My dad (who is almost 90) and his brother have been 'reusing' the same birthday card for the last 50+ years. They just hand it back to each other on their birthday with a new message and date added. They've had to insert more pages to hold those brief messages. It started as a joke but they haven't given up on it yet! I think that's a winner when it comes avoiding over-consumption.
Same for me and at the end of Christmas we would close all the doors and put it away for next year. We didn’t feel deprived. I made my husband and I a fabric advent calendar years ago, I put a nice chocolate in each date, and we enjoy a special chocolate every day after dinner
One of my best Christmases was when my family exchanged pictures of what we would gift each other if we were rich. We cut out pictures from magazines. I got a villa in Italy, gave someone a plane, someone else a diamond necklace. We exchanged pictures and explained why we picked each gift. It was a blast.
I have the same (paper) advent that I've had for the last 50 years. I'm not kidding. I've always looked after it and it gives me huge pleasure to put it up each year.
Growing up my Mom put 24 clothes pins around an old butter dish for an advent calendar. I got to remove a clothespin each night. My stocking was filled with an apple, orange, nuts and a few chocolate coins. Christmas was simple when I was a kid in the 70s.
I grew up in the late 60s (not aware of much of it till the 70s). Our christmas 'stocking' was just a spare pillowcase tied up with a ribbon at the top. We actually got our new school uniform (including shoes) for the year for Christmas along with a something more personal. (Christmas falls at the end of the school year in Australia- and we have 5-6 weeks holiday over the Christmas period. Thus the new uniform would be ready for the new school year.) Kids would die now if you gave them a uniform for Christmas!
Wow! Here In the UK it was mad back in the 70s people would k8ll to get the toy that was THE ONE to get that year!!!! Piece to you and yours from the UK.
I’ve never seen your channel but this is something we all need to hear! So true. We need to remember that what we have is enough and not fall victim to wasting money we all desperately need to be saving. Celebrate the season with some special things we have over the years and memories make instead of more things. Go see the lights, walk in the snow, meet friends for a coffee etc. That’s what matters most.
I totally agree with you about the blowup lawn decorations. Pretty much all of my holiday decorations are years if not decades old. I get a real tree and live greens every year to decorate the inside and outside of my house. I put candles in the windows. I have found that I use solid color dish towels in a variety of colors that go with more than one holiday. Great video, thanks.
What a breath of fresh air!! Consumerism is causing the demise of our planet. The entire retail economy is reliant on people always wanting more stuff, especially when it comes to Christmas. I often feel myself getting pulled into that mindset but then give my head a shake. Joy at Christmas is being with loved ones and sharing time and good food together. I grew up in the sixties and our Christmas decorations consisted of a tree, Christmas lights on the house and a Santa on the door. I can tell you that each and every ornament had been around for years but was cherished nonetheless. I think the amount of Christmas overload is diminishing the joy in the simple things of the season, as well as putting pressure on people to decorate more, craft more , etc., all while trying to make a living and stay sane! Thanks for sharing and, oh, I gotta go...there's a TH-cam video on making giant lollipops out of pool noodles! :)
Agreed. I know I'll be deemed a Boomer, and yeah I am. Anyway I find it interesting how a lot of people spend hundreds of dollars on Christmas decorations, but yet can't pay their bills. Do not get caught up in the moment, and start charging up a storm to keep up with your friends. It's only one day, and when it's over your stuck with debt that will take months, or years to pay off. Just saying.
Thank you so much!!! I am a 78 yr. Old woman and it seems as though Christmas has to be bigger and better each year. I am into the environment and this over commercialized mindset sets us up for exhaustion and endless debt. I find Christmas stockings annoying. I am thrilled that I am not the only one! My famiy made me feel like a failure for not going all out. Aren't gifts under the tree enough? I solved this problem by putting a few pieces of candy and some money into them. As far as table decor I bought dark solid green placemats. For Halloween orange napkins, Christmas red napkins with a very small ornament tied to it. Easter yellow or pink napkins, functional festive and easy to store. I use them over and over!
Times were so hard when our kiddos were young ! I also felt that stuffing a stocking of silly fillers was not afordable . Of course the kids wanted something in their stocking so i got them their favorite individual candy bar . They loved this so much and have carried that forward with their children . Also we bought our children 3 gifts , we figured if three gifts were good enough for Jesus thats good enough for us . The kids loved their holidays .
I’m 65 and 3 gifts was about what we got for Christmas. We got the main gift we picked out earlier in the year and a couple of smaller gifts. We didn’t pick out stuff we knew our parents couldn’t afford. My mom would usually work part time before Christmas to help pay for the gifts. She was a stay at home mom. We didn’t get gifts from extended family, except from my grandpa, aunt and uncle. They all still lived together and so it was always one gift that was from the 3 of them. One year it was one gift from the three of them for the four of us kids. And electric toothbrush with 4 brushes. We thought we hit the jackpot! (Electric toothbrushes were way different than today’s battery ones). Anyway, Christmas was always magical for us. Because of that, I remember my gift I got every year from about 5. I still have my teddy bear I got and I still have my baby doll I got when I was 6. She’s in a chair in my bedroom. We never had stockings.
Same when I was a kid. Three gifts. Our stockings sometimes had a few pairs of socks, an orange, an apple, a candy cane and sometimes a special piece of candy. We were very happy!
We bought a wooden advent calendar when our children were little and used it until they all left home. But I bought Halloween packaged candy after Halloween for pennies and put them behind each door. They each got a piece of chocolate, with a note saying what the special activity was for the day. They were activities we would do together anyway but they became more special because they were in the advent calendar.
We have an advent calendar tradition that is very similar! Ours is made of mini stockings, and each day has a paper for them to pull out with a clue or description of what we'll do that day.
I agree with everything except stockings. They were done so incredibly beautifully by my mother for us. A lot of thought and beautiful little gifts with high quality European chocolate in them. They don’t even make the kind of beautiful foil wrapped chocolates like we had anymore. Now it’s all kinds of crappy stuff from the drugstore. But they are deeply nostalgic to me.
Yes, this time of the yr puts so much pressure on parents to make it magical. With buying all the new cute stuff, doing all the activities, and buying the "perfect " gift, it's all too much. Let's simplify Christmas!
This is wonderful to share. I made all my tree decorations when my children were babies/ toddlers. They are now 37 and 39 and I still have all those decorations. They mean so much to me from all the memories.
I want to put in a defence for stockings even with a lot of kids. They can be a great way for parents to get some extra sleep on Christmas morning. In my family, it was/is a rule that presents under the tree do not even get touched until everyone is awake and ready but stockings, you can go to town on those. My parents often folled them with little treats and trinkets, a lot of times a movie, little game, some kind of art or nonmessy craft that would keep me occupied for at least other hour. Also, you don't need to fill them to the brim. Mine rarely were but they were never meant to be the main event, just a tide over until the main event so the older folks could get a little more sleep.
I do agree with your list, most of that is really a waste of money. But I do have a good amount of Christmas stuff that I have accumulated over the years (I'm 66). I try to decorate my house as much as it can handle for only one reason - my grandkids. The little ones come over for visits and Christmas Eve and the joy on their faces when they go through the house- looking at all the santas, elves, angels, ginger bread men, the lighted village, is just so magical!! I put all the unbreakable decorations within their grasp so they can hold and play with the items! For me, it's worth the work I put in to decorate to give my grandchildren a fun visit to Grandma's house!!
That’s how my mom did. I think it would be different if you got all new stuff every year. It’s insane how the decorating had become a competition for clicks and views on the internet. I was fortunate enough to inherit the stockings and tree skirt my mother handmade along with the ornaments she collected over the years, and I treasure them more than most of my worldly possessions. I know where they’re at in case of emergency.
