Sustainable Christmas Ideas
We all love Christmas and the mayhem it brings but we don’t like the effects it can have on our world around us. If you want to be a bit more thoughtful about how your festivities impact the natural environment, some of our tips and ideas could help you make a difference this season.
Advent Calendars
If you opt for a reusable advent calendar the gifts can be more personal. It doesn’t take long to fill up all the slots with goodies whether you like a sweet treat or something a little different. This personalised wooden calendar is really decorative and will last year after year.
Above: Not on the High Street – Wooden Advent Calendar
Lights
Invest in LED lights that will use far less energy than any you have had since the beginning of time. There are so
many options for lights these days. We advise keeping it simple with warm white lights that twinkle rather than
flash for a sophisticated look.
Decorations
Making decorations made out a salt dough is really easy and you can get the kids involved. You can either keep them for next year or dispose of them in the food waste as they are biodegradable. Paper or pom-pom garlands look really quirky and will work really well if they coordinate with your Christmas colour scheme. These can be recalled when they come to the end of their life. Decorate with natural materials such as greenery, wood and branches or dried flowers and berries We love this paper garland with a simple colour palette.
Tree Style
A modern Christmas could be achieved with a minimal driftwood tree. It soon looks really festive when you hang the decorations on it and add a bit of colour. It works really well if your home is more on the simplistic side. You could make your own or buy a driftwood tree.
Above: Driftwood Christmas Tree – Not on the High Street
If you love a real tree make sure you dispose of it correctly so that it is recycled or choose a potted tree which
can be kept and used year after year.
Presents
Look for presents with minimal or no packaging or you could even give IOUs as presents, or handmade items. Think quality over quantity. There is a lot less carbon footprint and waste involved if you buy fewer presents but focus on buying things that your loved ones really want or need and are well thought through is the way to go.
Wrapping
Think about using brown or recycled paper and natural raffia string, or ribbons that can be reused. Stay away from the glitter paper and foils that cant be recycled. Wrappily have some really great eco friendly gift wrap, paper ribbon and he,hep twine. We love this ‘Holiday Green’ paper.
Food
When it comes to food buy local as much as possible to keep the carbon footprint down and think about washable items rather than disposable, such as cloth napkins and forget the disposable crockery and cutlery. If you need extra glasses or crockery for a large gathering then borrow or hire them for the day.
Christmas Cards
Have you considered sending an e-card rather than a paper card. This reduces waste and is much more environmentally friendly. You can make one easily on Canva app which is free to download. It could be made with a personal picture or family photo using one of their preset templates. If you really don’t know where to start we can design one for you. Here is one we made from our friends at Cantina.
For more tips you can visit Friends of the Earth
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Main image credit: Paper Garland – Nkuku