It’s Christmas Eve. The lights on our tree twinkle between handmade decorations. Underneath is a modest collection of presents, thoughtfully wrapped with handcrafted paper and bows.
Popcorn tumbles down the fronts of the kids’ new PJs as they watch a classic Christmas movie from my childhood.
The smell of popcorn mixes with the delicious aroma of the pavlova and trifle I have prepared for tomorrow – amazingly they are ‘I Quit Sugar’ friendly and I can’t wait to eat them.
I snuggle into Crash Hubby on the sofa with a glass of bubbles as I survey my perfectly clean and tidy domain. Christmas cards from all our family and friends hang above the mantel. Below, the stockings are smaller than last year, waiting for a small treasure or two from Santa.
A pig flies across the room . . .
. . . and hits the wall of reality that is a half built dolls house that will fall apart in a couple of months.
Yep, last Christmas was chaotic, unorganised, impulsive, expensive, overwhelming and marked by Too. Much. Plastic. Crap!
Now back to the first scenario. That’s where I want to be this year. Welcome to my next Crash Test!
Crash Test: A Mindful Christmas
I’m going to try and organise most of our Christmas over the next week. Being mindful about Christmas means a number of things for CrashHubby and I. Starting with:
Mindful Buying
When I met Kevin McCloud from Grand Designs a couple of months ago, I told him I was going to try and stop and “wave of plastic crap” that makes it’s way into our homes every Christmas. I am always inspired by his principles of living and the following resonates with me the most:
Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful
William Morris, 19th-century writer and craftsman
In addition we will be doing our best to buy authentic, handcrafted gifts or at least buy from ethical, and sustainable companies. Small home-based companies over large multinational ones. Another guideline:
Buy things and materials that respect the human energy that has gone into them and where the maker is rewarded fairly.
Traditions and Meaning
Christmas holds different meaning for different people. This year I want to establish and consolidate some traditions for our family. One of which will be gift giving. Last year the kids must have opened 20 or more gifts from us and our extended family. It really is too much and they weren’t interested in a lot of it, instead just excited about the occasion and all the people. Someone in the Crash Test Community mentioned this great guideline to me and I can’t remember who (please let me know if it was you!).
That’s 4 presents each. We’ll give them one from us and ask our 3 sets of parents if they’d like to take care of the other three. There may also be a family board game and a couple of little surprises from Santa.
I also mean to send out Christmas Cards every year, and every year I fail. So in the spirit of keeping in touch (one of my yearly goals that I never achieve), we will send out a Christmas Card and letter this year!
A Handmade Christmas
We will focus as much as possible on either making things ourselves, including presents or at least buying handcrafted presents. I’ll be looking for great ideas for Christmas decorations to replace all the plastic ones which we will donate. Although, they will be hung on our fake plastic tree because we made a decision a few years ago to save money on trees and we might as well keep using it rather than add it to landfill.
A Frugal Christmas
A mindful Christmas can be a frugal Christmas. For us the handmade, and modesty will help immensely. Buying fewer but better quality gifts that are coveted and needed will certainly feel less wasteful and indulgent.
Summary
So there we have it. My mission for this week is to find, organise, buy and make the things that will see us having a mindful Christmas this year.
If you have any handy advice, ideas, posts about homemade crafts and presents, or you’re a small business owner who offers handcrafted, or sustainable Earth-friendly gifts, please let me know in the comments below.
It’s ok to leave one or two links, so please choose your best ones and don’t spam me! Thanks :)
Laney x
Linking up with Essentially Jess because now I only Blog on Tuesdays ;)
That’s right! My first member-only giveaway is up and running over on our community site Crash Test Mummies.
I’m giving away an iPod Touch to one Australian reader.
You need to be a registered member of the Crash Test Community to enter, so off you go!
