The Christmas Decor We ACTUALLY Keep as Minimalists

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One of the questions Kim and I get asked the most this time of year is "What about holiday decorations?" Contrary to what some believe, it is possible to have a meaningful stash of decor even as minimalists. Here's what we keep as a family.
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Опубликовано:

13 окт 2024

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Комментарии : 248

@marylandsmann1175 Год назад

I have downsized to 1 small box. Each ornament has a story behind it. It makes decorating simple, Uncluttered, and zero stress. I lost my husband in January 2022. My adult daughter came on her day off and set up my tree. It was fun sharing the memories of where each ornament came from. We saved so much time by not having to root through countless boxes to decorate. It gave us time to go out and have a nice mother daughter lunch and conversation. It was nice.

@valerie718 Год назад

Sorry for the loss of your husband. I hope you have a blessed Christmas.

@marylandsmann1175 Год назад

@@valerie718 thank you.

@alissadimov3174 Год назад

So sorry for your loss. May this be a time of memory and healing as you walk through your first Christmas without him.

@m.harris2429 Год назад

A thrill of hope...the weary world rejoices! A minimalistic Christmas with our hearts centered on the Savior...sounds perfect to me!

@camillaholst7321 Год назад

Joshua, thank you for bringing Kim along: so wonderful to see you both explain and show your minimalist family christmas decoration. 🎅🌲Merry Christmas🌲🎅 to you and your family.

@aprillauman Год назад

That is the exact same advent calendar that I grew up with, and my parents still have! We used to take turns moving the mouse, and now my children look forward to it every time they are at Nana and Papa’s house. 🥰

@pleaseL1KEandSUBSCR1BE Год назад

We have that same one, too! When two kids were young, I would put two wrapped candies in each pocket, and they would get to eat them as the mouse moved.

@madonnahagedorn5649 Год назад

I keep anything my mother in law hand made. A red and white quilt, a Christmas quilt, a tree skirt and a whole box of vintage style handmade ornaments. I also have a stocking she made for my daughter's 1st Christmas. These items are the most loved. My children's ornaments that they made at school, I still put on tree. Anything else I can get new, but I can never replace those items.

@cathyf6156 Год назад

I love that all of the Christmas decorations you kept have a story and meaning. That is how I am able to weed out sentimental items. It all about the story it invokes in me and the meaning the item has for me.

@schuylergeery-zink1923 Год назад

Thanks! My birthday is on Christmas… my mom’s is Halloween and my sisters is St Patrick’s Day. So holiday decorating was a core family activity growing up seeing as our birthdays were so festive! My sister and I have DISTINCT memories of the scent of our Halloween box. Decorations and tradition are very powerful. My husband and I agreed to a container rule for all holiday decorations. Christmas has its own. Halloween has its own and St Patrick’s fits into the Halloween stuff too. The big things are tree and wreath, lights, ornaments, stockings, and then a few table top items and garland. We don’t have to sacrifice on what matters and it also makes decorating and clean up a breeze!

@oneofakindlifestyle Год назад

I love how you show that its possible to decorate and still be minimal 🥰✨

@serenitysummers8514 Год назад

When my brothers and I were small our grandparents bought us that same Advent Calendar. We looked forward to using it every year growing up. Last year my mother passed it on to me and now my little Lilly (5) moves the mouse everyday and counts down to Christmas. Excellent video…thank you for the inspiration!

@rachelschneider2880 Год назад

That’s awesome! We have two boxes, one for indoor decorations and one for outdoor lights for both Christmas and Halloween. We also have a fake tree. It’s simple and fun for our kids to decorate inside and they aren’t overwhelmed by too much to put out and clean up.

@mablo8224 Год назад

Bring your wife in your videos more. I love seeing her perspective too. Also, would you consider showing us the Christmas decorations placed in your home?!

@Nan-59 Год назад

I enjoyed meeting his wife, too!

@BEliza91 Год назад

I love these practical example videos and hearing from Kim!! Decluttering is sometimes not cut and dry when two people like different things. The one bin helps give a boundary. Thanks for sharing how y’all do Christmas decor.

@rachelmontgomery3889 Год назад

I appreciate that you’ve made room for decorating for Christmas and using things from year to year that hold lots of meaning. We downsized all our Christmas decor, including the artificial tree, and specific Christmas books into our hope chest that holds our TV through the rest of the year. We had to get creative in a small space and we have no regrets. It’s lovely to have that little extra out through December and I love putting it away in the new year for a clean slate, too.

@lisaeprice Год назад

Love seeing minimalism in action at your house! Very practical. Merry Christmas!

