Embracing Minimalism for a Festive Season

Discover the transformative power of gifting experiences instead of material possessions during the holiday season. By focusing on shared moments with loved ones, this episode encourages listeners to celebrate the season with meaningful gifts that reduce clutter while creating lasting memories. Emphasis on gifting experiences, over material items. Unique experience gift ideas shared by hosts.   Importance of creating lasting memories with loved ones.  Practical advice for gifting that reduces clutter. Reflection on cherished holiday traditions and celebrations. Encouragement to think creatively about meaningful gifts.

Transcript

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Speaker 1 0:00

Hey , welcome to Getting your Edge how to Right-Size your Home and Life Podcast . This is Dennis Day , welcoming you and my co-host , Judy Gratton . How are you , Judy ?

Speaker 2 0:10

I am very merry , Dennis . How are you Very merry ?

Speaker 1 0:13

Excited about Christmas . My two kids are here , my mother will be joining us and we've got an excellent dinner and day planned . How about you ?

Speaker 2 0:24

Well , we had an early Christmas . My daughter came with my two grandchildren . She braved flying at six months pregnant with a two-year-old and a four-year-old Spent about 10 days with us . We had one Christmas with her and the girls and then another with my husband , my son and I . It will be mellower than the first , but we had a blast , A lot of fun .

Speaker 1 0:49

Yeah , I visited them . That was fun . They're good kids , a lot of energy and enjoy life . That's great .

Speaker 2 0:57

Yes .

Speaker 1 0:59

We are the downsizing experts and this podcast is devoted to that . We've gone over two years and 55 episodes and I want to give a little advice . If you need a last minute Christmas gift for somebody and they have a home that is that is filled with stuff in the garage , in the spare room , in the closets with stuff in the garage , in the spare room , in the closets I do , most of us do they don't need more stuff Buy them an experience or a gift card that does not include wrapping or shipping . It just gives people a chance to do something they might not do on their own . It just gives people a chance to do something they might not do on their own . Here's an example In our area in the Kenmore , bothell and Lake Forest Parkier over to Mount St Helens , or just a tour of the Seattle area .

Speaker 1 2:12

These are short flights , maybe an hour , and you can experience something truly remarkable seeing Mount Rainier from above . Or you can get a float plane to Victoria , bc , san Juan Island or Orcas Island . It's only a 40 minute flight from these things and , believe me , if you go by ferry it's a lot cheaper , but it's a multi-hour event . Fly there , find a hotel . Sometimes they provide packages . It's not an inexpensive gift , but it was really a cool experience . Do you have any others that you might suggest ?

Speaker 2 2:52

Well , I think anytime that you can provide an experience and especially if you are included providing your time a lot of times to older family members that's more important than anything is spending time with you . So we have smaller things that you can do , like going to high tea . We have lots of places around us . We had a beautiful one in Bothell . Unfortunately it didn't make it through COVID , but I do know the Georgian Room at the Olympic Hotel offers high tea . There is another one that I have been to in the university district called the Empress . We have a few . High tea is fun with people that you care about . Or if you're going to buy them gift cards . Think of things that they can eat or use , like movie tickets , or if they have a favorite hobby , something that they can do that they want to do with a gift card would be great .

Speaker 1 3:51

No packaging , nothing to throw away , no shipping and not another thing to find a place for when you already have too much stuff . I'm looking forward to Christmas . Happy Hanukkah . Unusual that it starts on Christmas Day . I've never experienced that .

Speaker 2 4:12

I'm calling it Happy Christmas-ka .

Speaker 1 4:15

Okay , looking forward to the new year .

Speaker 2 4:20

Me too . Are you going to join me on New Year's Day ?

Speaker 1 4:25

I already have the Rotary does a fundraiser called the Polar Dip in mid-January , but I can do both .

Speaker 2 4:33

What the heck ? At Matthews Beach in Seattle they give badges for the Polar Bird Plunge . We had them all . We come walking in with our every single one of them . We started the year . It started 23 years ago .

Speaker 1 4:51

Every year Is this a fundraiser .

Speaker 2 4:54

Unfortunately . No , this is not Okay . We could do something .

Speaker 1 5:00

Looking forward to the new year , give us a call , email , check out our website . We'd love to hear from you . We are the downsizing experts in the Seattle metro area and we want to help . Happy 2025 , everyone . See you next year .

Speaker 2 5:19

See you next year .

Speaker 1 5:20

Happy holidays .