Christmas "Un-Gift" Guide - Top 10 gifts for a Minimalist
As bloggers across the country publish their guides to all the "must-have" gifts this Christmas, I thought it was a good time for me to release my alternative "Un-Gift" guide. Here are my top 10 ideas for what to buy the person you don't actually want to buy any "thing" for.
1. Time
Time is a gift, no really it is an actual gift you can give to someone. How much better than a token gift under the tree of something no one really wants or needs than to give the gift of spending time with you! It could be as simple as going for a coffee or a meal, or even a whole day out together. But during this busy festive season, taking the time to slow down and spend time with those you care about is one of the best gifts you can give.
(And here is a handy image for you to download and send to those you want to give the gift of time too)
2, The Voucher
The voucher is a common gift at Christmas, but how about giving a voucher with a twist. Instead of x amount to spend at a designated shop, you give an experience voucher. It can be as extravagant as a day out somewhere, or as simple as a trip to the cinema, or a voucher for their favourite coffee shop, or even a trip to the bowling alley, the options are endless. The voucher then becomes a gift a person can enjoy, and will create lasting memories, and as a bonus will take up zero space in their home!
I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention that you could even buy them a gift voucher for a photo shoot.
3, Dinner Date
Do you know what I love but don't do enough? Having people over for dinner! As parents a good proportion of our friends are also parents and so finding time or babysitters to make dinner dates happen isn't always that simple. But we recently started hosting "messy dinners" and instead of trying to present an immaculate dining experience, we all bring our kids along and embrace the cheerios on the floor, and the extra loud volume of the little ones and do dinner and life together. Everyone knows in advance to expect mess, no one judges as we've all been there, and we get much needed time with friends. Why not host your own messy dinners and use the invite below to gift some much needed time to connect with those you love this Christmas?
4, The Annual Pass/Subscription
One of our favourite gifts to receive at Christmas is an annual pass to some of our favourite local attractions. We have had passes to the national Botanic Garden of Wales, The National Trust, and Cadw Castles, but the options are endless and they make excellent gifts. We have also bought the children magazine subscriptions before which have gone down really well. What better gift to give a family than a whole year of fun together?!
5, Food
So maybe you're not convinced by these alternative gifts or feel the need to buy something tangible that can be wrapped and put under a tree? Enter; food. That thing you consume daily and maybe even dream about sometimes (wait, that's not just me is it?) can be a great gift to give to someone. They get to enjoy eating it and it doesn't take up space in their homes, just their bellies.
6, "Joey and Janice's Day of Fun"
You probably don't need to have that many conversations with me to realise I am a huge friends fan, and there really does seem to be an appropriate Friends quote for most of life's scenarios, so like the great friend I am I will be sure to let everyone know the applicable quote. I know, I have some lucky friends! If you're familiar with the show you will hopefully be familiar with Joey and Janice's day of fun. Long story short they spend a day doing fun activities together to try and get Joey to like Janice. What does this have to do with Christmas presents I hear you ask? Well I think a day of fun is a great gift to give to someone, maybe not to someone who doesn't actually like you, but those who do like you will no doubt love the idea! Why not make the time to do some fun activities with a friend this Christmas? Bound to go down better than a pair of socks!
And here's a handy image to use to gift such fun...
7, Books
Books? "that's not very minimalist" I hear you cry, ok i know, but hear me out. I love books. I don't actually own any books, I have a selection on my kindle or I borrow them from my lovely local library, but my children have a lot of books. It's one of the things we tend not to limit for them. We keep it manageable and once books are outgrown, or won't be read again they get passed on. For me books, without a doubt are something that add value, especially to our children's developing minds. With that in mind books are often our go to gift to give to other people's children. They don't bring the same burden as other gifts can, I think most people can part with a book once it is no longer adding value. So if you want to know my personal opinion on the matter, books (or vouchers for e-reader books) make great gifts for minimalists (and minimalist's children). Just don't get upset when they pass them on once they've been read!
8, Homemade Treats
Food deserves another mention right? You were still thinking about it too yes? Great. So what's better than food? Homemade treats made by your fair hand of course! Maybe you have to buy for someone who wouldn't be impressed by yet another tin of chocolates (I am not that person, chocolate always impresses me!) but if you make the chocolate/fudge/cake/biscuits etc yourself then even if they are not impressed they can not say anything. British politeness rules dictate you can not snub homemade gifts, at least not to the givers face anyway! So go get baking!
9, Babysitting Voucher
So maybe you have children, or at least know people who have children, but either way you probably know that being able to get out for dates without the children is basically the equivalent of Manna from Heaven for all parents. So what better gift to give them than the offer of your babysitting services? It can be hard for people to ask sometimes and often people don't have family around to help them out so giving them a free pass without having to worry about being cheeky is a great gift.
Why not use this voucher to do so...
10, Something they actually want!
I know that's a bit out there isn't it? Do you know what though, people, (even minimalists), want things. Why not have an honest conversation with someone this Christmas about what they actually want. It may be that they want world peace and that's not in your budget, but chances are there will be things they want that you can either buy for them or contribute towards.
Or maybe if everyone is being honest they actually want the best gift on this whole list, some time with wonderful You! And I know you can all afford that.
If you enjoyed this blog post please do share it, and I would love to hear your best Minimalist Christmas gift ideas in the comments below! If you want to keep up with the latest blog posts then please sign up to my monthly Newsletter below.
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