5 Gifts with Minimal Clutter

I’m trying very hard to think of clutter-free gifts this year and I keep seeing the usual suggestions for a clutter-free Christmas, but let’s face it, kids expect at least a couple of toys for Christmas.  I’m also a little tired of suggestions like museum memberships and music lessons.  Guess what, some of us already do those things with our kids so it’s pretty hard to suddenly tell them that’s their Christmas present.  I’d like to offer up a few of my ideas for gifts that aren’t necessarily all clutter-free, but at least keep it to a minimum.

1. Amazon Kindle and/or Kindle Unlimited Subscription:  I’m not a fan of kids staring at electronics all of the time, but my daughter LOVES to read and seems to constantly have a pile of books in her bedroom that she is apparently reading all at once.  One day, we counted about a dozen books with bookmarks in them.  With a Kindle she can reduce the number of books sitting around her room by borrowing them digitally from the library or buying the digital version from Amazon.  A Kindle Unlimited membership makes it even easier since she can then read many of them for free.
2. Amazon Prime Membership:  If you’re looking for a gift for someone who doesn’t have a Prime membership, this has been both a blessing and a curse for us.  We now order plenty of consumables online that we used to require a trip to the store.  However, it also makes it very easy to buy extra things we don’t necessarily need just because we happened to see them while shopping online.  We do enjoy listening to Prime Music and watching movies on Prime Video.  Free shipping and easy returns are a bonus too.
3. Coffee:  This is another one that you may be able to buy locally.  I live in a small town but still have two coffee shops, one of which roasts their own beans.  One tip though, if you’re buying whole bean coffee, make sure the recipient owns a coffee grinder!  I recommend a hand grinder unless there’s a reason they may not be able to use it.  If you can’t find something good locally, then I like the idea of at least supporting a good cause.  I love buying from Mystic Monk Coffee.  This is an order of monks in Wyoming who roast and sell coffee beans, tea, chocolate, and religious gifts to raise money.  You can buy directly from their site, or you could go here and click on the Mystic Monk banner so that when you make a purchase, my local Knights of Columbus council makes a little bit of money through their affiliate program.  The prices are the same.
4. Locally Sourced Food Items:  Michigan is known for cherries, but the local grocery store does a great job of promoting Michigan made products and especially locally made products.  Aside from the coffee mentioned above, look for locally made jelly, popcorn, cherries, nuts, sodas, and even chips.  Stick with consumables and pick a few things to put a basket together.
5. Nice Bottle of Liquor or Wine:  Who doesn’t enjoy a nice glass of Scotch when you’re unwinding at the end of the day?  OK, maybe not everyone.  But if you know someone like me who does enjoy a glass of whiskey, wine, etc. but doesn’t typically splurge on something really good, then why not spoil them?  Some of the best birthday presents I’ve ever received included bottles of bourbon or Scotch that were more expensive than what I would spend on myself.  These days, small distilleries and wineries are opening up everywhere and you can probably even find something fairly local.  Here in Michigan, for example, we have almost 40 craft distilleries across the state.

The overall theme here, is stick with consumables, locally sourced if possible, and subscription/membership type gifts.  Good luck with your gift giving and have a Merry Christmas.​