Minimalist Holidays - Page 2 « Back to Group Discussions

[Oliver's Mama]

Originally Posted by Paigekitten 

  I need to figure out what to do with that one stocking. It says "baby's first Christmas on it" but my parents never got me another and so it was my stocking every year, and then it became this family joke.  My mother knows I don't like a lot of stuff, and I know she has no use for it so I don't want to give it to her, but for some reason I feel really funny just tossing it a box going to goodwill.

If it's a family joke, maybe use it to "wrap" a present in, whether a present for your mom or someone else in the immediate family, with the intention that they can then "rewrap" it next year to someone else.  Or if it's in great shape, if you know someone who has a baby that could use it.  Or I'm sure someone at goodwill would enjoy it though, so I wouldn't feel funny about donating. Take a picture of it before donating.

[Paigekitten]

Originally Posted by Oliver's Mama 

If it's a family joke, maybe use it to "wrap" a present in, whether a present for your mom or someone else in the immediate family, with the intention that they can then "rewrap" it next year to someone else.  

Oh, that might work!  We are in different states and don't usually exchange gifts unless it's something really perfect for the person, but I'll bet I'll have reason to eventually.

[Persephone]

started telling her about how I hate getting gifts and they cause me anxiety and how weird it is that everyone I know feels like they should be the exception to my "no gifts, please" rule and they don't understand how giving me a physical object causes me near physical pain...

Haha! That is SO me! I had no idea I was a minimalist! I feel like I've come home. I HATE the holidays now, when I used to love them, because of the #()#$$ gift issue!

As for handling family members, after 8 years, I've stopped caring if I seem rude, and I've also stopped trying. :( I'm so defeated about the whole thing, and now I try to think of ways to just avoid the whole thing. This year, I got lucky, and our whole family was sick (in turns) from Xmas day to New Years Day.

[Mommel]

Time to renew the gift thread, ladies!

Last year I gave almost nothing, got tons of crap... and guess what? The only thing I still have is the zoo membership (thank you, sister). Amazing... and I told my mother at least six times this year already that I didn't want anything this year only to have her tell me the last time that she'd already bought me some bath stuff (see original post). I was silent for a few moments before I finally just told her to give them to someone else. I don't even care how rude she thinks I am. You know what's rude? Not listening to me about how much I hate getting gifts. Gross.

[Rainey Daye]

So it is one week exactly till Christmas and so far we haven't bought anything to put under our tree. I know we will get something for the kiddo to open, besides a few safe treats (he is peanut allergic) for his stocking...but he has only asked for puzzles, coloring books, crayons, and a "big boy" room. Well, the big boy room will have to wait till after the holidays. We had to postpone our Christmas Open House and make it a Post-Holiday Open House on January 5th...so after that we will dismantle the Murphy bed in what is currently our guest room and clear out the closet in there (the one cluttery spot besides our garage in our house)...then we can do his room. Kiddo has been sick (even a night in the hospital last Wednesday) so haven't even been able to get to the store...but I will probably go some evening and see what puzzles and such I can find that won't contribute too much to clutter (they would be organized into his craft shelf in the kitchen once opened) and that will be what he will open. We have already talked about going through what he has (to weed out stuff) this week cause I know he will be getting a few things from family members. Thankfully I know what my SIL/BIL are giving and it is edible and wearable (a candy sleigh and a handmade cap/scarf set)...so that is cool. No clue what his granny, single uncle, other aunt, and great uncle/great aunt will give him though. Since DH got me a Kindle Paperwhite and he got an iPad mini both a few months ago, we probably won't do much under the tree unless it is edible...or maybe a season of a TV series for DH and a polypro hoop for me at most. What do you wanna bet though that DH will get something Star Wars and I will get yet MORE costume jewelry though from the extended family? Haha!!

As far as our gifts to others...the kids in the extended family will be getting homemade candycane playdough...red and green peppermint scented playdough with silver glitter in it twisted like a candycane and given in decorated mason jars. The baby of the family will get a plastic ring stacker left over from a House Party thing I did a while back. The ladies (MIL, two SIL's, and an aunt-in-law) will be getting homemade spice chai mix in decorated mason jars and nice paperback books from a book review thing I did (that as it turns out I had free copies of all the books on my Kindle, so the paperback books are brand new). DH said we will just give one BIL a GameStop gift card and the other an iTunes gift card...and we found an awesome little book for the uncle-in-law written by Elmer Kelton who was a cousin to DH's grandmother at our museum gift store that we got a member discount on. My side of the family already understands that when money is tight we don't do gifts for the side of the family we aren't spending the holidays with...so that makes things easier.