30 Clutterfree Christmas Gift Ideas
With less than a month to go until Christmas, we still have plenty of time to make informed choices about what gifts we buy this year. The trend of purchasing gift experiences over physical items is growing, and long may it continue! One of the best gifts I received from my husband last year for my birthday was actually a weekend on my own. No fancy spa break, no 5 star hotel - just a whole weekend, in my home, alone. And it was pure bliss! He took the kids to Southend to spend time with my in-laws and I was left to suit myself for a few days. Wonderful.
I know I’m not alone in advocating the joy of the gift experience. Research suggests: If the goal is to make the recipient happy, you’ll have better luck with an experience.
There are a few key reasons why experiences make people happier, whether it’s a gift or something you’ve bought for yourself.
Firstly, whether it takes seconds or days, any excitement people feel about a shiny new physical item to quickly fade away.
Secondly, experiences are less likely to be unfavourably compared with something else, because they’re likely to be unique. Coming back to my example above, I can count on one hand (actually one finger) how many weekends I’ve had completely on my own since becoming a mum in 2016!
My solo weekend aside though, for many people, experiences are likely to be social events. As you can see in the list below, many of the examples I recommend involve events or activities which may be experienced with someone else. These experiences become long-lasting memories, heightened by the fact that there was someone else present to remember it with you, and provide their own narrative of the event or activity.
Experience gifts break the social norms we’ve all become accustomed to. On the whole, material gifts are more expected nowadays; we’re taught that gifts should be physical objects, and that they should be wrapped up. However, If we’re very close to someone, we’re more likely to be willing to break those social norms and confidently step outside of the standardised routine of buying a physical present. Experiences require a little bit more creativity to think about, and the recipient may be aware of this, which evidently sparks more joy because of the time, effort and consideration invested in the gift. Buy someone an experience and this shows them that you truly know them well. Talk about a gift that keeps on giving!
So with the benefits of the gift of experience in mind, here are some of my top suggestions on how to add more joy to someone’s Christmas this year, by gifting them something that will not clutter up their home:
Experiences:
1. Concert tickets
2. Cinema tickets / yearly membership to their local favourite cinema
3. Theatre tickets
4. Restaurant gift card
5. For the kids: membership to a soft play
6. For the kids: zoo trip / membership
7. Museum trip / membership
8. For the kids: a session / membership to a children’s activity centre (rock climbing, trampolining, swimming - whatever the kids are into these days!)
9. National parks or gardens tickets / membership
10. Cooking class
11. Art class
12. Physical trainer
13. Professional organiser (if you need one of these, I may have a few good suggestions!)
14. Life coach
15. Massage
16. Manicure / pedicure
17. Spa day
Gifting your time:
18. Babysitter (As I’m sure you’ve gathered, this comes highly recommended and I would just like to reinforce the significance of this gift: a whole weekend spent on my own without anyone demanding my attention was one of the best gifts I’ve ever received)
19. Preparing brunch for your recipient
20. Acting as a personal chef (just make sure you have a safe and respectable standard of cooking. A good rule of thumb is if you can cook beyond the level of beans on toast. If you’re unable to go beyond this, best to actually hire a personal chef for your recipient and give them an experience!)
Consumables (gifts that naturally have a shelf life and also will not clutter up your recipient’s home):
21. Flowers
22. Candle
23. Home made cookies
24. Coffee gift card
25. Book voucher
26. Wine
27. Food hamper (locally sourced if you can)
28. Tea / coffee
29. Charitable donation
30. Money towards something you know they are saving for
BONUS: A personalised calendar for 2022 (this lasts 12 months only so technically it’s not clutter!)
Which of the above ideas are you going to try out with your loved one(s) this year? I’d love to hear your ideas in the comments. And as always, if you have a fantastic clutterfree gift idea that’s worked out for you in the past, please share it below. If you’d like some advice on how to encourage others to respect your clutter-free Christmas, read this post.
Merry Christmas everyone!