The holiday season pretends to be built on family, love, and togetherness, but these days, that’s just Hallmark selling you another obligatory gift basket through the wiles of Lacey Chabert. Like everything in a consumerist society, Christmas has been monetized to death and essentially lost all real meaning.
But if we take a step back to disconnect from the capitalist culture’s idea of the holidays, we might find true love and togetherness again.
Let the season represent quality time and building memories that your kids will hold on to forever.
Recently, a reader asked:
Thinking about Christmas this year and I’m trying to minimize as much as possible. Growing up, Christmas was spent in a pile of presents. Since my kids won’t necessarily have that, do you have suggestions of traditions and activities for Christmas Day that will make memories and help us to not miss those wrapping-filled Christmas mornings?
Good news! Christmas doesn’t have to be about gifts.
It’s about spending time with those we love.
There are families that have given up gift-giving altogether and have made it a day of celebrating relationships.
To not have gifts, Christmas day may look like this:
- Wake up, enjoy a favorite breakfast together.
- Pull out some paper and scissors and cut out snowflakes–hang them on the tree or in the windows.
- Build your own pizza for lunch–everyone’s in the kitchen.
- Play a game of monopoly, put a puzzle together, or build a LEGO castle.
- Eat a picnic dinner of finger foods on the living room floor.
- Light a candle, turn out the lights and sing Christmas carols or watch a favorite holiday film.
Tips for a Christmas with no Christmas gifts.
This can be hard to conceptualize! Here are a few ways we do it in my house.
1. Turn Off The Electronic Devices.
I know this is hard, especially if there are sports fans and there is always a game going. Kids really want to spend time with their parents, they don’t want to share them with electronic devices.
So turn off the phones, close up the TV cabinet and just be present. A nervous twitch might appear with severe addicts–don’t worry, it’s perfectly normal and they’ll live through it. 😉
2. Play A Game.
It’s simple, and I know many adults don’t enjoy playing board games and card games, but kids need to have that interaction and they need to see their parents having fun.
This really can be any number of things, as long as it’s a game. If you really truly can’t stand “games”, try a puzzle, or build a structure with blocks.
3. Cook Together.
You can have the kids help with breakfast and start the day with a fruit candy cane.
Christmas dinner doesn’t have to be a turkey or ham- you can have a build-your-own-pizza party, it’s a fun activity, and it’s great to do it when you have a full day that is not rushed.
4. Have a Craft Time.
Kids need to see adults having fun and being creative. Why not sit around and cut out snowflakes? Or make some paper chain people?
5. Be Together.
For little ones–read books together, color a picture, listen to their stories. For older kids, play Catan or Munchkins or Mad Libs. Teach them how to bake a pie!
No gift Christmas ideas.
Here are some more great ideas for activities and games to play with your family that don’t involve giving gifts.
- Secret Santa experience exchange: Instead of gifts, family members draw names and plan a special experience for each other.
- Memory lane slideshow: Create a digital slideshow of family photos from past years and watch it together.
- Nature retreat: Take a family trip to a nearby natural area for hiking, birdwatching, or stargazing.
- Christmas karaoke: Set up a karaoke machine with holiday songs for a fun sing-along evening.
- Game tournament: Organize a day-long tournament of board games, card games, or video games.
- Christmas crafting: Set up stations for making ornaments, cards, or decorations.
- Story exchange: Each person shares a meaningful personal story or family legend.
- Learn a new skill together: Take an online class or workshop as a family (e.g., cooking, art, language). This could be as simple as following a Bob Ross painting tutorial on YouTube.
- Time capsule creation: Fill a container with mementos from the year to open in the future.
Christmas morning traditions that don’t involve presents.
Christmas morning is the most exciting part of the day for a kid. Without gifts, they might feel something of a hole there.
Here are some cute ideas for Christmas morning traditions to try with your family.
- Special breakfast. Prepare a festive breakfast with holiday-themed pancakes, cinnamon rolls, or a family favorite dish.
- Nature walk. Take a peaceful morning stroll to enjoy the winter scenery and fresh air.
- Christmas movie marathon. Watch classic holiday films together while enjoying hot cocoa.
- Volunteer. Spend the morning helping at a local shelter or community center.
- Crafting session. Create homemade ornaments or decorations using simple materials.
- Photo scavenger hunt: Organize a fun holiday-themed photo scavenger hunt around your home or neighborhood.
- Baking together: Make and decorate Christmas cookies or a gingerbread house.
- Virtual gathering: Set up a video call with distant family members or friends to share holiday greetings.
- Christmas story reading: Take turns reading favorite holiday stories or poems aloud.
- Holiday music jam: Have a family sing-along or play instruments together with Christmas songs.
- Gratitude circle: Share what you’re thankful for and reflect on the past year.
- Future-self letters: Everyone writes a letter to themselves to be opened next Christmas.
- Winter picnic: Prepare a simple picnic to enjoy indoors or outdoors, weather permitting.
- Ice skating or sledding: If you have snow!
- Christmas-themed yoga or gentle exercise: Do a festive workout together to start the day energized.
