No gifts please

I'm tidying up my house and I realise how much crap I have. And I mean this in the kindest way because many of my lovely friends and family give me things with what I am sure are the best of intentions but the truth is I'm drowning in stuff. 

Off loading some of our 'treasure'

My kids have more toys than they can play with and I am often bagging things up to send to the op shop or selling on ebay. So when I say 'no gifts please' I mean it. I'm not trying to be polite well I am a little,  because I don't want to offend you but I'd rather not have any more stuff. I would rather a little bit of your very valuable time. I would love to be able to catch up with you and have a coffee or maybe we can talk would two hour long distance on the phone just catching up.  My kids don't need things to fill their hands or clog their bedroom. Their memories are filled with the time you can spend with them. The book you read to them or the time you spent playing on the floor with them. 

The stuff that we exchange as presents is just stuff. I don't want you to feel pressure to find a thing to give me because its my birthday or I just had a baby or my kid is starting school. 

I don't want to be rushing around trying to find a thing to buy to tick off the list that is in budget on theme and i think you may like because the calendar says its time to exchange another gift. If I see something I think you might like and I can get it for you I would love to do that or maybe I will just tell you about it and you will know that I was thinking about you. For my 30th a good friend gave me a necklace in the gift bag was a postcard of a necklace that had a pendant of a metal penile sharpening, it was great I would have loved it but as my friend said it was three hundred and something dollars and she just couldn't afford it. I didn't feel upset that she didn't get it for me but felt flattered that she had seem it thought of me and thought enough of my to tell me about it.

Despite what every shop, ad and magazine tell us its not all about the stuff. And if its not enriching our lives in some way I think we need to not hold onto it.