A minimalist gift guide

It's the week before Christmas and Twitter feeds everywhere are packed full of gift guides. Luxury gift guides, budget gift guides, last minute gift guides: there's no shortage of suggestions on what we should be buying for our friends and loved ones. But what if you're a minimalist, or you're buying for a minimalist? How can you give well without burdening your recipients with stuff? Worry not! My minimalist gift guide gives you the lowdown.

Give a gift that disappears

If you're going to be sitting around the Christmas tree to open presents, it's nice to be able to give a physical gift. Rather than offering something that could hang around for ever, a gift that can be fairly quickly consumed could be the perfect thing. Lush bath bombs, chocolates, a favourite bottle of wine, or a hamper of delicious treats and goodies will always be well received, and has the benefit of disappearing as soon as your recipient puts it to use.

Give a voucher or an experience 

If you know your minimalist doesn't want a physical gift, what about spending some money to allow them to experience something that they love? If they like to read, how about a voucher for Audible or Amazon? If you know they love nothing more than dining out, grab a gift card for a local restaurant. Perhaps they enjoy spa treatments but don't often treat themselves, making a voucher for a massage or a facial an extra special treat. Vouchers are often thought of as the easy option for non-minimalist friends, but for those amongst us who want to limit our possessions, it can be the perfect chance to buy just what we need.

Donate

What to buy for the person who has everything they need? How about making a donation in their name? Many charities offer the opportunity to cover the costs of a gift, a treatment or an intervention, which can make an incredible difference to somebody. There are more worthy causes than I can list here, but you're bound to find something that really resonates with your loved one, making this an extra special gift.

Buy a little luxury

Just because you're buying for a minimalist doesn't mean that your gift needs to be frugal or spartan. If you want to splash out, why not buy a luxurious item that replaces something you know that they use often, or an indulgence you know they'd love? It could be a simple gadget, some beautiful glassware, or a design piece that would fit perfectly in their home. If they often wear a black sweater, why not treat them to a beautiful cashmere replacement? Stick to simple things that you know they'll love, and you won't go far wrong.

Do something

If your budget is tight, why not do something for your loved ones? From cooking dinner, offering your skills, to planning a day out to a museum or gallery, think of the things that matter and craft an experience around that.

If in doubt, ask!

I think this one is a great idea whoever you're buying for, but asking a minimalist what they want is the perfect solution. It gives them the opportunity to tell you exactly what it is they want, meaning that you'll limit the chance of missing the mark. Whilst part of the joy of Christmas is in sourcing and giving a surprise gift, we hopefully want to get something that the recipient will truly enjoy. Asking might not be the most exciting option, but it's a sure fire way of nailing your gift giving. It also means you have a great idea of what they might like next year!

And if you're a minimalist who's buying for friends and family?

Don't be afraid to share your philosophy when buying for your loved ones. Of course, if you know they want something that you'd never buy for yourself, don't buy something 'minimal' for the sake of it: try and accept that you might be getting them something they really want, even if they have multiple versions! That said, all of the above gifts work well whoever you're buying for - minimalist or maximalist - so you're sure to find something that will bring joy without creating clutter!

What are your tips for a minimal Christmas, and what are your favourite minimalist gifts?

Craft | Pom pom wall hanging

This is something of a departure from my usual posts, but I've been doing a lot of sprucing in the flat lately. After reading The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up late last year, I've thrown out so many things that failed to 'spark joy' (which is the foundation of author Marie Kondo's approach) and steadily started to introduce a whole host of new things that I really, really love. Careful sourcing of new furniture has brought new pieces into my life that I would previously have discounted on the basis that they felt too indulgent, but the happiness they've brought has convinced me that the investment has been worthwhile. I've spent so many delightful hours on Pinterest in recent weeks, and the fact that my home looks so much more like I want it to has meant that I've been much more keen to add things that I find really beautiful. What's been a revelation to me is that, despite my belief that I had a complete lack of artistic flair, I've managed to create something that has absolutely delighted me since I hung it last week: meet my pom pom wall hanging.

Before I get into the how, I can't pretend that this was a purely creative endeavour. I rent a very lovely Georgian flat in London, but one of the walls in my bedroom is blighted by quite a long, horizontal crack. Fellow renters will know the pain of finding common ground with one's landlord on what constitutes 'essential maintenance', so something needed to be done to conceal it. After hours browsing 'wall hangings' on Pinterest, I stumbled across a sweet pom pom creation, and skipped out to Crystal Palace's newly-opened wool and fabric shop to grab a couple of balls of wool: one grey, and one black for £4.95 each. My next destination was the garden centre to pick up an eight-foot bamboo cane for the bargain price of 60p! I had a spool of black cotton and a needle at home, so investment for this project was a very manageable £10.50. To make the pom poms, you also need a regular dining fork and a pair of scissors.

