50 Minimalist Gift Ideas

In a world often dominated by consumerism and excess, the allure of minimalism has captured the hearts of many seeking a more straightforward, more intentional way of living. Minimalism isn't just about decluttering physical spaces; it's a mindset that embraces the idea of "less is more" and values experiences, functionality, and the joy of essentials. As we approach special occasions and celebrations, it becomes clear that meaningful gifts that align with this philosophy can be difficult to find. In this blog post, I give a few minimalist gift ideas that can help when gifting to someone who appreciates simplicity, purpose, and thoughtfulness.

Memberships/Passes

1. Zoo membership

2. Aquarium membership

3. Museum passes

4. Roller rink passes

5. Spa gift certificate

6. Gym/Fitness membership/subscription

7. National Park pass

Edibles

1. A dozen cookies

2. A gorgeous cake

3. A fresh loaf of bed

4. Any gourmet food item

5. Quality tea or coffee

6. Food or cooking classes

7. Indoor herb garden

Experiences

1. Music Lessons

2. Airbnb gift certificate

3. A Photoshoot

4. An outdoor adventure

5. iFly experience

6. Mani-Pedi date

7. Coffee shop date

8. Concert tickets

9. Digital books for e-reader devices

10. Take them on a picnic

11. Go to the beach with them

12. Escape room activity

13. Movie tickets

Services

1. Babysitting 

2. House cleaning

3. Restaurant gift card

More Gifts from the Heart

1. Write a poem

2. Write a song

3. Write a letter

4. A personalized playlist or music collection

5. A donation to their favorite charity in their name

Subscriptions

1. Dwell subscription

2. Language learning subscription

3. Meal service subscription

4. Digital subscriptions to their favorite magazine, etc. 

5. Streaming service subscription

6. Audible gift membership

Physical Goods

1. A digital photo frame

2. Reusable metal straws

3. High-quality notebook

4. Their favorite skincare products

5. A special book

6. A personalized calendar

7. Low-maintenance indoor plants

8. Quality toiletry items

9. Scented Candle

The key to gift giving, especially when giving to someone who prefers a minimalistic lifestyle, is to hone in on their interests and give them something they will enjoy rather than something that will clutter their home. Choosing a minimalist gift isn't about limiting options but about embracing the essence of what truly matters. It reflects the care and consideration you put into selecting a gift that aligns with their values and aspirations. Whether it's an enriching experience, a consumable delight, a practical treasure, or a thoughtful subscription, these minimalist gift ideas can leave a lasting impact that resonates deeper. By embracing the beauty of simplicity, you're not just offering a present – you're offering a piece of mindfulness, intention, and genuine connection in a world that often rushes by!

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Giving to a minimalist this year? Maybe an aspiring minimalist yourself? Pass on this list to someone you think it will help!

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A Simple and Joyful Holiday Season

I always look forward to the holidays. The special meals and the special family time are the things that really stick out in my mind the most when I think about the holiday seasons way back when. I always knew that if I ever had my own family, that this cooler time of the year (for us in North America, anyway) would be a time I would want to make special and meaningful for them as well. I looked forward to the day I could start my own holiday traditions. 

Even though I’ve always found the holidays to be quite commercialized, over the years, with the rise of the internet and social media, it seems to me that a lot of times, these special seasons of the year have to potential to become a competition about who can have to the most swoon-worthy table spread and can gift the best items. It is so easy to be caught up with making things so Pinterest-worthy, that outdoing everyone else becomes our focus, rather than focusing on those around us. It somehow doesn’t help that stores roll out holiday things in July these days.

Of course, this year is looking much different than years past, but I want to challenge you today to question your motives and to cultivate a simple intentional holiday season with me this year. If I learned anything during this last crazy year in a pandemic, it’s that family is so important. That, and I want a holiday season that I can fully enjoy, rather than stress through. You in?

