At our house, we try to keep gifts pretty simple at Christmas. Jeff and I just fill stockings for each other, and we get Sam roughly three gifts + a stocking totaling less than $100. The three gifts idea is loosely related to the fact that Jesus received three gifts from the three wise men at the first Christmas; but, really, it is just a way to keep things simple and focused for us… ALSO, it’s a way for me to cut down on the amount of STUFF at our house. (One of our Advent activities this year is choosing toys to donate to charity, so I plan to have Sam pick three things he doesn’t need anymore to give up thus making room for the new.)
If you, like me, feel like things are already over taking your life, consider trying one of these “not stuff” gift ideas this year OR, even better, asking your parents/grandparents to go this route instead of the traditional gift. (P.S. Who says you can’t wrap a gift card in a big box with a bow?)
Image from Flickr
For your little one…
Little Passports or Kiwi Crate subscription
National Geographic Kids or Focus on the Family’s Clubhouse Jr. magazine subscription
A month/year/semester of music, dance, gymnastics, art, karate, etc. lessons
Passes to an amusement park or something similar
A museum membership
Tickets to a play or traveling show
And for the grown-ups on your list…
Blue Apron subscription
Stitch Fix subscription
A month (or more) of housecleaning, lawn, or laundry services
A day at the spa
A night at a nice hotel or resort
Gift certificate for dinner and movies (bonus points for including free babysitting)
Netflix or Amazon Prime subscription
Conference or retreat registration
Gym membership
Any and all of these would be WELCOME gifts at our house… I love that they don’t take up extra space (we’ll have new baby stuff for that) and most of them will be used ALL.YEAR.LONG/ won’t cause me anxiety by breaking or collecting dust in a few months…
What do you think? What is your little one getting for Christmas? What “not stuff” gift would you most like to receive?
E