I like an elegant, quiet Christmas. The wreath and rug go up outside, then the Nativity inside. The tree, candles, and a collection of vintage Santas on the mantel..I never understood a huge pile of junk in every room.
Amen sista! I'm a NO-buy girl living in an always buy world!! Can't we all be happy with what we already own and in my case not much at all!! Merry Christmas!!
There is so much truth in what you’re saying. Many of my decorations have been used/reused for 50+ years, as the favorite items that were my parent’s and grandparent’s are still being loved and used each year.
Thank you Kim. I agreed with everything you said. I did not know scented candles can be unhealthy. When my daughter was little, we made some ornaments out of clay and painted them. She is now 42 and she still has them. The decorations we had as kids became a tradition and they mattered for many years.
Another good one is no christmas tags you pay up to 3.00 dollars every time you buy them. Instead just use either old christmas cards from people cut to shape or just white paper cut with name on it. After all its going in the bin anyway. ❤ blessing from Australia 🇦🇺
This year, I donated my nine foot artificial tree to a nursing home. What a load off my back! found a 6 foot one on sale for $49. Now, I'm culling out ornaments and other Christmas decor. Can't wait to have a less cluttered garage.
My MIL let the grandkids/kids go through her ornaments when she realized her condition was terminal. All the Christmas items were placed out and everyone picked whatever generated happy memories.....
As a child I lived in foster homes , never getting to keep my Christmas gifts. When I got in to the work force , I missed the holidays because i was signal .The family man or women got to go home for the holidays. NOT once did they pick up the phone and wish me a Merry Christmas or hand out a Christmas card. But there quickly come back to work , complaining about some one in the family or the cost of Christmas. Know I have retire early , I put a tree up in every room and deck the halls. Sorry you feel the way you do about Christmas may be if it was taken away from you at every chance, you may feel different.
Mary, I'm sorry to hear about the difficult experiences you've lived through. I'm glad you've been able to make Christmas a joyful celebration! No one can take Christmas away from me since it's the celebration of Jesus' birth. With much or little, I can celebrate that!
Agree, that our choices are all relative to our own life experiences. And that’s ok! I fall somewhere in the middle. I decorate, craft, bake, usually buy one or two new decor items yearly. We should all do what makes us happy and is reasonable for our household. ❤🙏🏻
"You can appreciate something without owning it." Say that one more time for the people in the back to hear. LOL! That is a mantra I have taken to heart. I don't recall where I read this, but someone once said they have an enormous seashell collection, and it's spread out all along the beaches of the world for them to enjoy when they go to a beach.
We mainly focus on a Christ centered Christmas. I do like to assemble a fresh evergreen advent wreath each year. Over the years, I have lived most of your list, with the exception of Christmas stockings. My MIL had made each child a Christmas stocking the year of their birth (so each one is a treasured keepsake to be brought out each year). I used to fill them with things like wool socks, gloves, book lights, new books, or DVDs, hair things, etc. In the end of each toe would be their favorite chocolate, nuts, and mandarin oranges (this was from my childhood memories). We also had a refillable Advent Calendar that I would refill with Dove Chocolates for each day. I am looking forward to a very simple Christmas this year.
Very well said. I don't think I'll be buying any of the things you mentioned, either. In the back of my mind I can still hear my dad saying, "It's just junk!", and it really is.
Loved that video! Gives me permission to carry on as i am and not feel like a misery guts or a scrooge. I enjoy Christmas but hate the rampant consumerism. Thankyou x
As one of six children of depression era parents, your practical suggestions were actually the norm in our home. Over the years, they became the guiding force as I watched Christmas explode into the circus it is now. Our home reflected the season with simplicity and elegance, expressions that have remained timeless throughout the years. I totally understand that others have different tastes, but your sound advice is valuable and worth considering. Thank you!!!❤
Great video! Yeah, I fell for it all! I have a closet full of Christmas and Christmas craft stuff! I am currently trying to sell these items (rarely, barely, and never used) and it is not going well (even at rock bottom prices). I will try to re-gift what I can, but I am kicking myself with every item I pull out of some forgotten box and thinking. "How much money have I wasted on this? What would I do if I have all the money now? What the heck was I thinking?" I am an old fool! Hopefully your video will prevent the making of a lot of young fools. Remember the reason for the season -- and it is not the toys your kids/grandchildren will forget, images of Santa (too many Santa is just creepy anyway), and lots of sugar (that raise insulin and destroy your teeth and your joints)!
I hear you! We donated my mom’s and much of my own crafts to a nearby senior center. They hold classes on various crafts, and the activities director was thrilled to get new (and very well indexed, organized and labeled) items.
We made felt ribbons in 4th grade that had a poem i can recite by heart after 50 years. 24 ribbons that each held a mint candy. One day at the bottom a bell was at the end and when you got to the bell it was Christmas Eve. My brother and i still have ours
Great reality check! We don’t have the money to splurge on extra Christmas stuff. The reminder that I can appreciate all things Christmas without having to own it is awesome. Curious what you guys do for family traditions around Christmas instead of caving to all the consumerism?!
We drove to the city to see the light displays. Now, we just walk through the neighborhood because there is a competition to have the best decorated street. I am glad I don't have to store the stuff.
Wow!! I stumbled on your channel today and I ABSOLUTELY AGREE with you!!! I do buy certain things occasionally but i believe in using what we have! Waste not want not. Have a great day and thank you so much!
I hear you! Aldi sells $2 Advent chocolate calendars. My Mother in law still sends them to her granddaughters all the way from California. It seems like such a waste for the cost of postage, but it's their tradition. I just saw them at our Aldi and wanted to offer to buy them for her to save the postage, but didn't want to overstep her tradition.
She enjoys it,,,it's her tradition that the kids will remember. My grandmother- in the 1960s sent us Christmas cards with 10 dimes literally taped to the inside of the card...our ice cream was .10 at school. They didn't have much money but I remember this to this day. ❤
We have a fabric advent calendar with pockets which we put a chocolate in each day. We’ve reuse it for years. So much less waste. Wear green, red and white clothes for a Christmas feel. I have added Christmas coloured wooden beads to hoop earrings.
My two(+lol) cents: I love stockings. When my brother and I were little and woke up by the crack of dawn we were not to wake up our parents. They would be up soon enough. We were allowed to open our stockings quietly on the couch. We got practical things and candy. I remember getting a new hair brush. One year in the early 70s I got a pack of Day of the Week panties. I loved those panties 😊 I still do Stockings for everyone today, and my husband does one for me. I am 62 years old and will love this tradition forever. We still get very practical things and some candy. I won't be buying myself a Crafting Advent Calendar this year. I had 3 and don't use the items often. It was fun, but I am past that. My granddaughter gets the $2 one filled with awful chocolates though. It's fun to have a tangible way to countdown to Christmas. And.....I already bought my Christmas Crackers for the Christmas Eve table at 50% off at Hobby Lobby. I am in the States, but love this British custom. We all don our paper crowns during dinner too 😉 One Christmas tree with ornaments from when my brother and I were kids in the 60s along with those we collected over the years. The ones from my childhood are priceless to me. I am currently wearing my Christmas PJs from last year. I am the only one who gets them. Nobody has to match me. TFS
Your stocking tradition sounds fun! I'm sure if my husband or I had grown up with it, we would have incorporated it into our traditions. Enjoy the season!
This was my family's tradition! We were allowed to open the stockings but not wake up the patents. Though often mine had a movie or art supplies as I liked to draw and it kept me busy for a good hour or more so they could get more sleep.
