Our journey towards minimal living has involved going through all the rooms in our home and donating or selling the things we don't need or love. We knew Christmas could be a step in the opposite direction with an influx of gifts. How could we minimize this influx? We decided to open our hearts in an honest letter to our family members. Gifts are an important part of Christmas (especially for the kiddos) and we didn't want to take that away. Here is our letter:
Dear Family,
As October comes to a close and the holiday season approaches, we (Chris and Jaime) have started thinking about the celebration of Christmas. We are living a more minimalist lifestyle, encouraging our girls to be using their creativity, focusing on enjoying experiences and each others' company, and instilling the love of Jesus and generosity in their hearts.
With these values in mind, we would like to ask for your support in the presents you gift the girls.
With living minimally, we ask that each couple give no more than one gift to each of the girls. It may not seem like much, but add everyone together and times 3, our home easily fills up.
With encouraging our girls to use their creativity, we ask that any gifts given inspire their imaginations to grow. We have a few ideas on this and if you would like a suggestion or clarification, please ask.
With focusing on enjoying each other's company, we are excited to spend quality time with our loved ones during the holidays and throughout the year. Instead of focusing on the number of gifts, we are focusing on the gift of togetherness.
Along with that, instead of giving a toy to the girls we encourage you to give the gift of togetherness. This could be a fun planned day with the girls - examples: to a movie, to a theater show, to the children's museum, to the zoo. These could be individual events/outings with each girl or all 3 collectively. They could be grandma/grandpa/girlie(s) dates, nanee/papa/girlie(s) dates, auntie/uncle/girlie(s) dates. We know the girls would cherish this special gift of time with you all. And once again, feel free to ask if you have any questions regarding gifts of time.
With instilling the love of Jesus and generosity in our girls' hearts, we are each filling a shoe box with a special gift, hygiene items, and school supplies for children in need in other countries. Samaritan's Purse delivers these shoebox gifts and shares the love of Jesus with them. In lieu of gifts for us (Chris and Jaime), please consider giving a gift to Samaritan's Purse. If you are interested in this, you can find out more at www.samaritanspurse.org
We look forward to this holiday season, spending time with you all, and celebrating the birth of our Savior.
God Bless,
Chris and Jaime
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