I really can’t believe I am writing this post thinking about Christmas already, but the truth is I am probably behind. Actually, I really love this time of year, and I especially love having my family all together.
My extended family is very large, I grew up, right in the middle of three older siblings and three younger. Most of us are together with our spouses and children each Christmas eve at my house. I go all out with the baking and we have a blast just hanging out together.
Well as you can imagine presents are a big part of our celebration. In years past, before simplifying, the presents literally overran the house. But as I have simplified my own life I have also simplified gift-giving. I want to be an example of what I talk about and still provide gifts with meaning for the ones I love.
Often gift giving can be a hard area if you are a minimalist or looking to purchase a gift for a family simplifying their life. I thought I would share some ideas with you to hopefully get you started with some ideas of your own.
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1. Minimalist Christmas Gift Ideas – Books
I confess that this may be the first thing on this list because books really are my weakness. But here is the great thing about books, after they have been read they are so great to pass on to a friend. There is no guilt about getting rid of the book after you have read it. You may even score double points by picking up a book on simplifying and minimalism. Check out
For the kids these are some of our favorites:
A really fun idea is to add a cozy blanket or candle to curl up with a good book.
Depending on the size of your budget, a great alternative to a physical book is a Kindle Paperwhite
I love reading books on my kindle. I can get instant access to the book I want to read and there are many free books available. Even our local library has an e-book section. A cool thing about the Paperwhite is that it has a reading light so that you can read anywhere without a light, and not worry about harming your eyes.
If your minimalist already owns a Kindle reader, a Kindle Unlimited Subscription is a great gift.
Kindle Unlimited is a subscription service that gives you access to more than one million titles and thousands of audiobooks.
It can be used on any device, and the recipient does not need to have a kindle. Your book lover will never be without something to read if you gift them a subscription.
Click here to give Kindle Unlimited as a gift.
2. Minimalist Christmas Gift Ideas Coffee or Tea
Fine coffees and teas are great gifts! It is hard for me to justify spending extra money on Starbucks or Teavana tea, so I love receiving these as gifts. The same is true if your minimalist has a Keurig, each year, I ask for a variety pack of K-Cups for a gift. It is so nice to break up my normal Kirkland coffee morning. It’s a consumable gift so it doesn’t clutter up my house.
3. Minimalist Christmas Gift Ideas – Mugs
Another great gift idea is a new coffee mug. But not just any coffee mug, these ember mugs are amazing because they keep your drink hot for hours. I promise you favorite minimalist will never want to use another mug and will be so happy to be able to clear out all their old mugs. If you’re on a budget try one of the Yeti mugs, I use mine every day and have gotten rid of so many other mugs!
4. Minimalist Christmas Gift Ideas – Consumables
Consumables are perfect for the minimalist because they are, well, consumable.
Now really who doesn’t like to receive chocolate as a gift, and let me just say that if they don’t enjoy chocolate well then that’s just wrong. In my house we love sees candies, but a one-pound box gets pricier every year, so they are reserved for gifts. It is always a big hit when received.
Homemade cookies or bread make great gifts for the minimalist. As I said I go all out with baking and always wrap up a box of treats for my brothers and dad. One year I didn’t do this and I cannot tell you how disappointed they were. I never made that mistake again, I know that every year they look forward to receiving their box of goodies and I love baking and putting it together for them.
Amazon also carries a great selection of gift baskets for their favorite snacks and treats.
5. Minimalist Christmas Gift Ideas – Special Everyday Items
Getting something like a fine soap or facial item or a fancy scented candle is such a treat! Think of those fun consumable things that you would totally love to have but would never buy for yourself. These things are sure to be much appreciated.
6. Minimalist Christmas Gift Ideas – An Experience
This is the ultimate gift for a minimalist because it’s the whole point of the lifestyle, experiences over stuff.
Depending on your budget you can go all out and purchase a season pass to the amusement park, a family day at the amusement park or arrange a simple Saturday afternoon date to a fun coffee house and offer to watch the kids. You can get as creative as you want here and stay within your budget.
One of the gifts I will be giving this year is these adventure challenge scratch-off books. Each book has 50 unique adventures for you, your partner, your family, and more! They create great memories and experiences and will be a huge hit no matter who is on your list.
