Big Family, Small Christmas

Every year we say, “We aren’t going to over do it. Our kids have everything, and way more than most. Let’s have a small Christmas.” Does this sound familiar to you?

And every year, we fail. Some years are worse than others. Ultimately, after the opening of the presents is over, I end up surveying the scene and remarking to myself, “What have we done?!” There were years where the kids opened so much stuff, six months would go by before they even finished unpackaging or playing with something they received.

This year, I refuse to be caught off-guard by the ever-expanding number of packages under the tree. This year we decided early on to keep it small and found a simple way to do so:

Want, Need, Wear, Read.

Four gifts, each gift in one of the above categories. It has helped me stay focused and not get carried away by the want want want category that usually constitutes most of our Christmas purchases.

Four gifts + five kids = 20 packages

Completely manageable.

So manageable, in fact, that I’ve already completed our shopping online, through a combination of Amazon, Etsy, Ebay and a few friends who run their own small businesses as well. A huge win during this very busy season!

I anticipated there might be some amount of push back from the kids initially, but instead I found it actually helped them direct their list-making. I think all of us can relate that too many choices can be overwhelming at any age, so giving them a framework like this simplified the process in a way that reduced some stress as well. In fact, it took my two older boys about 30 seconds to text me their lists once I told them this was the deal. No push back at all.

For family, I’ve encouraged them to consider making a donation in our child’s name through an organization like Heifer International, or some sort of group gift they can play/watch together, or quite frankly, a card with no gift at all would be just fine. No one should feel obligated to buy something just for the sake of buying something, and it isn’t an expectation on our part that they receive individual gifts from every extended family member.

I’ve spent the last six months participating in a de-cluttering group with the goal of reducing the “stuff” in our home by 2,015 items in 2015. The idea of undoing that work in one morning of chaotic gift-giving did not seem appealing at all. I know that we will not be overwhelmed with stuff,  and I know my own stress and anxiety about the holidays is already greatly reduced.

I’ve also been using a gift tracking app call “Santa’s Bag” to keep everything organized under each person’s name, so I don’t forget what I’ve already purchased.

If your family is ready to try a less-is-more approach to Christmas this year, maybe you will consider joining us in our Want, Need, Wear, Read gift-giving experiment!

Have you done this experiment? Something similar? Share with us!