I could separate these thoughts into a few different Christmas posts but, instead, I’m going to throw them out there in one chaotic, festive mess and let the wrapping paper words settle where they may.
It all started when a friend texted to say: You know what you should blog about? Regifting.
I felt more than up to that challenge, and then I started thinking about a variety of holiday topics. So in no particular order, here are some thoughts!
Part of me feels like a giant hypocrite. I talk regularly about minimalism and avoiding clutter, but there will be plenty of gifts under our tree this year. That said, I’m satisfied that most items align with my general “gifting philosophy” that things should:
- be good quality and/or
- serve a purpose or fuel a passion
- be easily rehoused if they’re not a good “fit” or go unused
- be consumable
- have an obvious place within our home
A few people have asked about strategies for spending less. I’m not claiming to be an expert on this topic, but my two cents:
Buy fewer gifts. I’m not trying to be a Scrooge and I really appreciate the gesture of gift-giving. That said, it’s okay to not exchange gifts with every living creature that breathes. Over the years I’ve slowly stopped exchanging gifts with most of the people in my life! First it was siblings (we all live long distances from each other + most of us have kids – so it’s a lot of money and logistics to exchange gifts), then it was university friends, and now almost everyone but immediate family members. Some people truly love giving and receiving gifts but, for the most part, I think the majority of us would be happy to take a few items off our to-do lists. I still send cards out to all these lovely people and for those that live locally, we’ve switched to favouring in-person gatherings over stuff. If you’re not sure how someone feels, ask them: I’m curious if you’d be interested in having a little get-together this holiday instead of exchanging gifts? I’d love to spend more time with you, and I’d appreciate making this a more streamlined and clutter-free Christmas. Thoughts? Or, one of my friends simply texted a few years ago and said: Hey. Would it be okay if we stopped exchanging gifts? It was more than okay, I was DELIGHTED!
That said, if giving gifts makes you happy, or you know it would mean a lot to the recipient and you have the time and financial means to do so – GIVE THE GIFT. And for anyone I’m “thanking” with a Christmas gift, I tend to opt for gift cards (mail carrier, garbage delivery operator, crossing guard at school, etc.)
Regifting. I have zero qualms about regifting as long as I am confident it will not deeply offend the gift-giver. When a gift doesn’t match either an emotional or practical need, I re-gift the item. Our kids’ school hosts a holiday bazaar and is always looking for new/like-new items early in December which is a great venue for donating unneeded items.
Buy second-hand. If you’ve been reading here for any length of time, you know I am a huge fan of thrifting. ZERO shame. There are always at least some gifts under our tree that have been purchased second-hand. Clothes (the kid’s Christmas Eve pajamas every single year), games, electronics (my Kobo last year). Second-hand doesn’t have to mean dirty or damaged. A second-hand laptop could be in pristine condition…and cost a fraction of the same model brand-new. I realize mileage on this could vary based on geography and personal stance on “used” gifts. But for our family, there will be plenty of second-hand gifts under the tree! I also look in Little Lending Libraries throughout the year; I’ve wrapped up all sorts of free books for this Christmas…and when the recipients are finished reading, they can easily pop them back into another Little Library (we have at least 5 in our tiny town).
Now let’s talk clutter. It might sound very Scroogy of me to worry about clutter, but things everywhere make me feel unsettled, so it does matter to me that things have a place and the house (and our lives) can get back to “normal” relatively quickly after the holiday. Again, no expert advice here, just some thoughts about what has worked for us.
I try to think through where an item will fit before I buy it. That giant tumbling mat set looks like a lot of fun, but will it open up fully inside your tiny family room? Last year I was almost sucked into buying a tabletop air hockey set after one child mentioned how much they enjoyed playing air hockey at an event. I had a set in my cart (thankfully, John talked me out of it)…and in hindsight, storing it would have been an absolute nightmare! Phew. What a close call! He can play air hockey in the church rec room each week, and I can keep my dining room table clear. Win, win. This is a bit like my idea of: Don’t give a gift you’d resent someone for using.
Give gifts that don’t take up any space. A subscription – to a magazine or to an entertainment platform (last year I gifted John a year of The Economist – FYI: there are huge discounts for many subscriptions if you work for an educational institution). The lady I boarded with in university once received a flower subscription from her grandson which meant she received a gorgeous bouquet every two months. There are sock and book club and graphic T-shirt subscriptions. While clothes and books can add to clutter issues, they are also consumable in a way (socks and shirts wear out; you can pass along books once you’re finished reading them). Gift cards can be quite personalized; a friend of mine loves various non-chain eating establishments and back when we were exchanging Christmas gifts, I would get her a certificate to one of her favourite places. This wasn’t a generic card to Starbucks and I couldn’t get the gift card at Walmart. It showed I had paid attention to her preferences and put in the time and energy to go to that location and get a gift card for her.
