After discovering the expenditure of an average American family, one may think that Christmas is all about lavish celebrations, including expensive gift-giving, various foods, and unique and creative decorations. Right? Moreover, do you know that the average American’s holiday spending increased to $1,300 in 2023?
But that’s not precisely what Christmas is about. It can be as simple as you want it to be under your budget and prioritize your comfort. Because let’s be honest; not everyone can celebrate lavishly because some of us are on a tight budget or don’t want to spend much and keep the celebration minimal.
So, this year, you can enjoy a simple Christmas by giving handmade gifts, planning fun competitions with your family, and making simple and delicious meals. Thus, if you haven’t celebrated Christmas the simple way yet, this is your sign to do it this year.
1. What Is a Simple and Minimalist Christmas?
Growing up, we all must have seen Christmas movies or read books where the family would host Christmas parties with everything fancy and over-the-top decorations, serve various traditional meals, and exchange expensive gifts. And because we grew up watching all of this, we believe that every Christmas has to be just like in the movies. But that’s not the truth; yes, a minimalist Christmas exists.
A minimalist Christmas does not mean bland, which we may assume by looking at the word. It means prioritizing your comfort zone over lavish and loud celebrations. To enjoy a minimalist Christmas, you let go of your worry of having a perfect celebration with luxurious details.
Not everyone follows the same Christmas traditions, like going to a festive restaurant or having a feast. Some people may choose a different route to enjoy Christmas with simple traditions like making one or two traditional meals or planning a budget for gift-giving.
2.Here Are 22 Ways To Enjoy a Simple Christmas This Year
2.2. Mood Board for How You Plan To Celebrate Christmas
The best way to start planning your Christmas is by making a Christmas-themed mood board early. This will give you time to plan and execute things efficiently without all the stress. You can use pictures, patterns, and colours to give you an idea of how to achieve your plan.
Using a mood board to plan your Christmas will not only save time but also help give you a clear idea of what colour theme you can use for Christmas decorations, gift-giving ideas for family members, and a meal plan to enjoy with your whole family. Use Pinterest or pin pictures and colour themes on a pinboard to help you start planning.
2.3. Plan a Stress-Free and Simple Christmas
Christmas can sometimes get hectic with all the planning, invitations, and preparing meals for a bunch. So, start planning your Christmas celebration ahead of time instead of at the last moment to help you manage things easily with less stress.
The first thing to remember is that you don’t have to pressure yourself with extreme planning. Keep it simple by inviting close family members and making food that is easy to prepare with less time consumption because Christmas is all about enjoying what you have with your loved ones and being grateful to them. You can also opt for take-out food to have a stress-free Christmas.
2.3. Decide a Christmas Budget and Plan Accordingly
After you have made your mood board and finally decided what you plan to do for Christmas, the next step is to create a budget plan. This will guide you on what items to spend your money on and how much you will pay so that you can save money.
A budget plan benefits you if you are on a tight budget and want to enjoy Christmas by spending less money. You can start by deciding the total amount you want to spend on Christmas, and accordingly, you can buy items based on your budget. Remember that cutting down on extra activities or meals from your checklist is okay to have a minimalist Christmas.
2.4. Make a Christmas Bucket List
Before the start of the holiday season, create a Christmas bucket list of what you plan to do to enjoy the occasion. You don’t have to go overboard with fancy and expensive plans to enjoy with your family. You can have a simple Christmas by cutting down to a few activities to participate in and limited decorations. Instead of doing everything, take your time and discuss with your family the essential things you can do and remove the rest from the list.
Don’t forget that you are also there to enjoy time with your loved ones; instead of stepping into the role of a stressed host and doing everything by yourself, take your time and ask for help from others. Enjoy the planning process and simultaneously be well-rested for the primary occasion.
2.5. Fascinating Decorations
Decorating your house with beautiful ornaments, Christmas lights, lovely presents, and a Christmas tree is another aspect that makes Christmas even more special and enjoyable. However, we are on a budget. Hence, we have to ensure we spend less and make the most out of it. To achieve this, you have to make fewer decorations and try to spend less on them. Here Is How You Can Decorate Your Home Without Hurting Your Wallet:
2.5.1. DIY Your Decor
Suppose you are into arts and crafts. You can DIY various items for Christmas decorations and showcase your talent. For example, you could craft a DIY Christmas wreath from what you have in your house, DIY Christmas tree decorations, or use Christmas lights in different ways to enhance your decor.