Keep things Simple

As I said, there is nothing wrong with trying to make the holidays special and beautiful. But what are your reasons for it? Dig deep and ask yourself the potentially tough questions. If you were to step back from the elaborate holiday decor and dishes, would that lift a burden off your shoulders? If your answer is yes, then maybe it’s time to reevaluate your approach to the holiday season. If you know you throw away a ton of food after your dinners, why not cut back on portion sizes or the number of dishes to simplify things? Could you go with simpler decor that still looks festive? Does your gift wrapping need to be so extra? You know yourself best. Try cutting back on the excess and see that going the simple route is not so bad after all. This year provides a wonderful excuse to try it out!

Be Present

As I mentioned earlier, family has always been the most important part of the holidays for me. When I think back on past celebrations, I rarely think about the details about the decor and I barely remember the specific gifts. I think about who was there and what we did together. Spending time together might be as simple as listening to stories, playing a game, or preparing a meal together. In past years I have tried putting devices away to get some real quality face time in, but that looks different this year for sure. Be present for your loved ones, whether together virtually or in person.

Gift with Intention

Gifts are a large part of this time of year, but how many times have you caught yourself buying something for someone just because you felt obligated to get them a gift? I know I have. Gifting with intention goes beyond deciding what to purchase for someone. It may even require you to get to know someone on a deeper level throughout the year! Try to avoid buying just to buy and ask yourself these questions: Why did I choose this particular gift? Will my recipient value this gift? How can I make this a meaningful experience? Not only will you be less likely to find your gift in the donation pile a few months out, but both you and the recipient will also feel better about your gift!

Related: An Aspiring Minimalist’s Guide to Gifts

Start Meaningful Traditions - And Eliminate Some If Needed

Traditions are a fantastic way to make the holidays intentional - they are also a great way to stress us out. Traditions don’t have to be elaborate and they shouldn’t cause us stress. If you don’t care for heading out early for Black Friday sales or if DIY Advent Calendars are making you dread the season, rest assured that there is no rule that says you need to do them! Traditions can be as simple as spending an evening together reading or making cookies together. Maybe you always take a family photo or break out the craft supplies and create ornaments together - possibly even while wearing matching pajamas. Traditions are important as well as meaningful, but make sure they bring you and your family joy!

Allow Yourself to Say No

Do not feel obligated to say yes to every gift exchange, cookie swap, and holiday zoom party of the season. Do not feel obligated to host every festivity either! Of course, refuse tactfully in order to not hurt any feelings - or offer an alternative if appropriate to do so. 

Incorporate Service

The holiday season is the perfect time to remember those who are less fortunate than you. Why not incorporate some community service into your traditions? Take some treats to those who have to work on the holidays, volunteer at a soup kitchen, put together a care package for shut-ins, invite over students who weren’t able to make it home, center your gift-giving around charity - the possibilities are endless.

Cultivate Gratefulness

Being thankful for what you have is a sure way to enjoy your holidays more. When we reflect on what we do have rather than what we don’t, it puts a more positive perspective on life and the holidays. Teach your little ones gratefulness early on so that it becomes second nature - and if you’re not as young anymore, that’s okay too! The more you practice, the easier and more natural it becomes!

Make Christ the Center

This may seem cliché, and you’ve heard it dozens of times, but making Christ the center of everything is the key to true joy. The same is true during the holidays. When Christ is the center of our lives, old baggage and scars from family hurt seem trivial, we are more willing to give, and we are less likely to allow comparison to be the thief of our joy. We are content when Christ is sincerely the center of our lives, and we will truly see others the way He does - as someone to love unconditionally even more than our own lives and comforts. Doesn’t that sound like the best foundation for a truly meaningful holiday season and life?

Save Money During the Holidays

It cannot be denied that the holiday season is likely our most expensive season. With all of the extra gift-giving and parties, our budgets can easily become overwhelmed if we are not intentional in approaching the holidays with them in mind. Here are some ways you can save some money during this special time of the year.

Set a budget

Setting and committing to a budget is key (and the first step you should take!) when saving money during the holiday season. Make a list and stick to it. Obvious things to consider are gifts and food for parties or potlucks, but don’t forget to budget travel expenses or decor as well!

