Many of us are beginning to think about Christmas as we watch festive adverts appear on our screen.
As we start to hear Christmas music in shops we might be feeling uncertain about what this Christmas is going to look like. Christmas for some has deep connections to their faith and for others it’s about getting together in warm indoor spaces as the dark days linger.
We might not be able to control the impacts of the virus that has changed the way we live in 2020 but we can still control the environmental impacts of Christmas. Christmas is one of the most wasteful times of year as we get caught up in the momentum.
There is a huge increase in single-use materials being produced and used, we over buy our festive food and turn a blind eye to waste. As a nation we buy gifts for friends and family and wrap them up in bubble wrap, package in polystyrene and dress them beautifully in gift wrap and ribbons.
At a time when we are all struggling, some much more than others, let’s look at ways we could reduce the pressures on the environment as well as in our pockets.
Food Waste
We waste a lot of food at Christmas, by we I mean me! Please don’t think that as I sit here typing that I am guilt free. I get carried away by pretty festive packaging, I take it home, I put it by for Christmas and I am usually cross at the plastic sealed inner contents of the boxed item in that split second moment too. So here are some ideas that I will be trying out this year:
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Buy loose fruit & veg. You can do this in mainstream supermarkets but how about popping along to your local market and take in the colourful displays of produce (with the added personal touch of on-hand customer service). A quick search on the internet and social media sites will also highlight local veg box schemes which include organic options as well
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Meal Planning. This year we are going to plan out meals & menus all the way through Christmas. This will help us to buy only as much as what we need and hopefully this will also result in a healthier Christmas (we often over indulge and/ or don’t get through everything and leftovers end up in either the food waste or compost.
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Explore your leftover options. Many people bin the Christmas dinner leftovers but there are a range of things that can be done with leftovers to make your Christmas dinner go further. Cold meat can be used in buffets & salads, if you have a large amount of meat leftover you can freeze it for another time. Meat and vegetables can easily go into soups or curries (and portioned out and frozen).
Gift Ideas
There are so many things to think about when buying gifts to either save you money or reduce packaging.
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Can you make things to give as gifts? Crafts, preserves, truffles or candles. There are so many things you could explore that are often cheaper to make and more meaningful to give.
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Buy from local crafters & businesses. There are lots of on-line shops and virtual Christmas markets appearing (and if you can’t get online ask a friend who can, to help you).
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Buying experiences or meals out can be great ways to give to others without needing gift wrap.
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Buy reusable, environmentally friendly items to help and encourage people to make good choices in the future. Beeswax food wraps, crafted bags for life, natural products, a safety razor, or bamboo sock to name just a few!
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Pre-love. Many will think I am crazy for writing such a thing but what about good quality, pre-loved items? This can range from clothing right the way through to top end branded gadgets.
Gift Wrapping
Every year we produce, buy and use miles and miles of wrapping paper and if you do the scrunch test you will discover much of it contains plastic. I remember (many years ago), laughing at my mother in-law who would carefully unpack gifts at Christmas and reuse the same paper the following year. She was onto something!
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Last year we used plastic free paper tape, brown parcel paper & some unbleached string to wrap our gifts.
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Upcycle old maps, newspapers or books. You can create some interesting looking gifts by upcycling materials you have around the home into wrap or even gift bags.
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Cotton bags for life. How about gift wrapping your presents into cotton bags that can be used for a long time to come after Christmas when your loved one wants to shop.
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Many stores (like Lush) have been using ‘Furoshiki’ for gift wrapping for a while. Using a cloth, often a scarf, to wrap gifts.
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Upcycle old cards into gift tags or even get creative and make your own cards out of the cards given to you the year before.
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Glitter is made from plastic, so wherever possible reduce or remove the glitter from your festivities & wrapping.
