What does it mean to live more with less? I'm Katie Wells and welcome to the Maximized Minimalist

podcast. If you found yourself caught up in the hamster wheel of modern day motherhood and want to

rewrite the script, congratulations you're in the right place. I'm here to be your guide and help you take

back your motherhood

and achieve a simpler, more joy-filled life. Cheers to being a maximized minimalist. Enjoy the show.

Welcome to another episode of the Maximized Minimalist, and on the show today I'll be talking

about Christmas and the holidays. And you might be thinking,

Katie, it's only October. Why the heck are we already talking about the holidays? But let me remind

you that at least where I live in North Carolina, stores have already put up Christmas decorations

and started playing Christmas music in September.

I was feeling some pressure to get a head start with this topic because I know that a lot of busy mamas are out there already buying or thinking about buying holiday gifts.

So here we are.

I want to ask you a question.

Does Christmas shopping ever feel like a chore?

Like it's this huge to-do that gets added to your list each year, and more often than not, it's not really enjoyable.

Is it just me? I know I felt that way. And I know I know at the end of the day, it's not about me or you as gift givers, but rather the receivers. And of course, ideally, ideally in air quotes here, how filled with joy

and excitement they'll be once, you know, they open up your gift. but how many times have you given a gift that you

think's rarely been used? Or maybe you've given a gift that they didn't even want or that they

forgot about and is sitting in their junk drawer or garage somewhere becoming,

dun dun dun clutter. Have you ever received a gift that you didn't want, like, or ever

use? Of course, we all have. And in my opinion, our culture is so caught up in this consumerism

that oftentimes it doesn't really matter the thought that goes into the gift, which is kind

...