Give experiences. Buy someone lessons or gift a friend a pedicure. We’ve put together coupon books a few times for the kids and those are always a hit. Coupons included things like: add a grocery item of your choice to the list; get a free pass on a daily chore (for A this specified emptying the dishwasher, for L garbage duty).
Shall we move on to wrapping miscellany?
I buy wrapping paper, tags, cards, and tape on sale after Christmas. Not only is it a lot cheaper, it’s also nice to cross one item off a to-do list for the following holiday season!
Use gift bags. This is a game-changer for me. A few years ago a friend brought over presents for the kids. Her love language is gifts and she always spoils mine. Each child received multiple (small) gifts and every single one came in a gift bag. Then and there I decided to start using more gift bags. For most things that come in a square/rectangle, I use wrapping paper. Everything else goes in a bag. If it’s a stocking stuffer, I just tape it shut at the top, a “main” gift gets tissue paper (which I fold down after Christmas and reuse). I reuse gift bags over and over and over again. It is so much less clutter (they collapse down into almost nothing and it allows us to cut our wrapping paper waste wayyyy down) and they last for YEARS.
Keep the front of Christmas cards for free tags. I do this every year. I love to look back at the previous year’s cards, and they make giant, beautiful tags.
Keep wrapping paper scraps in a separate tote. Does anyone else absolutely hate the long tails that get left on wrapping paper rolls when you cut a piece to size that doesn’t use the whole length? I hate those tails. I used to wrap them around the roll and use them up on stocking stuffers. But they were a nuisance to keep track of and seemed to constantly get wrinkled or torn. This year any leftovers get rolled up tightly and stored in a separate plastic tote. They don’t get crushed and I make a point of trying to match small gifts with those scraps as I’m wrapping.
Where appropriate, remove extra packaging before wrapping! I’ve only recently started doing this more consistently. For example, I buy the kids a self-inflating Whoopie cushion for their stocking each year but it comes with extra cardboard packaging that I know will get ripped off Christmas morning and tossed to the floor. So, I remove (and recycle) the packaging…and wrap just the Whoopie cushion (in a gift bag – no tissue paper). The kids can use them immediately, and the cleanup is more streamlined on Christmas morning. This does NOT work if it’s an item you expect to return and I probably wouldn’t do it for an item I was giving outside my immediate family. This is another huge perk of buying things second-hand as, usually, all the packaging has been removed! If an item has a lot of screws or twist ties – maybe loosen those before the big day? If something takes batteries – what about installing them before you wrap it up?
And finally, the pièce de résistance – my Christmas spreadsheet. This is my second year using this system and I LOVE it. (I got the idea from Sarah who writes at Wool + Home).
GAMECHANGER.
I have two tabs in my spreadsheet. The first is devoted to food, holiday to-dos, and general notes (e.g. the address for an incredible light display, how tall our tree can be, and our go-to menu around Christmas). I also listed key ingredients that I should purchase in advance. Things like butter can be hard to come by in the last few days before Christmas, so I try to stock up on necessary items when they come on sale. I bought graham cracker crumbs on sale in November, knowing I’d be needing them in December!
The second page is where I list gifts for immediate family members. I only record an item after I’ve purchased it, so this isn’t an “ideas” list. I keep a running list on my phone using the AnyList app, but once that is translated into purchasing something, I add it to my Christmas spreadsheet. I list both stocking and main gifts.
And that’s a wrap on my festive brain dump!
Does anyone else save the fronts of Christmas cards to upcycle as nice gift tags? What are your favourite tips and tricks for saving money, reducing holiday clutter, and tracking Christmas to-dos? Does anyone else maintain a spreadsheet from year to year?
sarah
I have a Gap mailing envelope from maybe a decade a go that is stuffed with gift tags, sparkly pens, scissors, twine/yarn, tape, etc, that I dig out for wrapping– I am always delighted at the random stuff stashed in there. This year I found these darling little chalkboard snowmen gift tags that you can erase and use again. I used them years ago and forgot! I also have some really cute vintage Santa postcards that can be cut up to make cute tags, especially with red and white string and a hole punch (ALSO IN MY BAG).
