Tip #43: Holiday Gift Giving in a Tiny Apartment (or, What a Girl Wants):
Gifts are always a challenge. Of course, there is great joy in gift giving but finding the perfect something for someone or knowing how to steer inquiring minds in the right direction for someone else can be difficult. Knowing what to do with a pile of loot after a holiday comes and goes can send you (okay, me) into a tailspin.
Yesterday I wrote about giving homemade gifts. While I honestly believe that giving handmade comestibles is one of the loveliest gestures anyone can make, I also understand that this isn’t always an option. My mom, for one, is never going to be satisfied by baking us a plate full of cookies and sending us on our way on Christmas morning.
Living in a tiny apartment (and tending toward extreme choosiness…) makes the task even more challenging. People are afraid to burden us with things we don’t need or don’t have a space for. This summer, America in its entirety was concerned about where James and I would cram our wedding gifts (thank you, Today Show for stoking those flames).
There’s no perfect solution to holiday gift giving for tiny apartment dwellers, but here are a few tips, just in case:
1. Tiny things. Believe me, too much tiny is just as bad as too much big, but portable trinkets are welcome indeed. Necklaces? I’ll never say no. Bracelets? Ok! Sparkles? Why not?
2. Things you use up. You kind of can’t go wrong in this category. Extremely special scented candles? Yes, please. Christmas tea? Right this way.
3. Activities. Anything to have us stretch our legs! Ballet tickets? I’m practically begging at this point.
4. Underwear. Okay. Maybe it’s only me, but new skivvies are one of my all-time favorite gifts. These, these, this or this. You, too?
ps. wrap up those pressies in old magazine pages. more on that, soon.
6 Comments
have always loved using newspaper for wrapping gifts! great tips, as always.
Love the today show segment!
I'm so happy to see this post! My husband and I have a small(ish) apartment in Philly. I try, year after year, to explain to my family that we don't need STUFF. I like to keep it simple and much prefer activity gifts anyway. I'm the person who gets anxious while shopping, because the stuff literally overwhelms me. I think my mom is finally starting to get it, but I feel like it's some sort of culture shock to people. What gives?
Congrats on the tv segment! Over the past few years I have been really open with my family about not wanting excess stuff. Last year we agreed on no presents at all. This year we are all doing homemade food gifts. I know that they enjoy it more too because they don't have to go through the crazy busy shops to buy presents for us. I switch off even more from advertising at this time of the year – it's so over the top!
It's not just you. When I was a kid, I thought my mom was so lame about giving underwear and socks every Christmas. But as I got older, I've decided she's a genius!
This is my favorite holiday gift post yet! I like in a tiny college dorm and can't afford to have a lot of "stuff"! Great today show segment by the way 🙂
x missdottidee.blogspot.com
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