@ninareis8131 Год назад

I think this is my favorite video that you made! I love to see a concrete example of what minimalism actually looks like! :) Can we have more videos like this?

@gailtester8749 Год назад

Yay! Loooove seeing Kim! We're down to about the same amount as you and it's festive, yet uncluttered and we love it too!

@lisakallunki5042 Год назад

Earlier this fall I went out to the shed and went through the Christmas bins. I was able to go from 6 down to 4. When I decorated for Christmas this year I was able to eliminate one more bin. Then I took it one step further and gave away our Christmas tree! 😮 I have only put it up twice in the last four years and I decided it brought me more stress than joy. We have a lot of sentiment/memory ornaments so if I decide to keep them I’ll need to come up with a different way to display them.

@ChristIsLord247 Год назад

We have 4 sets of "things" that we put out. Our Christmas village, which we have been building for about 17 years I think. The nativity set I managed to get my mom to give me that she has had since I was a child. Our tree and ornaments, which is spilling over into two boxes of ornaments since we get ornaments for our kids each year. And 1 box of household decor. It's more "boxes" than I would typically like, but we absolutely love each piece that goes out. I don't decorate for any other holiday, some fall stuff, so I see it as a bit of a trade off.

@ninochkaru Год назад

Such a wonderful video! It's so nice to see you two together. Thank you for sharing your decorations. It made me feel like I visited you at your house:)

@mary-qc3rf Год назад

Merry 🎄 Christmas....we just downsized from 4 to 1 box....so freeing

@ShortStef Год назад

I love this. I have been downsizing my holiday decor each holiday for the past 2 seasons. Each year I want to use less, and it’s all been natural. Less is more b/c the items I’ve kept have great emphasis- and it makes cleaning easier!!!! I’ve been able to donate the items locally to new families just getting started! I also had that same Christmas Countdown as a child (as your wife) - it’s AVON!!! ❤ Happy Holidays!!!!

@mc5366 Год назад

yes, AVON! that's where I bought mine like 32 years ago 🐭

@tinaraasveld7895 Год назад

This is my second year to declutter my decorations. I’m down from six boxes to 2. So much easier.

@NLY1WAY4U Год назад

Yes...Avon...I remember that! Cool!

@blessedforever3325 Год назад

I have a lot of bins. They are organized and I love everything I have but it is a lot. My youngest son is 26 and he is very sentimental and loves Christmas and all of the decorations so much. For his sake I have not paired down. But I’m also not adding anymore and that is a switch too. Sticking with what I have and not spending on new decorations. It’s made decorating easier and less stressful as I do the same thing every year. I don’t shop or have to think about it all much.

@Sabiha-30 Год назад

Hi Kim! Nice to see her in the video 😊 It’s definitely true that when you have a few items which are special and dearest to you, you just love it more and more 😌

@pennyheinrich5552 Год назад

I love this video. I've known so many who believe that because they are going to a minimalist life that they have to get rid of everything. Keep the things that you truly love and are memorable to you!

@pattiharrison1211 Год назад

You two are so sweet together! ❤ The way Kim looks at you (and you at her), and Josh, you are so attentive to her words. Very, very sweet, loved it!

@rachelgustafson1207 Год назад

This was a very fun video of you two together! Thanks for sharing and for the encouragement! ❤

@andreadotson7853 Год назад

It sounds like Joshua could go down to just the tree :) Much appreciate Kim's advice to take things out of boxes. You both gave me inspration to trim down my items.

@tanyal7122 Год назад

This was fun!!! Nice to have Kim involved. Merry Christmas!!

@rainywildflower Год назад

Thanks for sharing! I loved hearing about these. I especially love the ornament tradition. The tree for holding greeting cards is also very neat.

@geriamburgey9950 Год назад

I have the same calendar for the countdown to Christmas. I think I bought it in 1984 from Hallmark. My children loved it, and now my grandchildren and great grandchildren enjoy moving the mouse when they’re visiting. ❤

@miles_and_liam_strictly 11 месяцев назад

I can’t believe we have the same advent calendar! This is the piece that holds the most memories for me. My dad read us the Bible passage every night in the hallway of our childhood home.