The tip to remove extra packaging is SO GOOD– I have been doing this for a few years, and while it makes for ugly packages, the morning is much less messy. I also bought myself a box cutter that I stashed in my jewelry box so I don’t have to go look through Ben’s junk for one– this has been a huge efficiency boost.
I have a spread sheet with tabs for hanukkah and christmas where I list what I got, where it is, what kind paper it’s wrapped in, etc. SO helpful for someone who preps early and has too much going on to remember details.
Elisabeth
SMART! Those chalkboard tags sound so cute. It’s like a treasure hunt!
I can’t believe you have to buy gifts for BOTH Hanukkah AND Christmas. For FIVE KIDS. You definitely have “to much going on”!
Jan Coates
Yes to the use of cards received for gift tags – some of them are too nice to put in the blue bag:) And in our small family of six adults, we started drawing names a few years ago, so each of us only buys one $50 gift each year. It seems to work well and nobody gets a lot of stuff they don’t really need. Don makes mustard nuts which he delivers to friends/family as a seasonal thinking-of-you gift. Too bad you’re not on FB – Marketplace is my go-to for most things these days, especially toys for Ada and Noelle – I don’t think there’s anything I haven’t been able to find on there if I’m patient:) Hope you’ll make some warm memories this holiday season!
Elisabeth
Yes! The cards are so beautiful, it seems a shame to just recycle them. Also – that makes the gift tags FREE.
Mmm. Mustard nuts sound delicious!
Suzanne
Yes! I save cards and reuse them as gift tags. So fun and festive!
I have also gotten really into making bows out of wrapping paper scraps. It takes a little time but I think they are so festive and then I don’t have to worry about buying ribbon and bows.
My husband and I share a gift list in Apple Notes so we both know what has been purchased when.
Loved reading all your tips and strategies!
Elisabeth
Ohhhh. I need to see some examples of these paper bows. They sound very festive.
Lindsay
I use card fronts as name tags (and “creative” wrapping paper!)… I wish I was organized enough to have a spreadsheet. We just had a sit down to talk about what we might want to eat / bake on Christmas Eve and Day and I took notes on the back of an envelope haha.
Elisabeth
Ha – envelopes work too!
Allison McCaskill
I do reuse cards for gift tags, but I didn’t come up with it on my own – I tend to keep cards for years, which has served me well with upwards of 200$ found in past cards that wasn’t extracted in the year they were received. After a while if I’m ready to let them go I cut them up.
I keep lists of presents bought and baking and ingredients, but spreadsheets give me anxiety so they’re just lists. I use gift bags but I do like wrapping some things. I still use wrapping paper scraps for stocking stuffers and I don’t worry if they get crumpled.
I make no pretences to minimalism, but I mostly follow your rules – I give my kids too many presents, and I get little presents for a lot of people, but we’ve scaled down on extended family – just a book and a toy or shirt for the kids, usually a book for each set of parents. I buy a lot of books at Christmas.
Elisabeth
Wow! I don’t ever get money in my cards – can I join your friends mailing list – haha.
This year I’ve been using old tissue paper (that comes crumpled in gift bags throughout the year) for stockings.
Books make great gifts and very much fit your MO <3
NGS
My husband likes to wrap and he’s quite good at it – he used to work at a department store in his younger days and apparently was trained in the magic of making things look professionally wrapped by a tyrant of a lady who seems to haunt him – so we are pro-wrapping paper in our house. I have some gift bags, too, for weird-shaped gifts. One of my nephews asked for a giant squishmallow for Christmas this year and we got him in the draw, so we might actually have to wrap it in a garbage bag because it’s HUGE. (Look, he asked for it and his parents approved. It stresses me out because it’s literally taking up a quarter of our guest room and I would NEVER have picked it out on my own. I don’t know where they’re going to put it in their house or how they’re even going to get it home – is there room for the equivalent of another child in their car?, but that’s officially not my problem.)
I have a spreadsheet with addresses for holiday cards on it. That’s the only spreadsheet I have. I update it all year with change of addresses, adding new people, etc. Otherwise, it’s all up in my head and so far that has worked out nicely. I do occasionally put something on the calendar for the next year, like a reminder for October 1, 2024 to order an advent calendar THAT DAY or all the good ones will be sold out.
Elisabeth
Hahahaha to: I don’t know where they’re going to put it in their house or how they’re even going to get it home – is there room for the equivalent of another child in their car?, but that’s officially not my problem. My kids also love Squishmallows but I got them TINY ones. Shhhh. Don’t tell them they come in giant size.
Brilliant work with the Oct 1st advent deadline.
