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Gift ideas for everyone: minimalists and non-minimalists! Welcome to the 2021 Minimalist Gift Guide 2021!
Minimalism is not about deprivation. Rather, it’s about intentionality. Being intentional with money, time, stuff, and more. There's a misconception about minimalists and stuff. We still like stuff. Our preferences may have changed after exploring minimalism but we still like stuff. In fact, you might enjoy this video about 10 things I spend on as a minimalist:
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This list of 50 unique gift ideas is organized by:
food consumables
bath consumables
local memberships
gift card ideas
subscriptions
books
high quality items
experiences
open ended toys
house plants
My Top 3 FAVORITE unique gift ideas from this comprehensive list:
#30 Merino Wool Long Johns (seriously, I live in these most days from fall to spring) I have two set: (set 1: this top and bottom) and (set 2: Chasing Windmills women's thermal long johns)
Another Favorite: #32 My Yeti Rambler keeps my coffee hot for hours
Another Favorite: #11 Dr. Teal's Foaming Bath Soak
50 Unique Gift Ideas for 2021
If you are shopping for a minimalist in your life this blog post might offer some ideas. Or you can just ask them! I can rattle off a list of things I want but don't buy myself. This list is great for non minimalists, too!
Food Consumables from Local, Small Businesses
The key focus of this category is that you support local and small businesses in your area or in the area of the gift recipient. Here are a few ideas to help you brainstorm:
1) Cookies/Cupcakes/Pastries
2) Dog treats
3) Coffee beans
4) Monthly wine subscription (many local vineyards ship)
5) Variety six pack from a local brewery
6) Chocolates from a bakery or chocolatier
7) Loose tea or tea gift packs from small business coffee/tea shops or small business home decor stores (some have a kitchen section with tea strainers and carry local teas)
For #3 and #7, a cute gift idea would be to pair local teas or coffee beans with a festive mug (and a tea strainer) as a gift set.
You could Google the recipient's zip code + the gift to find shops. Most will deliver a larger order. Or you could buy local to you and gift when you meet up to celebrate the holidays.
Some gifts in this category will spoil quickly, and you'll need to time the purchase. If you are shopping early, check out the other categories below. You may also be interested in 30 Things to Do in October to Get Ready for the Holidays.
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Bath Consumables
Gifting bath consumables is a lovely way for someone to treat themselves to a spa-like moment at home.
8) Bar soaps (I've used this one for the last 8 years)
9) Bath bombs (I was gifted these Dr. Teal Himalayn bath bombs 3 years ago and now I buy them as gifts for other people and for myself)
10) Loofah
11) Dr. Teal's lavender soak (under $5 and a spa-at-home treat!)
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Local Memberships/Gifts
My family getting and gifting this category. You could buy annual memberships, one-time experience tickets, series of tickets, items, or gift cards in this category.
12) Aquariums
13) Museums
14) Exhibit tickets
15) Local farms goods
16) Farmers markets
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Gift Cards
This is a great gift category if you have to ship something light in the mail (like a small gift card) or you could even have it delivered to the gift recipient's email inbox on a designated day. Here are some considerations for gifting certificates/cards:
17) Favorite restaurants
18) Salon/spa
19) Massages
20) Small business shops
Subscriptions
Another category that you can eGift and reduce any shipping or wrapping costs and materials. This category could list thousands of possible subscriptions so I will name a few to keep the ideas flowing.
21) Magazines/eMagazines
22) Skillshare: this is packed with perpetual learning
23) Blinkist: packed with 1000s of short book summaries you can read in the app or listen to
24) Audible: listen to books in the car, on the train, on a plane (see what I did there? - name that movie in the comments!)
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Books
25) Kindle Unlimited: I read 1-2 books a week and 75% of them are from KU.
26) Kindle (there are quite a few kinds: paperwhite, fire, oasis, kids)
27) Choose a book from their wish list (Amazon has sharable book lists)
28) Gift card to local bookstore
29) First editions for collectors
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High Quality Items
This is the kind of gift for someone you love, not just like. For instance, I enjoy high quality dresses. Curating a closet and filling the closets with clothes you love takes time… and money. I love Christy Dawn dresses, but only buy when I spot a sale or have enough gift cards collected.
Sometimes minimalism leads to understanding sustainability and how to make decisions differently. Exploring eco-minimalism is a fun and seemingly never ending way to learn more about how our purchases and decisions affect the condition of the earth. Personally, I have slowly curated my minimalist closet to house more sustainably made clothing (like Christy Dawn dresses) but I still have favorite $10 tee shirts from Amazon.
30) merino wool long johns
Two winters ago, I treated myself to merino wool long johns from Amazon (top and bottom) and bought a set for the children from Chasing Windmills. This year, I treated each of us to an extra set of the Chasing Windmills (children's thermals) as we spend quite a bit of time outside learning. Two sets for each person allows me to rotate sets.
31) Collections and Hobbies
Minimalists have hobbies and like to collect things, just like non minimalists. My hubs collects first edition hard covers of the books and authors he likes. For him, a gift card to ThriftBooks or a local used book store works well for him so he can save them up to get the expensive ones he has on his list.
32) Yeti products
Yeti. Just any Yeti. My coffee stays hot-warm for hours in my Rambler and now I don't drink from mugs. They make coolers and much more.
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Experiences
33) Concert tickets
34) Zip line
35) sports/ball games
36) Escape room
37) Wine tasting
38) Beer tasting
39) Classes/courses (pottery, painting, cooking, etc.)
40) Movie night (tickets to theater or Disney+ subscription with some make-at-home popcorn)
Open ended toys for family gifts/child gifts
41) Legos
42) Blocks (my kids use these with train tracks to make giant towns)
43) MagnaTiles (yes, they are pricey but I've bought the cheap ones and the real ones - the cheap ones do not work well)
44) Shape toys (my kids have played with this tangram puzzle for years)
45) Train tracks (we were gifted our mountain of train tracks from my parents but we add to it each year with special sets like this one)
46) City building and creating blocks (my kids LOVE this Melissa and Doug wooden town set)
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House Plants
47) Plants (pothos are easy to care for)
48) Cut flowers or holiday centerpieces
49) baby lemon tree (I received this as a gift last year and I LOVE taking care of mine!)
50) seeds to grow their own
Happy shopping!
You may also enjoy:
Hi Erica, are you able to do a post on your favourite kids books? I remember seeing one on one of your videos (I think it had the word "Wild" in the title and it was about doing things outdoors??) and I'm on the hunt for it as a Christmas gift but can't remember the title. Would love to see a post on all your faves - I don't homeschool and am in Australia but still love to look at awesome books with my kids. Thanks :-).
My idea this year is a 'non-plastic' gift card! I'm going to Dollar Tree for some cute Chirstmas cards (or whatever style you prefer). If you are feeling crafty, you can always make your own. I'm writing inside the card "Non Plastic Gift Card to [fill in the blank] .... and inserting cash! Less to recycle! (my husband has a wood burning stove, so we burn our paper)