@Elizabeth-qr1dz Год назад

I love this! I love seeing Kim in your videos as well! You both are such an enormous blessing to me. Thank you for all you do to to keep encouraging us all in our pursuit of Becoming Minimalist! Praying you all have a blessed and very Merry Christmas! 🎄

@christined2495 Год назад

Have a blessed Merry Christmas Joshua and Kim and family 🎄🎄🎄 This was a great video, I enjoyed seeing your treasured Christmas decorations. I am down to two containers, but I think after the season is over I can consolidate them, and I might just have one container for next year. LESS IS BEST 🧑🏻‍🎄🤶🏻

@deniselittle5558 Год назад

I've gotten so minimal that I'm not sure I'm decorating at all. But I would love to see your house after you put those decorations out and your tree up. I'm sure a lot of us would love to see that if you are open to sharing that with us.

@sandypluss5017 Год назад

I loved this We downsized our Christmas decorations by about half about 3 years ago, it was so refreshing to just keep the things we truly loved.

@moldypotatochip Год назад

I've never decorated much for any holidays because I've been living in apartments for the past decade or so. I'm saving to buy a house and excited for being able to have a more permanent dwelling space to decorate inside and outside.

@sarahrixen2396 Год назад

Oh my goodness - I had the exact same calendar as a child! I gasped seeing that. I loved moving the mouse too!

@jmearig Год назад

Me too. Had to check the comments to see who else got the nostalgia hit.

@readerbabe1984 Год назад

I also had it. My kids move it now.

@angieantwine8466 Год назад

We have the same one since 1987! You should go check eBay and see the prices on them!! 😱😱😱

@dianerobertsquijano5749 Год назад

This was fun to watch! Thanks for sharing. You've given me incentive to pare my decorations down even more! Merry Christmas!

@Califsue Год назад

Love the advice! I did this last year and my house was just as festive if not more this year! I am finding less is more in so many avenues of my life.

@elizabethbednarcik3311 Год назад

Two of our three Willow Tree Wisemen have their heads glued on.

@carolynm.8868 Год назад

Love your meaningful minimalist decorations.

@loribrokke8862 Год назад

Love seeing into your process. Thank you for sharing! (My sisters and I grew up with that same advent calendar!)

@queenofputrescence5167 Год назад

I'm very similar in the number of decor items for Christmas. Stockings, two nutcrackers, nativity scene, Advent Calendar, one Christmas Story leg lamp nightlight and one small lit tree in a wood and glass case that keeps the kitties away. All fits in one bin and I love it that way! We did away with the outdoor lights several years ago. We have one full size leg lamp in a window and buy an real Christmas wreath for the door each year so it doesn't have to be stored.

@AkS143joyful Год назад

We are similar to you, one tub for the home and one for the tree ornaments. Not too much and fun and easy to place every year with our 3 girls 10, 8, and 4

@maz8023 Год назад

Wow! That's impressive. I have followed you guys since 2008 because I loved essentialism long before blogs and way before it became trendy, but I could never give up my books, memory capture supplies, or stunning seasonal adornments~they mean so much and I'm all about celebrations. Love your work, Joshua! Wishing your family the merriest of Christmases!

@helenebennie3961 Год назад

I don't think Joshua is necessarily saying get rid of everything, just keep what is meaningful.

@deedouglas636 Год назад

Have a beautiful Christmas!

@eljohan9126 Год назад

The calendar was sold by Avon. I passed mine down to my son also when he married. How sweet to see others have it.

@donnagrifford7142 Год назад

Thanks 4 sharing! 👏👏👏👍. Very meaningful helpful tips! It's emotional Decluttering so many years of Christmas Decor but after being married 44 years and raising 5 kiddos ..... it's Time! 😉😀💞✝️

@asianangel5400 Год назад

I too have 1 Christmas bin. It's nice to have everything I 1 place. I also have 1 Christmas tree. 🎄

@Jer29_11 Год назад

I used to have the same advent calendar, but I passed it down to my Son when downsizing my Christmas decor :) I have also kept my Willow Tree Nativity set.

@saintinlower48 Год назад

Since we're going to Florida this Christmas (from NW Indiana), I just decorated our tree, mantel and French doors with colored lights and left everything else in the garage. Maybe I'll let go of some of those items when I declutter once it's warm again. I like how you're so clean that you can ) decorate in the kitchen, even if it is minimal. 😊

@marylandsmann1175 Год назад

Merry Christmas to your family

@rhondacurrier4592 Год назад

Merry Christmas! 🌲 Cluttering my Christmas with Christ! ❤️ And, Kim, I was a classical ballet dancer...love it so much...I pair a wooden nutcracker ornament with a ballerina ornament on my tree. Blessings on your home this Christmas season! 🥰

@judymccord871 Год назад

Love the minimal Christmas ornaments! Will we see a minimal home tour for us to see your beautiful home? Thank you for sharing!

