Elder, Winter Tree Landscape Photography

We’ve come to the end of our Simple Christmas Series. Now it’s time for you to start thinking about what Christmas truly means for you. Like us, it could be about good food and good company. Maybe it’s about your religious beliefs. Or maybe it’s about family or rejuvenation. Whatever it is, this will be your ultimate goal for the holidays. Use it as your litmus test to help decide if something is truly inline with what you want, or if it’s just what someone else wants of you.

The first year will be the hardest. But try it once, you can always go back to what you’ve always done next year.

What’s your favourite way to simplify your holidays? What do you find the hardest? What’s your biggest stress of the season?

ALL SIMPLE CHRISTMAS POSTS

• A Simple Christmas – Getting Festive
• A Simple Christmas – Christmas Parties
• A Simple Christmas – Trimmings
• A Simple Christmas – Feasting
• A Simple Christmas – Family
• A Simple Christmas – Gifts
• A Simple Christmas – How to Simplify Your Christmas

Butterscotch Ripple, Winter Landscape Photography

We don’t buy gifts. I know. It’s hard to wrap your head around. But really, it’s truly the biggest way we’ve simplified the holidays.

No insanity at the mall, no agonizing over what would be the perfect gift, no worrying about money, and no wasted time waiting in lineups at the store. Are you sold yet? What about all the waste associated with the packaging and the wrapping? And just think about all the gifts people have bought you that you’ve just never used? There’s a burden that comes with that. You don’t want to hurt the gift giver’s feelings by returning it or giving it away but you still have to store it and pack it up if you decide to move. Plus physical clutter leads to mental clutter which leads to not getting anything done that’s important to you.

So we don’t buy gifts. We’ve been known to make homemade soap, pickles, chocolate truffles, and other sweet treats but that’s pretty much the extent of our holiday gifting. We’re all adults here, if there’s something we really want we all have the means to go out and buy it for ourselves. We’ve separated gift-giving from a way of showing people we care about them. Instead we focus on what’s more important, spending time together. It really is the best, and only way to show someone you really love them.

Darren and I make homemade cards for each other that are focused on the words of love written inside that are true and real and not cookie cutter for the masses. My brothers and I have an agreement that we won’t be exchanging gifts. Same with Darren’s brother and sister. Our niece and nephews are completely spoiled by their grandparents so they don’t need anything from us. Darren’s parents make us a gloriously tasty collection of sweets. And my mother uses the money she would have spent on us to pay the hydro bill at her cottage as our gift to her.

The Result - We save a bunch of money, free up a ton of time and energy, and are A LOT HAPPIER because of it.

Make it Your Own - Talk to your family. Try it out for a year. Need help convincing them?

• Read: The Case Against Buying Christmas Presents on Zen Habits – there’s suggestions for kids, family, and spouses, as well as alternatives to shopping
• Print: A Holiday Gift Exemption Certificate from Miss Minimalist

Do you buy gifts at Christmas? Or do you hand make your presents? Have you found another way to show your family you love them? Or do you not give gifts at all? How did you explain your decision to your family? How did they handle it?

ALL SIMPLE CHRISTMAS POSTS

• A Simple Christmas – Getting Festive
• A Simple Christmas – Christmas Parties
• A Simple Christmas – Trimmings
• A Simple Christmas – Feasting
• A Simple Christmas – Family
• A Simple Christmas – Gifts
• A Simple Christmas – How to Simplify Your Christmas

Tend, Winter Landscape Photography

My Mom lives two hours east of us and Darren’s parents are two hours to our west, so for a while things were kinda hairy over the holidays. Trying to visit everyone in the span of a few days really wasn’t working for us, it heightened stress levels, gave strict deadlines, meant for lots of driving in less than ideal conditions in heavy holiday traffic, and often resulted in visits cut short, and it wasn’t at all relaxing for us.

So we’ve started alternating Christmas’, one year with my family the following with his. It’s been working out really well. It was a bit of a hump to get over the first couple years when our parents were insisting we just suck it up, but now that it’s the new routine it seems to be a nice balance. Those that don’t get a visit during the holidays get one afterwards in January.

Though I do dream of spending Christmas at home once in a while – waking up in my own bed, having sweet pastries for breakfast, spending the day in my pajamas in our quiet sanctuary – but maybe that’s something we can re-schedule for another day.

We have friends who’s families have taken it a step further, they’ll celebrate Christmas a few weeks earlier with their extended family on his side, then on another weekend they’ll spend time with her side of the family. Then they have Christmas day to themselves, at home, creating their own traditions.

The Result - Our family has our undivided attention for much longer during the holidays plus we’re able to relax, rejuvenate, and really enjoy ourselves.

Make it Your Own - Talk to your family and see which events can be rescheduled for a different day. Who says Christmas dinner has to be on Christmas day anyways?

How do you balance all the family you want to see over the holidays? Do you alternate yearly? Plan get togethers outside of the main holiday season? Or do you host everyone at your place and get all the visits in at once?

