A cozy evening spent relaxing with loved ones is one of life's greatest gifts. Evenings are long + spacious these days...what a luxury. (That's one way to look at it.).  :) Thinking through what brings comfort, light + laughter in our own evenings might just offer some great inspiration for last-minute gifting. 

When it comes to last-minute gifts, it's nice if we can use some things already in our own cupboards or perhaps find them at a distance no further than the grocery store. Here's what comes to mind for me:

• a favorite evening snack or the things to make one :: make some sweet + spicy nuts to share or give some popcorn kernels along with your favorite toppings + recipe 
• a list of favorite podcasts or a playlist could be added to the above
• a month (or a few) of their favorite streaming service for music or viewing (I loved receiving 3 months of ad-free music last year)
• journaling (or conversation) prompts :: download a digital copy + offer it along with a blank journal for recording 
• all they'd need to make a favorite meal :: tie it all up in a piece of fabric or reuse a basket, box or one of those extra tote bags  :)
• a lovely candle (these are easy to make if there is time)
• a craft kit :: it might be possible to gather supplies from our own collection :: or offer a lovely skein of yarn (you haven't gotten around to knitting yet) along with a favorite hat, scarf or sock pattern 
• a previously enjoyed book :: add a lovely note or conversational post-its throughout
• an offering of babysitting (yes, this is a real gift!!) (as long as it happens)
• a game or puzzle (we enjoyed this one recently + then passed it on)
• a suggestion for a new evening ritual to share

Enjoy your holiday evenings, friends! Wishing you health + love + laughter too.

Love,
Jane

I'm a bit slow on these gifting sparks, but I'm also still looking for a few gifts to give...so here we are. I love gifting favorites...things that I love so much...that I hope another might find value in as well. I enjoy this exercise of thinking through some of my favorites + lingering on each one...seeing them for the gifts they are in bringing a little extra light to my day. Maybe you'll be inspired to think through some of your midday favorites as well.

Here are a few of my favorite midday things that I'd love to share:

• A favorite afternoon snack or drink. (Extra points for homemade.)  :) 
• Something with a little extra meaning. These tiny acorns symbolize something special to my partner + I. (Foraged objects can make beautiful gifts.)
• A little something useful. We love these simple cork coasters. (+ they're compostable)
• Something to nurture + watch grow. (Plants are such a treat!
  
• A reminder. My partner actually said this one to me a few weeks ago..."maybe we could have matching mugs to use at work...and when we use them they'll help us feel connected, even when we're apart. (I usually feel that no one needs another mug, but this might make me change my mind!) 
• Something to encourage staying connected with the outside world (even when it's cold). A hand knit hat, favorite pair of socks, nature journal or bird feeder might remind us to look out + get outside too.
• Some lovely postcards + real stamps. (Include a heartfelt message of your own on one.)
• A gift card to a local, small business...maybe a florist that uses locally grown flowers, a taco place or a coffee shop.

I have to say that once I got up to look around for things to photograph, I saw lots of favorites...another benefit of living simply. I have almost only favorite things + not much else. This exercise helped me "see" them anew. I'm still smiling about all the goodness I already have.  :)

Love, 
​Jane

For a bunch of years, I ignored Black Friday altogether. It felt good to just completely opt out of all the frenzy. A year or two ago, I realized in the week that followed that I could have saved a little money on some of the things I wanted to gift, if I'd used Black Friday strategically. So this year, I paid a little attention to the sales. Here's what happened.

There were a few things I contemplated + didn't buy:

• Another couch at 20% off. I don't really want another couch, but feel like I should have more seating when people come over. My current plan is to search for one more midcentury, butterfly chair instead. I like the way they look. They cost about 1/10 of the cost of the couch, and they are easier to move around the house.
• Another sweatshirt at 30% off in a different color. I like the sweatshirt I have, but I don't really need another one. When I want to wear that sweatshirt I will just wear that sweatshirt...twice as much as if I had two of them. I have the color I like best anyway.
• Another pair of leggings at 30% off. Same as above. I have three pairs of leggings...which works well for me laundry-wise.
• Face cream at 15% off. I've had a couple of days that my face felt a little bit dry + the product description for this new cream said things that made me feel my current face product might be insufficient. I read more information on my current product + gained some insight on how to change up how I use it. Now I'm experimenting further with it.
• A bedroom sconce at 30% off. We could really use a better source of light on these darker evenings. I just didn't love anything I found. No amount of discount is going to make me love it. I'm waiting for love.  

