A Minimalist Christmas for Kids

I’ve been on a a journey toward minimalism for about 3 years now. I haven’t stressed myself out with moving through the process quickly, but every few months, I have spent a day or two decluttering. Of course, I began with my own things… clothes, shoes, electronics, etc. I then moved to the kitchen and common spaces, ridding our home of small appliances, dishes, and furniture pieces that literally brought no added value to our home. I then began introducing my then 6 year old son to the idea of letting go of things and donating to others. The idea is now so ingrained in him that he periodically brings me things that he no longer plays with and says, “this can go to Goodwill mom.” Every time, it makes me smile to know that he is developing a healthy sense of attachment to material things. 

Making the Decision 

Once place we have still struggled over the last two years is the traditional notion of birthdays and Christmas time. Like any normal child, our son has a mile-long list of things he wants Santa to bring. More times than not we have tried to accomodate a significant portion of these items. But, this year as we have downsized to a one-bedroom apartment (more about this later), we decided that we would uphold the principles of minimalism that we have adopted. It would do us no good to teach and model the idea of living with less throughout the year and then throw it all out window during the holiday season.

The Strategy

 Even though we were determined not to buy much, we still wanted to buy a few things that our son would really enjoy. And so beginning in the summer, we started listening more closely to his wish list. Initially, it was allllll about drum sets. He named brands and colors and cymbals and alllll of the things that go with drums. He named this as the primary thing he wanted for Christmas for months and so began searching for a small electronic set that would be suitable for our living space. We needed to know what we were looking at in terms of size, budget, etc. Around October, though, his attention and interest turned to trains which has been a passion for him since he was a toddler. Over the last two years, the interest in trains seemed to wane a bit. This has been, in part, because he sometimes gets frustrated with the tracks or when a train doesn’t stay upright at high speeds.  So, we were really surprised by the resurgence of this interest. 

It was as if drums had never existed and he decided that, for Christmas he wanted a “huge” train collection with “all kinds of trains.” He researched trains and searched for trains at thrift stores. He used Jenga blocks to build bridges and stations for his existing tracks. He remained committed to this new Christmas request. The week before Thanksgiving he left to go spend a month with my parents in Tennessee. They are avid watchers of old westerns. My son as become a fan of Rifleman and The Young Riders. He watches reruns over and over again and knows the characters by name. Apparently, in conversation with my mom, they agreed that, for Christmas, she would get him a “Mark outfit.” Mark is his favorite Rifleman character. And so it was agreed upon. My husband and I would take care of his train gifts and grandma would outfit the budding cowboy. 

Feelings of Guilt

On Christmas Eve when it came time to wrap the gifts, I found myself dealing with feelings of guilt. As I scrolled through social media and saw piles of gifts under people’s trees for their kids, I looked at the few packages that I had to wrap… a boxed train set… a 3-D multi color train nightlight, a learning game, and his Mark outfit complete with cowboy boots and hat… and I wondered if we’d done enough. Would my sweet boy get up and feel saddened when he didn’t see piles and piles of presents waiting for him? Was I wrong for not having spent the extra money to go all out? Were we stealing his childhood joys from him? I wrapped the gifts with my mom and we placed them under her Charlie Brown tree. In truth, I dreaded waking on Christmas Morning. I didn’t know if I would ever forgive myself if he woke up and was brokenhearted. 

Christmas Morning

Of all mornings, the little guy slept in. Normally, he’s up bright and early by 7 am. This morning, he slept until after 8:30. He asked “is it Christmas right now?” When I answered yes, he was eager to go and see his presents and his face shown with the excitement of Christmas morning. I walked into the living room with him and waited for his reaction. His face lit up as he saw the gathering of gifts awaiting him! He ran into my mother’s room yelling “wake up! Wake up right now! There are presents for me under the tree!” He ran back and forth from the tree to their room because he didn’t want to start without everyone sitting around to participate. Finally, with everyone gathered, he began to open his gifts and squealed with excitement at each one. He didn’t seem to notice at all that there were fewer gifts than years past. If he did notice, it didn’t seem to matter. He was absolutely content with what he received. 

A Lesson Learned

Kids of this generation have grown up in a world dominated by consumerism. Even in this reality, as parents, we have a real opportunity to teach them a better way. What I learned from my sweet boy this Christmas was that, deep down, kids are still kids. If we do our jobs well, it doesn’t take a lot of “stuff” to make them happy. I’d like to believe that when my son opened his presents this year, he felt loved and heard. He knew that we had listened to his wants and done our best to honor them in meaningful ways. Our minimalist journey continues for me and for my family. I’m finding the process to be absolutely life-giving.  Today’s experience is no exception! Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all of you.