“When we recall Christmas past, we usually find that the simplest things – not the great occasions – give off the greatest glow of happiness.” – Bob Hope
I am often asked for thoughts and advice on celebrating Christmas. And when I am, there are a number of helpful resources I send out in reply.
Personally, I have written my Christmas thoughts elsewhere: I respect gift-giving as a love language and do not want to rob my family members of that simple joy. But I prefer quality over quantity, needs over wants, experiences over products, and provide gift wish-lists whenever possible. For the kids, we reevaluate toy boxes and closet space a few months after the holidays to determine if there are items (new or old) to remove. The philosophy is simple, straight-forward, and easy to manage.
But I am not the first to write about enjoying a simpler Christmas. In fact, as I mentioned earlier, there are countless posts/articles/guides on experiencing a simple, stress-free Christmas. And in an effort to create a valuable resource for myself and others, here is a comprehensive list of the best links in one handy, thorough, shareable guide.
The Helpful Link Guide to a Simpler Christmas
Rethinking Christmas.
The Case Against Buying Christmas Presents | Zen Habits – I love Christmas, but the shopping has got to go. Here’s why.
1 Simple Strategy to Save $2,000 this Holiday and Make Everyone Love You Forever | Far Beyond the Stars – You’ve been bombarded by advertising since the day you were born telling you that the only way Christmas would be a success was if you spent somewhere around $1,000 on gifts for people.
The $100 Christmas | Mother Jones – We felt cheated by the Christmases we were having — so rushed, so busy, so full of mercantile fantasy and catalog hype that we couldn’t relax and enjoy the season.
35 Gifts Your Children Will Never Forget | Becoming Minimalist – I have countless holiday memories. Most of them center around faith, family, and traditions. But very few childhood memories actually include the gifts I received.
Gift-Giving Guides.
One Less Gift – A Holiday Gift Exemption Certificate | Miss Minimalist – Tired of holiday consumerism? Give a “One Less Gift” Certificate to someone special.
A Non-Consumer Christmas: Simple Gifts for Kids and Grown-Ups | Get Rich Slowly – Not sure what to buy for your loved ones this year? Consider buying nothing at all.
18 Non-Toy Gifts for Children | Nourishing Minimalism – A great way to combat too many toys, is to shift all the gifts to non-toy items.
99 Clutter-Free Gift Ideas | Becoming Minimalist – What gifts can we give that won’t add to the clutter problem? Here’s a list.
Simple, Practical Guides.
7 Tips to Overcome Holiday Gift Clutter | Becoming Minimalist – How can we create space to both humbly accept gifts and remain clutterfree? What specific steps can we take to successfully overcome holiday gift clutter?
The Top of Your Holiday To-Do List: Breathe. | The Art of Simple – Your holiday preparation assignment today? Breathe. Relax your shoulders. And do the following.
Three Steps to a Simplified Holiday | Be More With Less – For far too long, Western culture has convinced us that the best types of holiday celebrations involve more – more decorations, more presents, more time commitments, more stuff.
Beyond the Tension: Having Christmas with Joy | Small Notebook – After sampling both sides, I choose to do those things that reflect joy in my activities and attitude.
Holiday Printable Guides.
Christmas Budget Worksheet | Life Your Way
Christmas Gift List | Life Your Way
Emotional Needs.
How to Survive (and Thrive) During the Holidays When You Feel Alone | Zen Habits – There may be some of you who are going through these holidays without family, without anyone perhaps, and I know that can be extremely rough. This post is for you.
This Christmas, Give Peace | Becoming Minimalist – Family relationships can cause conflict, turmoil, and stress at any time, but the tensions are often heightened during the holidays – that is what makes the Christmas season so difficult for many.
How to Thrive in the Midst of Personal Turbulence| Zen Habits – Pay attention to the people in your life because relationships are the only true wealth.
