The tradition I axed was decorating the house. After my kids left the nest and my husband passed, it just wasn't worth it for me to do it all for myself anymore. I also move around a lot, so lugging it all with me was a hassle and expensive. I gave my kids free reign to take whatever was sentimental to them, and donated the rest. I have 1 garland which holds decorations with all the grandbabies' names and that's enough for me. I still get to see most of my ornaments when I spend the holidays with my kids and their families, and I'm happier knowing the traditions are going strong with them, instead of being hidden away in my storage unit. It was my last real purge, and I prefer making temporary decorations, like construction paper garlands and snowflake cutouts with my grandkids more than stringing lights on a tree I'm too lazy to plug in. No Christmas spirit lost for me, just shared in a different way than before.

@lysawright8206

5 ай бұрын

Love your message…thanks for sharing & Merry Christmas

@AmySuHoodClarkeDavis

5 ай бұрын

❤

@cathyellis248

5 ай бұрын

Thank you. We are doing as you say. No gifts! My grown children are so happy about that. We will spend time on Christmas day having a nice meal and being thankful for what we already have. God bless you and your family, and thank you for your messages throughout 2023, from us here in cold snowy Sweden!

I couldn’t agree with you more. This will be the 5th year that our family of 6 will pool our resources, and in lieu of exchanging gifts, we will meet the needs of a family in our community. Food, shelter, clothing & stockings for the kids.

The best present you can ever give anyone is your presence in their life.

I spent 40$ on outside decorations because these folks need some cheer.😢 I'm debtfree, content, and joyous. 😂❤🎉

All my decorations are in storage while I wait to move house, so I just got my goddaughter to help me paint a picture of a Christmas tree on paper today - a fraction of the effort of putting up my decorations, and we had much more fun doing it!

Not just gift giving, also falling into the habit of buying tree decorations, planning an elaborate meal with expensive food etc Keep it simple and stress free - it's so much more enjoyable that way and your focus is on the right things .... the real reason for Christmas and family. ❤

I explained this value to my family over 20 years ago, then suffered being called the Grinch for a few years before they began a years-long journey toward simplicity and away from excess commercialism. For many years, my gift exchanges have been in the form of time, attention and effort spent, mostly focused on those who have less than I do. My holidays have been much more rewarding and less stressful as a result.

I'd much rather just skip the gift giving/receiving altogether around Christmas time, take 2 - 3 days off work and spend that time with family & friends where worshipping and glorifying Christ is the center of those gatherings!

We have stopped gift exchange between our kids and their cousins and instead each aunty is hosting a Christmas themed festivity - craft, gingerbread house making and a movie. Less cost, less clutter and three special afternoons to remember shared with cousins

@barbaradelira6790

5 ай бұрын

That's a great idea!

Start a tradition of giving to a local charity - take your kids with you and drop off donations of food and blankets to an animal shelter for the pets and cookies for the shelter workers who have a difficult job all year long. Take a walk in nature while it's still beautiful. Sit and count your blessings. Make an agreement with friends and family to just exchange one gift - or no gifts - and make a charitable donation in their honor in place of a physical gift that's going to become clutter later on. Merry Christmas to you and yours, Joshua and thank you for another year of your wise words!

Just give me thanksgiving. Great food and friends. That’s a real holiday. Be THANKFUL for what u have

The gift exchange is the elephant in the room. This year it had been cut out of the season for extended family. What a stress reliever! I just want to make a tea and drive around looking at Christmas lights with my family.

Ive been giving the gift of helping family/friends do something they struggle with/dont have time for, or cant do on their own. I helped my sister put up all of her special olympics medals and ribbons, completely re-did my moms sewing room closet, helped my dad paint a big project, and helped my partner declutter, something hes been trying to do on his own for months. Plus, its usually something I spend time with them to do, so added bonus of quality time

Love this message so much. Thank you fir reminding us that we don't need things, or debt, displays of extravagance to enjoy the holiday season.

Another great video! I have been turned off by all the pressure to spend. My husband & I no longer exchange gifts & we buy gift cards for our son & 2 grandchildren to pick out what they want. No more time & money wasted on unwanted stuff!

