How to Have A Minimalist Christmas

This will be our first official Minimalist Christmas since we started our minimalistic lifestyle. If you have read this month’s installment of our Debt Free Journey, you know that we don’t have a ton of extra income this year for the holidays anyways.  I thought it would be helpful to share how some tips and ways that we are going to be putting a minimalist spin on a traditionally materialistic holiday.

Only one tree and no outdoor lights. Every year we would put up a tree in our living area and one in the front living room for the neighbors and others to see outside. This added about $200 to our electric bill over the holiday season, so we decided on no outdoor lights this year. We did decide that since our sons are still in the golden years for this holiday we still wanted to put up the one tree in our living area and stockings for them. Also, since I have purchased decorations many years in the past, I will still put those out but won’t be purchasing any more decorations this year.

Very limited gifts.  Our sixteen-month-old son will only be receiving hand me down toys rewrapped. He is not old enough to even understand the holiday and would be happy with an empty box. However, we still want him to have the experience of opening toys, so we will rewrap the Number Lovin’ Oven we blogged about along with several other LeapFrog toys that were sent this year. We are also bringing down the Little Tikes workbench from our upstairs room that he has never seen. He loved Scout’s Build & Tool Set, so we are thinking this is the perfect time to reintroduce this new toy.

Our ten year old desperately wants a gaming laptop, and we told him that this was just not possible, but that we would start saving for a Mac for him to use throughout several years of his schooling. He has agreed to sacrifice any Christmas and birthday gifts this year to put towards that expense. At first I was heartbroken that he would have little or nothing to open, because Christmas is my biggest temptation to spend throughout the year. However, I have decided that the lesson he will gain with delayed gratification is better than any material gift I can give him. I know it will sting a little that day, but the reward of being able to pay for a Mac in cash next year will be totally worth it.

In regards to our family spending, we told everyone in our family not to purchase gifts for us this year, because of our lifestyle choices. We are still taking part in one cousin exchange for the children only. This means purchasing a $25 gift for two children in the family in return for our two children who will receive gifts at the family Christmas party. I feel this is only fair and right for the kiddos in our family as well.

The whole purpose of gift giving this Christmas will be to focus on the kids.

Cooking Light. Many of our readers know we switched to mostly organic foods in the past few months, and we are getting our grass-fed beef next week.  For Christmas, we are planning on utilizing some of the steaks from the butchering this week, a USDA organic salad using Aldi products, and a sweet potato casserole. Every year we spent well over $150 on the traditional Christmas meal that left us feeling sick and tired the next day.  This year we have focused more on our health & wellness with Young Living products, so I don’t want to take a step backwards just for the holiday.  We will also save a ton of money using food we already have or the healthy food we can get for much less.

All Natural Decor. This year I will be using pinecones and pine garland from the trees in our back yard to decorate our mantle and other areas.  I really feel that less is more in the area of decorating for all seasons. There are some homes that are way over decorated and it looks gaudy and the eye can’t focus on one area. This is definitely a more beautiful approach in the end.

No Christmas Cards. This will be a first for me and very hard as well. However, over the years I have received less and less cards from other families anyways, so it seems like a natural transition this year anyways.

All Natural Wrapping. This year we will use up the leftover wrapping paper we have accumulated over the years. However, if that doesn’t last us, we will be using recycled newspaper and making it look festive with colored string.

Spending Time Together. In replacement of things, we’ve decided to spend some time over the holidays doing some fun things together as a family. This doesn’t mean we are spending a ton of money. We are just consciously making plans already of how we want to enjoy our time off work/school together over the holiday season. We are also going to visit with grandparents, cousins, and try to make this a memorable holiday by having fun.

Giving. This year we have decided to give time helping  those less fortunate in our area. We want to encourage you to spend an afternoon with an elderly person with no family this year. Spend some time with a foster child, or a family in need.  If we are going to combat materialism, then let’s get back to the real meaning of the holidays. To give. To give of ourselves, our time, our love, and if needed, our money.

Do you have any minimalistic holiday tips? Comment them below!