About Joshua Becker
Joshua – I am looking for a book about minimalism and finding simple ways to celebrate Christmas. I got it from my library a few years ago. Cannot did the life of me remember the name and google hasn’t helped. Do you have any that you can recommend
Thanks for sharing and Merry Christmas 2016
Must Check – http://www.festofun.com/
Great post i love to read this and got some usefil tips. Thanks for sharing. Merry Christmas 2016 – http://www.happynewyearr.com/
There is a great community called “The Merry little Christmas project” you will find delightful in helping choose less over stress.
I agree we live in such a consumerism world it never ends???? my sisters and mother are shopaholic during this time of yr.. and look down on me because I don’t buy more kids as much as they spend. I am a thrifty person .. and make things as well☺
It is so sad to hear. People can’t always afford to do so much spending during Xmas.
This is really very nice blog and so informative. Thanks a lot for sharing this article. To read more http://christmasgiftideaz.com/
Visit our rare gift online shop for the best products to give your friends in this Christmas. We has got so much gift ideas from where you can find the 5 best ways to present your Christmas gifts to your top five best friends.
This is a great resource- thanks for including me Joshua!
Thank you for your comprehensive compilation addressing the manifold issues of the whole American Christmas season.
One of my goals this Christmas is to do some small pieces of artwork for friends, instead of my common default: gift cards. Thanks for a helpful post and links.
DYIs ….John, I used to sell them. I do have less of them now. E-vite is so much easier for everyone xoxo
One of my favorite parts of this blog (and others) is seeing that other people too want to stop the holiday shopping feeding frenzy and approach this season more simply and intentionally. Thanks for sharing, Joshua!
My grown children and 3 grandchildren have decided no more gift buying. We started a new tradition last year by spending Christmas day together and then heading to the mountains of Colorado the day after Christmas for 3 days of family fun. This year we’ll be staying in a cabin in South Dakota enjoying family time, games, sledding, and
snowmobiles for 5 days. What a blessing a stress free Christmas is
and how enjoyable to celebeate the true reason for the season.
No presents (purchased) at all this year except for the small kids. Some secondhand fancy dress clothes for my nephew … he’s 4 so will grow out of them no sooner he gets them. New ones are overpriced, and besides, he won’t know they’re secondhand – he’ll just know they’re ‘fun dressing up clothes’. My other nephews and nieces get £10 each (there are 6 of them but they live far away and posting gifts costs too much). Anyhow IMHO, £10 per child is more than enough. My sister is getting my £400 KitchenAid mixer as a surprise (it’s only 3 months old), plus also my dressing table, and our grandmothers 100 year old silver mirror; my mother is having our TV, hoover and DVD player; I’ve just given my brother £500 cash as he was burgled two days ago and they stole 3k of iPads, iPhones, and his guitar (he’s a musician). My father who lives the other side of the world will have the gift of watching us travel the world by camper van and yacht via our blog (hence giving away the above stuff!), which as a boatbuilder and traveller will make him very proud. Yes it might seem that I’ve spent a small fortune this Christmas but in reality, I’ve spent less than I normally would. You don’t need LOTS OF STUFF to enjoy the spirit of Christmas. You certainly don’t need to spend money you don’t have and regret card payments you cannot afford in the New Year. I’ve been there, got the T shirt, and quite frankly this year, I have enjoyed NOT buying things and bowing to mass consumerism. I confess I bought a bike yesterday. Not because it was Black Friday (the prices were the same as any other day in Argos), but because I will need one when we start travelling. My boyfriend and I will not be exchanging gifts. Our gift to ourselves is financial freedom (now we have no mortgage), world travel, adventures, experiences and love. Can’t beat that!
LOVE! It’s why we say “HAPPY Holidays!” right?! :)
Thanks…I shared this fabulous read! :)
I created a list of vintage christmas movies
I created a list of vintage christmas movies… not sure if the right link was posted
Grew up in “communism”. We had Christmas, but no advertising. No jingle bells songs and last Christmas whereever you went. On Christmas eve, Santa Claus came with a sleigh and hessian sack across the snow. Before Christmas mom was baking cake and cookies. We helped and sang Christmas songs. Before getting a gift from Santa we either had to recite a poem from memory or sing a song.
