So I think I have just about recovered enough to summarize the last week and a half of festivities! Christmas is a tricky time of year for many reasons, we all overspend and overeat, so trying to be environmentally conscious during this time of year is often an afterthought. But during this time of excess I tried my best to be as environmentally friendly as possible this year, but there was still huge room for improvement don’t me wrong! I am trying to learn from my mistakes, so here is a quick summary of the Small Green Things I did this Christmas, and the challenges I faced along side.
Small Green Things:
To start off, I tried to buy experiences for people to create memories and a fun day or weekend away rather than more ‘stuff’ that they don’t need!
For our family secret santa we set a price limit of £10 and that the present had to come from a charity shop, or must be locally made! This is a great challenge, supports local businesses and second hand shopping helps to reduce demand on production. Plus there are some great gifts in charity shops, if you know where to look!
Handmade presents were a bit of a theme with me this year, I decorated glass jars for overnight oats hampers, made bath bombs, lip scrubs and wax melts (you may recognise these from my Instagram!). They all went down a treat, and knowing the time and effort that went into it makes the present even more personal.
Food, food and more food! My Dad has always been good at turning leftover turkey into a multitude of dishes: curry, pie, soup etc. Have to say i’m pretty sick of nut roast at this point though, but waste not want not!
We made our own crackers by saving hats and toys/games from previous years and writing out our own jokes/quiz questions for the table. These were all wrapped up in the napkin and tied with a ribbon to add to the place settings.
Challenges:
Finding the time to make/bake/create presents was tricky, especially when tricky to source ingredients were needed (anyone know where to easily buy citric acid?!).
Wrapping gifts was hard, I wanted to buy recyclable paper or use newspaper but we already had a stockpile of wrapping paper from previous years… which would actually be more wasteful not to use! Next year I will invest in some more eco-friendly options.
I decided not to give christmas cards this year, as I think they aren’t necessary and just create more waste. But I still receive so many! While I am grateful, I am unsure of a way to communicate and encourage others to be more conscious at Christmas.
Improvements for next year:
Make even more, and buy less! I am definitely going to start earlier this time too.
Be more selective with gifts, thinking about their wrapping and packaging as well as the impacts of the gift itself. Every time you buy something you make a tiny vote for what you want to see on the shelves, so we can all use Christmas as a time to cast as many votes as possible.
Buy less food (we had 13 people for Christmas lunch and still over-catered), and be more creative with the leftovers - hello bubble and squeak! Any unwanted left overs could also be donated or given out to those who need it.
Use recyclable or reusable wrapping paper, I’ve seen some amazing posts of fabric wrapping, decorated newspaper and many other creative ideas that look just as pretty as conventional paper.
One thing I was proud of was the environmentally friendly gifts I received, by asking for certain types of gift it forces people to change their shopping habits and supports great companies and it introduces others to great products that can help save the planet!
I hope everyone had a great Christmas, please let me know any small green Christmas tips you have for next year!
Happy New Year!