Great video, and very well said! Netflix’s documentary Buy Now has slammed both my sister and I back into reality (after we lost our mom). Mom had giant boxes and boxes and bags and plastic bins filled to the ceiling of Christmas decorations. Nobody wants anything in there but my step-dad can’t part with them yet! And we’re BAKING cookies for each other and sharing them-not buying anything after watching that Netflix show!
I don’t like scented candles either. We put out the same Christmas stuff every year. We have a beautiful not real tree & lots of ornaments. We do not do or like the whole matching pj thing. We cook, we eat in & at big family gatherings everyone pitches in. We make homemade cookies but no gingerbread house. We have been using the same outside wreath & reindeers every year - we love them. You are making a lot of sense, we pretty much do the same.
My mom did all that plus more except for the advent calendar and blow up things..I could never replace her..wonderful magical Christmas for us kids..I did do stockings for my kids but I only had two..and I loved my stocking each year…it’s was so great to discover each and every thing..
The people who dispose of the ornaments each year and do a different theme mystify me. I have ornaments that I bought when I bought my house 30 years ago.. I also have a fair amount of my grandmothers' ornaments that she bought back in the 1950's. I love having family keepsakes like that that I use every year. Guess what else I reuse? Gift bows! My family just saves to gift bows each year, and stores them in a boot box. I've been using the same gift bows for 25 years now.
Hi from Northern Saskatchewan! Yes I agree with almost everything. Except I had fake greenery in my Amazon cart but it's deleted now, thanks for the encouragement to be content!
This just came up on my feed for me to watch. I have to say, you are the neatest person! You are so grounded in your faith and your children are very lucky to have you for their mother. You are a very special person.
I love to decorate outside for Halloween and Xmas and I store it in the shed..I dont do blow up decor..mine is metal ..it actually doesn't take up that much space..I think if you buy outdoor decor if should be decor your going to use for years..I have the decor for years and it brings me joy to put them out.
Excellent Video. I always hold off buying any new decorating items until I've unpacked all my Christmas stuff. I always forget how much I already have or what I bought last year after Christmas at half off for this year.
That’s a great way to do it! I had to keep reminding myself to not buy anything before I had decorated too, and once I pulled everything out, even though there wasn’t a lot, it felt like enough.
The only scented candle I buy is an evergreen scent. I don't have the room for a tree and I like how they smell. It reminds me of when I was a kid and we had a tree.
Yes! No scented candles! For many years I worked for an allergist and couldn't wear scent, now I hate to smell it. If I need to cover up a smell, essential oil does the trick, no headache.
Love this list❤ your video just sealed the deal for me. I am not buying any seasonal stuff and gifts will be experiences. The consumerism is insane! About 15 years ago we got an advent tealight set. We have used it in many ways; put little gifts or notes with and act of kindness / service. This year we'll simply light a candle in each number and remember what Christmas is all about. This is a season of joy, love, faith and hope, togetherness and gratitude. Christmas is about the Light of the world, Jesus 💗🙏
I agree with most things on your list with the exception of the stockings. Another thing my husband and I have dispensed with in the last few years is buying gifts for each other. After 35 years, I have more jewelry from him than I can ever wear and more leather purses and clothing he has gifted me I could possibly justify having. And to echo your sentiments, you have to store all of this Christmas decor and eventually get rid of it!!!!! Most of my Christmas decorations are beautiful quality and timeless, nothing chintzy, and I have had them for years. I don't buy new things anymore, thus avoiding what is trendy for the year. P.S. Always have HATED the family Christmas Jammies!!!!!! LOL ! Thanks for your content and Merry Christmas.
I have never understood the family pj thing. I'm sure it was created by the stores. I found little gingerbread kits at the dollar store. Yes, they are little, but for 1.25, my granddaughters will have a lot of fun.
We could be best friends...we think a lot alike!! Something that is an eyeopener is to walk through an antique mall to see how much we buy and eventually give/throw away. P.S. I too stick to white dishes...a la Martha Stewarts advise many years ago.
The thing about owning something is also the resources used to make, sell & ship the item that will be not necessary in a very short time. I don’t do consumerism. The only xmas I do is family gatherings. Catching up with family is great & part of being human, consumerism needs a rethink.
Common sense. Love the winter picture behind you. We have had our decorations for years, but we do have one new one each year. I have xmas mugs, but they have been bought one at a time, as gifts to me, when they come out, we box the normal ones up, then change back over after xmas. My daughter actually said, no more mugs, this year , for herself.
Mugs add up so quickly! It sounds like you have a great solution with putting away the regular ones when the Christmas mugs come out! I try to do that with my decorations too, I edit my bookshelves before putting Christmas decor into them otherwise there’s just too much to look at.
We've never had an advent calendar - so that's not difficult to ignore lol! Another thing we've *never* done is Christmas PJ's or sweaters. I've become quite sensitive to scents too - no more Bath & Body Works! I decluttered my holiday decor some years ago (I'm down to one tote of decor and one tote of ornaments for the tree).
I think a big factor on some of the items on this list is having 6 kids. If I had that many kids (unless I was rich and had spare time - very rare lol) I wouldn't get a lot of these things either since cost of living rose so much like gingerbread houses, christmas pajamas for everyone, advent calendar for everyone, etc. Full stuffed stockings I was raised on so I'd have to find a way to do those (and my mom and dad would put extra small size-presents for a post gift-opening surprise like a tire pressure gauge, wireless speaker or usb cable pack as examples). My mom (and her mom) are huge on christmas and she has a lot of decorations but she will typically only replace a few things every year and 90% of it gets reused every year. Often light strands which seem to be much cheaper made than they used to be. Some strands still work from 30-40 years ago and we can only get 1-5 years out of any modern one regardless of how expensive it is.
Agree!!! I shared my home tour and kept decor extremely simple but I’m loving it… New here to your channel and can’t wait to see more! God Bless! 🙂🎄🙏🏽🌻
When it comes to dishes I have one set of FANTSTIC vintage dihes that I use for all special occasions. IF you want a christams theme at the table, that's what a nice, candle centerpiece is for.
Loved this video! We used to have Big Christmas parties every year, plus i had worked as a Christmas decorator neons ago so we had trees galore and holiday decorations everwhere. That was a lifetime ago though, and after moving twice never again. 😂 All that crap is also expensive to move. We have wonderful memories but have slimmed down all holiday decorations. As you get older its alot to handle.
We moved in May/July (it’s slightly complicated) but we knew last Christmas that we’d be moving, so I pared down our Christmas stuff as I was putting it all away last year! It was a blessing to not move things we didn’t want.
I am a crafter/artist. I do sometimes craft at Christmas, but it is either for a gift or a decoration that I can make cheaper. I've revamped the wreath that I bought 10 years ago a couple of times since I bought it. It gets used every year, but I may have to replace pine cones or Christmas balls. I paid under a dollar for that wreath and took off some dinky little bows that were on it. I picked up pinecones in my yard to add to it and some dollar store Christmas ball ornaments. Total cost was about $2.00. I made 90 percent of the ornaments for my tree and those get reused each year. I may replace something if damaged, but I don't do a different theme. My tree is decorated it a classic style. And I don't go crazy with the crafting at Christmas. I am a year round crafter and try to keep decorations to a reasonable amount and when crafting I try to make useful things. I make my own socks or hats or mittens etc. You are right that you can have to many things.
