{"id":4212,"date":"2023-01-01T19:57:29","date_gmt":"2023-01-02T02:57:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.happysimpleliving.com\/?p=4212"},"modified":"2023-07-27T16:39:49","modified_gmt":"2023-07-27T22:39:49","slug":"enjoy-simple-holiday-season","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.happysimpleliving.com\/enjoy-simple-holiday-season\/","title":{"rendered":"7 Ways to Enjoy a Simple Christmas"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"Two<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Would you like to enjoy a simple Christmas<\/strong> this year? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What if this was your best holiday season yet? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What if this was the year you got to let go of a few things? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What if you spent a little time getting clear about the events and tasks that are important to you, and only committed to do the things you really want to do?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What if you had some precious unscheduled days and nights, and glorious unstructured time to enjoy a more peaceful, meaningful Advent?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

7 Tips to Enjoy a Simple, More Relaxing Christmas<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

1. Start earlier.<\/strong> Some years I’ve tried to cram so much into December that I end up being tired and rundown on Christmas morning. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

By contrast, I never regret getting an earlier start and tackling some of the extra tasks like shipping packages before the season begins.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Make a budget.<\/strong> Figure out what you want to spend, and make a commitment not to take on even one dollar<\/em> of credit card debt. Cut back, simplify, and explore creative ways to enjoy the Christmas season without spending too much.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. Set price limits<\/strong> on family gifts. In our extended family, the limit for adults is $25. Homemade gifts, regifts and used items are all enthusiastically enjoyed. Constraints encourage creativity!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

4. Go easy with kids’ gifts<\/strong>. Sometimes the combined number of gifts from loved ones can be overwhelming for children. A few special presents will keep expectations reasonable and help avoid Christmas day meltdowns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I like this old saying about what to give young people:  “Something they want, something they need, something to wear, something to read.” <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Red<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

5. Potluck it.<\/strong> When friends and family members offer to bring food and help, graciously accept. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I try to remind myself to enjoy opportunities to be together and have fun, without the need for everything to be picture perfect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

6. Share experiences instead of gifts.<\/strong>  Most people already have plenty of stuff. If you’re part of a group that traditionally exchanges gifts, why not suggest doing something fun for the holidays instead? You may find that others share your desire to scale back.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Your relatives might enjoy going on a holiday outing in lieu of gifts, too. Nostalgic Christmas ideas<\/a> like sledding, ice skating, or going for a drive to look at the Christmas lights might end up creating a fun new family tradition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

7. Give consumable gifts<\/strong>. Sometimes in our zeal to be creative gift givers, we end up adding unnecessary pressure and stress on ourselves. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Would your loved one enjoy a gift card, or a pretty potted rosemary tree, or an amaryllis bulb that can be regrown every year, or a pound of freshly-ground coffee, or a bag with all the makings for a nice dinner? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Or some good old cash? I’ve never met anyone who didn’t like cash.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How About You?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Do you have any suggestions for having a simpler Christmas<\/a>? Drop a comment, because I always love hearing your thoughts and suggestions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here’s to a simple, more meaningful Christmas<\/a> season for all of us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Save for Later<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

If you use Pinterest to save and share ideas, here’s a handy pin:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Two<\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

… Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4950,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"limit_modified_date":"","last_modified_date":"","wprm-recipe-roundup-name":"","wprm-recipe-roundup-description":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[37,49],"tags":[304,330],"class_list":["post-4212","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-holidays","category-simple-living","tag-christmas","tag-holidays","generate-columns","tablet-grid-50","mobile-grid-100","grid-parent","grid-33","no-featured-image-padding"],"yoast_head":"\n7 Ways to Enjoy a Simple Christmas - Happy Simple Living<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"These 7 tips for enjoying a simple Christmas will help you explore priorities so you can relax and have a more peaceful holiday season.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.happysimpleliving.com\/enjoy-simple-holiday-season\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"7 Ways to Enjoy a Simple Christmas - 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