I loathe birthdays. As an introverst and an anxious person, I always worry about making other people happy on my birthday, and at the same time, I hate having to organise my own birthday too. I always feel sorry for Jamie who wants to make me happy but at the same time he's not that great at gifts and worries he'll get it wrong.

I don't even understand why we give gifts on birthdays. It's kinda wierd. I'd rather give an appreciative gift at random times - like, here! I was thinking about you! I love you!

^{Give me dark chocolate anytime - it doesn't have to be my birthday!}

Recently, my husband turned 50, and I was in a right tizz over what to get him. In the end I got him some wood carving knives and some vinyl, but still, it wasn't anything he particularly needed. We had a good talk about it and came to the decision that we'd rather save the money for some nice accomodation when we're in Europe - an experience based 'gift' instead. The more minimal you get, the less physical gifts you need.

When it comes to buying gifts for others, I refuse to buy junk. It needs to be a thoughtful gift and I'm not going to buy a vase that might not suit their house or worse, a funny gift made of plastic which drives me wild. One year someone got us a fake security camera for Christmas and that really made me angry. What was the point of it? It seemed to just feed into the dark consumerism we're all captive by and the person who gifted it should have known us a little bit better.

It's my nephew's 18th birthday next week and the best thing to do was ask him what he needed, rather than just guessing. It's kinda different with young people - they do need a few things to start them off, and Ry really wanted a set of wireless headphones, which I went halvies with with Mum. I know my noise cancelling headphones are one of my most valued possessions - seriously, if the house started to burn down I'd probably grab those first - so I thought it was a worthy gift according to my internal Minimalist Clipboard, haha!

What I've discovered is the best gift is food. Everyone needs it, it gets eaten, and there's little waste. My son and his girlfriend are minimalists so I can't really buy them anything, but a box of food is always welcomed - good quality spices, dark chocolate, chocolate stout, nuts, and things that people wouldn't ordinarily buy in their standard shop (especially given the cost of living0. Even better if you make a cake, a slice, or some home made chocolates or pickles to add to the hamper, and shop zero waste.

^{Gourmet spices you wouldn't buy yourself make great minimalist gifts.}

The second best gift is a voucher to go and eat out at a restaurant. It usually forces people to treat themselves and it's always special to go out and eat and not pay for it! My sister and I always go halves in a voucher for a restaurant for my parents and they love it.

Once, we bought my brother in law a bottle of beer with ambergris in it. Ambergris is whale spit basically - and the stuff they use in perfume. It was from a small batch brewery. He loved it, and still has the bottle!

Of course, just hanging out with people you love and having fun on your birthday is the best present ever, but if expression of love must come via physical gifts, food and dinner vouchers are awesome for minimalists!