- Make a family vision board: Create a collage of hopes and goals for the coming year.
- Nature art: Use natural materials like pinecones and holly to create festive decorations.
- Christmas morning dance party: Create a playlist of favorite holiday tunes and dance together.
- Family talent show: Each person prepares a small performance to share.
Simple Christmas dinner ideas.
Here are some super easy ideas that turn Christmas dinner into a group event without taking a ton of preparation.
- Potluck dinner: Each family member prepares a favorite dish to share.
- Fondue night: Set up cheese or chocolate fondue for a fun, interactive meal.
- Taco or burrito bar: Prepare various fillings and let everyone assemble their own.
- Pizza-making party: Make dough together and let each person create their own pizza.
- Soup and bread: Prepare a large pot of soup and some crusty bread for dipping.
- Breakfast for dinner: Make pancakes, waffles, or omelets together.
- Slow cooker meal: Prepare a hearty stew or roast that cooks all day while you enjoy other activities.
- Appetizer buffet: Make a variety of small bites and finger foods for grazing throughout the evening.
What if you weren’t home on Christmas Day?
There is a growing number of families who no longer spend Christmas at home doing “traditional” Christmas things.
Instead, they use that winter break to vacation and experience things with their family.
The holidays are spent playing in the warm sands of a tropical beach, or swimming in a motel swimming pool and sightseeing.
You can make your days special without opening gifts. Your children can grow up with Christmas meaning fun, exploration and time together as a family. That’s what they’ll remember.
Why try a no-gift Christmas?
Are you not sold on the idea of (gasp) no presents on Christmas?? That’s okay! Here are the reasons why it’s beneficial.
This might convince you, or it might give you some ideas of how to improve your Christmas experience within the bounds of “tradition,” i.e. capitalism.
1. Physical gifts clutter up your house
Nothing sets a minimalist back like the holiday season. Not buying gifts means you’re not bringing loads of new items into the house.
If you still want gifts: Employ the two-week-clean-out after gift-giving occasions to keep toys under control.
2. Save tons of time on holiday shopping
Skip the two-weeks-from-Christmas scramble to make sure everyone on your list has a box set of bath bombs or a novelty reindeer that poops jellybeans!
If you still want gifts: Work on buying throughout the year. There are lots of great deals right after Christmas, especially. This allows you to passively collect the gifts you want without the chaos.
3. Save tons of MONEY
The average US family spends around $1,000 on gifts for their immediate relatives… That’s not counting extended relatives, friends, your kid’s teacher, the mail carrier…
If you still want gifts: Think about homemade gifts or labors of love! Nothing wrong with a good coupon book promising to clean a car, babysit a kid, or cook a meal.
PS: The things I mentioned in the coupon book are NOT!!!!!!! something to give your partner! It’s not babysitting if it’s your baby. Grow up! Anyway,
4. Instill community in your children
Kids learn by example, and setting the precedent for them early that family and community are more important physical gifts will set them up to be more content and successful down the road.
If you still want gifts: Have open conversations with your kids about gift culture, be reasonable with the amount you give them, and be sure to incorporate non-gift related activities into your holidays.
5. Save waste on wrapping paper
The US uses an estimated 4.6 million pounds of wrapping paper each year, JUST for Christmas. Skipping gifts means skipping the wrapping.
If you still want gifts: Repurpose paper clutter into creative homemade wrapping paper, or wrap with reusable fabric.
6. Remove the feeling of obligation
You might not realize how stressful gift-giving can be on all sides. Some people truly express and receive love through gifts, but how much of that do you think we can attribute to the way we were raised? Quite a bit, I’d bet.
If you still want gifts: Truly try to only give gifts that you’re excited to give to people that you’re excited to give them to.
7. Find creative ways to express affection
In many cases, presents and money are a bit of a shortcut route to expressing affection. When you remove them, you can really get creative on ways to show love to your family and friends.
Now check out our ultimate guide to throwing a minimalist Christmas celebration:
Thank you we are going to do some of these on Christmas ☺❄⛄🎅🎄 merry Christmas
Maybe go to church or participate in a Sunday School Christmas pageant? After all do people know why Christmas is celebrated? To many minimalists forget about their faith aspect, or never grew up with it. They know something is missing, so they gift experiences to find what is missing in their life.
Christmas was stolen from pagans so no. Not many know what the true “faith” aspect is of it.
Christ wasn’t born in the winter if you study anything astronomy the placing of the stars would tell you about the earths rotation and where it sat and in what season it was. Christmas came from Yule. Those logs in the fireplace you burn for Christmas? Yule logs. The trees you decorate are a pagan tradition. Wreaths are pagan traditions. Yule is to celebrate the winter solstice and to be thankful for the earths things it provides and to give back to the earth.
Went searching and found your site. Not much money, and feeling sad, as I don’t want to disappoint my son (age 10). LOVE the ideas, some of which we do regularly anyways. Trying to raise him “right”, as best I can … yet still include a few gifts this year- yet as he’s getting older, and I still NEW traditions for a peaceful, fun, more meaningful, and memorable Christmas’s in the future! THANK YOU!