than anything else.
I love you two. You light up my day with your videos (on both of your channels). You are doing such good work. ❤️
I’d love to know what your sister serves at her Christmas “tea” - ideas! Thanks!
thank you so much for addressing this issue i am a full time floral designer at a very busy shop and by the time christmas is here i am already over it and find no joy, this year i am making changes by not extending myself at work so much by letting my compaany know that this is not going to consume all of my time so that i can spend time with family friends so the message i take from this is to set boundries, limitations and stick to it it will be hard but it putting family time first is my priority this year. thank you for inspiring me to make some big life style changes that needed to be done
I have over 200 Santa figures. I love them all, but I no long have the energy to put them all away. Getting them out was fun, we even had a pizza delivery guy say he had heard about my Santas and wanted to come in to see them. I lived for those moments. My birthday is 12/14 and I made a tradition of taking off work that day and getting together with a couple of friends to bake cookies....not many cookies were baked, but, we had a blast. My favorite 12/14 was when I invited my step-son's non-domesticated goth girlfriend . She was so excited! I was too, until she showed up in all black and heels. She truly believed that cookie baking involved slicing a log of dough from the store. We still tease her about it.
I also put the calash on gifts long a go. I love giving gifts, and for a while $$ was not an issue. However I knew it was an issue for the "kids". So, since at least in our family there are multiple sets of parents and grand-parents, my gift to them was this: You are not invited for dinner, please just stop by and visit for a while, then go eat multiple dinners with everyone else, we will not put that pressure on you. Merry Christmas!
Very nice to see you together!!! I REALLY enjoy it! God Bless You!!
Would love to know more about the Christmas Tea! Sounds like so much fun and wondered what you all do for it.
Love seeing both Diana and Dawn! You two are so fun. Those Gingerbread houses are so cute. Love them.
Those Gingerbread houses looked professionally made 😂. I almost cried that their kids make better decorated homes than my soul.
When all of my siblings and I became adults, my mom switched to giving every member of the family a clean, crisp $100 bill. (If we weren't able to travel, we each got a check for $100, mailed in a card.) Everyone loved the cash, and even our kids were reluctant to spend it unless there was something really, really special to spend it on. Even with 10 of us, including spouses and grandkids), that is a max of $1000. That is less than we typically spend on gifts if we go that route instead. Now that our adult kids live hours away, we should go that route. Much easier and more appreciated.
I absolutely agree with thinking thru gift giving since I was younger I always wrote letters or cards to my loved one or coworkers for holidays especially Christmas it’s the simple things that make the most impact. Mom/dads believe me when I say your kids will let you know what they want without having to say it just by watching and listening to them when they talk about their hobbies or things they like. For example I have a friend who absolutely loves books I would go to a book store and buy two books for her, perhaps a gift card to a coffee house and a book divider and she would be absolutely happy with that thought . Another thing is my mom loves plants , being warm & she loves being put together lol. so I try to get her a mascara that she’s running low on or her favorite eyeliner, some fuzzy socks, sweater and she loves these hair clip things that I always find in the dollar store so win win. My husband always needs some form of clothes so I just look thru his things and see what he is missing and done. My furbabies love snacks and food so I buy each one something they can enjoy also a blanket or catnip for our cat. I am a quality time and caring person so that’s my love language 🥰. Hope you two have a great day
This was great! Whew! Thanks for sharing a message that lessens stress around such a precious time of the year!
My girlfriends and I plan our holiday meet up in January. We've done that for many years. So fun to have something to look forward to in mid winter. No gifts just each other's company.
I have really enjoyed watching your videos! Especially the ones with your sister and hearing the passage and prayer 🙏. It is so inspiring and gives me goosebumps every time! The Lord is with you and has been a blessing!
Wow! Thank you so much for sharing your wsidom, tips, free printables, lists etc! That's such an amazing gift in itself 🥰🤗
Love this video! You both are such an inspiration! Gift Idea: I am a crafter and love to make birthday and holiday cards. I box up a sets in a nice photo box and give them as gifts. It helps me with my stress and they love having the cards to use all throughout the year. I also give these out again the next year to refill their box. God bless!
I love watching the 2 of you sisters! ❤ Thank you for sharing all your tips!
We are definitely cutting back on gifts this year. The important thing is to just be together to celebrate and enjoy the holidays.
I love the dynamics between Dawn and Diana! You approach the holidays differently, but in a complimentary way. :)
I started our journey to minimalism in 2020 and it’s been hard but amazing. My MIL is very much a gift giving person but did stick to my request for minimal gifts last year. I appreciate the gesture but am overwhelmed by the stuff. With my family we do a white elephant, play games and have a nice meal. Less is definitely more. ❤️🎄
Last year we started with our kids (older! 21 and 15) but I think would work well with any age is, a want, a need and a good read! Man did that take so much pressure off. They were totally fine with it, so a tradition has been started :)
This will be my first minimal Christmas. I'm both nervous & excited
You got this!!!
Me too!! Thinking of doing 1 large gift for the 3 kids, only stockings. Also might do away with getting people outside of our immediate the family gifts.
Thank you so much! I needed the reminders. Yes nice to see the two of you together.
We do the Saran Wrap ball game. Closer to Christmas my mom and I get together little practical gifts like $5 gift cards to McDonald’s, spa day stuff, hand sanitizer, books, fun family card games, etc. all of these things get wrapped in a big ball of Saran Wrap and we take turns peeling away at the ball. When the ball is completely unwrapped we then do a pass one thing to your left that you don’t want one trade with one person etc. It’s lots of fun. Thank you for your videos! I just love the both of you!