Hey! I´m with you on not exchanging gift thing. We stopped buying christmas gifts and wow it´s the best decision we ever made. We give our boys gifts and that´s it! I love minimalism and it´s calmness and the freedom of not having to maintain a lot of stuff in our home. Thank you Joshua for your awesome advice

Loved this message! This year, we will not buy any material gifts for our two girls. I bought musical tickets so we can watch a Cinderella musical together in January, and my husband and I took the whole Christmas week off and we will be having a lot of family time. Going to the Christmas market, the movie theater, playing board games. They will still get presents from their grandparents and aunts and uncles and that is more than enough. We have been doing a white elephant gift exchange for years within our family. This way you will only get one or a couple of things you actually want/need and not loads.

@JoshuaBecker

5 ай бұрын

What a wonderful way to make memories and make the season special. Thanks for sharing.

Share experiences - not debt. We are doing a gift free Xmas this year with family agreeing to it also.

It’s the adults that buy into the lie that kids will be happier with more stuff or specific items, only for them to quickly lose interest or get distracted. And then the same adults get mad at the child who complains they’re bored or wants more. Think about it.

Thanks for wise words of feeling pressure for spending for gifts. Financial worry and shopping are not needed to elevate the holiday season. 🎄☮️

In our family we did away with gifts and chose to give a gift to a child each one of us knew. We preferred the Christmas food and coffee break together at home with those closest to us. ❤❤

I'm cutting back, and do not regret it .

Beautiful message,God bless you❤

Your content is such a blessing. Words can’t thank you enough. My wife agreed to watch one of your videos a day.

Thing is, I love making gifts and giving them.

@cherylwebb8340

5 ай бұрын

You should do it if you love it ❤️💚

@hanginlaundry360

5 ай бұрын

@@cherylwebb8340 😇❤️

I grew up in on family with this kind of "forceful" giving tradition. Much later as an adult, I learned not only me but also my mother suffered from these social expectations. So I wanted to terminate this "vicious circle" and radically quit to give presents. That was a long time ago. Before I communicated this to all of my family. They accepted it well and even support my austere habit. However, sometimes I'm still given, which makes me still feel uneasy...

Love your videos. Thank you for reminding us of what's important & the really see the True meaning of the Season. Celebrating family & friends & the birth of our Lord & Savior , Jesus Christ. 🥰🎄🎄

Joshua, Great video. Our family has decided not to buy gifts for adults this yr & play a white elephant game instead. We can only go to the Dollar Tree & send $1.25 if we want to play. I think it will be fun. 😊

@JenFlutterby

5 ай бұрын

Instead of getting something at dollar store, our family also had a re-gift option of something we had around the house. It was quite interesting what some people got! I put a Twinkie in a jewelry box one year. My aunt gave away four plastic banana holders (that looked like bananas) and there were so many laughs!!! It’s creative what weird things you can find around your house to give away and make the game hilarious!

@kakylong2

5 ай бұрын

@@JenFlutterby That's an awesome idea! I love it.

@JenFlutterby

5 ай бұрын

@@kakylong2 It was a blast! Nothing like someone opening their box at the end and realizing they are now the proud owner of a (drumroll)… A brand new bed pan! 😂

@kakylong2

5 ай бұрын

​@@JenFlutterby I already told one of my sisters about your idea & she loved it. 😅

I love this video so much! wishing you, your family and all of your listeners holidays full of love, peace and joy!

Mini digestion versus every first December. My friend comes over and we always put a Christmas tree on the 1st of December.

Well said, as always!

Very well said, Joshua ! Entirely agree.

This is an incredibly important message!🌲✌

Jesus is the reason for the season 🙏❤️

Lovely message 👌. Merry Christmas to you and your family, with much love from Argentina ❤

PREACH.

Always on point. Always relevant. Thank you Joshua for spreading the 'gospel' of true happiness. Wishing you and your family a beautiful Christmas season. ✨

@JoshuaBecker

5 ай бұрын

Same to you!

Thank you!

Spot on👍🏼

So true x

Always great messages. TY 😊

Great video and lots of truth! 😊

As Always Thank you So Much. Your Influence reaches my soul ! 🙂

I completely agree. Unfortunately, my brother's family, who are the ones I spend Christmas with, don't. I'd rather not going, but I live alone with my daughter, and I don't want to be the two of us even at Christmas, for her, I mean, for me I'm happy just with her. Friends would be with their families, at Christmas time. So, each time we spend money - even if few, I hate wasting it, in things the other person won't use. Often times I told my brother, pls make them give me a bottle of olive oil, same amount of money but at least I won't threw it away! And I would happily do the same for them, a piece of Parmigiano cheese, or whatever you can eat, at least, instead of trowing it away. But they won't listen. They are big consummers. My brother's sons gets so many presents that it's a shame, they care nothing of them, and they are spoiled brats. I really dunno how to handel this, year after year. If I had the money I would go skiing, instead. This wasting makes me angry and resentful.