I followed this pom-pom making tutorial which involves wrapping wool around a fork 50 times, and then tying the yarn around the centre so the bundle is held together. You tie an additional loop around the middle and snip along the circumference, and you're left with a very fluffy little pom pom which needs to be trimmed down. The trick here is to be bold as bold as you dare with your trimming as it gives a much better result. You'll see below that the grey ones on the left are much fuzzier than the black ones towards the front, and this is all down to braver trimming of the latter!

To make the black and grey pom poms in the middle, I alternated ten wraps of each colour up to the regular 50 wraps. After a few practice runs, I was whipping up both plain and mixed poms in a few minutes. I found it much easier to create batches of the tied-off proto-poms, and then return to trim them down, as the latter stage is definitely the more labour-intensive step, requiring a bit more focus. You'll also get completely distracted by your finished poms which slows you down: they're so satisfying to hold! In total, I made 12 black, 12 grey, and eight mixed, which took me about 1.5hrs.

Once the poms were complete, the next step was to start threading the finished articles. I measured and marked even spaces along the length of the bamboo (8.5 inches apart, with space at either end) and started to thread the pom poms onto my thread using a sewing needles. I used regular cotton, measuring 36 inches in length, and spacing the poms 7.5 inches apart. You'll see that, despite trying to measure accurately, the pom poms at the bottom of each line are at slightly different heights. This is entirely accidental but I quite like the effect! I made an effort to line the top row up as evenly as possible, but there's definitely room for creative license here. I tied a double knot under each pom pom, hanging four to each thread. I attached them to the bamboo by looping the end of the thread a few times around the cane and tying them off with a double knot. I fixed three gold nails into the wall (from a picture-hanging kit from Ikea), and balanced the bamboo on top, tying strands of cotton around the bamboo and then around the head of the nail to ensure it was securely fastened. 

And here's the finished article! It started out as a project to conceal an unsightly patch on my wall, but it ended as something I really love, and that I can't quite believe I created. In total, this probably took me four hours (the measuring, threading and hanging definitely took the bulk of the time), so it's a great rainy day project. I'm already pondering what's next for my pom pom endeavours as I have so much wool leftover, and have a feeling that if it doesn't move, it may end up with a pom pom on it. I've told family and friends to keep moving if they see me clutching the wool!

So, hurrah for my first craft 'tutorial'! Please do let me know if you fancy seeing more of this kind of thing, and if you're looking for more inspiration, you can follow me on Pinterest here.

Craft: Painted Eggs

I'm looking out of the window at the falling snow and feeling very satisfied that my day involves nothing more challenging than relaxing and staying cosy under my favourite knitted blanket. These weekend snow days feel so decadent!

Although the weather doesn't feel much like spring, easter is just around the corner. My plans involve an annual road trip for a friend's birthday, and preparing for this relatively new tradition made me think of some old ones: notably, painting eggs when I was little. This was one of my favourite things to do, and I'd spend hours focused on painting the perfect face, my name, some flowers or anything else that inspired me. It's a great activity for kids, but a search on Pinterest turned up some ideas that I may be tempted to try out...

How amazing are these Lichtenstein-inspired eggs? I'm not sure any attempts I make will turn out so well, but they'd certainly be fun to try. You could use any artist as inspiration - maybe a bit of Mark Rothko for an easier start!

http://artclubblog.com/2012/03/15/painted-eggs/

I love these chalkboard painted eggs, and am already thinking of planning a dinner party just so I can use them as place markers. These would be great to make with children as you need fewer eggs for unlimited designs. Throw in some different coloured chalk and the possibilities are endless.

http://liebesbotschaft.blogspot.co.at/search?updated-max=2011-05-07T19:48:00%2B01:00=15=true

Finally, I think these moustache eggs are so fun. I'm going to scribble a few of these onto boiled eggs in the morning next time I have friends over to stay and see who's awake enough to notice!

http://trendenser.se/

Are you tempted to try any of these out?

Craft: Patchwork cushion

Today I made this little beauty with the help of the wonderful @alisoninlondon. This is my first foray into quilting and I'm totally hooked. My next project? Hop to my Pinterest if you're curious...