Lisa's Yarns
We buy so few gifts so I do not have much to manage. Like you, we’ve done away with gifts between siblings, gifts between friends, and so on and so forth. The only person that buys a gift for me is Joan and I have to come up with something to tell her to buy me and it is hard some years. If I never received another gift in my lifetime, I would not be sad. And I not just saying that. I don’t want much and if I want something, I will buy it. I think I am probably hard to shop for. I don’t collect anything, I don’t like clutter. I’d rather get consumable gifts like starbucks gift cards or other things of that like.
Our kids are not quite old enough to appreciate experience gifts but when they do, we will shift more to that. They do get magazine subscriptions from both grandparents which is really wonderful as it’s exciting and fun for them to get mail.
We don’t do any holiday baking besides making sugar cookies for my cookie decorating party but I just have to make one recipe and it’s not hard to shop for so I don’t need any planning! And our Christmas is so small – it’s just us 4 + my MIL! So it doesn’t require advance planning either!
So all that said, our holidays are simple and that is how we like it. I am happy for others that love a ton of gifts under their tree and can’t imagine a holiday that is light on gifts. You do you is my mind set!
Elisabeth
I enjoy gifts at Christmas – I would DEFINITELY be sad if I never got another gift – but I 100% agree that you do you. I think it’s wonderful gifts are neutral to you!!
Magazines are such a great idea; we’ve had grandparents do that for A before, my parents gift me a magazine each Christmas…and it’s a gift that keeps on giving all through the year.
Sarah
Glad the Christmas Spreadsheet is alive and well! Without mine I would never have remembered what gifts I bought everyone last year!
Elisabeth
It is alive and WELL!!! I find it so helpful. Though I didn’t keep my gift list from last year…which seems like a huge oversight on my part.
Sophie
So many great ideas in this post! Thanks for sharing. Hadn’t thought of using the front of cards as gift tags, and I love the idea of thinking where something will “live” in your house before buying it. Ooh and the coupon idea is really fun, especially once my kids are just a little bit older to understand the concept fully.
We don’t do presents for any extended family (except my one young niece), just one small gift for me and my husband, and only a couple of close friends. For our kids, we follow the advice “Something you want, something you need, something to wear, something to read”. Of course we make the need, wear and read items things they are honestly excited about too, and we would mix it up as kids get older too, but it’s a really helpful guideline. They also get presents from extended family members so they are NOT short on presents overall!
Elisabeth
The coupon booklet has been SUCH a big hit in our household in previous years!!!
Nicole MacPherson
I love and agree with every single point on your gifting philosophy! Consumables are my favourite thing to gift – food or booze related generally, but also if there is a beauty product I love and I think others will like (foot cream in stick form) – but I also really like experiences. That said, I don’t have a LOT of gifts to buy. My brothers and I haven’t exchanged gifts in forever and they suddenly stopped buying gifts for my kids, so I don’t buy for theirs. (this sounds like a story, but it isn’t, also, one of my brothers has seven kids and one grandkid who lives with them, and that is a lot of gifts). I buy for my husband and kids, my parents, my MIL and SIL (she has zero family except us so…) and then for a couple of friends. One of my girlfriends had a birthday in September and in lieu of a gift I took her to get a pedicure with me. That’s the kind of thing I LOVE to do.
You know, regifting gets a bad rap, but it’s honestly brilliant. Like, if a person receives something they cannot use, why not gift it to someone who can or wants to?
The clutter thing – yes. Although, I have received a few things that are decorative and I love but for the most part, I steer clear. An ornament for the tree is a nice gift, I think, and doesn’t really ADD to the general house decor. Hmm, what else, what else. I know some people LOVE buying gifts but I am not one of them, I like it okay and if I find the perfect thing it’s exciting, but generally I think everyone has everything. I mean, other than consumable items which I think are always great.
Elisabeth
How did I not know one of your brothers has SEVEN KIDS. Wow! That’s would be a lot to buy for.
Shared experience gifts are my favourite. Every year for Joy’s birthday I take us both out to dinner and then we go thrifting. She knows exactly what she’s getting, but we both look forward to spending time together, eating delicious food (neither of us had to cook). And it doesn’t take up any space except happy memories in our minds <3
I LOVE tree ornaments (or other small holiday decor), because it is only out 1 month a year AND it makes me nostalgic about the giver since I always take time as I unpack the decorations to appreciate each thing/think about its history.
I don't love buying gifts AT ALL. I have a friend who LOVES, LOVES, LOVES buying gifts and she is so good at it. That's the friend that I always gave nice gift cards to. She is so good at gift giving I didn't even try to compete. A gift card it was!