Laney, I’m all for mindful Christmases too. A few years ago we made a decision to be more mindful and it’s really run smoothly. We’ve never overdone presents for the kids – and to be honest because its been this way from the start they haven’t noticed (nor did they care when they were really small). We remind them of our values to live simply and respectfully. They’re used to us banging on about it now! lol I think it will become more challenging as they get older and start to compare more with other kids. I’m hoping also to do involve them more in handmade craft/cards/baking (as gifts) as they get older (&I get more energy!). Other than that, if it all gets too stressful, I release myself from expectations. No Christmas is worth getting stressed about. That kind of misses the point! Love this mindful reminder from you. x
Deb @ Bright and Precious’s last post..Little Lion Part 2
Oh Laney, I am doing exactly the same. I cant afford to spend $100 on everyone and Darby gets plenty year round as it is, so he is only getting 4 presents. Im doing well so far as i have the read and wear part and I may ask grandparents and sis to buy the other 2!
As for Gift giving, I have been collectiong for months jars and bits and pieces and will be making all of my gifts, mostly food.. I think handmade and thought out gifts are remembered much more for the effort that hs gone into them. I know for me , if I was given something homemade I would think the world of the gift giver!
This is a great post and so very timely.I love your ideas and I bet the kids remember it as a fantastic xmas. Also a good reminder that generally excess of anything is a bad thing!
xxxx
Java Jane’s last post..Finally… they have arrived!
i love this – especially focusing on building traditions for your family x
#teamIBOT
Lyndal’s last post..the one where we think about things that bring peace
Way to go Laney. We do lots of food presents for family – I have 3 siblings on my side and 2 on my husband’s side. There is a basket of hand made goodies (jam, cordial, biscuits) as well as something from the local farmers’ market that is a treat. I remember growing up that there was always something to wear and something to read under the tree and we try and do that as well. The stocking always has some little things – Santa brings socks and knickers to our house as well as stickers and stationary (girls love that stuff!). There is also usually a “big” gift and that is about it. Mrs Cookie and I exchange a decoration for the tree – started when she lived far away and that was an easy thing to post. I love it. I will be watching this series with great interest.
Alli @ Ducks on the Dam’s last post..Cup weekend bonanza….. (plus some)
Hi Laney, thanks for the ideas. I have told my family that I will be restricting toys this year for our kids.
My ideas for Xmas gifts will be on my blog but like the others I will be giving friends food or “a family gift” rather than individuals ones for each child. Our kids will be going by the motto above. I look forward to your Xmas gift ideas. X
Lisa’s last post..5 parenting lessons my boys have taught me….this week
i adore your introduction!
you had me hooked
and the pig was hilarious
Its mid-November and I’ve given up on Christmas
trying to buy the few Christmas pressies we have left now, online
then its “hope for the best” for the big family all day eating feast i’ll be hosting at my place
best part? two days after Chrismas it will all be packed away and we will be on our way to our summer holiday!
Josefa @always Josefa’s last post..Daddy was Right – Giveaway
Good on you! This Christmas we are trying to reduce the amount of crap as well, and I am SOOO with you on the Christmas cards. One day I will send them!
http://www.mrsbcshouseofchaos.blogspot.com.au/2011/01/handcrafted-christmas-decorations.html
This is a link to some homemade gifts I’ve made previously – photo decorations and some schnapps.
That pig cracked me up.
xx
Lisa Barton-Collins’s last post..How to play Tetris with your furniture when you are on a tight budget.
The flying pig line made me laugh out loud!! Love the ideas Laney! x
Catherine Rodie Blagg’s last post..Grave danger!
The flying pig will be welcome when I pull off this crash test this year!
Being mindful of needing to make changes is half the battle I think. Flying pig.. loved it!
I’m looking forward to creating some new family traditions – all good positive changes :). I hope the pig enjoys them ;)
I loved making candles, inspired by the post in July on Planning With Kids, just search for candles on the site. Not difficult, tho I am yet to let the kids help out. Lovely scents. Simple, cheap. Hubby had to go to Scotland to see family last week so he took a candle each to everyone. The sisters and I are doing handmade or very wee this year. Hubby emailed me two photos of Bruntsfield and The Meadows this morning. Ahhhhh…
Seana Smith’s last post..What I Did On My Digital Holidays
Great idea re the candles. I’ll check it out as Nicole is always posting great stuff!
I just got ‘homesick’ for Edinburgh. I wonder if they get much snow this year. Oh how I miss Arthur’s Seat.
I love this idea and try to stick to it myself every year.