Here are the three things I did buy:

• A full price gift. I couldn't find it on sale. A sale doesn't make a knock off worth it.
• Lip balm at 15% off. I saw it this summer, but didn't need any then. This weekend, I ran out of all my lip balm that I don't have to apply with my finger (which I don't like to do when I'm not at home).
• A pair of boots at 15% off. I'd just received the full-priced pair of boots I bought, but they were too small. It's worth trying a larger size...which I will return if the fit isn't right. (The only boots I have at the moment are wellies.)

There's nothing "ooo-look-at-me-I'm-so-great" about this. I just thought I'd share a few ways I've been thinking through what is enough + how to spend/save our hard-earned money. Sometimes we need stuff. Sometimes we want to give good gifts. Sometimes stuff can make our lives a little bit lovelier. Sometimes sales are useful...when we let them serve us rather than being taken in by them.

And sometimes return policies are useful too.  :) (Because what we don't buy (or keep) is 100% off.)

Love,
Jane

Supply chain issues are currently affecting what can be found on store shelves. There are a myriad of causes including the pandemic + the fact that our goods are so often made overseas. I have to admit that I wouldn't be too disappointed if supply chain issues nudged people to think about having a different sort of holiday.

Could we try imagining things being different? Could we just daydream for a few minutes?

• What do we wish the holiday season was all about?
• How would our holidays look, if this was the primary focus?
• How would we like our children to think about the holidays?
• What do we truly enjoy most during this season?
• How would we like to feel throughout the weeks to come?
• Could we take a moment to ask those we'll spend festive times with what they love most about the holidays?

I love a good reimagining. I like to be surprised by new thoughts, to experience new ways of doing things, to observe new feelings. 

A few thoughts I'm having:​

• What is my luxury these days? (something like a day with no obligations)
• What do my loved ones really want?
• Would one special gift be enough?
• Could we set a spending limit? A low one?
• Could we "gift" food to a potluck?
• Could we gift handmade or time or service?
• Could we see our time together as a gift?
• A swap of stuff we already have would be fun...a different sort of supply chain.​

Traditions usually have or had a purpose. Gifts were often given to those less fortunate. Time together was the treat worthy of celebration. What is my reason for the season? How do I intend to tune in to that? 

Enjoy!  :)

Love,
Jane

Gifting is on my mind again. I think I say it every year...our own favorites can make thoughtful gifts for those we believe might value them too. Our morning routines might be a good place to tune in to some favorites to share.

​Mornings are (hopefully) full of things that are useful, comforting +/or beautiful. I love finding just the right whatever-it-is + using it over + over...no need to keep trying new things + ending up with half used bottles under the sink. It's a great way to practice (+ share) zero-waste!  ;) It's also a great way to share a local or ethical company we believe in! 

If we take a look at our mornings + don't see a whole lot of comforting or beautiful...maybe a gift to ourselves would be to remove or add until we do. This might be something we could do with a friend...sharing new + old favorites discovered along the way.

Here are a few of the things that I use every morning...(plus a couple of things I wouldn't mind adding to my favorites).  ;)

• I can imagine this robe adding a little sunshine to my mornings. (The thrifted men's shirt I wear works great too!)  
• I use Everyday Oil on my face every morning. One tiny bottle lasts me a whole year.
• Other than Everyday Oil + a little mascara, lip balm is the only other thing I wear on my face. Citrus scents don't seem to bother my allergies like floral ones do. (yay)
• A stack of beautiful, unpackaged soaps makes a lovely (useful + consumable) gift. Look up a local soap maker.
• A pack of most-loved, bamboo toothbrushes + some silk floss.
• A morning playlist to get them moving + grooving.
• A favorite locally roasted coffee or loose tea along with some local honey.
• Homemade granola.
• A favorite lotion that really moisturizes. These have been my favorites for years.

