Christmas is right around the corner, and if you’ve been a good little personal financer, you’ve got a budgeted amount for your Christmas shopping, and a plan to pay for it. Myself, I’ve been putting away $25 per week since the beginning of September, for a total of $500 to spend on the big day, buying gifts for family, buying food for the communal meals, and buying a few Christmas decorations.
I feel like this year is going to be more low-key than previous years. My family is more spread out than normal, and a few family members aren’t going to be able to make it at all due to work or travel. I myself am only going to be back in New Brunswick for three days around Christmas, before heading back to Halifax so my husband can go back to work.
Because of this rather unusual Christmas, I feel like now is a great time to push my minimalist agenda. I have always felt that my family’s Christmas’s are a little too over the top, gift-wise. I love spending time with them and gathering for food and drinks and fun, but the spending part, I was never on board with. Not that I don’t love receiving gifts, because I do. But now that we’ve gone back to living in an apartment, the age-old question of “where are we going to put this?” has reared its head again.
Which is why I’m a big fan of minimalist-friendly Christmas gifts. Here are my top picks for 2015:
My Minimalist Christmas Gift Guide
A Sewing Class ($50)
I’m itching to take a sewing class. I want to learn to sew, but my machine is extremely intimidating. It’s one thing to take on a new hobby that you know nothing about, but when that hobby includes needles I feel the need to be cautious. Unfortunately, classes run about $50, and that upfront cost has prevented me from partaking.
A One-Month Pass to Yoga ($40)
I also love yoga. There is this wonderful hot yoga studio downtown that I used to frequent in my carefree (and spendy) university days. Unfortunately, my frugal self can’t stomach shelling out $14 per class, which is why a one-month pass would be wonderful.
An Audible Subscription ($14.95/month)
I love audiobooks. I listen to them all the time. While I’m working, while I’m biking and walking, and during my early morning runs. Of all the different ways to consume audiobooks, Audible is my #1 favourite way. It’s interface is so easy to use! So far I’ve listened to one audiobook with Audible, and it was the free download you get when you sign up (I promptly paused my subscription after that).
A Headspace Subscription ($95)
Headspace is a meditation app that has changed my life. It starts out with a structured meditation program designed to introduce you to meditating in a very easy, sustainable way. That part is free, and once I got to the end of the free sessions, I didn’t hesitate to sign up for a one-year subscription that gave me access to a bunch of other guided meditation sessions with themes like dealing with anxiety, stress, etc. It has been so helpful to my mental well being, I’m so happy I discovered it. My subscription will be running out in January, so this would be a great (although slightly expensive) Christmas gift.
Those are just a few minimalist Christmas gifts I would be thrilled to receive this year.
Let’s expand this list! Tell me your ideal minimalist Christmas gift this year!
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