7. Minimalist Christmas Gift Ideas – A Gift Card
Gift cards can be a great option for the minimalist. Some ideas for gift cards are:
A coffee shop
All the teens and pre-teens I know always love a Spotify or Starbucks gift card!
Bowling Alley
Restaurant
Frozen yogurt or Ice Cream Shop
Pottery Painting Studio
Ice Skating Rink
Local Museum or Aquarium
Movie Theater
You can even pick out an amazon gift card and let them choose what they want. Amazon literally has everything.
8. Minimalist Christmas Gift Ideas – Flash Drive
This is such a practical gift, but it can also be very fun and personal. Flash drives are used by everyone, especially if there are school-aged kiddos in the house. It seems like someone in our house is always looking for one.
You can find some cool character flash drives that are great (like this minion one).
9. Minimalist Christmas Gift Ideas – Outdoor Fun
Yard Games are great gifts because they do not clutter up the house, but everyone can enjoy them. One of our favorite yard games is Bocce Ball and it is really great for any age. If you can toss a ball, you can enjoy this game.
A Frisbee Golf Set or Volleyball Net are other great options.
A pack of baseballs, sidewalk chalk, or even bug-catching kits encourages the kids to head outside and play.
10. Minimalist Christmas Gift Ideas – Indoor Games
Playing games together as a family is a ton of fun. While yes, board games do take up space, they build great memories and togetherness as a family.
Even some age-focused coloring books, with some really nice crayons and colored pencils, would be a fun gift. They have so many adult coloring books that would work for the adults and teens to go along with the traditional coloring books for younger kids.
You can add some microwave popcorn packs and hot chocolate packs to make a family coloring night gift basket.
11. Minimalist Christmas Gift Ideas – Amazon Prime
Amazon Prime is a great minimalist Christmas gift. It takes up no space and has so many benefits. Amazon Prime memberships come with a ginormous selection of free movies, music, and books. Of course, two-day free shipping on almost any item sold on Amazon as well as lots of other benefits.
Check out more on Amazon Prime here.
12. Minimalist Christmas Gift Ideas – Ancestry DNA Test
I know I personally would love to receive this as a gift. After all, who doesn’t want to know where they came from? The Ancestry DNA test is so easy, just spit in a tube and it can reveal generations of history and a loved one’s ancestral past.
Along with showing ethnic makeup, an Ancestry DNA test offers a subscription to Ancestry.com, where established family trees can be easily found from possible genetic matches thanks to DNA testing.
13. Minimalist Christmas Gift Ideas – Digital Photo Frame
I don’t know anyone who doesn’t love looking at old photos filled with precious memories. However, having individual picture frames all over the house can make things look cluttered. They’re also a lot of work to dust around.
A great idea is to load them into a digital photo frame that plays videos and photos. This way, one frame can showcase years of memories that can constantly be updated without having to print photos (which we know doesn’t happen nearly as much as we’d like).
14. Minimalist Christmas Gift Ideas – Organic Sheets
Everyone wants to sleep in luxurious softness. These organic sheets will make them feel like they’re sleeping in a fancy hotel room every night.
15. Reusable Notebook (Digitalizes Your Notes)
This Rocketbook Wave Smart Notebook is so cool. You take notes with the special pen, send your notes right into Google docs, Dropbox, iCloud, Evernote, or email. Then, you can microwave the notebook to erase your notes and use it again! How cool is that!
16. Minimalist Christmas Gift Ideas – Charging Station
Your favorite minimalist will love being able to consolidate their devices and the charging cords that go with them with this charging station.
17. Minimalist Christmas Gift Ideas – Instant Pot
An Instant Pot combines multiple kitchen appliances in one. It’s a pressure cooker, slow cooker, rice cooker, steamer, sauté pot, and warmer. It also prepares dishes up to 70% faster, which is great for those extra busy nights.
18. iRobot Roomba Vacuum
I absolutely love the idea of programming a robot vacuum and then not worrying about the constant mess that happens when you have pets or kids! The Roomba vacuum is a minimalist’s dream as it makes cleaning up almost non-existent. They’ll have plenty of time for those things that matter most!