The gift giving guide is an old Victorian tradition I’ve since found out. I love it :). ps tried to comment on your blog, but it wouldn’t let me :(
I am right with you on this one! We are doing something similar. Christmas seems to have gotten way out of hand and ridiculously commercialized. I have a post about some DIY gifts to make you might be interested in. Sonia x
Sonia @ Natural New Age Mum’s last post..10 DIY Christmas Gifts to Make with Love!
Feel free to share the link Sonia :)
Love the idea, Laney. I might have to do something similar in our house, the plastic crap frustrates me to no end x
Good Golly Miss Holly!’s last post..Oh my Abi, you are four months!
Kids are plastic magnets Holly. It’s like you can’t stop it coming in! It just sneaks in ;)
What a great idea. I look forward to hearing afterwards how it all worked out. I am usually pretty good with the Christmas stuff but I could be more mindful. Rachel x
Rachel from Redcliffe Style’s last post..My Summer Wardrobe staples 2012/2013
I feel like I’m running out of time for my crash test – a week isn’t long to plan Christmas!
I’m in the same mind this year. Our kids always have so much stuff, and it’s ridiculous. I’ve cut waaaay back this year, and been a lot more careful with the gifts I have chosen. I’m excited about it. :)
EssentiallyJess’s last post..A Public Service Announcement
Having way too much stuff has two downsides – one is that the kids may not be as grateful when they ‘have everything’ and the other is that someone has to pick all that stuff up! I’m getting excited about Christmas too :)
We have been fine tuning our Christmas’s to less, to make things easier, have less waste and buying for the sake of buying things that will end up in the cupboard never to be used or enjoyed. I love making things, but don’t consider myself incredibly artistic, but I stumbled upon a great way to create pieces of art, that you can create without the need for amazing skill. Have a post on my blog that I would love to share and hopefully inspire some of your readers to have a go at being creative. It is fun and easy. http://www.wonderfullywomen.com/?p=1030 Enjoy!
Nikki@WonderfullyWomen’s last post..How To Overcome ‘Blogger Block’ – Creating A Box Of Inspiration And Ideas!
I’m not incredibly creative either. Your project looks like fun. Thanks for sharing :)
We are also doing no plastic and as handmade as we can.
For my family members I’ll be making little gift baskets with Jams, chutneys and biscotti.
tattoomummy’s last post..Health Kick – Tabouli
Yay, no more plastic! ;). Your gift baskets will be so appreciated I’m sure. Biscotti – yum!
Hi Laney, I’m kinda late to comment but one thing I’m mindful of at Christmas is wrapping. Especially since we buy it to throw it away. Seems crazy. So last year I made Christmas gift tags by recycling the cardboard from the centre of the wine box – the bits that are used to separate the bottles. Here is the link to the tutorial : http://www.sewdelicious.com.au/2011/11/thrifty-gift-tags-tutorial.html
Easy and environmentally friendly. Also a good activity for older kids.
Yep, wasted wrapping paper frustrates me no end too! We’re doing plain brown paper wrapping again this year. I just bought a Christmas stamp for less than $3 and we have alphabet stamps to stamp names directly onto the gifts ;)
Thanks for your tutorial. I love the luggage tag look and a bonus that you’re recycling!
i wish I could dumb it down too. I am but a voice in the wilderness on this with the husband family, but I think I will be trying hard to follow your lead with my immediate clan. Especially on the number of presents. Having two birthdays on dec 19 dosent assist. What was I thinking trying for a baby in March. Doh.
Thanks for the opportunity to link up. I’m linking a Christmas page I have with some simple crafting and baking ideas.
http://www.desireempire.com/p/too-easy-christmas-ideas.html
Also thanks for stopping by my blog. Looking forward to meeting you at the Garden Gourmet cook off next year.
Carolyn
Sounds like a very busy time for you! I love your list of Christmas ideas. The strawberry Santa’s crack me up! Have a great Christmas and yes, I’ll see you next year!
A couple of years ago, when there wasn’t much money around, I declared it a handmade, regift, op shop Christmas. Rules were it had to be either hand made, regift end, or brought from a second hand shop. It was the best Christmas. It meant everyone had to think outside the box, and as a bonus they saved money!
Vicky’s last post..He screamed, She screamed, I screamed, We all screamed
That’s a great idea Vicky! I’m trying for handmade this year, just hope I can manage my time ok!