A Non Gift Guide Gift Guide

No Amazon or gift receipts necessary

All I want for Christmas is to be left alone, at a spa.

When it comes to holiday shopping, Americans spend anywhere from $9-$15 billion on unwanted gifts. Approximately 1 in 5 gifts end up in landfills, or 6 billion pounds of landfill waste. And while those numbers are mind-numbingly depressing, do they actually mean anything to anyone?

My guess is not really, because every year, the numbers seem to keep going up. More stuff, more trash. So what’s a gal to do? You can throw your hands up and say YOLO. You can shop Black Friday “sales” (a fake holiday that is not about saving you money but exists so others can make it). You can stock up on just in case gifts for hypothetical people and scenarios.

One of the NYT gift ideas is a chopstick rest, yes, that’s a thing.

Or, you can NOT do those things, and it will all still be fine. I love giving gifts, but I also believe there is no sense in giving someone something merely for the sake of giving a gift. Especially when we spend $9 billion on unwanted gifts every year.

If you’re feeling the Black Friday fomo, read this essay from Rufina, make your list, and then keep calm and carry on. Clear eyes, full hearts, can’t lose. Here are some gift ideas for the holiday season (no gift receipts required).

Experience Gifts

• Spa gift certificate. I don’t know anyone that doesn’t want this, just saying.

• Classes. This could be for something the person loves to do or wants to do: pottery, yoga, painting, cooking, candle making, sewing, flower arranging, horseback riding, golf, tennis.

For the kids in the family, “experience” gifts have been fun - we’ve done a candle making class, escape rooms, rock climbing, build-a-bear, tea rooms. Or I enjoy gifting them items to get them excited about spending time outdoors (hiking gear, little ranger books, etc). -Joanna

• Tickets. They could be for a concert, local theater production, comedy club.

• Memberships. This could be to a local museum, national park or local park/attraction, local bird sanctuary or farm, rock climbing gym.

My sister and I live in different cities… each year we buy each other a gift card to a local restaurant in our respective cities. -Kathryn

• Dinner at a local restaurant

• Car wash or car detailing

Each year for Christmas, my parents give me a gift certificate to have my car detailed. It is my favorite gift of all time. As somewhat of a minimalist, I love that it is a service and not an item that takes up space in my home.

Food Gifts

• Olive Oil and Vinegar. I discovered this Spanish olive oil at our local market and it’s so nice. If you have them nearby, specialty food markets or farms usually have the best options, especially for vinegars. Brightland is a good option if those aren’t available.

• Gift baskets. This is one of my favorites to make. I find locally made food items like cheese, oils, vinegars, honey, syrup, and put them in a nice basket with a tea towel or small wooden cutting board.

• Cookie tins. As a kid I used to LOVE when someone would give us a tin of homemade holiday cookies.

I love a really high quality olive oil and balsamic vinegar as a gift. Feels like a luxury every time I get it out. -Courtney

For Teachers

Every teacher I know appreciates gift cards during the holidays. Also, a handwritten note goes a long way. We buy lunch for the teachers in our daughter’s classroom a few times a year, including during the holiday season. It goes without saying, teachers are consistently undervalued and underpaid. Whatever you can do to show them they’re appreciated is great.

Handmade Gifts

• Photo albums and framed prints (I personally like Artifact Uprising, I’ve tried others but the quality wasn’t as good. Soft covers are less expensive for photo albums).

• Framed matchboxes from a place that’s personal and holds a special memory. This idea came up a lot in the comments. I love Framebridge for framing.

My family did a "make, bake, thrift, or regift" last year and it was the best Christmas ever! My kids got puzzles, books, art supplies and we received some thrifted art and home goods. It took a lot of pressure off but still required all of us to think about the gift receiver maybe even more so than just going to the store and dropping a bunch of money. -Bridget

• Artwork. We get nice canvases for Marin to paint. Great gifts for grandparents.

• Handmade wreath. This is actually easier than I thought after taking a wreath class last week. Any craft/art supply store will have the wire wreath frame. Forage things locally.

My older sister gave us a gift that I will never forget. We each received our own personal photo album. It had my baby picture, pictures of my family when it was just the 4 of us, and pictures of our family when my younger sister joined us. There were notes from my childhood that I wrote to my parents…I cried when I opened it. My mother passed away when we were children, and she was only 35. I received this gift when I was 57. I will cherish it for the rest of my life. It keeps so many memories alive and touches my heart every time I go through it. -Lysa

One Last Thought

I’ve done almost all of my gift shopping this year second-hand. The rest I plan to do at a local craft/makers market we have in December and at the small businesses in our community. I make a list so I know exactly what I want to get for each person on my list.

For my family, Craig and I get one another a gift or two, and we stick to a small list for Marin. We focus on things she needs (like mittens for skiing) and 1-2 items she wants (this year she asked for a stuffed panda and a disco ball, lol). Maybe it sounds corny but we all find so much more joy in the activities surrounding the holidays, making gingerbread houses, getting a tree, decorating, watching Christmas movies, and playing in the snow. As a family, the focus isn’t on gifts, but on all the things that make the holidays fun, which quite frankly has nothing to do with getting more stuff.

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