By Christina Morton DesAuguste

Christina is the founder of The Organizing Company and has been organizing professionally since 2013. She is currently loving cozy sweaters, the Lincoln Lawyer series, and Hello Fresh meal kits.

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As a professional organizer, I can’t help but encourage clutter-free and decluttering gifts. My clients so often feel overwhelmed by all the stuff they’ve accumulated and they end up donating so many things that were gifted to them that they never wanted (and even some things they thought they wanted but never used). 

If you are trying not to add to the clutter in someone’s home, or if you know they really value organization and minimalism, or you know they are trying to keep their kids from becoming materialistic- these are all great reasons to give clutter-free gifts at the holidays, and always. 

If someone sent you this blog post it *might* mean that they really prefer clutter-free gifts, but don’t want you to feel unappreciated for all the physical gifts you normally give. Usually in situations like these, I hear clients express how much they love the gifter and don’t want to hurt their feelings. 

I would rather give a gift that is less exciting to me if it is more loving and respectful to the recipient, and I’m guessing you would feel the same.

That should always be at the heart of gift-giving, but especially when you consider the clutter factor.

Below are over 160 ideas for experiences, memories, and more to share love without adding mess or stress. 

Pro Gifter Tip:

For the most thoughtful gift, remember to cover tips for anything you gift that requires a tip to the service provider, especially if you know the recipient is on a budget.

Trips and Events 

My paternal grandmother is all about this one. When each of us grandkids turned 13 she would take us on a special trip together. I got to take a train to Toronto and see a musical with her. I don’t think I could name more than two physical gifts she gave me, but I remember the Toronto trip and subsequent trips and experiences she and my grandpa gave us like weeklong seminars (it was more fun than it sounds) and trips overseas for family reunions. And college visits. They really nailed this category.

You can do these things together or you can gift them to do solo/with someone else.

• Weekend getaway (2-3 hours away) or hotel staycation

• Right of passage trip

• Concert tickets

• Theater tickets

• Ballet tickets

• Tickets to a talk show/late night show (either of the Jimmy’s, Drew Barrymore, etc)

• Swim with dolphins

• Disney World/Land

• Cruise

• Take a “Heads Carolina” kind of roadtrip

• Gift your kids time at an overnight camp (they’ll still be excited about it this summer, I promise)

• State Parks road trip

• Seminar/workshop admission for something they are interested in

• Surprise your kids each Christmas/Hannukah with what the family vacation will be

• Movie tickets (I don’t remember the last time I went to a movie! Could be a treat for someone)

• Lift tickets or a stay at a luxe place in a ski town that they would never normally stay at

• Superbowl tickets (or any sporting event)

• Tickets to the Westminster Dog Show next year

• Visit every show on the strip in Branson, Missouri (family friendly and guaranteed to be a unique experience)

• Camping

• Glamping (Airbnb has some cool options)

Teach Or Create Something Together

What is your “thing”? Invite your family to create something with you, or teach them how to do it. Don’t just give them the supplies. Make something they can keep or enjoy. My Grammy was an artist and it was a right of passage to create an oil painting with her. I never got the chance, but my sisters still have theirs and the memories.

• Fishing

• Teach how to make your famous chicken salad/homemade pasta/whatever it is

• Hunting or shooting range

• Archery

• Build a dollhouse or dog house together

• Repair an old car

• Golfing

• Painting

• Scrapbooking

• Woodworking

Experience Something Together

My Grampy used to take us trout fishing and mining for fool’s gold every time we visited them in North Carolina. It was a tradition we looked forward to and remember fondly even now. For the holiday season I love to do things like make gingerbread houses with my nieces and nephews. Think of something that can be a tradition, especially for the holiday/winter season.

• Cut down your own Christmas tree together. Make a day of it.

• Bake holiday cookies

• Bowling

• Sleep under the Christmas tree on Christmas Eve

• Write cards to foster kids or people in need

• Volunteer at a homeless shelter or soup kitchen

• Gather donations of gifts for foster children or kids in low income communities and help distribute them

• Gather and distribute coats and blankets for the homeless

• Gift a mission trip/service trip to another country 

• Make homemade gifts for the grandparents/extended family together

• Take a Christmasy carriage ride

• Escape room

• Comedy club

• Helicopter tour

• Boat tour

• Learn to scuba dive

• Horseback riding

• Repaint a room or hang wallpaper (Tip: Give it as an old school “coupon” for your teenager to redecorate their room)

• Rock climbing

• Splunking

• Laser tag or paintball

• Mini golf or go-carts

• Trampoline park

• Water park

• Botanical garden

• Museum (children’s, art, nature & science, planetarium)

• Zoo

• Aquarium

• Paint and sip event

• Magic show

• Ice skating

• Skiing or snowboarding

• Arcade night

• Ice sculpture park/ice castle

• Ziplining 

• Ropes course

Online (& In Person) Courses

Some of these things are also great ideas for things you can do together, especially for couples looking to start a new hobby together!