Resonated with all of this! Simplicity makes me happy. (Exception is our stocking tradition - but that's where we put the yearly consumables - wool socks, a yearly ornament to remember the year, favorite chocolate, etc - maybe 4-5 items). Hugs little sis 🤗
WHAT A SENSIBLE LADY YOU ARE, I WHOLEHEARTEDLY AGREE WITH WHAT YOU HAVE SAID, MONEY IS HARD EARNED AND SHOULD BE SPENT WISELY, OUR CHRISTMAS DECORATIONS ARE OLD SOME FROM WHEN MY CHILDREN WERE AT HOME AND THAT IS 20 ODD YEARS AGO. WE VALUE OUR MONEY AND SPEND ON THINGS THAT ARE NECESSARY, SO THE OLD DECS WILL COME OUT ON THE 1st DECEMBER AND PACKED AWAY ON NEW YEARS DAY, AS ALWAYS. YOU AND YOUR LOVELY FAMILY HAVE A WONDERFUL CHRISTMAS AND WE WISH A VERY HAPPY AND PROSPEROUS NEW YEAR. GOD BLESS.🇬🇧🏴🙏❤️🇬🇧🏴
Wow! I thought I was the only one who was like this!😂 The only tradition that I did do with our children, we had 5, was to make homemade ornaments that were actually cute and super cheap to make and then had them In a bowl in our entry for guests, surprise company, and friends. They actually liked them and we see them on their trees when we visit:) I'm now continuing the tradition with our grandchildren, we have 12, so far. It's a sweet time together. We definitely need to think more about the money we spend on things we don't need that causes stress in our life. Thanks for sharing! Merry Christmas!
Last year i made a wool pompom wreath, it actually ended up being cute! I need to figure out where to hang it now ive reshuffled my living room, but i am determined to display it this year!
I have to laugh because we do a lot of things on your list. But we only have two kids. But it sounds like you have what works for your family. You do you. Have a wonderful holiday.
11:36 This is what we do in our house and what we did growing up. We have Santa sacks that hold most of the smaller/cheaper presents. The expensive and bigger gifts come from the parents and are downstairs under or near the tree. Also as a bonus my sister started a tradition of taking a picture of the kids in the stocking every year which is a lovely way to watch them grow.
I couldn't agree more--especially about the inflatable decorations. I was just talking with my fiance about them and we both agree that they're a tacky eyesore and a waste of money.
My father made a wreath out of a old bicycle tire, a tree out of wood a church out of wood and a star out of wood decorated them. They are used as out door decorations every year. I also find the blow up decorations tacky.
I consider myself a crafter and have to stop myself from buying all the supplies. I have to remind myself that I already have a lot of supplies I don’t use, so I’ll only buy something if I know for sure I don’t already have it or I have a specific project in mind. I think, in general, most crafters do keep the items they make and reuse them each year, at least that’s what my family does. Or they make things to gift to other people. I don’t think the average crafter makes the same volume of crafts that we see being made by individuals online (like TH-cam crafters). I appreciate your the reminder that we can like and admire something but we don’t have to own it to like and admire it.
AMEN AND THANK YOU FOR THIS VIDEO!!!! My husband and I are finally at that point where we no longer feel the need to “deck the halls “ with all things holly jolly. 11ish years ago I came into the relationship with id say about 20 LARGE boxes of seasonal decorations. I think it’s now down to 4. ( we either donated or gave good condition decor to friends/family or goodwill, savers, or a women’s shelter store) After Christmas we will reevaluate and pare down more as we chose not to display it all. Our tree is decorated with ornaments that we bought from a location that we went to or given to us as a gift, and childhood ornaments that my husband had as a child. We have a nativity set up and some cards but that’s it. The focus after holidays is getting control of our very crowded condo. Over the years our 800 sq ft living space ( 400 sq ft storage) has become a dumping ground by friends and family. Meaning too good to throw away but too lazy to find a charitable organization to take it ,so the onus is on us to get rid of it. We ignored it for so long that we can no longer function in the condo and storage area. It will be a battle, but I know we will win and have a chaos free space.
For advent. we have 3 people in our family so I sewed little pouch for each day with the numbers on them so we can reuse them every year and they are big enough that each day every member gets a piece of candy. It is so much cheaper to buy a big bag of candy. ( or after Halloween sale discount ) and pop those in the material reusable decorative pouch
I agree with at least 90 percent of what you said. My son was born nearly 6weeks premature. He came home from the hospital 25 years IN the stocking. Thats his stocking! We put the small things that we get for him anyway in the stocking. I am a knitter. During covid I knitted 2 Christmas colored blankets. They are special to me. I don't need more. And to be fair....i only have one child. We have reduced the amount of Christmas.
Our children are grown but I have always done stocking stuffers because it’s loaded with their necessities- they love having them because they use that stuff all the time - toothbrushes, underwear, socks and they were sad one year when I didn’t do them and said they would rather have that more than than anything else - we keep Christmas simple! I love your list though because we don’t do any of those things because it’s not the real meaning behind Christmas anyway - having a slow time together as a family is more important
My dad (who is almost 90) and his brother have been 'reusing' the same birthday card for the last 50+ years. They just hand it back to each other on their birthday with a new message and date added. They've had to insert more pages to hold those brief messages. It started as a joke but they haven't given up on it yet! I think that's a winner when it comes avoiding over-consumption.
I love this!!! 😄
That’s awesome!
I love this!!!!!
That's actually pretty awesome
My husband and I have done this as well!!! We love it…simple and fun for us!!
When I was little, Advent calendars didn’t have chocolate at all. Only pretty pictures and we loved them
So much nicer.
Same for me and at the end of Christmas we would close all the doors and put it away for next year. We didn’t feel deprived. I made my husband and I a fabric advent calendar years ago, I put a nice chocolate in each date, and we enjoy a special chocolate every day after dinner
Yes, and 50 years later that’s what I still buy myself but I keep the same one for years!
That must have been centuries ago. 🤣
@ actually I just bought a new one that’s only pictures. They still sell them and are called Traditional.
One of my best Christmases was when my family exchanged pictures of what we would gift each other if we were rich. We cut out pictures from magazines. I got a villa in Italy, gave someone a plane, someone else a diamond necklace. We exchanged pictures and explained why we picked each gift. It was a blast.
I absolutely love this idea! Thank you for sharing. ♥️
A family near us decorates a scarecrow each month in suitable clothing. It makes us all smile and we anticipate next month’s outfit.
I have the same (paper) advent that I've had for the last 50 years. I'm not kidding. I've always looked after it and it gives me huge pleasure to put it up each year.
Wow, that’s amazing!
Growing up my Mom put 24 clothes pins around an old butter dish for an advent calendar. I got to remove a clothespin each night. My stocking was filled with an apple, orange, nuts and a few chocolate coins. Christmas was simple when I was a kid in the 70s.
I grew up in the late 60s (not aware of much of it till the 70s). Our christmas 'stocking' was just a spare pillowcase tied up with a ribbon at the top. We actually got our new school uniform (including shoes) for the year for Christmas along with a something more personal. (Christmas falls at the end of the school year in Australia- and we have 5-6 weeks holiday over the Christmas period. Thus the new uniform would be ready for the new school year.) Kids would die now if you gave them a uniform for Christmas!
Wow! Here In the UK it was mad back in the 70s people would k8ll to get the toy that was THE ONE to get that year!!!!
Piece to you and yours from the UK.
So refreshing to listen to someone on my wavelength.
Thank you for sharing the real meaning of Christmas. May your Christmas be blessed!
I’ve never seen your channel but this is something we all need to hear! So true. We need to remember that what we have is enough and not fall victim to wasting money we all desperately need to be saving. Celebrate the season with some special things we have over the years and memories make instead of more things. Go see the lights, walk in the snow, meet friends for a coffee etc. That’s what matters most.
Your video popped up on my feed today and what a refreshing take on Christmas. Thank you so much.
I agree, but there will be egg nog, cocoa and Charlie Brown. :) Enjoy, everyone!