19. Minimalist Christmas Gift Ideas – Puresteam Fabric Steamer
Let me just tell you I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE my fabric steamer! Not only does it save me so much time, but I was able to get rid of my iron and ironing board, saving me precious space in my home. This portable fabric steamer is perfect for home or travel. It’s convenient and removes all wrinkles in seconds!
20. A Charity Donation
I have a friend who sits down with her kiddos and they go through a particular charity catalog, her kids each give up one gift they would otherwise receive to make a donation to the charity they choose as a family. It is an awesome way to teach kids the importance of giving and generosity and avoid the purchase of unnecessary stuff.
21. A Local Homemade Guide Book
Do some internet research and create a guidebook of some family restaurants and experiences in their own neighborhood. Think about what would you want to do if you were a tourist in that town. Add some gift certificates to some of the local attractions and show them how to be tourists in their own city.
Graciously Accepting Unwanted Gifts
Now if you are a minimalist or on the journey to living a simpler life, one of the comments I often hear is how to get family to stop buying the kids a bunch of toys.
Here is my take on this, if you are asked, by all means, let your preferences be known to your family. However, if not, remember that your friends and family are giving you gifts because they love you and value you. You need to accept their gifts, with graciousness and gratitude.
If you find that you receive a lot more toys or clothing than you want in your home, look at getting rid of some of the older stuff you have already or let your kiddos play with them for a time, and then consider donating or passing them on.
You are setting an example of the benefits of minimalism and simple living, don’t harm that example by openly showing discontentment to those giving you the gift or more importantly to your kids.
But if you’re looking for some non-toy Christmas gift ideas to suggest, be sure to check out the post!
I would love to hear your thoughts on this in the comments.
Saramae says
I know this post is older but I’m just now reading it and looking though easy ideas , we love small . 2 bedroom apartment and we like to decorate but on a small scale.
We also came across a book advent activities, but they used paper for everything we decided to use files for it so we can reuse each year just like decor . The only struggle I’m finding is my child has several great aunts and uncles 14 and 4 aunts and uncles and three sets of grand parents so at our house we are doing a minimal Christmas with lots of activities because i dont now what to expect, we also donate old toys to make room at a local free house .
Another idea we give as a gift is a CD I make with pictures of our family from that year our families love those.
Kristal Marie says
Wow, these are all great ideas. I know it can get hard with extended family wanting to purchases lots of gifts. I try to focus on the fact that they are giving my kiddos gifts because they love and care for them. Whenever they ask what my kids would like, I always make sure to mention some non-clutter type gifts that I know would be appreciated.
Amy@MoreTimeThanMoney says
I think these are generally great suggestions – although I have had to declutter many gifted mugs!
KristalMarie says
Thanks Amy, I know what you mean about the mugs, but I really like the simplicity mugs, a great reminder to start your day with :). Thanks for taking the time to comment!
Eliza says
I’m so clumsy, I tend to break mugs ALL the time, so gift mugs are welcomed in our house! Especially ‘individual’ ones from close relatives, it is really nice to have a special mug that brings thoughts of the person who gave it to you each time you have a hot drink! My son gave me one that was printed by ‘picture plates’ via a school fundraising thing, and it is used pretty much every day!
KristalMarie says
I love that! Special mugs are a great way to start your day!
Lori says
Thank you for this. We have been trying cut back on the material gifts at Christmas as well. Your ideas have started my wheels turning. I’m thinking of gift certificates to the small businesses here in my town. We may all make a new discovery! I want to thank you especially for the last paragraph. My husband and I were on the receiving end of family who tried to give our gift back to us. We had been through a bad year, and they thought they were helping us by giving it back with “you can’t afford this.” It was VERY hurtful. It was embarrassing, it was inappropriate to do in front of the rest of our family. I appreciate your thoughts on accepting gifts graciously. I have found that it is a learned behavior for some.
May you have a blessed Christmas season!
KristalMarie says
I love to support local small businesses, I think gift certificates for small businesses is a great idea! And I am sorry you were on the receiving end of someone who was not able to accept your gift graciously, that must have been hard. Hopefully, there intentions were good, even though they did not express them appropriately. Thanks for sharing your story, it helps to see the importance of receiving a gift graciously!