When we gift our favorites, it gives us a chance to really "see" + value the things we already own + enjoy using every day for the gifts that they are. 

All lovely photos via links.

Love, 
Jane

Wishing you + yours a wonderfully happy Christmas, friends!
Love,
Jane

Gifts of time + love are surely the basic ingredients
of a truly merry Christmas.
~Peg Bracken​

Recently, I was going through Julia's room with her. (I think she likes the company + moral support.) She has repeatedly expressed the desire to have a more minimalist room...one without a lot of useless stuff in it. We go through her room regularly, but she felt like she still had more things than she needed. With visions of Bea + Scott's boys' adolescent bedrooms (pictured above) in her head, Julia was feeling motivated.

As Julia pulled out bins + boxes, there were so many little things that I recognized as gifts + stocking stuffers. These gifts became things she felt obligated to keep...even if she didn't need or use them. Julia recognized them as nice things...potentially useful things...but she just never used them.

As Julia agonized over each special book + pen, I thought about my role in this struggle. It can be hard to know what our children (or any of us really) will connect deeply with...so we gift a number of things in order to give them options.

I went through all the toys in my girls' rooms with them every few months even when they were toddlers in order to let them know that they didn't have to feel obligated to keep things (even the things I gave them). If I want them to keep some things, then I can take responsibility for keeping those things. Realizing that has, at times, allowed me to let go too.

Even with these realizations + actions, excess things remain. And stuff comes with responsibilities...which often translates to just plain burden. With a birthday close to Christmas, Julia has reminded me a few times that she really doesn't want any more stuff. She said it felt like waking up inside a cloud the morning after the big purge. I know how hard she worked to let things go, so I'm honoring her request.

My goal this season is the same as it has ever been...to not gift useless filler...because that is no gift at all.

Some ideas of what we'll be doing instead:

• providing opportunities to gift elsewhere
• cooking + baking + eating together
• bundling up for our traditional Christmas hike
• watching movies with good snacks
• setting limits to money spent, because that's when creativity gets leveled up​
• gifting consumables, necessary replacements + maybe a communal family gift to enjoy together

​Inspiring photo via Zero Waste Home.

Love, 
Jane

Just a little inspiration for simple, holiday decorating. Greenery + candles are simple + festive. I love using natural things that can composted (plants, paper + food) and useful things that can be found around the house (socks, candles, baskets + jars). It doesn't take a whole lot to make the season bright!

All lovely photos via links.

Love,
Jane

Little luxuries are the epitome of simple gifts. Laura Ingalls Wilder's vivid depictions of her childhood Christmases are visions I return to each year. A stick of candy, an orange, a handmade doll...each gift savored + enjoyed to the fullest. 

Two stories I heard recently sparked thoughts of simple luxuries as well. One involves parents who gifted their children an open space + presence on the floor to play with the toys they already had in their home on Christmas morning...just what they really want!

Another involved a single dad of quadruplets who is struggling with work + caring for his daughters during this pandemic. He said that the girls know when he is struggling with money when he puts the Ferraro Rocher back on the shelf, because it is his favorite treat (i.e. simple luxury). 

Simple gifts can become sweet luxuries when we savor the small things in our daily lives. Another tchotchke doesn't stand a chance of stirring our hearts when we are surrounded by clutter or shop for "hauls" with every paycheck. Simple gifts land with true value + meaning, when we've cultivated gratitude + slowed the pace of consumption during the rest of the year.

As parents, we set the tone in our homes. As partners, friends, sisters, brothers, daughters + sons, we can offer our lives as quiet, humble, open examples. 

The gifts above are offered as sparks rather than as things to necessarily purchase. Each category offers an abundance of individualized options. Increased cost does not communicate an increased level of love. Thoughtful gifts need not cost money, those who made them or the earth. As always, gift with love.  :)

All lovely photos via links.

Love,
Jane