2.5.2. Thrift Your Decors from Your Local Thrift Store
Visiting your nearby thrift stores is the most affordable way to get beautiful Christmas decorations. You can get extra decorating items without spending much money. Thrift stores can also help you get unique and different serving trays and bowls, which you can use as home decor for Christmas and any occasion.
2.5.3. Use Your Primary Room for Christmas Decorations
Don’t try to go all over the place for decoration. Use the main room where you will attend guests and decorate it by using as many Christmas lights and DIY ornaments as possible to glorify the occasion. This will reduce your stress. Instead of getting anxious about decorating the entire house, you only have to focus on one specific room as the centre of attention.
2.5.4. Decorate As Many Items as You Can
You can look for items like bowls and trays to decorate by painting them or using different ornaments. You can also use wrapping paper to wrap around empty boxes, which will be used for decoration inside your house or outside your main door.
2.6. Homemade Gifts Are Precious
There is nothing wrong with buying Christmas gifts from a store, but as we are on a budget and want to make it the most memorable Christmas ever. We can make homemade gifts for our family members and simplify gift-giving for Christmas this year. Homemade items that you can make as a gifts are:
2.6.1. A Flower Vase Made from Clay
If you love pottery, this is a fantastic gift-giving idea for you this Christmas. You can make a clay vase at home using pottery equipment or visit a clay workshop, and later, you can paint the vase to make it presentable and beautiful.
2.6.2. A Poem for Your Loved One
Unleash your inner poet by writing a heart-touching poem for your loved ones as a gift. Express your love and gratitude towards them using rhymes and stanzas.
2.6.3. Baked Goods for a Foody
Let’s be honest: every house has at least one or two foodies with a sweet tooth. Who doesn’t? You can bake cookies, apple pie, or warm and delicious cinnamon rolls as a gift for them this Christmas. Show your love for them by stuffing their baked delicacies.
2.6.4. Scented Candles
Who doesn’t love a good, mood-enhancing scented candle? Another gift idea you can add to your checklist this Christmas is a homemade scented candle with love.
2.6.5. A Bouquet of Paper Flowers
The vibrant-coloured paper bouquet is the most beautiful, recycled, DIY gift you can use for gift-giving and Christmas decorations.
2.7. Handwritten Christmas Cards
This Christmas, save money by making handwritten Christmas cards with love and a splash of colours here and there. Turn it into a Christmas tradition of your own by letting your kids showcase their creativity to create some of the best meaningful memories. You can also make extra Christmas cards to decorate your living room by hanging them to make it look more beautiful.
2.8. Plan Fun Competitions To Enjoy with Your Family
After exchanging gifts, plan fun competitions with your family to keep the Christmas celebration going. Don’t go over the top by planning everything one day. You can schedule a few enjoyable activities with your family and participate in the celebration instead of being a panicked host. Here is what you can plan with your family:
2.8.1. Gingerbread House Decoration Competition
You can have a gingerbread house decorating competition to show off your decorating skills using sweet treats like sprinkles, candies, and colourful icing.
2.8.2. Carol Singing Competition
Plan a carol singing competition to see who remembers the most carols by dividing yourselves into teams and creating memories you will cherish in the future.
2.8.3. Snowman-Building Competition
Go outside and have a snowman-building competition because what’s more fun than having a friendly competition with your loved ones?
2.8.4. Compete in Decorating Sugar Cookies
You can have a sugar cookie decoration competition with sprinkles, whipped cream, or crushed candy canes to see whose cookies are the most delicious. Another good idea for enjoying Christmas with your family is to plan a competition to bake cookies; the most delicious one wins.
2.8.5. Christmas Tree Decorating Competition
Bring out all your favourite Christmas tree decorations and challenge your family to decide who decorates the most extravagant Christmas tree. Here is a tip for you (use Christmas lights to enhance your Christmas tree.)
2.9. Enhance Your Dining Table with a Charcuterie Board
The most accessible and fun way to glorify your dining table is by making a charcuterie board. It will enhance your dinner table and will also impress your guests.
Making a charcuterie board in the form of a Christmas wreath or a Christmas tree will add more fun. You can take inspiration from interest or YouTube and create one for your family this Christmas.
2.10. Make Your Celebration More Fun with Secret Santa
Everybody exchanges gifts on Christmas morning the usual way. To make it more fun, try doing Secret Santa with your friends or family this Christmas. All you have to do is draw a chit with the name of your family members, and the person you get is for whom you will be the Secret Santa. Think of something they love and plan what you will gift them. You don’t have to buy expensive gifts; you can exchange simple gifts, or what is better than a meaningful handmade gift made with love?