Those huge blowup lawn decorations are an environmental nightmare! And in my opinion look very tacky!
Why Are they bad for the environment
I completely agree
I totally agree with you about the blowup lawn decorations. Pretty much all of my holiday decorations are years if not decades old. I get a real tree and live greens every year to decorate the inside and outside of my house. I put candles in the windows. I have found that I use solid color dish towels in a variety of colors that go with more than one holiday. Great video, thanks.
Agree. I find them so tacky and out of curiosity looked up the cost of a large Halloween decoration a neighbor had. What a waste of money for junk!
I really don't like all the blow up crap in the front yards...use your money to help someone else who is hurting😇
I was just going to buy a 35.00 dollar snow globe😅 I don't need it. Thanks for the video.
I agree I am giving more thought to Christmas and use what I have.
What a breath of fresh air!! Consumerism is causing the demise of our planet. The entire retail economy is reliant on people always wanting more stuff, especially when it comes to Christmas. I often feel myself getting pulled into that mindset but then give my head a shake. Joy at Christmas is being with loved ones and sharing time and good food together. I grew up in the sixties and our Christmas decorations consisted of a tree, Christmas lights on the house and a Santa on the door. I can tell you that each and every ornament had been around for years but was cherished nonetheless. I think the amount of Christmas overload is diminishing the joy in the simple things of the season, as well as putting pressure on people to decorate more, craft more , etc., all while trying to make a living and stay sane!
Thanks for sharing and, oh, I gotta go...there's a TH-cam video on making giant lollipops out of pool noodles! :)
😆 How did your pool noodle lollies turn out??
Agreed. I know I'll be deemed a Boomer, and yeah I am. Anyway I find it interesting how a lot of people spend hundreds of dollars on Christmas decorations, but yet can't pay their bills. Do not get caught up in the moment, and start charging up a storm to keep up with your friends. It's only one day, and when it's over your stuck with debt that will take months, or years to pay off. Just saying.
@@kimbitner You're funny!
Thank you so much!!! I am a 78 yr. Old woman and it seems as though Christmas has to be bigger and better each year. I am into the environment and this over commercialized mindset sets us up for exhaustion and endless debt. I find Christmas stockings annoying. I am thrilled that I am not the only one! My famiy made me feel like a failure for not going all out. Aren't gifts under the tree enough? I solved this problem by putting a few pieces of candy and some money into them. As far as table decor I bought dark solid green placemats. For Halloween orange napkins, Christmas red napkins with a very small ornament tied to it. Easter yellow or pink napkins, functional festive and easy to store. I use them over and over!
Times were so hard when our kiddos were young ! I also felt that stuffing a stocking of silly fillers was not afordable . Of course the kids wanted something in their stocking so i got them their favorite individual candy bar . They loved this so much and have carried that forward with their children .
Also we bought our children 3 gifts , we figured if three gifts were good enough for Jesus thats good enough for us . The kids loved their holidays .
I’m 65 and 3 gifts was about what we got for Christmas. We got the main gift we picked out earlier in the year and a couple of smaller gifts. We didn’t pick out stuff we knew our parents couldn’t afford. My mom would usually work part time before Christmas to help pay for the gifts. She was a stay at home mom. We didn’t get gifts from extended family, except from my grandpa, aunt and uncle. They all still lived together and so it was always one gift that was from the 3 of them. One year it was one gift from the three of them for the four of us kids. And electric toothbrush with 4 brushes. We thought we hit the jackpot! (Electric toothbrushes were way different than today’s battery ones). Anyway, Christmas was always magical for us. Because of that, I remember my gift I got every year from about 5. I still have my teddy bear I got and I still have my baby doll I got when I was 6. She’s in a chair in my bedroom. We never had stockings.
Same when I was a kid. Three gifts. Our stockings sometimes had a few pairs of socks, an orange, an apple, a candy cane and sometimes a special piece of candy. We were very happy!
I hate inflatable decorations. Plus they scare my dog when we walk by them. Great video! 😊
They are so tacky and overbearing. Here's to the tastefully decorated homes with pretty lights and greenery!
We bought a wooden advent calendar when our children were little and used it until they all left home. But I bought Halloween packaged candy after Halloween for pennies and put them behind each door. They each got a piece of chocolate, with a note saying what the special activity was for the day.
They were activities we would do together anyway but they became more special because they were in the advent calendar.
We have an advent calendar tradition that is very similar! Ours is made of mini stockings, and each day has a paper for them to pull out with a clue or description of what we'll do that day.
@@kimbitner
Oh that’s a cute idea!!
I love this!
@@kimbitnerexactly what we re doing❤
I agree with everything except stockings. They were done so incredibly beautifully by my mother for us. A lot of thought and beautiful little gifts with high quality European chocolate in them. They don’t even make the kind of beautiful foil wrapped chocolates like we had anymore. Now it’s all kinds of crappy stuff from the drugstore. But they are deeply nostalgic to me.
Yes, this time of the yr puts so much pressure on parents to make it magical. With buying all the new cute stuff, doing all the activities, and buying the "perfect " gift, it's all too much. Let's simplify Christmas!
Jesus' birth in a stable (and his life mostly on the road) was next-level minimalism. A good lesson in more ways than one.
His was a life wholly dependent on His Father in heaven. But the material does matter to God - He became flesh and dwelt among us!
This is wonderful to share.
I made all my tree decorations when my children were babies/ toddlers. They are now 37 and 39 and I still have all those decorations.
They mean so much to me from all the memories.
This was so refreshing and encouraging! ❤
I want to put in a defence for stockings even with a lot of kids. They can be a great way for parents to get some extra sleep on Christmas morning. In my family, it was/is a rule that presents under the tree do not even get touched until everyone is awake and ready but stockings, you can go to town on those. My parents often folled them with little treats and trinkets, a lot of times a movie, little game, some kind of art or nonmessy craft that would keep me occupied for at least other hour.
Also, you don't need to fill them to the brim. Mine rarely were but they were never meant to be the main event, just a tide over until the main event so the older folks could get a little more sleep.
I do agree with your list, most of that is really a waste of money. But I do have a good amount of Christmas stuff that I have accumulated over the years (I'm 66). I try to decorate my house as much as it can handle for only one reason - my grandkids. The little ones come over for visits and Christmas Eve and the joy on their faces when they go through the house- looking at all the santas, elves, angels, ginger bread men, the lighted village, is just so magical!! I put all the unbreakable decorations within their grasp so they can hold and play with the items! For me, it's worth the work I put in to decorate to give my grandchildren a fun visit to Grandma's house!!
That is very special ❤️ You are creating lifelong memories for them!
That’s how my mom did. I think it would be different if you got all new stuff every year. It’s insane how the decorating had become a competition for clicks and views on the internet. I was fortunate enough to inherit the stockings and tree skirt my mother handmade along with the ornaments she collected over the years, and I treasure them more than most of my worldly possessions. I know where they’re at in case of emergency.
I like an elegant, quiet Christmas. The wreath and rug go up outside, then the Nativity inside. The tree, candles, and a collection of vintage Santas on the mantel..I never understood a huge pile of junk in every room.
Amen sista! I'm a NO-buy girl living in an always buy world!! Can't we all be happy with what we already own and in my case not much at all!! Merry Christmas!!
There is so much truth in what you’re saying. Many of my decorations have been used/reused for 50+ years, as the favorite items that were my parent’s and grandparent’s are still being loved and used each year.
That’s really special that you have so many meaningful decorations!
@ It is - and I know I’m lucky in this regard. I unpack memories each year, not just decorations. Merry Christmas to you and yours!
