A Minimalist Christmas : part 2

Hi again and Merry Christmas to you all!

Today is the 26th of December here in Australia and we have all had a good couple of days. As I mentioned in Part 1, my husband, kids and I were planning on staying home for Christmas day and it was such a great idea. We began our morning opening our gifts and spending some time together and eventually, we were all hanging around the house just doing our own thing. I decided to edit a video for my YouTube channel and then I watched my new DVD. The rest of the family watched movies, played on the PS4, etc and we had a late lunch/early dinner around 4pm. So all in all, the plan to stay home, with no guests or going out was great, and I really hope that we do it again next year!

Minimalism and Gifts

This year, we wanted Christmas to be a little more minimal. The main reason is that Christmas for us isn't the biggest day of the year. We enjoy it as a bit of fun as a family, but birthdays are more important for us. At Christmas time, we don't always feel the need to splash out and go crazy. Something that is not so minimalist is the fact that we had 3 small Christmas trees this year and this video will show you why.

What we got Each Other

Henry:    (aged 11)

As Henry's birthday is on the 12th of December, we tend to give larger (or more expensive) gifts for his birthday. He had received a new scooter, helmet, and a beach towel, plus a trip to the movies with a friend to see the new Adams family movie.
For Christmas, he said he really wanted some "fancy" soap (which made me laugh so much) and so I found some really cute artisan soap that was locally handmade. Because his want was so simple, we decided to download Minecraft for the first time, overnight and placed the PS4 controller in a gift bag so that he could open it, turn it on and find it installed. It was the last gift that he opened and he was so excited!

want:  soap and Minecraft

need:  new coloured pencils and a tin to hold them

wear:  Teen Titans pj's and Christmas socks (that he will wear year-round)

read:  a new Dogman book

*he also got a small pack of chocolates under his tree as we didn't do stockings or sock exchange this year.

Claire:     (aged 4)

Though we try to stick to the 4 gift rule as much as possible, Claire's gifts were a tiny bit different.

All she wanted was a "pet" and a skateboard. However, on her birthday back in September, we gave her a remote control car. Sadly we thought the quality would be a bit better but broke within a few days. We all felt really bummed out about it and as she kept talking about it, Kyle had found a better one and got that as a replacement

want:  kids cruiser skateboard and Fur Real dino. Plus replacement car.

wear : pack of socks

read: a really nice book 

*plus her pack of chocolates instead of stocking

Kyle and Me:

We didn't feel the need to go with the 4 gift rule, and we almost had thought about getting each other just chocolates. However, we both ended up giving each other a few little things we knew we would love. 

The cute thing about my gift from him is that Kyle had said that he didn't really get anything "meaningful" etc, but he did. I loved My Little Ponies when I was a little kid in the '80s and when the kids both got one of these re-releases this year, I really wanted one. And The Queen of the Damned is one of my favorite movies and haven't owned a copy in years (as my last one was just so scratched). So for me, this was very meaningful. Not exactly "minimalist" but they have meaning and I love them. 

So that is what we got each other for Christmas. I am really happy how we did it this year. It was simple, low stress and we all loved everything we got. Even though the kids are used to NOT having piles and piles of gifts each year, it is still nice to be reminded that what we do, doesn't 'ruin the magic" by not having Santa. They aren't disappointed by not getting the most expensive things on the market and it makes me so happy to see my kids excited by the things they did receive, even if it's a bar of "fancy" soap. LOL. We spent just under $110 per kid and much less on each other. 

Christmas does not have to be complicated and it does not have to be overly expensive. Everything we got was paid for with cash (we don't have credit cards) and that means we aren't in debt, stressing over a Christmas bill in the New Year. This can happen for you too. If you are stressed, spending more than you can afford, and you aren't happy about it, please don't feel like you have to do what everyone else is doing.

I hope that you have enjoyed these last 3 Christmas posts, and have found some motivation to re-think how you might be able to have a less stressed Christmas next year.
 B.