ALL SIMPLE CHRISTMAS POSTS

• A Simple Christmas – Getting Festive
• A Simple Christmas – Christmas Parties
• A Simple Christmas – Trimmings
• A Simple Christmas – Feasting
• A Simple Christmas – Family
• A Simple Christmas – Gifts
• A Simple Christmas – How to Simplify Your Christmas

Cornsilk Glaze, Winter Landscape Photography

Ok you’ve found our indulgence. This is where things get ca-razy! We love food and for us Christmas is the time for us to pull out all the stops – apple pie cookies, marble cupcakes, cheeses – sweets and appetizers until long after the cows have come home.

The best way to simplify the good ole home cookin’ is to stay organized. I start making my food list nice and early, making my mouth water as early as November. Then I list every single ingredient that I’ll need to make everything on our menu and I do our grocery shopping as early as is reasonable, so I’m not stuck in the last minute lines and I’ve got lots of time to get my baking done. Next I start cleaning out the freezer so I can bake up and freeze up as much as I can in advance, just doing a couple things a week so there’s no mad rush at the end.

And if there is something that just doesn’t get made, I make a note to make it as a special treat in January, then I forget about it and enjoy everything that I do have.

I also really try hard not to stuff myself full during the holidays. One plate of food at Christmas dinner, no more than I normally eat. I go easy on the potatoes because they tend to make me feel really uncomfortable afterwards. I eat lots of fresh foods like pomegranate, avocado, and apples, and if I’m going to be spending a few days away from home I always bring muffins or chickpea salad or something full of healthy ingredients that will help curb my gluttony.

The Result - We savour all sorts of delicacies with our family and friends with lots to go around because we made everything well in advance.

Make it Your Own - Make a list of all the food you’ll need over the holidays – the earlier the better. Then list all the ingredients that goes into everything. Cross out what you already have, and while you’re at it dig it out of the cupboard and set it aside so it doesn’t get used for something else. Get yourself to the grocery store and buy all the ingredients that won’t expire and stash them away with those you already have. Make room in your freezer and get baking one or two things a week and freeze until needed.

How do you eat well during the holidays? Do you limit your eating or fill your plate with health food? How do you stay on top of your Christmas baking and food making?

ALL SIMPLE CHRISTMAS POSTS

• A Simple Christmas – Getting Festive
• A Simple Christmas – Christmas Parties
• A Simple Christmas – Trimmings
• A Simple Christmas – Feasting
• A Simple Christmas – Family
• A Simple Christmas – Gifts
• A Simple Christmas – How to Simplify Your Christmas

Latent Beauty, Winter Landscape Photography

I’m not really into doing up our home for Christmas specifically, but I do like to breathe some winter charm into our decor. Mostly we just decorate with nature, bowls of pinecones and pomegranates, mistletoe to ramp up the smooching, evergreen boughs, and candles to add warmth to chilly evenings. Simple, natural, and without an expiry date of December 25th. Our home is where we unwind, and I just can’t do that fully with six bright red Santa decorations staring at me.

My friend Jessica over at Wild Craft Permaculture is proposing a magical new Christmas tradition:

I love traditions and rituals but sometimes they are not sustainable and need to change. With a new family we’ve decided it’s an opportunity to create some new traditions that are our own and, in the spirit of permaculture, a boon to the earth, not a burden on her. So I’ve been thinking about what our new traditions should be…

We spend a lot of time in a natural area a couple of blocks from our home. I like the idea of adopting a conifer there for the holidays. We could go on the Solstice or on Christmas Eve and drape it with strings of popcorn and cranberries, suet and birdseed ornaments, bright red apples, pine cones coated in peanut butter and rolled in birdseed and maybe even a few hardy ornaments that would just be there for that night. Obviously tinsel is a no-no as is anything else that would last more then a few weeks on the tree.

We could invite some friends to join us with candles and snacks while we give thanks to the Tree and the Earth and take in the beauty of a starlit wintery night. Maybe we’ll sing some carols. This seems like a fitting way to celebrate the season.

Sounds like a magical evening! I’d love to do something like that one year.

The Result - There’s no rush to get the decorations up because they have to come down by January 1st and our house is filled with natural materials which tend to help us relax.

Make it Your Own - Get out all your Christmas and winter themed home accents and divide them into two piles – things that are definitely Christmasy and things that can stay out long after the celebrations have ended. Focus more on decorating with the latter – things like red plaid cushions, wool blankets, and ceramic woodland animals.

Do you decorate for the holidays? How do you keep it simple? Is your home your sanctuary during the holiday season or is it the hub of celebrations?

ALL SIMPLE CHRISTMAS POSTS

• A Simple Christmas – Getting Festive
• A Simple Christmas – Christmas Parties
• A Simple Christmas – Trimmings
• A Simple Christmas – Feasting
• A Simple Christmas – Family
• A Simple Christmas – Gifts
• A Simple Christmas – How to Simplify Your Christmas

Vanilla Dream, Winter Tree Landscape Photography

We definitely do not spread ourselves thin when it comes to holiday festivities. When Darren’s not helping out around the studio he works for a corporation with lots of departments and enough Christmas parties to keep us busy right up until the end of the season. Instead we choose the one, maybe two events that would give us the biggest bang for our time-and-energy-buck. Usually the celebrations that are less fancy, smaller, and have many of the people we want to raise a glass with are the ones that win out. We go for low key and good company, so there’s no stress of getting dolled up and we have lots of time to socialize with his work friends instead of spending the evening having awkward conversations with people we won’t see again until next year’s party.