Thank you Kim. I agreed with everything you said. I did not know scented candles can be unhealthy. When my daughter was little, we made some ornaments out of clay and painted them. She is now 42 and she still has them. The decorations we had as kids became a tradition and they mattered for many years.
I think it's wonderful that special decorations are such a fond tradition for you and your family!
More people need to know this! It’s not just the scent, but also the smoke! Something bad in both!
Another good one is no christmas tags you pay up to 3.00 dollars every time you buy them. Instead just use either old christmas cards from people cut to shape or just white paper cut with name on it. After all its going in the bin anyway. ❤ blessing from Australia 🇦🇺
This year, I donated my nine foot artificial tree to a nursing home. What a load off my back! found a 6 foot one on sale for $49. Now, I'm culling out ornaments and other Christmas decor. Can't wait to have a less cluttered garage.
What a great idea to donate your tree to a nursing home! That’s such a blessing to the residents.
My MIL let the grandkids/kids go through her ornaments when she realized her condition was terminal. All the Christmas items were placed out and everyone picked whatever generated happy memories.....
As a child I lived in foster homes , never getting to keep my Christmas gifts. When I got in to the work force , I missed the holidays because i was signal .The family man or women got to go home for the holidays. NOT once did they pick up the phone and wish me a Merry Christmas or hand out a Christmas card. But there quickly come back to work , complaining about some one in the family or the cost of Christmas. Know I have retire early , I put a tree up in every room and deck the halls. Sorry you feel the way you do about Christmas may be if it was taken away from you at every chance, you may feel different.
Mary, I'm sorry to hear about the difficult experiences you've lived through. I'm glad you've been able to make Christmas a joyful celebration! No one can take Christmas away from me since it's the celebration of Jesus' birth. With much or little, I can celebrate that!
Perfect!@@kimbitner
Agree, that our choices are all relative to our own life experiences. And that’s ok! I fall somewhere in the middle. I decorate, craft, bake, usually buy one or two new decor items yearly. We should all do what makes us happy and is reasonable for our household. ❤🙏🏻
I feel so sad that you couldn’t keep your Christmas gifts.. that is not fair… 😢
Hugs,, I am so happy now you spread the joy through out your house,, May you have a wonderful Christmas season xx
"You can appreciate something without owning it." Say that one more time for the people in the back to hear. LOL! That is a mantra I have taken to heart.
I don't recall where I read this, but someone once said they have an enormous seashell collection, and it's spread out all along the beaches of the world for them to enjoy when they go to a beach.
Love that, thanks for sharing!
😂😂😂oh that's cool ...
We mainly focus on a Christ centered Christmas. I do like to assemble a fresh evergreen advent wreath each year. Over the years, I have lived most of your list, with the exception of Christmas stockings. My MIL had made each child a Christmas stocking the year of their birth (so each one is a treasured keepsake to be brought out each year). I used to fill them with things like wool socks, gloves, book lights, new books, or DVDs, hair things, etc. In the end of each toe would be their favorite chocolate, nuts, and mandarin oranges (this was from my childhood memories). We also had a refillable Advent Calendar that I would refill with Dove Chocolates for each day.
I am looking forward to a very simple Christmas this year.
We are Christians, so do focus on Jesus at Christmas for sure! I am curious, what does it mean to you to have a Christ centred Christmas?
Amen. We celebrate the most incredible event. We put a table outside the house and hand out Christmas cards, treats and drinks to neighbours.
great! I love your tips. Make a lot of sense. How to completely de-stress Christmas.
I had to downsize into a 5th wheel. My small space required me to rethink what I buy. I figured out I can do with very little "stuff."
It’s amazing how we can make do with very little and still live quite comfortably.
Our stockings always had fruit and candy. The bottom of the stocking had apples and oranges and then a little christmas candy on top.
You are so right. I agree with it all. Overconsumption needs to stop. I use the same 3 foot tree every year and I’m good. Have a lovely Christmas.
Very well said. I don't think I'll be buying any of the things you mentioned, either. In the back of my mind I can still hear my dad saying, "It's just junk!", and it really is.
Loved that video! Gives me permission to carry on as i am and not feel like a misery guts or a scrooge. I enjoy Christmas but hate the rampant consumerism. Thankyou x
As one of six children of depression era parents, your practical suggestions were actually the norm in our home. Over the years, they became the guiding force as I watched Christmas explode into the circus it is now. Our home reflected the season with simplicity and elegance, expressions that have remained timeless throughout the years. I totally understand that others have different tastes, but your sound advice is valuable and worth considering. Thank you!!!❤
I totally agree with all the things mentioned!
Great video! Yeah, I fell for it all! I have a closet full of Christmas and Christmas craft stuff! I am currently trying to sell these items (rarely, barely, and never used) and it is not going well (even at rock bottom prices). I will try to re-gift what I can, but I am kicking myself with every item I pull out of some forgotten box and thinking. "How much money have I wasted on this? What would I do if I have all the money now? What the heck was I thinking?" I am an old fool! Hopefully your video will prevent the making of a lot of young fools. Remember the reason for the season -- and it is not the toys your kids/grandchildren will forget, images of Santa (too many Santa is just creepy anyway), and lots of sugar (that raise insulin and destroy your teeth and your joints)!
We’ve all been there. All we can do is try to make wiser decisions moving forward!
I hear you! We donated my mom’s and much of my own crafts to a nearby senior center. They hold classes on various crafts, and the activities director was thrilled to get new (and very well indexed, organized and labeled) items.
We made felt ribbons in 4th grade that had a poem i can recite by heart after 50 years. 24 ribbons that each held a mint candy. One day at the bottom a bell was at the end and when you got to the bell it was Christmas Eve. My brother and i still have ours
Great reality check! We don’t have the money to splurge on extra Christmas stuff. The reminder that I can appreciate all things Christmas without having to own it is awesome.
Curious what you guys do for family traditions around Christmas instead of caving to all the consumerism?!
That is a great question and I will follow up with a video soon to answer it!
We drove to the city to see the light displays. Now, we just walk through the neighborhood because there is a competition to have the best decorated street. I am glad I don't have to store the stuff.
Wow!! I stumbled on your channel today and I ABSOLUTELY AGREE with you!!! I do buy certain things occasionally but i believe in using what we have! Waste not want not. Have a great day and thank you so much!
Thank you. I needed to hear this today.
We always have an Advent wreath. You light a candle every Sunday and say a prayer.
I hear you! Aldi sells $2 Advent chocolate calendars. My Mother in law still sends them to her granddaughters all the way from California. It seems like such a waste for the cost of postage, but it's their tradition. I just saw them at our Aldi and wanted to offer to buy them for her to save the postage, but didn't want to overstep her tradition.
That's her special thing don't interfere. I bought these for my grandchildren for about 15 yrs. Not your concern if she spends $2 or $10
It’s not about the money. It’s sweet of her.
@@davidlangley4762yes I agree. There is joy in doing something like this. Not everything can be priced.
She enjoys it,,,it's her tradition that the kids will remember. My grandmother- in the 1960s sent us Christmas cards with 10 dimes literally taped to the inside of the card...our ice cream was .10 at school. They didn't have much money but I remember this to this day. ❤
@@MartinHouseFlowers it is very nice of you to let her have that pleasure
We have a fabric advent calendar with pockets which we put a chocolate in each day. We’ve reuse it for years. So much less waste. Wear green, red and white clothes for a Christmas feel. I have added Christmas coloured wooden beads to hoop earrings.
100%! Agree with everything on your list! It's crazy what is spent on this stuff. To each their own...
