6 Ways to Celebrate Christmas like a Minimalist

I recently read a quote about Christmas that left me thinking.

In Letters from Father Christmas, J.R.R. Tolkien says, “Here comes Christmas! That astonishing thing that no 'commercialism' can defile—unless we let it.”

The way we experience Christmas is our choice, Tolkien says.

And he's right.

Christmas can be a season of simplicity, generosity, connection and peace.

Or it can be a season defined by more stuff, busyness, and stress. A season rendered insipid by a frenzied pursuit of possessions.

Our “most wonderful time of year” is also the most wonderful for marketers. According to Forbes, retailers in America can expect to make $1 trillion from Christmas sales, accounting for one quarter of their yearly profits.

Consider these Christmas spending statistics:

Parents plan to spend an average of $276 per child on Christmas gifts.
Americans spend an average of $900 total on Christmas gifts.
Women spend 20 hours, on average, shopping for Christmas presents (not including the time spent returning gifts afterward).
Christmas debt statistics report 41% of Americans are willing to take on debt due to gift shopping.

Consumerism is defined as “the theory that individuals who consume goods and services in large quantities will be better off.” Our society agrees. But it wasn't until adopting a minimalist lifestyle that I paused and questioned this assumption.

You can do the same.

Making consumerism (a.k.a. buying more stuff) the focus of our holiday season is our choice. We can opt out of our consumer culture's push for more this Christmas. It's okay to do things differently.

And, when we do (as I found when I began celebrating Christmas like a minimalist) we just might find the holidays become more meaningful.

Here are 6 ways to celebrate Christmas like a minimalist:

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