@JoshuaBecker Год назад

Not planning one. I take people on a tour as part of the Uncluttered Course, but that’s the context where I think it is most helpful.

@Aurrsa Год назад

I am so envious of all you have esp that cute mouse in the Advent calendar and those stocking holders with the kids pictures in them.

@gloriayouchisonbrown7734 Год назад

So nice to see your ornaments and what lovely memories 🎄🎄

@sheilaenglish9738 Год назад

This reminds me of Dawn the Minimal Mom showing how little Christmas decor you need in a minimalist home to make a big impact. When it’s not competing with a lot of other stuff, it really shines 😃 Will you show us your decorations when they are in place? *hint hint* 😄

@ninak8506 Год назад

It's super hard to get rid of ornaments for me because each one is dated & means something. But I'd need at least 3trees to use them all 😱 but I got rid of a bunch last year. Downsizing sentimental items is so hard!

@uploadingjoy9120 Год назад

This was so helpful! I hope to reduce my Christmas decor like you have.

@ebrooklyn5736 Год назад

PERFECT all that is needed to make it look Beautiful...

@chloeruegg2352 Год назад

I had 6 huge bins of Christmas decor, not including the tree box. This year, after being a Josh Becker follower, I have already donated 75% of 4 bins to the hospital thrift shop. Two more bins to yet go thru. What distresses me is that I owned so much. And for what reason. Going forward, everything I do, or purchase, will have thought attached to it.

@amc6905 Год назад

Kim so excited to see your countdown calendar. We had that same one growing up! Love your choices for decorating. Over decorating distracts from your special collections.

@simplycj5460 Год назад

Such a great idea for a video!

@melissat9120 Год назад

The mistletoe part was quite funny! 😗

@runningyogamom1114 Год назад

Hi Joshua & Kim! Thanks for sharing! I’ve also minimized my Christmas decorations to one box of ornaments and sentimental decor with an artificial tree too. It’s less chaotic and more meaningful 🎄🎄🎄

@Anna-io5fs Год назад

Joshua, as a pastor how do you deal with little non consumable gifts or knick knacks parishioners give you as a thank you? Also love that one box principle because it makes life so much simpler during the Christmas season! I love bringing the outdoors in too such as putting natural garland and pinecones for interior decor.

@Heyu7her3 Год назад

Thrift store -- people get rid of decor after holidays, so there are many who'd anticipate looking for them

@LoveThemWell Год назад

I have the same fabric countdown calendar from my childhood! The mouse is a great idea. I put a little piece of candy or a paper with an "activity." Maybe the mouse came with it originally? Might look for a mouse for next year:) Seems easier and healthier! "Christmas doesn't have to be cluttered to be meaningful." Love this! Thanks!

@deirdrehughes8420 Год назад

We have the mouse Christmas countdown calendar too!!!! My parents had one when I was growing up and I purchased one when my husband and I got married. My children now love to move the mouse!!!!

@sbaumgartner9848 Год назад

I love your Christmas decorations and the simplicity you keep. I also love your sofa. I'm amused how Kim knows more about the history of the decorations than Joshua does. Merry Christmas to you both. You're both great role models.

@deborahcaldwell9775 Год назад

That was fun and friendly. Thank you.

@angg645 Год назад

Thank you for sharing. I'm trying to get to less decorations. And I have the same calendar which my mom gifted me after my siblings and I were all moved out and now my son gets to move the mouse ❤️ Merry Christmas

@Icecandy1882 Год назад

I like this video. I also practice intentional living an I only have one traditional Christmas latern that lights up, 2 ornamental angels and one ceramic small Christmas tree (a pepper shaker) .

@saraburke5750 Год назад

I have that same calendar!! My mother also just gifted it to us for our kids to use.

@barbararoman793 Год назад

My Mom has the same exact calendar with the mouse. I LOVE it !!! 🎅🏼❤️🤶🏻

@jdubmac Год назад

One of the signs of a good parent: the broken Nativity pieces. Or if the family doesn't celebrate with a Nativity, the equivalent of whatever is meaningful for their family. Those broken pieces are the history of caring parents who shared their cherished items with their children, even though all parents know there is a good chance of something happening to the items because kids play + experiment. A home with all perfect decor pieces is a home where children weren't included in the parent's passion for holiday decorating.

@robynwells8249 Год назад

We have a very small amount of decor inside and out, but I do bring in greenery from our yard and “borrowed” from our neighbors’ yards. Fresh from the yard greenery-No storing or keeping up with.