Nicole MacPherson
Also, I giggled at the thought of you using my cards for gift tags. “Who is…that person?” Lol!
Elisabeth
I should have elaborated – I do NOT use photocards as tags. Bwhahahaha. That would be hilarious. And also, very weird. As it is, my kids see cards from bloggy friends and are like Who are THOSE people?
Gigi
I have reached a point where I don’t even use Christmas wrapping paper anymore; except for my mother in law’s gifts; and only then because I can’t wrap her gifts with ribbon because the bows would get squashed during shipping. I use white or brown kraft paper (it’s recyclable!) and ribbons. This also negates the need for gift tags; since I just write down the recipient’s name on the actual paper.
I will use gift bags in a pinch; but generally hoard boxes for those hard to wrap items as I like to use the ribbon (which I re-use every year until it’s too ratty to use anymore).
Scraps of (kraft) paper usually get tossed into recycling; unless I have a particularly small gift that isn’t destined for a stocking. Do y’all really wrap each stocking stuffer?! In this house, Santa does NOT have time for that.
Outside of immediate family (and the friends down the street that are considered family), we don’t really buy any gifts. But I will spend a few days manically baking and sending The Husband out to deliver treats.
My only spreadsheet is for Christmas cards. I used to use an app to track gifts and it was great…until I updated my phone and all the data was lost. This year, I dedicated a special notebook for nothing but yearly Christmas lists; ideas, gifts/stocking stuffers bought and wrapped (minus the stuffers).
And I agree wholeheartedly, consumables of some sort are the best gifts; they don’t take up space for long.
Elisabeth
I love wrapping gifts in brown paper. And, like you, I just use sharpie to write their name on the outside. All my stocking stuffers are in recycled brown paper bags and brown craft paper.
I DO wrap every single stocking stuffer!!!
Jenny
Well, now that my kids are older it’s a lot easier to avoid clutter. They both had clothes on their Christmas lists, and my son is getting a big Lego set- which I suppose is clutter, but I’ll make an exception for Legos! I do wrap all the gifts, and I enjoy that (as you know.) One thing I’ve definitely cut down on is gifts for people outside the immediate family. I’ll do two Secret Santas this year (one was San’s and one for work) and I usually send my sister something, and we exchange gifts with the family who comes over on Christmas Eve (but kids only – no adult gifts.) I think that’s very reasonable!
I’m impressed by your spreadsheet- no, I don’t have one!
Elisabeth
I also make an exception for LEGO. Lego is a MUST in our household. An absolute must…!! A Star Wars LEGO set is truly the only thing John wants to find under the tree. Though I’m running out of options since this is an annual thing (well, aside from the $2,500 Death Star, but that’s not happening any time soon!)
Kyria @ Travel Spot
I also have stopped exchanging gifts with a lot of people and so don’t have much to plan! I am with you though regarding second hand items or regifting, as long as it is in good condition! I have some family members that are not so diligent about this and so it is a joke at our family (extended) party that you may get a pan that still has food remnants on it or something. I personally do not think that is funny, but my family is strange at times. I actually stopped doing the family White Elephant because (a) I don’t need anything (b) sometimes the items are not thoughtful; its like the person just looked around their home and grabbed the nearest thing that they don’t use (c) I hate the stealing and the hijinks part of it (d) I don’t like the generic part of it – if I get or give a gift I want it to be thoughtful and something I really think that person would like. Of course if this is an office party or something, it would make more sense. Also if the theme is actually that you are gifting something from your home that you don’t use, I think that can be a great way to get rid of unwanted things, as long as everyone is on the same page.
Elisabeth
Ha! I don’t regift things that are used (unless it’s to the school bazaar, where that is very normal – though I would make sure everything is clean; last year L brought home a half-used candle for J for Christmas and it was AMAZING. We just finished using it a year later.).
San
I love that you have a spreadsheet. I do, too 🙂 (No surprise, is there?) I keep track of gifts I have bought for people and gifts I have received. It also helps to not gift someone the same thing twice two years in a row.
Most of the Christmas cards I get are photocards, so you can’t really reuse them, but I like the idea of reusing card fronts as gift tags. I also try to buy wrapping paper on sale after the holidays.
I do enjoy gift giving (doesn’t have to be big or expensive) although it’s been hard to ship things (internationally), so I often opt for online ordering. I just love receiving a small surprise in the mail from friends.
Elisabeth
Shipping can be outrageous!