Gifting

Every year I struggle to balance expressing joy & gratitude to those in my life while working away from consumerism.  Tricky tricky.  For most of us, gifts are attention.  We feel seen & cared for.  Plus, I'm not a fan of the holidays.  I try really hard to not be scrooge-y, even though I keep the mantra "come on Jan" running through my brain.

I try to manage myself & stay positive (especially for Kevin who LOVES this season).  I also hope to offer attention to those whose presence enriches my life.  I feel like the best solution is creating experiential gifts.  In this way, we create tradition, spend time together, feel mutually uplifted, & yet hopefully purchase and consume less.  Kevin & I have pretty much nixed any gift giving between us.  We always recognize holidays, birthdays, and anniversaries with experiences.  Our Christmas gift to one another is our annual international trip.  On my birthday I usually want to find a massage and a good meal.  On Kevin's birthday we often go to a concert or a baseball game.  On our anniversary we always go to the beach & take a photo together in our favorite photo booth.

My silly god-daughter

Our god-daughter is only 6, but her mother actually asked to stop exchanging gifts to save money.  We're game!  Instead, we recognize Christmas by inviting our god-daughter, her siblings, & parents over to decorate a gingerbread house & cookies.  Kevin is making the gingerbread from scratch this year!  The kids are creative so they love making a sugary mess.  We try to make some nice food for the parents, our friends, and give them a chance to let the kids play while someone else cleans up the mess!  Inevitably, Kevin plays guitar, the kids sing and dance, & we do some impromptu yoga.  It's one of my favorite traditions.

I've shaved down my list of gift-exchangers pretty significantly.  Eventually, I'd love to only make things for people in my life, cook for them, or invite them to something fun.  I'd love to hear about traditions or creative, non-consumptive exchanges others have invented!  Please add your thoughts in the comments below.