How To Do the Holidays Like a Minimalist!

Eight years ago, I started on a new path in my life. It was not immediate; it progressed over time and grew into who I am today. I discovered minimalism and I started to declutter my life, as I do now with my clients every day. And what I found value in really started to shift. When I really looked at it, so much of the physical stuff was not bringing value to my life.

What was becoming important to me was more human connection, spending time with people I loved, and having real conversations.

At my core, I am an introvert through and through, but I discovered that one-on-one connection with people I cared about was what lit me up.

In this process of self-discovery and growing my brand and its purpose, I also started to look at gift-giving in a whole different way.

Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE giving gifts!

I love the challenge of really thinking about the person I am giving to. What are their interests? What have they mentioned to me most recently that they are doing or enjoying? What would really make them excited and happy to receive?

It’s an amazing feeling to see their eyes light up when you chose the perfect gift!

But what started to eat at me more and more, was that giving people more STUFF was going against my personal and company values. Stuff was what my clients were struggling to get rid of.

One of the things I see my clients struggle with the most is letting go of anything with an emotional attachment, like a gift that a loved one has given them. On one hand, they feel guilty for wanting to let it go; they don’t want to hurt their loved one’s feelings. On the other hand, they feel resentful for “having” to hold onto it.

In these moments we talk about the emotions that are coming up. Often they are negative emotions and, when they realize the connection to the item is not positive, it creates an opening for letting go.

In doing this work with my clients, I started to think about how I was giving gifts, and that giving stuff was no longer in alignment with my values.

So, my solution was to start giving gifts that could be consumed, or a gift of an experience that could create happy memories and not unwanted clutter.

For example, one year for Christmas I gave my entire family a bag full of everything needed to create my delicious kale salad recipe. It included all the ingredients including a fresh head of kale and the recipe printed up so they could make it for years to come.

I also like to take loved ones out to dinner, go to the movies and make a special day of it.

I have nieces and nephews under the age of 11 and, to be honest, it’s hard not to buy them all the big shiny new toys. I know they will get plenty from other family members, so my tradition is to give them books that foster connection and learning. Yes, this is still stuff but, as they are getting older, I take them on a special date instead of buying them toys. Last year, I took my niece to The Academy of Sciences in San Francisco and we created memories that a toy would not have been able to do!

I am not perfect, I still buy stuff from time to time. But I really think about it before I do it. It’s about re-wiring the brain to stop buying stuff automatically, just because it’s the Holidays or someone’s birthday.

So, this year I double dare you to give at least one person on your gift list an experience or consumable instead of stuff!

Be well,

Meghan LeBaudour