A few years ago, as the festive season approached, my husband and I decided that it was time to have a heart-to-heart about downsizing Christmas. In a world where we are inundated with messages that bigger, more expensive gifts show people how much we love them, we decided to go the other way.
We wanted to spend more time with the people we love, give thoughtful, meaningful gifts and reclaim the magic of Christmas.
Instead of going overboard on the presents this year, try sticking to the rule of four.
Let’s start with the big question: why would you downsize Christmas (said in an incredulous tone)?
Well, there were a few reasons. Our daughter had previously received so many gifts from family and friends that instead of being excited she was simply overwhelmed. We could also see that the gift givers were disappointed not to get the excited :“Wow, I love it”, they were hoping for. It was simply too much.
It’s not about the size of the celebration; it’s about the size of your joy.
A friend told me about the four present rule: “something you want, something you need, something to share and something to read” which sounded perfect. As for family and friends, we try to keep their gifts to one (and politely ask that they don’t make it the biggest toy they can find). Experiences like tickets for a movie, show or an outing are our preferred gifts. Gift vouchers are also great as they enable her to buy something she would really like but perhaps didn’t make the cut in the list of four things.
With the kids sorted we decided to tackle adult gift-giving, which often saw us at the shops on Christmas Eve, racing against the clock to find the perfect present for everyone on our list.
Why you should downsize more than just your home this Christmas
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12.12.2023
A few years ago, as the festive season approached, my husband and I decided that it was time to have a heart-to-heart about downsizing Christmas. In a world where we are inundated with messages that bigger, more expensive gifts show people how much we love them, we decided to go the other way.
We wanted to spend more time with the people we love, give thoughtful, meaningful gifts and reclaim the magic of Christmas.
Instead........
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