Simple Living this Christmas

I can’t stop thinking about Christmas. Probably because all of our children will be under our roof for an extended time. We’re spread across 3 time zones – in fact, everyone has a new address this year – so being together in person is a rare occurrence and gift enough for me. 

Usually, I pull out Christmas decor Thanksgiving weekend, but this year we were gone. After I unpacked, I went to the basement to get the Christmas bins. I saw partially unpacked boxes and open bins from our move. I couldn’t bring myself to pull out more clutter before I tried to organize what I had. 

I’ve had several experiences during the last 2 years that have affected how I see possessions. 

As we prepared for a cross-country move and our twins leaving home, I spent a year decluttering our family home. It was easy to keep things we may use someday because we had the space to organize it. But with the prospect of an empty nest and downsizing our living space, I donated and sold items that we had loved and no longer needed. That felt like losing weight. I organized photos and sentimental items. That felt like losing weight too. 

After our move, we lived in a furnished downtown apartment while we looked for a house. I learned how little I really need. For the summer, we took what we could fit in our two cars: the dog, summer clothing, a few favorite cooking utensils, writing tools (books, pens and notebooks), my kindle and laptop. Pretty simple.

In the fall movers unloaded belongings into our new home. While unpacking, I was able to let a few more things go. For me, letting go is a journey. 

Last fall my sister and I began to streamline our parents’ home by going through the stuff of two lifetimes. I understood what was important to them by what they kept and how they kept it. Some things conjured my mom or dad. Things can conjure a person. And that’s the difficulty for me: what sentimental items to keep and what to let go. But that’s a post for another time.

Although I’m not a minimalist, I am learning to simplify. After decluttering and packing, watching movers load and unload, finding a place for things in a new home, I often feel relief when I let go of an item. Letting go frees me from maintaining, packing and storing things. 

As I’ve scaled-back, I feel lighter and am more focused on what I value. I’ve become a more conscious consumer. It turns out I like white space: on the page and in my home. 

Minimalism has been trending for a while. But in our culture of excess and do all, be all, it is a struggle to simplify. 

The cost of anything is the amount of life you exchange for it.

Henry David Thoreau

My hope for this Christmas season is that it be more simple too. At least with fewer things. We’ll have very few presents under the tree. My focus is on creating experiences and memories.  

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We don’t build satisfying connections around possessions-not even shared possessions. Connections are built around shared experiences.

Zoe Kim

My children are 19 and older, all adults now. Two are married and we have two tiny grandchildren (one through whose eyes we’ll see magic and one who has colic, so that may offset some Christmas cheer)

Here are a few ideas I’ve considered as I prepare to welcome everyone home. 

• Assign meal teams for food prep and clean up. That way the same people are not always in the kitchen. One of our dinners will include these yummy Baked Creamy Chicken Taquitos.
• Wrap a few Christmas books that we already have. My granddaughter can open one a day, which I think will make the read-aloud more of an event.
• Host a sing-along at an assisted living and skilled nursing center. None of us are singers, but I figure it’s a sing-along and we’ll sing with the residents. This is to honor my dad since we won’t be with him this Christmas.
• Normally we celebrate Christmas with my sister’s family. We have a whole host of Christmas Eve and Christmas Day traditions. We’ll do a few virtually, like playing Christmas carols on our kazoos via Skype and continuing our bowling competition long-distance. (The winner rotates between my husband and my brother-in-law, except the year my son won the trophy and the year my niece took a college bowling class and swept the tournament.)
• Our town decorates the town square, historic area and pedestrian bridge over the river, which will stand in for our traditional visit to see Christmas lights at Temple Square. Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams will replace hot chocolate.
• Watch this new Christmas video. It was created with as much historical accuracy as possible and it brings the meaning for our celebration into sharp focus.
• Choose a name of Christ ornament each evening and read about the background
• Our baking will include Buckeye candy, a nod to our new home state
• We will keep our homemade gift tradition. We draw one name each year and create a gift especially for that family member. It’s fun to see people’s creativity and these gifts have brought more laughter, tears and memories than just about anything.

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Maybe another way to say it is, I’m planning to be more intentional this season. With my time, with my money and with the people I love. 

Do you hope to simplify the gifts in your family? What are your ideas? I’d love to hear.