Maybe you are a minimalist and your partner isn’t or perhaps you have told people you are cutting back on gifts this year and they have ignored your requests. It’s possible you and your partner live a simple life but your kids still receive lots of toys from others. Whatever your situation, minimalists can suffer from gift overwhelm on Christmas Day just as much as the next person, so here are just a few ways to reduce the stress.
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Remember you don’t have to keep everything that is gifted to you: As you open each gift, remember that you don’t have to find a place in your home for every single one. Once the gift has been given to you, it’s up to you what you do with it, so don’t fret about how your space is going to accommodate all of these new things when it doesn’t have to. Gifts you won’t use or need can be regifted, donated or sold.
Move everything once you’ve opened it out of sight: If you feel overwhelmed by a big pile of presents in your living space, move them all to your bedroom or spare room where you can revisit them and examine each piece once the excitement of Christmas Day is out of the way. If you keep it in your line of sight, it might just add to your feelings of stress.
Make a list of everything you get and who it’s from: If you write down who has bought what- you can take a moment when you can and reflect on who has bought you the most or who you need to speak to about gifting in the future. This is a measured way of seeing who you might like to approach about changing things up. My parents asked all of their friends for a donation in their name to a charity this year as they felt it was a wiser use of their money. Perhaps you could adopt a similar approach next year if you don’t want someone to buy you a physical gift. Communication is everything when it comes to moderating the things coming into your home.
Accept that giting is some people’s love language: While you may feel uncomfortable with a large bag of gifts, this is how some people choose to show their love. Although you might not agree or speak a different love language, accept the gifts gratefully anyway as these people get great joy from giving them to you.
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Engage with the gifts and their story: To distract you from the quantity, try to turn each gift into an experience instead. Open each one and ask where the person got it from and what inspired them to get the gift for you. Passionate gift givers think long and hard about the things they give to others, so chances are they will appreciate you showing an interest in the back story.
Do a gift swap there and then: Sometimes you are gifted things you will never use, yet the person sitting next to you will or they know someone who will. If this scenario befalls you- pass on the gift right away. For instance, you may not drink so if someone gifts you a bottle of wine- pass it on to the person in the room who does and don’t let it reach your kitchen.
Remember it’s just one day: If the sheer thought of lots of gifts makes you feel uneasy, remember it’s just one day of the year. Try to set your anxieties around too much stuff to one side for this one 24 hour period and then you can resume your usual way of doing things once it's all over. Focus less on the way the gifts make you feel and more on the way the people who are with you do.
Merry Christmas to all the minimalists out there!
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