The Christmas Decor We ACTUALLY Keep as Minimalists

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.

---
Recent videos:

10 Things You Should Get Rid of for the Holidays

35 Gifts Your Children Will Never Forget

---
Most popular videos:

3 Things to Buy to be Happier, According to Science

Top 10 Things to Declutter Right Now

---
You can read more tips in my newest book, Things That Matter: Overcoming Distraction to Pursue a More Meaningful Life:

Read hundreds of articles on decluttering and owning less on the Becoming Minimalist blog.

---

[marylandsmann]

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.

[m.harris]

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

[camillaholst]

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.

[ninareis]

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?

[cathyf]

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.

[madonnahagedorn]

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.

[pattiharrison]

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!

[mary-qcrf]

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

[oneofakindlifestyle]

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

[mablo]

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?!

[aprillauman]

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. 🥰

[BEliza]

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.

[Sabiha-]

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 😌

[rachelschneider]

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.

[lisaeprice]

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

[ninochkaru]

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:)

[schuylergeery-zink]

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!

[gailtester]

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!

[Rachel_seethegoodandbeautiful]

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.

[blessedforever]

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.