I love Christmas. Give me all the baking and togetherness and carols. I will gladly watch the canon of holiday movies on Netflix over and over (boy, do I love love!). I have an inflatable Buddy the Elf on my back porch.
One thing I struggle with every year, though, is the other mainstay of the holiday season — gifts.
I aspire to minimalism, but (for me) parenting and minimalism don’t seem to go hand in hand. The need for 1,000 burp rags feels real, and at the rate my children keep growing out of their shoes, it is hard to keep the closets decluttered.
Here are five gift ideas that are sure to please the (moderately) minimalist mom in your life:
Childcare
Be specific! “I’d like to take your kid(s) for the morning one Saturday in January” is a lot more helpful and less stressful than “I’ll take the kids sometime.” Depending on how well you know the mom and the kids, see if she’ll let you take them out of the house (to the library or the playground — it doesn’t have to be fancy!). A morning alone in my house to do whatever I please? Wow. Now that sounds like luxury.
Plan an experience together
Every year, instead of exchanging traditional gifts, my mom and I go see the Boston Ballet. I buy the tickets; she buys the dinner. I look forward to it every year. I have memories to look back on and a fun evening out.
A gift certificate for something she loves but rarely gets to do
I know, I know. A gift certificate? Really? YES! I love yoga classes and ax throwing and heading to Milton Nails & Spa, but I very rarely choose to spend money on those things when parenting makes it so there is always something else that seems more pressing (childcare costs, college savings, swim lessons, new shoes that the kids grew out of again, etc, etc.).
Really nice olive oil
Sure, moms have their pantries stocked and probably have a go-to olive oil for everyday cooking, but not many of the moms I know are splurging for the good stuff. This Tenuta Di Capezzana Extra Virgin Olive Oil will dress up any dish, and once it’s gone, it’s gone.
A “one in, one out” gift
If you know the recipient well and really want to give her a gift she can open, try to find something that she might consider a replacement rather than an addition. I am fine with my programmable automatic drip coffee pot, but I wouldn’t mind replacing it with one that grinds the beans for me every morning. If I am going to say goodbye to an old item (recycling via BuyNothing or Facebook Marketplace), it feels like a win.
All I know about Christmas tells me that the moms in our lives are all working hard to make others feel loved and appreciated. If you receive and give gifts with gratitude for the relationships in your life, you can’t go wrong!
