As my husband and I have been embracing
the minimalistic lifestyle, we wondered how it would translate into
certain areas of our lives – particularly times like birthdays and
Christmas. Birthdays have always been a simpler affair, with maybe
one gift and a special meal. This is our first Christmas after
purging nearly half of our belongings, and we hadn't gone through
Christmas things. We had more than I realized, and after unpacking
what we had, this past week, I said: “let's start with the tree and
see how we feel after that.”
Our tree is simple, with white lights,
red and gold ornaments, a box of candy canes, and a stream of gold
ribbon. We've never found a tree topper that worked well, and we've
didn't feel like the tree needed one. We also hung a stocking for
each of us on the wall where our engagement picture and a picture of
our little girl usually hangs. Once those were finished, we were so
happy with the way things looked and felt, we left it at that and put
away or donated the rest. One box of Christmas things feels much
better than five.
We have a stocking tradition for
Christmas Eve. They are filled with peanuts, oranges, candy (we NEVER
eat candy, so it's super special at Christmastime), and a few, small
gifts which are useful – like pens, socks, or soap.
For gifts, we have a strict budget, and
my husband and me give one another a list of items we would love to
have but wouldn't get on our own (mostly because of what it would
cost). For our daughter, we get four gifts maximum, though this year
we only got her three things: something she can use for play,
something she needs, and something to listen to or read. We also
include “something to wear” in the list, but she doesn't need any
clothes, right now, so we passed on that.
I'm
making a beet cake for Christmas day, and we'll buy orange juice to
have in the morning. To us, those are really special things we don't
have often, so they will be a special gift in their own way.
It has been simple, and we are enjoying
the ways that minimalism has changed our mindsets in so many areas.
It's actually a relief that I don't feel the need to be extravagant
for the holidays. May it continue.