2.11. Christmas Movie Marathon
Is it even Christmas without good Christmas movies? Not really, right? Having a Christmas Marathon with your friends and family has become a tradition that must be checked off the bucket list. So, turn off the lights, bring popcorn, and cozy up for a Christmas movie marathon.
2.12. Fun Family Time
Christmas is all about gathering together and having fun with family. To make your Christmas get-together more enjoyable, you can share stories. We all must have one or two Christmas experiences that make us giggle when we think about them. So, this Christmas, host a storytelling competition where you share some of your fun and memorable Christmas stories with your family members.
Don’t focus on getting a perfect picture that you can share on social media platforms because there will be many more occasions. Christmas arrives only once yearly when you spend time with your relatives and family. So, make a rule not to use your phones while spending time. Be present and cherish this moment because you never know when you will have another one. Be thankful for each other and show your love by enjoying the present with them and exchanging gifts.
2.13. Christmas Song Charades
Playing Christmas charades is the most fun indoor activity, consisting of enacting and guessing Christmas-related words. Divide yourselves into teams; pick a card and enact the word written on it; your team will guess it to gain points.
2.14. Snow Fight With Your Family Members
If it is snowing in your area, don’t forget to have a snow fight with your family because it is a fun Christmas tradition you must check off your bucket list. You can again divide yourselves into a team, and the one with the most hits wins.
2.15. Plan Your Christmas Dinner Menu Together
Just because it’s Christmas does not mean you must prepare a fancy meal and fill the entire dining table with serving trays. You can also enjoy Christmas dinner with affordable and accessible meals and a few meals on the table. Preparing a meal plan with your family would be best to achieve that.
Discuss and decide which meal should be presented as a holiday tradition and which should be excluded from the checklist. You can indeed order take-out food instead of preparing every meal by yourself so that you have less to worry about. Ask for help in the kitchen because a helping hand will make the preparation easy and stress-free for you and make the process more enjoyable by spending time with your family in the kitchen.
2.16. Build a Blanket Fort With Your Family
Who doesn’t love a fort made of warm, cosy blankets? Bring out your most comfortable blankets this Christmas and build a fort with your kids to have fun together.
While inside your blanket fort, why not turn on Netflix, enjoy Christmas movies, and munch some yummy snacks for a more meaningful Christmas? Don’t stress about the past and the future. Be present with your family and make meaningful memories to cherish in the future.
2.17. Spend Your Day in Christmas PJs
Make a yearly tradition of wearing matching Christmas pyjamas with your family to be more comfortable and relaxed while celebrating the occasion.
Visit your nearby store, get a pair of Christmas PJs for each other, and surprise your family members with intricate designs and loud colours. You can even go for a relaxing night walk around your neighbourhood and enjoy other families’ decorations on Christmas.
2.18. Wrap Your Christmas Gifts Beforehand
Make sure you start wrapping your Christmas gifts early instead of at the last moment by making a list of all the items you intend to gift your family and friends, keeping your budget in mind.
You can use vibrant colours that contrast with each other, or you can go for patterns and even add special notes for each one to add a hint of emotion and love.
2.19. Don’t Set High Expectations for Christmas
Another rule you have to follow to enjoy a simple Christmas with your family is setting realistic expectations. The more expectations you select, the harder it will be for you to want, and after the occasion is over, you will regret doing things a certain way. So, plan things according to your budget and prioritize your mental health for a stress-free Christmas.
2.20. DIY Christmas Advent Calendar
We must have seen people using an advent calendar filled with exciting activities to do until Christmas. This is your sign to make a DIY advent calendar with your family.
You can include a Christmas poem, story, or exciting toys for each day in your Christmas advent calendar. This will help your kids understand the importance of Christmas and learn fun stories about the occasion.
2.21. Try Christmas Photoshoots
Instead of figuring out the perfect selfie angle on your phone, capture your memories with a family Christmas photo to cherish your time with your loved ones. There are so many fun ideas to use to get that perfect click.
3. Final Words
To make it more fun, you can also draw designs or ask your kids to draw them with watercolor markers to make them more exciting. Don’t worry about meeting anyone’s expectation to enjoy Christmas this year. You can opt for a minimalist one for you and your family to enjoy without panicking over a hectic schedule by focusing on the essential points on your checklist and cutting down the rest. Remember to prioritize family time and help each other to achieve a relaxing and fun celebration.
Last Updated on by kalidaspandian