Consider wrapping alternatives

Yes, the trendiest and cutest wrapping paper is adorable, but consider cheaper alternatives. My personal favorite is plain brown wrapping paper that costs a fraction of what the shiny wraps in the store cost, plus is recyclable and highly customizable and versatile! It’s kind of like a good closet staple you can dress up or dress down. (I love this brand from Amazon)

Consider secret santa

Is your family on the larger side? Even if it’s not, why not suggest Secret Santa for your gift exchange this year? Set a monetary limit for everyone, and draw names to determine who you gift to. This way, you don’t have to get everyone a gift, everyone will still get one, and that number will get a nice line in your budget.

Practical or Homemade gifts

Make sure you gift practical gifts - not gifts that will be thrown out after you leave. Practical sounds so unromantic and unfun, but if you make sure you get your recipient something they will love and appreciate, you’ll have the peace of mind knowing your money was spent well. You could also opt for a homemade gift that can add a special feel to the recipient.

Related: An Aspiring Minimalist’s Guide to Gifts

Decorate simply

No need to go crazy with decor during the holiday season. Sometimes, less is more. Decorate creatively, using what you already have, DIY-ing things, or bringing the outdoors in.

Choose inexpensive traditions

There really is no need for crazy expensive traditions for the holidays if you are trying to save those dollars. Some of my favorite family traditions are inexpensive, like baking cookies, driving around to see light displays, or reading books by the fire...the list goes on!

Don’t be fooled by “sales”

Sometimes sale prices are not actually great sale prices at all. Don’t be afraid to do some comparison shopping and price watching. One store’s sale price might be a larger amount than another’s. Pro tip: the sooner you know you will purchase something, the sooner you can start price watching too!

Start saving early in the year

The earlier you start saving for the holidays, the more you’ll have once the time comes around. So start saving early! One way to do this is to have a set amount to put aside each month that you will be able to use come November.

Just Say No

Learn to be selective. You do not have to go to every single holiday potluck, gift exchange party, or cookie swap you are invited to. 

Cut back on nonessentials

When you know there will be extra expenses, you may want to cut back on nonessentials like your daily latte or that cute little do-dad you just haaaave to buy. The one that will probably be collecting dust in a few weeks anyway.

Use rebate apps or websites

Take advantage of rebate apps and websites that can help you save extra cash on items. I use these all year for groceries and other purchases, and the extra money I save goes towards the holidays anyway!

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How do you save money during the holiday season?

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Unique Ways To Minimize Your Waste This Holiday Season

There is, unfortunately, a lot of waste associated with the holidays. Between gifts, packaging and even food waste and packaging, Americans throw away an average of 25% more trash during this season. 

I know for me growing up, Christmas morning was filled with tons of wrapping paper and such. It was normal to grab a huge garbage bag after opening all of our gifts and stuffing as much as we could in there. Then it would go out to the curb for the garbage man to pick up! And this was normal. 

The good news is that there are a lot of creative ways to make that less. The change can begin with you!

Food

Buy Less - Be Realistic: Plan Carefully so that you know exactly how much to buy. Realistically, not everyone will be eating a full serving of anything if there are a ton of choices, so consider making fewer dishes, or smaller amounts of each option.

Go Small: Use smaller plates and encourage self-serve to reduce unwanted food waste. There is nothing worse than seeing half a plate of food being thrown out!

Use Leftovers: Eat those leftovers, or if you still have a ton of untouched food, consider donating it.

Compost Food Scraps: I think this is pretty straightforward. 

Gifts

Thoughtful Gift Giving: Practice the art of thoughtful gift giving. Don't give others something they won't be able to use, or give just something just because you feel obligated to. 

Give Experiences instead of Things That Can Be Wrapped. This is a great thing that can potentially lead to giving the gift of quality time! Gift things like tickets to something or plan a fun scavenger hunt. Be creative!

Be Creative with Wrapping: Skip conventional wrapping paper that you can find ample amounts of in the landfills every year. Wrap gifts with things such as scarves or newspaper. Try a kitchen towel or even a mason jar for kitchen gifts!

Find gifts that have less packaging: Edible gifts are great for this!

Consider skipping the Christmas Card: I love getting Christmas cards, and I love sending them as well. If you absolutely must send them, choose recyclable paper options. I know that they go in the trash and it's the thought that counts, but it is something to think about. 

