I don’t have so many fond memories of Christmas when I was a little girl. In my family, we didn’t have any Christmas tree and we didn’t give gifts to each other as a family. I wanted to buy so many things. Most of the time, we didn’t eat anything special. Some family members were not around and I also celebrated Christmas Eve with some friends.
In my heart, I was hoping my family would celebrate Christmas together like other families. For me, Christmas is a special season. It’s the season to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ together as a family.
So I made a promise to myself to achieve my dream Christmas celebration. Ever since I got a job, I set aside some money so I can buy special food on Christmas Eve. My sister also contributed some amount. Then I bought a small Christmas tree to adorn our home. My sister and mother also got additional decorations. When I bought the things I wanted, it felt good to be able to achieve a childhood dream.
Fast forward, my husband and I decided to move to another city after our wedding. I wanted to carry only important things to avoid excess baggage so I cleaned up my stuff. I discovered too many useless things in my cabinet. I threw away some and donated things that would still be useful to others.
I began to practice minimalism in terms of my stuff. After 3 years, I gave birth and gained some weight. I used to wear size s but now I had to sell them because I couldn’t use them any longer. I used some of the money I earned from selling to buy some clothes that fit. I just bought a few because I already have free size clothes.
Now that it’s Christmas, I don’t have a strong desire to buy many things for myself. I just want to buy what my family and I need. We reused the simple Christmas tree and other decorations last year. I also sold the other Christmas tree because I think 2 Christmas trees are unnecessary. It also takes so much space because of its size so it doesn’t fit our small home.
I also gave away some brand new Tupperware products to those who need it. Since I’m practicing minimalism, I encouraged my husband to wrap these gifts using old magazine pages. I don’t want to add to the trash and I know the wrappers will be torn anyway.
At first, he was hesitant but with my coaxing, he wrapped our gifts. The finished product may not look very attractive to others but what’s important for me is what’s inside. What matters most is remembering the humble birth of Jesus Christ, following his example of humility, and giving instead of receiving.
As a grown-up, my perception of Christmas has changed. I realized it’s not about the accumulation of things. Don’t get me wrong though, I still want to celebrate this season with my family but not in an extravagant way.
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