How to Have a More Sustainable Christmas
Image source: RAWPIXEL
It’s that time of year again – Halloween is over and the Christmas markets have begun to spring up in our high streets. Every advert you hear seems feature the light jingle of Christmas bells, and snowflakes have been slapped onto every shop window you pass. It’s how you know you have the go-ahead to start preparing for Christmas.
I wanted to write this article as I know that more than ever people are being more conscious about how our actions are affecting the world we live in. Whether it’s opting out of buying things with unnecessary plastic packaging, up-cycling old items of clothing or furniture, eating less meat, or even just being more conscious about what can and cannot be recycled – the widespread effort and conversation around what we can be doing to help our planet is massively reassuring. With wider public interest, I’m hoping that people are starting to think about how they can make the holidays a little kinder on our planet too (which is precisely what I’m doing in writing this).
In this post, I’ve put together all the information I’ve learned about the worst offenders for our environment that relate to celebrating Christmas, listing what to try and avoid, then offering some of the simplest (and sometimes creative) alternatives to try out instead.
Without much further ado…
Present-Wrapping
What to Avoid:
Un-recyclable wrapping paper. Any wrapping paper that contains foil or plastic is a no-no when it comes to sustainability.
Sellotape – I know, I know! It’s difficult to avoid but I promise good alternatives do exist.
Curling Ribbon & Gift Bows. These are often made of materials such as polypropylene, which isn’t recyclable.
What to do instead:
- Use recycled and 100% recyclable wrapping paper (I always grab mine from Paperchase), or alternatively to be a little more creative you can wrap your presents in fabric, which is exactly what the Japanese do in their Furoshiki method (shown below).
image: Japanese Department of Environment
Buy eco-friendly tape from a number of websites online, including the Plastic Free Shop, which is made of 100% recyclable paper and biodegradable adhesive.
To decorate your gifts I found a great article that shows you some gorgeous eco-friendly alternatives to things like curling ribbon. Check it out here!
Our DIY gift bags with our DIY mulled wine sachet!
Sew some festive gift bags – They’re a fantastic way to present your gifts in something that’s both personal and can be reused, and in fact we’re running some sewing workshops at our Cardiff studio where you can do just that in the run up to Christmas. You’ll be able to make around 10 fabric gift bags of a variety of different sizes to suit the presents you intend to give. Click here for more information.
Decorations
What to avoid:
Disposable plastic - and yes we’re looking at you, tinsel. If you’re buying decorations with the intention of chucking them in the new year, it might be better to buy something a little longer-lasting or go with décor that’s paper-based and you can throw into the recycling once you’re finished with it.
Buying a plastic Christmas tree – this one isn’t so black and white. If you’re buying it as a long-term investment, that’s much preferable to buying a cheap one to replace each year. You must remember though, it’ll take between 10-12 years for the environmental costs of buying the product to even out. Try and buy a tree you’d want to keep for years if you’d rather not hoover up pine needles.
What to do instead:
DIY snowflakes made from loo rolls, by cooknwithmrsg.com
Make your own decorations out of old magazines, scrap or recycled paper, like these DIY Paperchains, or check out this whole range of paper snowflake projects. The results can look beautiful, and it’s a great way to get crafty.
Buy a real Christmas tree – while growing it will provide environmental benefits such as absorption of carbon from the atmosphere and creation of a habitat – albeit temporarily. You need to remember to check that it’s FSC certified to ensure it has been sustainably sourced, and make sure to recycle it properly once you’re finished with it. You can do this by taking them to your local Household Waste Recycling Centre, or chopping it up and putting it into your brown bin. If the roots are still attached or it came potted – great! This can be replanted, or just leave it in the pot in the garden for next year.
Present Giving
What to Avoid:
Buying cheap, disposable gifts. Ever had to buy someone a cheap last-minute gift for Secret Santa and ended up something impersonal and generic, not sure whether or not they’d even like it? It’s highly understandable but it’s probably better to make sure they get something they’re going to get more use out of and isn’t just buying for the sake of buying.
Buying items with masses of unnecessary packaging – this speaks for itself, and a way to avoid this if you’re wanting to buy something specific is to try and buy second hand if you can.
What to do instead:
Buy handmade, perhaps from a local Christmas Fair? (Click here for everything that’s happening in Cardiff). Not only are the gifts less likely to have lots of wasteful packaging, but they’ll be more unique, probably more personal and you’ll be supporting small local businesses. Also, it’s a great excuse to get into the festive spirit by attending the Christmas Markets.
Make your own! We’ve been making our own DIY Christmas Hamper this year, with chutney, blackberry gin, soaps, mulled wine sachets and lots more being included in the bundles we’re planning on giving out as gifts this Christmas. Not only has it helped keep the costs down, but it’s been a whole load of fun to be working on small projects on the build up to Christmas. Check out our blog posts and our Instagram stories to see what we’ve been up to.
Get baking - ensure you give someone a present that they’re guaranteed to enjoy by baking up some treats. For example, you could whip up some chocolate truffles, Christmas cakes, decorated (& personalised?) gingerbread biscuits, or even some stollen bites.
BBC Food has some fun-looking snowman biscuits you could try
I hope that this has inspired you to get thinking about what you could do this Christmas to keep things as eco-friendly as possible. Remember, you don’t need to do everything suggested to have an impact. This isn’t about guilting people into excessive action; even small steps in the right direction can have a substantial effect with enough people taking part. If a big part of Christmas is about caring and showing love towards family and friends, why not extend that to our world as well?
Thank you for reading, don’t be afraid to post your own suggestions in the comments below, and have fun in your Christmas preparations!
Author: Emma Coppen