@JenFlutterby

5 ай бұрын

Straight up tell them ‘I will not be buying any gifts this year, nor do I want to receive any.’ And stick with it. You must stick up for yourself. I had to do this before with my family. It’s hard the first year, but then once you stick to it and take your stand, they will expect it the next year. They may even break and still buy you a gift, graciously remind them what you said and stand firm. My family was so used to me ‘doing what we always did’ but they finally understood when I stood my ground. And I was much happier for it. ❤️

@denisetymensky8922

5 ай бұрын

I know how you feel. My fella has a brother that always gives gifts to everyone. The wife I feel likes to do this knowing we aren’t going to be gifting so that she can make us feel bad. I dread the 24th every year.

@fairysoulz4903

5 ай бұрын

I would save that money all year and tell them your skiing with your daughter. I bet your daughter will love it.

Great video! This is exactly how I feel. Please, tell my family, lol! They won't watch this video or hear me out. I'm pro tradition and holiday, too, but I'm assuming I'm called a Grinch behind my back. 😢

I love the word, bold

Agree 👍 ❤

Joshua, how do you have The Talk with your family? I am an older, retired person on a small, fixed income, and I don't want to participate in gift giving anymore. One brother agrees with me, and we have stopped exchanging gifts. The other, who married into a family that goes all out for holidays, does not want to stop giving gifts. To make it worse, his in-laws keep trying to draw me in to their celebrations. I decline every year, but they persist. I have tried to explain that I neither want nor need anything, but they don't seem to understand. It's embarrassing to be the recipient of gifts when I don't respond in kind. I don't want to be the source of conflict with my brother's in-laws, but this is an on-going problem. I don't want to be rude, but I don't know how to be more explicit without hurting someone's feelings. I have not socialized with the in-laws for three years now, and they still persist. Help!

@yellowsky.000

5 ай бұрын

I would kindly ask your brother to express this exact sentiment to them. You've stated it very well. Explain to them that you really aren't in the place to give gifts, nor do you like putting others out for Christmas. I would explain that you're hesitant to join them for this exact reason. Maybe if they realize that you'll come if they don't give you gifts, they won't. Or, if you'd rather attend and just be safe, what about giving them little bags of candy? Or even just one nice candy bar with a bow? Or make your own, like stained glass candy, and give little bags of that? Just some ideas! I personally love small consumable gifts. But I love not exchanging gift even more! I hope you're able to attend this year with a promise of no gifts :)

@JenFlutterby

5 ай бұрын

I would still take the stand and also, if they don’t abide by your wishes, graciously accept the gift and don’t feel guilty. Simply say ‘I let so-and-so know I wouldn’t be bringing any gifts anymore and that I didn’t expect any, but thank you. I think it’s the others that get uncomfortable seeing someone not have anything to open. People that can’t let go of the commercialism can’t fathom not ‘wanting’ gifts. They are not there yet. Then smile and just donate your gift somewhere it could be useful!

@bridge7528

5 ай бұрын

Maybe they are being persistent because they would really enjoy your company?

It strikes me that some folk need to have conversation with their families. If 70% want to give up gift giving at Christmas, then at least SOME of the people they are giving to must also be in the 70%! Our family checks each year who still wants to gift give. It has dropped over the years, but any time someone wants to opt out, that's fine. (Although I love giving gifts, so I'm hoping that EVERYONE doesn't opt out! But if they do, that's their choice and I'll just have to live with it.)

I have a wealthy family member who wants to exchange gifts but they spend a few hundred on our gifts, and so I feel we must reciprocate. It’s terrible, because “gifts” is their love language so I feel terrible bringing it up.

You have a ton of great videos . But this one here is a hall of fame video !!

Holidays tradition of gift exchange, financial and emotional stress is lunacy. Nothing "holy" about it. We have in our power to say no to mainstream consumption, take control, shape a new path. Collectively, we can change society.

December 2023. Only my kids and grandchildren get $. Others get cards or homemade gifts. Tina, Al's wife

Oh I wish I could get the adults to agree to stop exchanging gifts and just give to the children. My husband is the worst.

I am understanding there are no guarantees in life.

Someone told me traditions was peer pressure from dead people

@JoshuaBecker

5 ай бұрын

Maybe. Depends how far back the tradition goes I guess.