• Home
  • About The Arners
    • Contact
    • FAQs
    • Arner Adventures Resources
    • Press
  • Blog
  • Podcast
    • Episodes & Show Notes
  • Wanderlust(ing)
    • Travel
  • Mental Wellness
    • Mindfulness
    • Self-Care
    • Anxiety
    • Grief

Arner Adventures

In Uncategorized ·

A Minimalist Christmas

Tweet
Share
Share
Pin

A year ago, we decided that presents were no longer going to be the primary focus of Christmas. We opted to only have an experience with each other: a trip, excursion near home, or a really great “date night” to take the place of buying stuff for each other, in hopes of pleasing the other. It’s a lot of pressure we put on ourselves to find the “perfect gift” that most likely doesn’t exist. Making this departure from material gifts, was one of the best decisions we have made in a long time. One of our fave things to do is to get in our jammies (including Betty White), put hot cider in travel mugs, get into the jeep and go see Christmas lights, while listening to Christmas tunes on the local radio station. My heart warms just thinking about how lovely of an experience this is for us!

minimalist christmas ideas
We used a family recipe for brownies, and decorated them, cutting them into Christmas tree shapes, for a fun and unique look.

This year, the “no gift” policy has not changed. In fact, we are currently making baked goodies boxes for our family as their Christmas gifts. (Sure hope they aren’t reading this yet). Since we are no longer business owners, we can enjoy the Christmas holiday by going to see our family members and that is enough of a gift for us. We surely don’t want to take gifts in hopes that they would be pleased, or find more items to add to their return list, but instead, bake items that are consumable, and that we know they will love.

minimalist christmas ideas

You don’t have to be a self-proclaimed minimalist to go this route for gift-giving. There are plenty of ideas that are great gifts, without adding clutter to your loved one’s home, adding to their return list, or adding to the landfill. We, as Americans, are drowning in stuff! It’s insane, really.

Here are some ideas for a Minimalist Christmas for Gift Giving

  1. Tickets to an event- one of the best gifts I ever received were movie tickets. We rarely go to a movie outside of Netflix these days, but after receiving movie tickets, Ger and I made a date night out of it, and off we went!
  2. Baked goodies- I purchased paper cake boxes and made 5 batches of various Christmas goodies, included some Beaufort fudge, and made a box for each family, and of course, for the singles- these boxes are going to be a HIT!
  3. Recipe with ingredients- jars with the ingredients to make some Christmas cookies with the recipe card attached is an awesome idea! You can even give a jar with a recipe for healthy smoothies!
  4. Subscription- give the reader in your life a subscription to Audible or Amazon Kindle credits. If someone doesn’t have Hulu or Netflix, give them a year’s worth and encourage them to cut the cable cord.
  5. Create an experience- maybe your parents have a difficult time getting an experience going themselves. Create it for them! Write up instructions for a picnic at the park. For example, “Mom & Dad- first, make sandwiches and cut up some fruit and veggies, pack it in a basket or cooler with some flasks of water, and take it to the museum lawn or park”. You can include two eco-vessels they can use for water, and a picnic basket with a handmade blanket, if you are a knitter or quilter, or pay someone to make one for you. You get the idea!
minimalist christmas ideas
Ger and I get excited as we continue to fill the boxes with homemade goodies we bake. These just need the Sour Cream cookies and they are finished!

We absolutely love seeing the looks on our family’s faces when they taste the baked items we made for them. It is so much better than store-bought items, and it is even better when you can talk about the recipes being special. For example, this year we made Gerry’s mom’s recipe for Sour Cream Cookies, Gerry’s sister’s recipe for brownies (for the brownie trees), my aunt’s receipt for Cowboy Cookies, and my other aunt’s recipe for PB-Candy Cookies.

We wish you a very Merry and bright Christmas, in hopes you know that you don’t have to have material things to make it sparkly and shiny. You can make that up in experiences yourself.

Related posts:

Upcycling- Denim Jeans = Clothespin Bag
Two Coffee Cups
Anticipatory Grief
Tweet
Share
Share
Pin

4 Comments

About arneradventures

Hi, we are Shannon and Gerry Arner, and our rescue, fur baby, Betty White. After owning our own business, working 24/7, we made a lifestyle change and decided to make the most out of life. We sold our house, downsized, and moved to the coast. We are wanderlusters; we live life minimally, but fully. We live each day as an adventure, and enjoy sharing them with you!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • TikTok
  • YouTube
Arner Adventures Free Travel Prep List

Looking for something?

Arner Adventures Declutter Challenge

Arner Adventures

It's a levitating experience at @thegrandidyllwild It's a levitating experience at @thegrandidyllwildlodge in Idyllwild, California! At an elevation of almost 6000 feet, it's literally an elevated experience, in more ways than one!
🤎
Take a tour of the beautiful Grand Idyllwild, and our accommodations in #SuiteBliss 🤎

#idyllwild #idyllwildcalifornia #grandidyllwild #reconnectwithyourbliss #californiamountains #snow #relaxation #levitating #anelevatedexperience
Betty White may still be in training with her @wal Betty White may still be in training with her @walkinpets Walkin' Wheels Wheelchair, but she sure knows how to make it look good! 💅 🐾 🩷

#BettyWhite #walkinpets #walkinpetswheelchair #dogwheelchair #seniorpup #seniordogs #goldengirl #ageaintnothingbutanumber
Do you ever find yourself wondering how to get tha Do you ever find yourself wondering how to get that spark back into your life to make things more exciting? Maybe there has been a life event that is preventing you from moving forward. Well, our guest today can help with that!
🎙️
Today's #podcasttuesday #sparkinourlives guest is Sharon Rolph aka @sharon_queenofcourage
🎙️
When Sharon retired from Boeing in 2016, she put her skills as a Behavioral Scientist to work as an Essence Coach. Forming her Essence statement after retirement, helped her to find her spark and truly understand the secret to living the life of her dreams. Sharon is focused on empowering everyone to live a fulfilled life that is full of success.
🎙️
We chat with Sharon about:
☑️The transition into retirement, and finding purpose in your life
Sharon’s current role as an Essence coach and forming her Essence statement
☑️What inspired Sharon to create a podcast and begin speaking about living your dreams
☑️What is your Essence statement and how can you create yours?
☑️Sharon answers our “Fast 5” questions as well as the question we ask all of our guests, “What does a life well lived mean to you?” Swipe left to hear a snippet!
🎙️
Sharon is a true spark, as evidenced by this converasation! Hope you enjoy it!
🎙️
Link in bio for the full episode!
The aesthetics though! @thepalomaresort has the be The aesthetics though! @thepalomaresort has the best Palm Springs style, while also keeping it unique to the resort!
🌵
If you aren't feeling that Paloma vibe while you're a guest, then check your pulse because something is way off!
🌴
#stayhappy #thepalomaresort #palmsprings #aestheticaf #californiadesert #travel #travelblogger
Follow on Instagram

© 2023 ARNER ADVENTURES LLC | Terms and Conditions | Privacy Policy | Affiliate Disclosure | Consulting

 

Loading Comments...