Decor

Recycle Your Christmas Tree: It's really a myth that plastic trees are better for the environment, as the material used is generally not good for the landfills. If gettng a tree, opt for a real tree if possible. Do some research about recycling trees in your area - many places turn your used Christmas Tree into mulch or wood chips to be used again. We like to use ours in the summer as firewood in our pit...

Be minimalistic with your decor. Yes, it's adorable to have reindeer chair covers and streamers, but do consider that less is more when it comes to Christmas decor. 

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Being mindful of your waste production doesn't have to be hard over the holiday season! Practice all year, and you'll be a natural by the time the holidays roll through! How do you minimize your waste over the holidays?

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An Aspiring Minimalist’s Guide to Gifts

There are plenty of gift-giving guides for when you want to give something to a minimalist, but what if a minimalist (or aspiring minimalist, like me) wants to give a gift? I had to really think about this!

Take Christmas, for example. It's around the corner and it seems that most people expect to receive a gift and give one in return. I’ve been caught in situations where I’ve had to give a gift, so I just grabbed something off the department store shelves with little thought as to why I was giving it. On the other hand, I’ve also received those same kinds of gifts. Full disclosure: those don’t often last long in my house at all. So why do we even bother?

When I give a gift now, I like to be intentional about it. I like to ask myself a few questions:

Why did I choose this particular gift?
Will my recipient value this gift?
How can I make this a meaningful experience?

With the gift-giving season right around the corner (and just coming out of one - can someone say weddings?), I thought I might share some of my thoughts and ideas on giving gifts.

Give the gift of an experience or time together

This is probably a great place to start. One of the coolest gifts we got as a wedding gift was a night out to see a Broadway musical. It was seriously cool, and it is a memory we still talk about to this day. Gifting experiences is a great idea and focuses more on your friendship than any material thing I can think of at this moment. Gift dinner reservations or unique local experiences or special events and make memories, not dust collectors.

Cash

I know it sounds impersonal and unromantic, but cash is way better to get than a gift card. It’s still tangible and doesn’t risk the use to being resold online or forgotten in a wallet. Plus, cash can still be used pretty much everywhere. There are creative ways to gift it too!

Something personalized and practical

If you still want to give something, you might want to consider giving something from the heart. Personalized items can still be practical. Put the “fun” in “functional” and explore options like personalized cutting boards or socks - okay, maybe not socks, but you get the idea. Thinking of needs and adding a personalized twist is, in my humble opinion, thoughtful!

Give a charitable donation

There are many opportunities to give a charitable donation in your recipient's name. All it takes is one Google search.

Give a consumable

Ummm, who doesn’t love food? I haven’t met that person yet. I love this, because you can get really creative with it! Visit a foreign country? Bring a packaged specialty! Have you heard of gourmet olive oil? Because it's amazing. Love chocolate chip cookies? Put together a kit so they can make their own (you can even pair this with an experience and do it together)! The possibilities are endless and are so fun!

If there is a registry, stick to the registry

If you are going to a shower or a wedding, chances are the hosts have created a gift registry. Stick to it. They know what they need, and if you want to stay true to helping others own only what they need, value, and what brings them joy, I highly suggest going that route.

So what about receiving gifts?

Receiving gifts is a little tougher for me - especially now that we have downsized greatly and don’t wish to acquire more [useless] stuff. But I also don’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings!

Explaining your “new way of life” to family and friends who normally shower you with gifts can be difficult, but not impossible. I see gift-giving as a way of sharing love, but gift-giving is not restricted to material things.

Your loved ones are called your loved ones because they love you. Trust that and make your expectations and intentions clear. They will be happy to support you. Isn’t that just what gift-giving is about anyway? Showing our love? They’ll be glad to do that however you decide!

Instead of saying, “I will not be collecting gifts this year,” and leaving it at that, why not give specific ideas to your loved ones about what they can give you. If you would like a charitable gift, set up a charity fund they can donate directly to, or pick a soup kitchen and request they accompany you too. If you want consumables, hand over your grocery list (I mean, why not?). If you think it will help, why not send them the link to this blog post? Whatever you choose, I’m sure they’ll think it’s a fabulous idea and they might start picking it up too!

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What kinds of gifts do you like giving and receiving? Let me know in the comments!

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