My two(+lol) cents: I love stockings. When my brother and I were little and woke up by the crack of dawn we were not to wake up our parents. They would be up soon enough. We were allowed to open our stockings quietly on the couch. We got practical things and candy. I remember getting a new hair brush. One year in the early 70s I got a pack of Day of the Week panties. I loved those panties 😊 I still do Stockings for everyone today, and my husband does one for me. I am 62 years old and will love this tradition forever. We still get very practical things and some candy. I won't be buying myself a Crafting Advent Calendar this year. I had 3 and don't use the items often. It was fun, but I am past that. My granddaughter gets the $2 one filled with awful chocolates though. It's fun to have a tangible way to countdown to Christmas. And.....I already bought my Christmas Crackers for the Christmas Eve table at 50% off at Hobby Lobby. I am in the States, but love this British custom. We all don our paper crowns during dinner too 😉 One Christmas tree with ornaments from when my brother and I were kids in the 60s along with those we collected over the years. The ones from my childhood are priceless to me. I am currently wearing my Christmas PJs from last year. I am the only one who gets them. Nobody has to match me. TFS
Your stocking tradition sounds fun! I'm sure if my husband or I had grown up with it, we would have incorporated it into our traditions. Enjoy the season!
@kimbitner Thank you 😊
This was my family's tradition! We were allowed to open the stockings but not wake up the patents. Though often mine had a movie or art supplies as I liked to draw and it kept me busy for a good hour or more so they could get more sleep.
I need this every day.
I agree with everything you say except about the stockings.
Great video, and very well said! Netflix’s documentary Buy Now has slammed both my sister and I back into reality (after we lost our mom). Mom had giant boxes and boxes and bags and plastic bins filled to the ceiling of Christmas decorations. Nobody wants anything in there but my step-dad can’t part with them yet! And we’re BAKING cookies for each other and sharing them-not buying anything after watching that Netflix show!
I don’t like scented candles either. We put out the same Christmas stuff every year. We have a beautiful not real tree & lots of ornaments. We do not do or like the whole matching pj thing. We cook, we eat in & at big family gatherings everyone pitches in. We make homemade cookies but no gingerbread house. We have been using the same outside wreath & reindeers every year - we love them. You are making a lot of sense, we pretty much do the same.
My mom did all that plus more except for the advent calendar and blow up things..I could never replace her..wonderful magical Christmas for us kids..I did do stockings for my kids but I only had two..and I loved my stocking each year…it’s was so great to discover each and every thing..
I have a set of Friendly Village Johnson Brothers china that I use all year. It’s very appropriate for Christmas!!! ❤
I had to Google that: those are beautiful!
The people who dispose of the ornaments each year and do a different theme mystify me. I have ornaments that I bought when I bought my house 30 years ago.. I also have a fair amount of my grandmothers' ornaments that she bought back in the 1950's. I love having family keepsakes like that that I use every year. Guess what else I reuse? Gift bows! My family just saves to gift bows each year, and stores them in a boot box. I've been using the same gift bows for 25 years now.
Hi from Northern Saskatchewan! Yes I agree with almost everything. Except I had fake greenery in my Amazon cart but it's deleted now, thanks for the encouragement to be content!
This just came up on my feed for me to watch. I have to say, you are the neatest person! You are so grounded in your faith and your children are very lucky to have you for their mother. You are a very special person.
@@TexasTornado19 That is so sweet of you, thank you 🥰
I cannot agree more on all points you mentioned. Amen and amen! Merry Christmas and God bless you and your family.
I craft Christmas cards every year. It's my little gift to my friends. I also donate them to charities who want them.
I love to decorate outside for Halloween and Xmas and I store it in the shed..I dont do blow up decor..mine is metal ..it actually doesn't take up that much space..I think if you buy outdoor decor if should be decor your going to use for years..I have the decor for years and it brings me joy to put them out.
Excellent Video. I always hold off buying any new decorating items until I've unpacked all my Christmas stuff. I always forget how much I already have or what I bought last year after Christmas at half off for this year.
That’s a great way to do it! I had to keep reminding myself to not buy anything before I had decorated too, and once I pulled everything out, even though there wasn’t a lot, it felt like enough.
Me too!!
The only scented candle I buy is an evergreen scent. I don't have the room for a tree and I like how they smell. It reminds me of when I was a kid and we had a tree.
That’s great that you can find a candle that actually smells like the real thing! Often they don’t come close to the thing they claim to smell like.
@@kimbitner Yankee Candle. I would know that smell anywhere!
Yes! No scented candles! For many years I worked for an allergist and couldn't wear scent, now I hate to smell it. If I need to cover up a smell, essential oil does the trick, no headache.
Love this list❤ your video just sealed the deal for me. I am not buying any seasonal stuff and gifts will be experiences. The consumerism is insane!
About 15 years ago we got an advent tealight set. We have used it in many ways; put little gifts or notes with and act of kindness / service. This year we'll simply light a candle in each number and remember what Christmas is all about. This is a season of joy, love, faith and hope, togetherness and gratitude. Christmas is about the Light of the world, Jesus 💗🙏
I agree with most things on your list with the exception of the stockings. Another thing my husband and I have dispensed with in the last few years is buying gifts for each other. After 35 years, I have more jewelry from him than I can ever wear and more leather purses and clothing he has gifted me I could possibly justify having. And to echo your sentiments, you have to store all of this Christmas decor and eventually get rid of it!!!!! Most of my Christmas decorations are beautiful quality and timeless, nothing chintzy, and I have had them for years. I don't buy new things anymore, thus avoiding what is trendy for the year. P.S. Always have HATED the family Christmas Jammies!!!!!! LOL ! Thanks for your content and Merry Christmas.
Merry Christmas to you as well!
I have never understood the family pj thing. I'm sure it was created by the stores. I found little gingerbread kits at the dollar store. Yes, they are little, but for 1.25, my granddaughters will have a lot of fun.
Love what your saying, I have an advent calendar that a bought from Ikea years ago and just refill with chocolates every year.
We could be best friends...we think a lot alike!! Something that is an eyeopener is to walk through an antique mall to see how much we buy and eventually give/throw away.
P.S. I too stick to white dishes...a la Martha Stewarts advise many years ago.
Kim, This is the first time that I have seen your video. Love your thoughts. Good ole' common sense which we seem to be lacking as a society.
As they say, common sense isn’t common anymore!
The thing about owning something is also the resources used to make, sell & ship the item that will be not necessary in a very short time. I don’t do consumerism. The only xmas I do is family gatherings. Catching up with family is great & part of being human, consumerism needs a rethink.
Common sense. Love the winter picture behind you. We have had our decorations for years, but we do have one new one each year. I have xmas mugs, but they have been bought one at a time, as gifts to me, when they come out, we box the normal ones up, then change back over after xmas. My daughter actually said, no more mugs, this year , for herself.
Mugs add up so quickly! It sounds like you have a great solution with putting away the regular ones when the Christmas mugs come out! I try to do that with my decorations too, I edit my bookshelves before putting Christmas decor into them otherwise there’s just too much to look at.
We've never had an advent calendar - so that's not difficult to ignore lol! Another thing we've *never* done is Christmas PJ's or sweaters. I've become quite sensitive to scents too - no more Bath & Body Works! I decluttered my holiday decor some years ago (I'm down to one tote of decor and one tote of ornaments for the tree).
Do you find it more enjoyable to decorate when there’s less decorations? I know I do!
