How to Respectfully Manage Unwanted Gifts
“The biggest gift of gifts is in the exchange” - Courtney Carver
Minimalism in our family has been a journey of experimentation. We started intentionally looking at our belongings and how they add value to our home + life a little more than 2 years ago. Although my family & I are trying our very best to surround ourselves with only things of purpose & joy, we have accepted that we do things differently and others need not be on the same page as us in living intentionally (a wonderful lesson to show grace, courtesy & acceptance of differences in values in our loved ones)
Typical gift-giving seasons such as the holidays or birthdays bring along items into our home that may not serve a purpose to us & I know it can sometimes be challenging to understand how to manage these items. As long as we understand that the gift-giver & receiver speak the same love language, the gift-giving process can be handled with respect, grace & joy.
I receive numerous requests from parents to share tips with them on how to politely refuse gifts from well-meaning loved ones. Although these strategies will take time to materialise, I urge you to not lose hope and give yourself grace.
Write a letter to your closest family members & friends and get them to see your perspective of preventing clutter from entering your home. Get them to come on board with your efforts in tidying and being respectful to earth’s resources. Give them ideas to show their love in non-materialistic ways! My blog post here might help give you some ideas.
Here are 5 ways to positively manage your expectations while being respectful to the gift-giver:
Understand the intention behind gift-giving: Once you understand the motivation behind the gift-giving process, only then can you offer alternatives to your loved ones (that align with your family’s values)
Accept the love & joy shown during the gift exchange: Your children are watching how graciously you accept gifts. It is also important to stay positive after the gift-giver has left your home & converse together about what to do with such items (for e.g., a donation to a charitable organisation or re-gifting it appropriately)
Appreciate the person giving you the gift: When you are grateful that there are people who love you, the actual gift shouldn’t matter. ‘Stuff’ is after all just stuff & can be managed. “It is the thought that counts”!
Give yourself time to experience the gift at least once: Before dismissing an unwanted gift, see if using it once could help you look at it from a different perspective. You never know, you might just come to enjoy it!
Replace the guilt of letting go of such items with love, gratitude & joy: It is absolutely natural to feel guilty about letting go of perfectly good gifts. However, imagine how guilty you’d feel every time you see this gift in your home that is never used? Every item in our home WANTS to feel welcome & they deserve all the respect we give to the rest of our belongings. Keeping this in mind, find joy in knowing that someone else will enjoy it more than you ever will.
“The true purpose of a present is to be received” - Marie Kondo
Share this post with your loved ones and let me know in the comments below what you think of these tips!