When our friends have parties we try to go, even if it’s just dropping in for a drink. Outside our family these are the people that matter the most to us so we definitely try to spread the holiday joy but with a relaxed approach. To maintain our sanity we do our best to only attend one get together each weekend and almost never go to out of town events, though there are a few exceptions. Good friends will understand and see us often anyways.

This year we added a new Christmas party to our list, the one hosted by our dance instructors. Darren and I have been taking social dance lessons for almost a year now, just as a fun thing for the two of us to do together. And when we heard there would be a Christmas dance we knew it would be the perfect thing for us to do – for us. Our dance instructors wouldn’t have cared too much if we didn’t go, they had close to 100 other people attend. We didn’t have any friends that were going either so the evening was purely about us and it was fantastic. We had such a great time I think every year we’ll try to do something that’s just for us.

We put a lot of our focus on our studio New Year’s party. It’s a party for the two of us that often happens between Christmas and New Year’s and is our way of celebrating all the amazing things that have happened this past year and all the adventures we’re planning for the year to come. We work it in around all the other goings-on of the season but it’s definitely an important part of the holidays and our business.

The Result – We get to see friends that are really important to us, wish them a happy holiday, and really focus on the people that we care about.

Make it Your Own – Get out the calendar and your holiday party list and start weeding through it. If three of your friends are all hosting celebrations with the same group of people then choose to just go to one. Only schedule one event per weekend and if there’s anyone that you can’t get together with because of it then make plans to hang out in the New Year.

Are Christmas parties an important part of your holiday season? How do you balance getting together with others, with doing all the other things on your list?

ALL SIMPLE CHRISTMAS POSTS

• A Simple Christmas – Getting Festive
• A Simple Christmas – Christmas Parties
• A Simple Christmas – Trimmings
• A Simple Christmas – Feasting
• A Simple Christmas – Family
• A Simple Christmas – Gifts
• A Simple Christmas – How to Simplify Your Christmas

Elviage Pearl, Winter Landscape Photography

This is the time of year that I feel like an outsider among my family and friends. Everyone’s caught up in the hustle and bustle of the holidays while we’re spending lots of time relaxing together. That is, when we’re not busy packing up and shipping out print orders. We’ve been slowly stripping away the layers of Christmas and making it what we need it to be – simple, quiet, and filled with good food and good company. So we’ve put together a 7 post series about how we spend our holiday season, and maybe you’ll share with us your tips for a merrier Christmas too.

Here’s an outline of what we’ll be posting and as we write them I’ll update the links here so you can access them easy-peasy:

ALL SIMPLE CHRISTMAS POSTS

• A Simple Christmas – Getting Festive
• A Simple Christmas – Christmas Parties
• A Simple Christmas – Trimmings
• A Simple Christmas – Feasting
• A Simple Christmas – Family
• A Simple Christmas – Gifts
• A Simple Christmas – How to Simplify Your Christmas

I love the magic of community holiday events and there are at least two that we make sure to attend every year – our local Santa Claus parade and the lighting of the downtown lights. We whip up some hot chocolate, bundle into our winter woolies, and head downtown with the masses to watch the floats go by and listen to the marching bands of the night parade. And we often end up at one of our favourite watering holes for a cup of good cheer. The perfect way to kick off the holiday season.

A few weeks later we’re off to the official lighting of the lights in Victoria Park. We fill our bellies with warm stew, don our long johns and parkas, and plant ourselves in the middle of the park, just in time for the trees to light up all around us. It’s like being a kid again! I smile from ear to ear as we walk through all the sparkling trees along with hundreds of other Londoners out to celebrate the beauty of the season. Sometimes we’ll even take the elevator up the roof of city hall for an extra special view of the park done up in it’s Christmas best.

We also make a point of staying in and watching a few Christmas movies. A Merry Muppet Christmas and Elf top the list mixed with a few classics like Rudolph. A simple way to relax but still part of the season’s festivities.

In the last couple of weeks before Christmas proper we ALWAYS go on a Christmas light drive. I love the twinkle and sparkle and the over the top creativity people bust out for the holiday season, it’s one of my favourite rituals. We’ll ask around on social media for the most beautiful and the most gaudy houses, make ourselves a little map, and trek out into the night to be wowed and amazed.

The Result – We’ve made our Christmas traditions to be low key, cost nothing, build memories, and revolve around spending time together as a family.

Make it Your Own – Think about the simple things that really get you into the Christmas spirit and focus your energy on them. Maybe it’s church events, pageants, baking cookies, listening to Christmas music, or volunteering at a local charity. Make these things a priority to keep you feeling festive.

What are the simple things you do to get into the holiday spirit? Do you have rituals you stick to every year? Or are you always on the lookout for something new?