Our Minimal(-ish) Gift Giving Plan

Doesn’t it feel like it’s becoming really trendy to have a “minimalist” Christmas, where you give your kids 4 presents? Around early November I’m ready to completely subscribe to this idea.  My oldest son’s birthday is right at this time, so we always get an influx of new toys just before holiday gift planning begins.

Plus, I start looking around at all the things they have that they NEVER PLAY WITH!!!!  I sometimes talk to them in a loud, high pitched voice, and say: “play with that toy, or I’m throwing it in the garbage!!”  A huge part of me would love to buy them 4 gifts for Christmas and just have less things.

But then the Christmas Season comes, and the excitement, and all the toy catalogs, and I forget all about this and end up buying them like 20(+) presents and the excessive amount of things continues.

A couple years ago, my husband and I decided that there had to be something in the middle… so we instituted a “minimal-ish” Christmas gift giving plan.  I love the trendy idea of: something you want, something you need, something to wear, something to read.  But we expanded on that a bit, and give 1-2 things per category.  We also like to give a couple gifts that are for the entire family – like board games or movies.  I created a form that we use for each kid:

The top section, in red, is what we let Santa take care of.  He usually brings one BIG gift, and then a second slightly less exciting item.  Plus he fills our stockings with about 10 things.

The lower section is what my husband and I give.  Having this list not only keeps us from getting excessive, but also helps us to make sure all 3 boys are receiving roughly the same amount of gifts.

Here’s a PDF of our list that you can use to organize your family giving. Christmas Present List

Pop over to my next post on what the kids use for their gift wish list: Kids Gift Wish List