• Organizing (early 2025 I’ll be launching an organizing course. You can gift them a gift certificate to The Organizing Company that they can use for coaching or the course or hands-on services. Email me to chat about the best option for you. Christina@theorganizingco.com)

• Masterclass membership

• Coding

• Cooking

• Dance/tap

• Sommelier class/certification

• Gardening

• Personal styling

• Interior decorating

• Cigar making

• Improv/acting

• Singing lessons

• Instrument

• Foreign language

• Lifetime sports: Golf, tennis, pickleball (or a sport you know they’re into)

• Brewing

• Painting/knitting/drawing/any art or craft

• Survival course/wilderness course

• Business/social media course for entrepreneurs 

Memberships & Subscriptions

Avoid anything that will get shipped to them (no subscription BOXES or physical items. These are clutter-free gifts!)

• Golf club or Top Golf

• Cigar lounge

• Rec center/gym/the Y

• Rock climbing gym

• Zumba/aerobics/dance classes

• ClassPass membership

• Peloton app (they don’t have to own equipment)

• Car wash membership

• Audible

• Kindle Unlimited

• Apple Music/Pandora

• Magazine subscription

• HBO

• Canva Pro (a must for small business owners/solopreneurs)

• AAA roadside assistance

• Museum membership (children’s, art, nature & science, planetarium)

• Season tickets to sports/theater/etc

• Meal kits/service (pay for X meals/week for X weeks. Hello Fresh, Blue Apron, etc)

• State Parks pass

• Kids gym/drop in daycare center

• House cleaning services (1x/mo for a year or something like that. Remember to cover tips)

• Organizing maintenance services (that’s me!)

• Costco/Sam’s Club

• Amazon Prime

• Local theme park membership

• Community pool pass

• Meal prep community memberships (There are influencers who share weekly meal plans for freezer meals, etc for members only so you don’t have to hunt and peck for ideas)

• Entrepreneur photo shoot membership: FemForce is in a bunch of cities nationwide and will shoot reels and images for your social media. They even offer editing and other services now. Heck, thinking about all they offer, I might rejoin!

• Stock photo membership for entrepreneurs. HauteStock is a great option. 

Consumable Gifts

Think food and drink. What do they always order at restaurants? What do they compliment or ask you to make more of? Gift it. 

• Champagne/Scotch/Wine

• Your famous sourdough (or friendship bread) starter

• William Sonoma cinnamon roll mix (or any of their quick breads!)

• “Fancy” coffee beans

• A jar of cider mix/holiday fragrance for the stovetop (William Sonoma will hook you up)

• Candied nuts

• Holiday cookies (of course!)

• Premade freezer meals (This is great for new parents. Remember to include ingredient and heating instructions)

• CSA, Butcher Box, or The Good Chop membership (Be careful with this one since it regularly sends physical items- even though they are consumable. If they don’t get eaten fast enough it becomes a three freezers in the garage situation (true story).)

• Cigars

No-Product Gift Cards

For thoughtful and clutter-free gifts, avoid general gift cards like Visa and Amazon. Give them something they can use for an experience/event/food/digital product/etc.

• Massage, facial, mani/pedi, spa day (If you’re in Boulder/Denver, the St. Julien is THE spot. Or head to Evergreen to the Tallgrass Salon & Spa)

• Organizing gift certificate (I do virtual coaching anywhere in the world, or can do hands-on organizing!)

• Game Center/App Store/Google Play

• Photo session gift certificate (couples, singles and their pets, families all love this)

• Personal chef services

• Gas gift card

• Sessions with life coach/business coach/career coach

• Children’s art archiving service

• Photo scanning service

• Document scanning service

• Personal trainer (Be careful with this one if they haven’t expressed interest in it! Don’t want to offend!)

Whew. That’s a lot. 

Whatever you decide, remember to choose gifts that they would want, not what you would want them to have. If that’s your guide, you can’t go wrong. 

Happy gift giving!

Christina

PS: To inquire about organizing gift certificates or my organizing course, shoot me an email: Christina@TheOrganizingCo.com

PPS: Have more ideas? Click here to head to a post on this topic on my Instagram page to comment with your ideas!

November 26th, 2024

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