Practicing minimalism is about living a simple life with just focusing on the things you need. If you are into a minimalistic lifestyle, the Christmas season is a challenge, especially since there are holiday traditions that require buying extra stuff for family and friends, and all the gatherings that you need to attend.
You don’t need to deprive yourself of the things that you want when you practice minimalism. The idea of minimalism is to promote space, freedom, and create more time. The challenge is to have a meaningful holiday season through simplicity.
Here are some of the minimalist lifestyle tips for the holidays that you can do to focus more on what is the real essence of Christmas.
1. Stop Giving Gifts
Christmas is a season of giving, but it is not always necessary to literally give gifts. Giving your family and friends a gift is a sweet gesture, but always remember that it is not the only basis for showing that you love them.
During the holiday season, giving gifts is known as a stressor because a lot of people have problems with budgeting and thinking of the best gift to give to their loved ones.
There are a lot of ways you can show kindness without hurting your budget. Refuse spending money by not giving gifts. If you are into minimalism, one of your focus is on how you will manage your finances. For a minimalist, money is only used for essentials.
2. Minimize Decorations
Christmas decorations are not only expensive but after the holidays, it is one of the bulk of garbages making it bad for the environment. If you are into minimalism, you may or may not have decor at home.
You may also opt for decorations that are versatile that is related to the Christmas theme but can still be displayed all-year-round. Instead of buying expensive ornaments, you can recycle or re-use old things at home. Just be creative in aligning them in the season’s theme so you can still have the holiday ambiance at home.
3. Stop Comparing Your Holiday to Others'
There are some people that are having a hard time practicing minimalism consistently because of what they see on other people. Some advertisements tend to persuade people that Christmas is best experienced through extravagant things.
When you start thinking that other people spend Christmas better than you, that’s the time when you start splurging on “unnecessary things.
Taking a break from social media as well as television will help you focus on the things that are needed most. As the minimalist says, be the holidays for your holiday as well. Holiday against all expenses.
4. Declutter Depending on the Things Purchased or Received
If you are planning to do Christmas shopping or if somebody gives you stuff, it’s important to make space for it at home. For a minimalist lifestyle, you always need to declutter every time there is a new item. So, if you purchased or received 5 clothes, you should also de-clutter 5 clothes that you will sell or give away.
5. Try a Zero-Waste Tradition
Research shows that the Christmas season produces a lot of commercial and household waste.
To help deal with it, try an eco-friendly way on how to spend the holiday season. If you wish to give presents, instead of buying gift wraps you may be creative in improvising a wrapper using recycled materials
Conclusion
The holiday season can easily scrap your efforts towards minimalism but through these minimalist lifestyle tips, you can still enjoy and feel the holiday vibes without an added guilt.
