I don’t know about you, but I have had it up to here (picture me holding my hand above my head) with clutter and stuff! I absolutely love Christmas and I truly appreciate any gifts and the thought that people are thinking of me and caring enough about me to give me a gift, but I simply don’t need more stuff. My husband feels the same way. 

While I don’t want to be rude or hurtful to anyone, I want to make sure that I am able to let others know that I don’t want any gifts during the holidays. If you feel the same way, but you don’t know how to go about letting people know, check out these tips on how to politely request no Christmas gifts.

How to Politely Request No Christmas Gifts

These are all great gift ideas for anyone on a budget. 

Just Be Honest

Honesty is always the best policy. If you truly just don’t want any gifts this holiday season, tell your friends and family. Explain that you have everything you need and you don’t want them to worry about spending their time or money on you.

Offer Alternatives

Personally I love the alternatives to holiday gifts that I have discovered and focused on over the last few years. I have found a real love for food gifts, experience gifts and just time with my loved ones. 

For example, in recent years, my husband and I will often forgo gifts and instead we will schedule a weekend away or a date night at a new restaurant. That time together is far better than a material thing to me. 

If someone is having a hard time with the idea of not getting you a gift, suggest that they can make you that recipe that you love so much, or maybe you can schedule a trip together, or how about dinner at one another’s homes? All of these are great ways to let someone know you care about them without giving a typical gift.

It’s no secret. Times are tough out there. This Christmas, let’s all make it a goal to not overspend or go out of our way to buy extravagant gifts when we simply can’t afford it. Really, even if you can afford it, you never know what the future holds, so now is a great time to put some focus on the meaning of Christmas instead of how much you can spend on it. 

I know you still want to give great gifts though and that is wonderful! I have some great ideas on how you can do just that. Here are 5 gifts under $5 that will look like you spent much more.  

5 Gifts Under $5 That Will Look Like You Spent Much More

Looking for great budget items when shopping this year? Look no further than this list:

Pretty Wine Glasses

Dollar Tree has some really cute stemless wine glasses and they are just $1.25! Buy a set of two of those with a pretty box, or a set of 4 so your gift recipients have plenty to go around. Either way, you are under $5 and no one is going to think it was less than $5. 

Cute Notepad & Nice Pen

This makes such a cute gift for the list maker or journal keeper in your life. Check out Dollar Tree, Target Dollar Spot, Dollar General and more for a fun, cute notepad (usually $1-$2) and grab a nice pen to go with it. 

Adult Coloring Book

Coloring is a great stress reliever and unfortunately many of us adults are stressed out! How about grabbing a great adult coloring book (Amazon or Dollar Tree) and pairing those with a 10 pack of colored pencils?

Bath Bombs

Most of the women that are on my shopping list love bath bombs. These always make a great gift idea because they encourage us to take some time for ourselves. Bath bombs can be found just about anywhere for less than $5. 

Coffee Mug Set

Just like the wine glasses mentioned above, you can get some really cute coffee mugs at Dollar Tree for just $1.25 each. Grab 2 matching ones and gift a set to the coffee lover in your life.

If you are anything like me, you love to give gifts, but you don’t necessarily want to add to someone’s stressful life of clutter. Maybe I should preface this post by saying that I have reached a point in my life that I absolutely hate clutter. I am ready to simplify life a lot, so I guess I just assume that most people want the same thing. 

That’s why this year I am either giving food gifts or experience gifts this year. Food gifts for those that I know prefer to stay home, but experience gifts for those friends and loved ones that love to get out there and do something! When it comes to my kids, they have more toys than they can ever use and more than they could possibly need. Plus, I know that many family members will give them even more. All of these are reasons why you should give the gift of experience.

Why You Should Give the Gift of Experience

Less Clutter 

We have already talked about my thoughts on clutter, so giving experiences as gifts is a great way to help others (and yourself if you are buying for your immediate family) avoid the gift of clutter as well. 

Less Overwhelming Feelings 

We all want our children to have all of the things that they want, but the reality is even if your child gets all the things they ever dreamt of, there will be a real sense of overwhelm with them. Too much stuff is really just too much. While it may be hard to wrap our minds around it, less really is more when it comes to stuff. 

Memories

Is there anything better in life than good memories? Toys can break within hours, yet great memories with family will last a child a lifetime. We took two rather big vacations in the last several years and my kids still talk about it. Even my 5 year old remembers the fancy vacation house we stayed in a year ago.