@robynfree1558 Год назад

We had one of those countdown calendars when I was growing up and I loved it! The mouse got lost eventually, but someone had a small pokemon figurine that we used for years instead:D

@kressten Год назад

Minimalist at Christmas time! Love it! Thank you both for sharing ❤️💕

@cindyleween3624 Год назад

Josh you should have filmed your home where you put everything so we could get a feel,for it. I think that two boxes and a tree is perfect! I am going to try this!! Right now I have 14 boxes, and a lot of stuff stays in the boxes to tell you the truth. Thanks for the great video♥️🇨🇦

@JoshuaBecker Год назад

I provide a tour of my house during the Uncluttered Course. That’s the context where I think it is most helpful.

@lizziemcdougall2767 Год назад

This is inspiring me to look through my holiday decor as I have a lot of bins of ornaments. Thanks so much!

@amylowe8723 Год назад

I wish you would have given us a house tour after you decorated for Christmas! I’d love to see it!

@JoshuaBecker Год назад

I take people on a home tour during the Uncluttered Course. I think it is most helpful to people in that context.

@ps0195 Год назад

We used to have TONS of Christmas decor and it would take hours to do. But we have pared down so much that it took barely any time with just my husband and me. We still have older kids at home, but they were at school. It was so much nicer and less stressful! And we have kept stuff that holds meaning as well. It helped us pare down when we had to move into an apartment for the first time since we were really young. We were forced to go with one of those skinny, zone-diet trees and that in turn helped us decide which ornaments were truly important. Then we could let a lot go.

@karinaeichmann1595 Год назад

Best video ever, thanks for helping me figure out how to reduce Christmas decor

@simplefarmhousefamily383 Год назад

You should show us your Christmas lights on the house this year. Fun to see and inspiring!

@andreagorham1985 Год назад

Thank you for the inspiration! We are working on it Christmas decorations are the hardest for me to downsize

@nannaskovbofrdstrup164 Год назад

When I decorate for Christmas I remove all my every day decor, and replace it with christmas decor. So that is it no an add on, but a complete replacement to create the holiday spirit 🎄✨

@trishahenderson3407 Год назад

i always wondered how you manage your decorations for Christmas ... thank you for sharing ... this is good to know... i need to get to work on mine this year... i will widdle mine down more this year ....i hate to tell you how many i have ...im guessing six lol .. if i get rid of one tub i would be pleased ... Merry Christmas

@mandyadams918 Год назад

Great video Joshua and Kim. It is good to see how you decorate for xmas.

@lisabourque1321 Год назад

Awesome and inspiring video❤️🎄

@vickyfisher-bz4jj Год назад

I’m sitting here with my cat as you’re sitting here with your wife and we just watch this it’s really good thank you for this I really appreciate this I think I’ve got a little bit more carried away this year than I would’ve wanted to and that I needed to I am going to reduce the stuff that I have an I like it that you have one box for things and one box of the tree stuff that’s really good

@rebeccarigby5181 Год назад

Tom and I have a 1 box Christmas decorations too. We (KISS) - Keep It Simple Santa !

@juliem.3936 Год назад

What a great video, Josha and Kim! It looks like you have roughly a dozen items, most of which havea personal story attached to it. Way to go! Kim, you are so right about eliminating the original containers!

@farsanehmir404 Год назад

I loved the calendar!!!!!

@Tayzerfun Год назад

We have the same mouse advent calendar and the card holder (but in silver) the advent was my husband's growing up and it was from Avon. ❤️

@yvettewalshe9130 Год назад

I love this video. You should have Kim on more often. God bless and Merry Christmas

@janethunt4037 Год назад

I would love to see these set up in your home. Thank you for sharing.

@evelynortiz6971 Год назад

Last year we got rid of the plastic ornaments kids are 4 and 7 now thought we should buy nicer ones this year. When we decorated the tree with ornaments that the kids have made it looked so nice and uncluttered that we decided not to buy any this year.

@matthewpasqua4804 Год назад

Very helpful to see. I’m still in trying to get the 60-70% out and it’s taken more than 9 months but. Every step is in the right direction and it’s comforting to see it doesn’t have to be Spartanism 😂🎉❤

@Au-19 Год назад

I love your decorations! The first one ( the Nativity) is so cute 🌟❤️ Unfortunately It’s just me as a minimalist in my family 😔

@GiGiWellness28 Год назад

Hang in there, I'm also the minimalist in my family. It's a bit of struggle, but it's not impossible. I don't force them to follow my ideas, but just keep my own and most of our common areas to the minimal, while their areas are filled with their accumulated "joy".

@Au-19 Год назад

@@GiGiWellness28 always 🙂