How to Simplify Gifts (And Enjoy the Holidays More)

Editor's note: This is a guest post by Rose Lounsbury.

When I was a kid, my parents gave me an oil lamp for Christmas. I was confused by this for three reasons:

1: I hadn't asked for it.

For a certain type of kid, an old-fashioned oil lamp would be sweet. I was not that type of kid.

2: We weren't Amish.

For certain lifestyles, oil lamps are legit. While we did live in the country and had a wood stove, we also had electricity.

3: It seemed dangerous.

Even at 10 years old, I knew that filling a bowl with oil, inserting a wick, and lighting it on fire was not the safest activity I could partake of alone in my room. But my parents practiced a loving brand of laissez faire parenting, so this type of thing was not out of the norm. (True story: When my triplets were in kindergarten my dad taught them how to use a nail gun. #lifeskills)

I remember the few times I lit the lamp. I first looked around my room and planned my escape in case the whole endeavor went up in literal flames.

Would I jump from my 2nd story window? That looked like a broken ankle, at least. And to be honest, I wasn't sure I could muster the window-jumping courage.

What if I tied a bunch of sheets to my bedpost and rappelled down? This raised problems of time efficiency and knot-tying skills.

In the end, I just took a deep breath and lit the dang lamp.

Because I felt obligated to.

It had been given to me as a gift. I needed to use it.

And as that sucker smoked and the oil smelled weird and the glass turned suspiciously black (and most disappointingly, did not give off much light), I wondered…

Why, exactly, am I doing this?

Over the years the lamp sat on my desk, gathering dust.

This oil lamp illustrates how many of us feel about gifts…

All of us have given and received gifts that we don't want, don't match our lifestyle, and that under the right conditions could destroy our lives in a blazing inferno.

(Okay, that last one might be a stretch…)

So what do we do? How do we deal with gifts when we're seeking a more minimalist and simple lifestyle?

I have two hard and fast rules about gifts:

Read the full article here!

Rose Lounsbury is a simplicity coach (and still-sane triplet mama) who helps busy working moms declutter their homes, simplify their work lives, and clear their minds. You can read more of her words on minimalism, simplicity, and intentional living at roselounsbury.com or get to know her on Instagram or through her rockin' Minimalism is Fun Facebook community.

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