I've always been a big advocate for experiences over things. I know the expression's grown a little cliche lately, but paradoxically, our world has grown increasingly materialistic. So I guess it bears repeating.
I don't know what I got against things. Maybe it's because I was fortunate enough never to be deprived of anything substantial in the material realm. Maybe I wouldn't be talking up experiences so damn much if I'd cried for toys or clothes or something. Which isn't to say my family was ever rich, just that my mother was always sure her children didn't lack for anything.
If you're not careful, you grow disillusioned with the initial delight of material gifts. I've yet to grow disillusioned with experiences, though.
Largely because there's so many of them, you know? So many new places to see and activities to partake in. You don't ever hear someone say "Oh traveling, yeah, I've already done that!", do you? Because where you went last summer is nothing like where you're going now. Even if it's the exact same place. The exact same room. So much has changed about you, about your circumstances and about the place that it's bound to be a different experience.
Things don't work like that. Last winter, I was strolling on the beach and got water in my phone. It got ruined and I was quite miffed, as it was a new-ish phone. I wanted to buy one just like it, but sadly progress moves faster in the West, and had to settle for the next model. And it was no grand thing, none of those thousand bucks latest iPhones or Androids. A regular, working phone. Sometimes, I forget it's not the same phone I fucked up on the beach that time.
They're just that similar. The same is true, to an extent, of most stuff. Perfumes, make-up, clothes, jewelry, it's all more or less the same.
For my mom's birthday this year, we got her a trip to Zurich. She seemed quite happy.
By far my favorite gift for minimalists is a new experience. A trip somewhere, a live music event, or even tickets to the theater are a great choice and a birthday gift they'll actually remember. Nicer still, many of these you get to go along to, since you're not gonna buy them one theater ticket, right? A lot of people don't like going places alone, so hey, keep 'em company. Time together is probably the best gift you can give someone you love, anyway.
I'm wary of gifting non-minimalists that kind of stuff, though. They agree it's very nice, but they don't really appreciate it. A friend of mine had a birthday a few months ago, and I got her a tennis bracelet. It's not really my kind of thing (in truth, the woman at the store picked it out, mostly), and personally, much as I like jewelry, thought it was overpriced and meh.
She loved it, though. I was out with her a few weeks ago, and she rolled up her sleeve to show me, said she wears it everywhere. I was thrilled. I don't think she would've been as happy if I'd got her tickets to a show. And since city breaks to Paris are a bit out of my gift budget at the moment...
That's why I liked the MINIMALIST question for this week,
What do you feel is the best birthday gift to give a fellow minimalist?
I like the phrasing. Some people will just decide what kind of gifter they are and gift the same thing more or less indiscriminately to everyone. But it doesn't work, because a minimalist won't appreciate stuff like a tennis bracelet, and vice-versa. Materialistic types won't care about your experiences or thoughtful gestures. It's tempting to label the other person as an asshole for not appreciating whatever you get them. It's the thought that counts and all...
Yeah, except that's kinda making the gift-giving about you and it's not about you. It's about them. What would make them happy, not what kind of gifter you are. So even though I'm fairly minimalist in views, I don't apply that to gift-giving, unless I know the receiver shares my views. What's the point of giving someone a gift they won't care for? It's wasted for everyone.