I realize that for most Americans, we try to “declutter” Christmas to make sense of it all. As a missionary in a foreign country, I have the opportunity to start from scratch. We have no decorations except a shoe box full of things plus stockings. There aren’t fancy parties to go to, no big family get togethers, no well meaning Sunday school teachers or libraries or stories handing out little gifts. I am afraid this Christmas will be TOO simple. I have one gift per kid and another might arrive in the mail from a grandparent (or it might not.) I don’t want to MISS Christmas. I want to decorate, but without accumulating clutter. I want to create special memories, without over spending. I want magic and lights and memories but not sure how to do this. Any suggestions?
If, then, that it psychiatric quarterly is necessarily eitherr ethical or unethical.
Turning away from the whole world believes in god, mother and the
whole specimen got fractured.
Thanks for the great list!
My parents never gave my daughter, their only grandchild a lot of “stuff”. What they did do which was priceless was to put tuition money away for her. We are still stretching the money to help with graduate school. My daughter will have a Masters in Ed to teach chemistry in 2015.
After a few years of grandkids being unappreciative, this year will be about thoughtfulness… no toys, no clothes..I don’t expect gratefulness, I’ll hope for some thought.
Hello Joshua, I’d like to offer my own ideas to your readers. “Simplify the Holidays Your Way” http://www.ahhthesimplelife.com/simplify-the-holidays-your-way/ This post offers suggestions on how to simplify gifts, food, decorations, and parties.
Wishing you and all Christmas blessings!
Also the book, “Unplug the Christmas Machine.” Check your library. It has a number of wonderful ideas for figuring out your priorities in celebrating Christmas… without getting sucked into the machine.
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I’ve been looking for something like this. In addition to a relative level of poverty and a major moral issue against throwing good money at Stuff (worthy of a capital S), I’m trying to find the best way to break the no-gifts news to my family. Your resources have given me the guts AND glory! Thank you!
What a great list of ways to simplify Christmas and gift-giving. Your readers may also be interested in several articles I’ve written on this subject:
Frugal Gifts for Family & Friends
A Humorous Look at the Vogt “Nothing New Christmas”
Both are on my website under Spirituality: Advent and Christmas. http://susanvogt.net/Spirituality.htm#SpiritualityArticles
WOW !!!! What a great list ! Thanks so much !
Great ideas for making Christmas less stressful and more simply enjoyable.
We’ve found Christmas to be much more enjoyable with less focus on making an elaborate meal and having a mountain of presents. Even our 5-year-old daughter has more fun now that it’s a low-pressure, crazy party.
So comprehensive – I shall enjoy this reading. Can I add my ideas for simplifying Xmas, for further ideas –
http://justa-littleless.blogspot.co.uk/2012/11/minimalist-monday-xmas-x-cess.html
I like how these lists and posts take on Christmas from different views! Lots of great advice in there. This year we connect the two sets of grandparents (although they live in different countries and don’t really know eachother) and have them give one mutual gift to each of our two kids. We have also helped them pick out what. (We live in yet another country, so they are not always up to date with what our “almost teenagers” might wish for). This way – grandparents still get to “give”, the kids still have gifts under the tree (just fewer), and it will be something they really want.
I’m sending this to my D.I.L because every year he works every hour he can to earn as much money as he can. Then every Christmas season he spends up large buying thoughtless gifts for family he’s become a virtual stranger to. We all wish he would realise that we would prefer to spend time with him. Slavery to consumerism has cost him his children’s childhoods, two marriages and now he’s missing out on his grandchildren.
Loved reading your article and reading all the other articles. We can have fun, celebrate the meaning of Christmas without being in a frenzy!
Just what I’ve been looking for!
This is really cool. Thanks!!