I’ve got the perfect ideas for a minimal Christmas gift exchange! After dedicating years to my environmental studies degree and committing to a career as an environmental educator, I’ve learned that a simplified, minimal Christmas can bring even more joy than buying all the things.
About two years ago my husband and made the decision that we have everything we need and Christmas is not the time to buy useless gifts for the sake of having something to unwrap.
At the same time, we wanted to still be able to exchange gifts with one another. I am a natural giver at heart, so being able to give gifts was still important to me.
As a compromise, we came up with this simplified Christmas gift exchange to create a meaningful, minimal Christmas.
This blog post is all about a minimal Christmas gift exchange!
What is minimalist Christmas gift giving?
A minimal Christmas gift exchange is a Christmas experience that focuses less on the number of material items and more on exchanging meaningful, useful items.
Think about your last few Christmas gift exchanges. Were all the items given and received meaningful? Did you walk away from that office holiday party with one too many gag gifts and more useless items than you ever wanted?
How do you simplify gift giving at Christmas?
Christmas is notoriously known for being the holiday for over-purchasing and overconsumption of materials. Holiday retail sales in 2018 surpassed $1 trillion. In 2019, the amount increased by around 4.5 percent (source). Instead of focusing on buying things just to buy them, we follow a simple guideline to maintain a more minimal gift exchange.
Here are two ways you can celebrate a minimal Christmas gift exchange and Christmas gift exchange ideas for both:
1.) The 5 Gift Rule:
How it works: Pick a gift out of each category! You can also make this a 6-gift rule by adding the additional category at the end of the list. To make sure each give is used and well received, ask the recipient to write down items in each category they’d like to receive. Items may cross over both categories. If you’d like, you can use that as an opportunity to double-label that item.
Here are the categories for the 5-gift rule:
SOMETHING TO WEAR
What does that person like to wear? What is something you know they’d love wearing? Here are some ideas for the “something to wear” category:
- Clothes (casual, pjs, workout clothes, etc.)
- Shoes (boots, running shoes, casual shoes, sandals, etc.)
- Clothing accessories (belts, hats, gloves, etc.)
- Jewelry (earrings, necklaces, fitness watch, etc.)
- Headbands, hair accessories, etc.
- Socks
- Glasses
SOMETHING YOU WANT
This is usually the category for the “bigger” items or the item that you know the recipient has been asking for.
Here are some minimal Christmas gift ideas for the “something you want” category:
- Shacket
- Airpods
- Portable charger
- Non-toxic cookware
- Weighted blanket
- Nintendo Switch
- 3D Doodler Create and Set
- Roomba
SOMETHING YOU NEED
For this category, think about practical items the recipients actually need. These can be items like household essentials, something that would make their life easier, or just something you may have observed they’re in need of.
Here are some minimal Christmas gift ideas for the “something you need” category:
- Phone case
- Airpod case
- Airtag
- Teakettle
- Air Fryer
- Tupperware
SOMETHING TO READ
My personal favorite category! I’m always looking for something to read. I bounce back and forth between fiction and nonfiction reading which makes for a wide variety of books on my TBR (to be read) list.
Here are some minimal Christmas gift ideas for the “something to read” category:
- Spare, Prince Harry The Duke of Sussex
- Atomic Habits, James Clear
- Lessons in Chemistry, Bonnie Garmus
- It Starts With Us, Colleen Hoover
- Fourth Wing, Rebecca Yarros
- Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, Taylor Jenkins Reid
- The Four Agreements, Don Miguel Ruiz
- Things We Never Got Over, Lucy Score
- A Court Thorns and Roses, Sarah Maas
SOMETHING ELSE OR SOMETHING THRIFTED
If you’re doing a minimal gift exchange with adults, the “something thrifted” category is fun! Of course, make sure whatever you find is useful! Avoid gag gifts or funny items you know will end up back at the thrift store or in the landfill.
If you’re doing a minimal gift exchange with kids, the “something else” category is a perfect add-in. It gives you a bit of wiggle room to grab one more item you know the child will love while still helping prevent you from over-purchasing and going overboard.
Of course, you can modify the categories however you’d like. You can add more categories or fewer. If necessary, you can even set a price limit for the total amount you can spend on all the items.
You can also incorporate this idea with Secret Santa!
(OPTIONAL) SOMETHING TO DO OR SOMETHING I MADE FOR YOU
This category is optional, but it is something that is very rewarding because it is your opportunity to gift an experience gift. Experience gifts are some of the best gifts because they give the option to create memories that last much longer than physical gifts.
Here are some minimal Christmas gift ideas for the “something to do” category:
- Memberships (aquarium, botanical gardens, zoo, Busch Gardens, etc.)
- Subscriptions (TV subscriptions, software subscriptions, online newspapers, etc.)
- Wine tasting/beer tasting
- Tickets (movie, game, sporting event, etc.)
- Lessons/classes (language, workout, cooking, etc.)
- Travel experience
- Massage
- Manicure/pedicure
2.) 5 Senses Gift Exchange
How It Works: This type of minimal gift exchange is fun, unique, and makes you get creative! Each gift must be associated with one of the five senses. One of the reasons I love this type of minimalist gift-giving is because the items are incredibly thoughtful. The key to making these minimal gifts work is to make sure that each gift you purchase is useful.
Here are the categories for the 5 senses gift exchange:
HEAR
- Airpods
- Beats headphones
- Hatch sound machine
- Record player
- Bluetooth player
SEE
- Digital alarm clock
- Digital pitcher frame
- TV
- Books with a booklight
SMELL
- Skincare
- Perfume/cologne
- Lotion
- Essential oils
- Bath bombs
- Flowers
- Soy candles
TASTE
- DIY popcorn in Stasher bag – see how here!
- Homemade granola – get the recipe here!
- Alter eco chocolate
- Plastic free gum
- Plastic free tea
- Recipients favorite snack
- Gift card to a restaurant
TOUCH
- Weighted blanket
- Massage
- Razor
- Puzzle
Download these free Minimal Christmas Gift Tags to label your Christmas presents!
Merry Christmas to all! I hope you all have a joyful, minimal Christmas filled with thoughtful gifts and contagious joy. Feel free to get creative with these suggestions and customize them for your family. Let me know with a comment if this is something you would do with your spouse or children! I love hearing from you all.
I hope you enjoyed this blog post all about how to have a minimal gift exchange!
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I just love your blog! Brilliant mention of minimalism but also suggestions in addition. Also love the categories of suggestions!
Thank you! I’m so happy you found this helpful! A simplified Christmas can be so much fun and save your wallet and the waste! There’s nothing better than meaningful, thoughtful gifts, right?!