You have spoken straight from my heart - from the secented candles to the craft dabbling
Did we just become best friends? 😂
Gingerbread houses never look like what’s on the box
I think a big factor on some of the items on this list is having 6 kids. If I had that many kids (unless I was rich and had spare time - very rare lol) I wouldn't get a lot of these things either since cost of living rose so much like gingerbread houses, christmas pajamas for everyone, advent calendar for everyone, etc. Full stuffed stockings I was raised on so I'd have to find a way to do those (and my mom and dad would put extra small size-presents for a post gift-opening surprise like a tire pressure gauge, wireless speaker or usb cable pack as examples). My mom (and her mom) are huge on christmas and she has a lot of decorations but she will typically only replace a few things every year and 90% of it gets reused every year. Often light strands which seem to be much cheaper made than they used to be. Some strands still work from 30-40 years ago and we can only get 1-5 years out of any modern one regardless of how expensive it is.
Totally agree it’s quality not quantity of time or things. ❤
Agree!!! I shared my home tour and kept decor extremely simple but I’m loving it… New here to your channel and can’t wait to see more! God Bless! 🙂🎄🙏🏽🌻
When it comes to dishes I have one set of FANTSTIC vintage dihes that I use for all special occasions. IF you want a christams theme at the table, that's what a nice, candle centerpiece is for.
You killed it!!!!
😄thanks!
Loved this video! We used to have Big Christmas parties every year, plus i had worked as a Christmas decorator neons ago so we had trees galore and holiday decorations everwhere. That was a lifetime ago though, and after moving twice never again. 😂 All that crap is also expensive to move. We have wonderful memories but have slimmed down all holiday decorations. As you get older its alot to handle.
We moved in May/July (it’s slightly complicated) but we knew last Christmas that we’d be moving, so I pared down our Christmas stuff as I was putting it all away last year! It was a blessing to not move things we didn’t want.
I am a crafter/artist. I do sometimes craft at Christmas, but it is either for a gift or a decoration that I can make cheaper. I've revamped the wreath that I bought 10 years ago a couple of times since I bought it. It gets used every year, but I may have to replace pine cones or Christmas balls. I paid under a dollar for that wreath and took off some dinky little bows that were on it. I picked up pinecones in my yard to add to it and some dollar store Christmas ball ornaments. Total cost was about $2.00. I made 90 percent of the ornaments for my tree and those get reused each year. I may replace something if damaged, but I don't do a different theme. My tree is decorated it a classic style. And I don't go crazy with the crafting at Christmas. I am a year round crafter and try to keep decorations to a reasonable amount and when crafting I try to make useful things. I make my own socks or hats or mittens etc. You are right that you can have to many things.
Resonated with all of this! Simplicity makes me happy. (Exception is our stocking tradition - but that's where we put the yearly consumables - wool socks, a yearly ornament to remember the year, favorite chocolate, etc - maybe 4-5 items). Hugs little sis 🤗
Your stockings sound very doable!
WHAT A SENSIBLE LADY YOU ARE, I WHOLEHEARTEDLY AGREE WITH WHAT YOU HAVE SAID, MONEY IS HARD EARNED AND SHOULD BE SPENT WISELY, OUR CHRISTMAS DECORATIONS ARE OLD SOME FROM WHEN MY CHILDREN WERE AT HOME AND THAT IS 20 ODD YEARS AGO. WE VALUE OUR MONEY AND SPEND ON THINGS THAT ARE NECESSARY, SO THE OLD DECS WILL COME OUT ON THE 1st DECEMBER AND PACKED AWAY ON NEW YEARS DAY, AS ALWAYS. YOU AND YOUR LOVELY FAMILY HAVE A WONDERFUL CHRISTMAS AND WE WISH A VERY HAPPY AND PROSPEROUS NEW YEAR. GOD BLESS.🇬🇧🏴🙏❤️🇬🇧🏴
Wow! I thought I was the only one who was like this!😂
The only tradition that I did do with our children, we had 5, was to make homemade ornaments that were actually cute and super cheap to make and then had them
In a bowl in our entry for guests, surprise company, and friends.
They actually liked them and we see them on their trees when we visit:)
I'm now continuing the tradition with our grandchildren, we have 12, so far. It's a sweet time together.
We definitely need to think more about the money we spend on things we don't need that causes stress in our life.
Thanks for sharing!
Merry Christmas!
That’s so neat, I love your idea for ornaments to share with others!
Last year i made a wool pompom wreath, it actually ended up being cute! I need to figure out where to hang it now ive reshuffled my living room, but i am determined to display it this year!
Who in their right mind changes out the tree Decorations every year, yikes...too much work and too expensive 😮
I have to laugh because we do a lot of things on your list. But we only have two kids. But it sounds like you have what works for your family. You do you. Have a wonderful holiday.
11:36 This is what we do in our house and what we did growing up. We have Santa sacks that hold most of the smaller/cheaper presents. The expensive and bigger gifts come from the parents and are downstairs under or near the tree. Also as a bonus my sister started a tradition of taking a picture of the kids in the stocking every year which is a lovely way to watch them grow.
I couldn't agree more--especially about the inflatable decorations. I was just talking with my fiance about them and we both agree that they're a tacky eyesore and a waste of money.
My father made a wreath out of a old bicycle tire, a tree out of wood a church out of wood and a star out of wood decorated them. They are used as out door decorations every year. I also find the blow up decorations tacky.
Your dad sounds very resourceful, that sounds great!
I consider myself a crafter and have to stop myself from buying all the supplies. I have to remind myself that I already have a lot of supplies I don’t use, so I’ll only buy something if I know for sure I don’t already have it or I have a specific project in mind.
I think, in general, most crafters do keep the items they make and reuse them each year, at least that’s what my family does. Or they make things to gift to other people. I don’t think the average crafter makes the same volume of crafts that we see being made by individuals online (like TH-cam crafters).
I appreciate your the reminder that we can like and admire something but we don’t have to own it to like and admire it.
AMEN AND THANK YOU FOR THIS VIDEO!!!! My husband and I are finally at that point where we no longer feel the need to “deck the halls “ with all things holly jolly. 11ish years ago I came into the relationship with id say about 20 LARGE boxes of seasonal decorations. I think it’s now down to 4. ( we either donated or gave good condition decor to friends/family or goodwill, savers, or a women’s shelter store) After Christmas we will reevaluate and pare down more as we chose not to display it all. Our tree is decorated with ornaments that we bought from a location that we went to or given to us as a gift, and childhood ornaments that my husband had as a child. We have a nativity set up and some cards but that’s it. The focus after holidays is getting control of our very crowded condo. Over the years our 800 sq ft living space ( 400 sq ft storage) has become a dumping ground by friends and family. Meaning too good to throw away but too lazy to find a charitable organization to take it ,so the onus is on us to get rid of it. We ignored it for so long that we can no longer function in the condo and storage area. It will be a battle, but I know we will win and have a chaos free space.
All the best in making your living space work for you! Sounds like a big project, but it will be worth it in the end.
For advent. we have 3 people in our family so I sewed little pouch for each day with the numbers on them so we can reuse them every year and they are big enough that each day every member gets a piece of candy. It is so much cheaper to buy a big bag of candy. ( or after Halloween sale discount ) and pop those in the material reusable decorative pouch
I agree with at least 90 percent of what you said. My son was born nearly 6weeks premature. He came home from the hospital 25 years IN the stocking. Thats his stocking! We put the small things that we get for him anyway in the stocking. I am a knitter. During covid I knitted 2 Christmas colored blankets. They are special to me. I don't need more. And to be fair....i only have one child. We have reduced the amount of Christmas.
Our children are grown but I have always done stocking stuffers because it’s loaded with their necessities- they love having them because they use that stuff all the time - toothbrushes, underwear, socks and they were sad one year when I didn’t do them and said they would rather have that more than than anything else - we keep Christmas simple! I love your list though because we don’t do any of those things because it’s not the real meaning behind Christmas anyway - having a slow time together as a family is more important
I might start doing stockings like you do them! That sounds great.