And at the same time, most of us have received gifts we either don’t like or don’t want, that someone has spent precious time buying for us.
If you feel like breaking the cycle and doing something different, we’ve got a few ideas to help make your Christmas more meaningful but no less fun.
Buying Gifts
If buying presents is getting a bit out of hand, try and cut it down a bit. Broach the subject with family and friends, maybe suggesting you all enjoy a get together rather than buying gifts. You may find quite a few of them will get on board right away, because we’re all in the same boat at this time of year. Good experiences and happy memories can last way longer than a hastily bought present. But if you choose the ‘no gifts’ route everyone must swear to honour the pact, or it can get a bit awkward.
For important people in your life, you could gift them an experience. Days out, adventures, concerts or theatre trips can all be pre-bought or booked, and often go down better than a gift card or voucher.
When you’re buying objects, go for natural materials as much as possible, looking for recycled paper and other FSC certified materials.
If possible, try and avoid single-use plastics. It’s hard, as anyone who’s tried it will know. Plastic is everywhere, but we’re all becoming more aware of its environmental impact. Buying toys that aren’t plastic can be a big challenge, but you could look for wooden toys like these for a refreshing take on traditional items.
For adults, vintage or refurbished items often go down well, so there’s a thought if someone in your circle loves the sustainability as well as the styling of past fashions.
When it comes to exchanging cards, look for FSC-certified or recycled paper. And make sure yours can be recycled too by avoiding foils and glitters. This also applies to wrapping paper, as it can often contain foils and plastics that make it unsuitable for recycling. A quick scrunch test will tell you if it’s recyclable. If it stays scrunched, it’s probably okay. If it tries to straighten itself out, it probably contains elements you can’t recycle. Admittedly, it’s not foolproof.
Make the wrapping part of the gift. Furoshiki skills are fun to learn, using beautiful fabrics to wrap presents instead of paper. For friends or family who love to sew, it’s a bit like two gifts in one. And it’s fun to learn if you enjoy exploring new crafts.
Feeding the Family
Food is big part of Christmas, but lots of it can get wasted. While it’s lovely to see mountains of food, a bit of forward planning to help ensure it all gets eaten either on the day or afterwards.
Use plastic boxes you already have instead of clingfilm, to keep leftovers fresh, and gen up on how to make delicious meals using them. Some things could be frozen for longer storage, or alternatively use the joint or turkey bones and veg to make lovely homemade stocks and soups that you can freeze.
Eat from the freezer for a few weeks before you start doing Christmas food shopping, so there’s ample room for all the festive goodies. Plan your shopping according to your guest list and meal plans so you don’t overbuy. You’ll spend less as well as cutting down on waste.
Decorating the House
You can make lots of decorations yourself, upcycling decorations from previous years to make them last longer. If you love theming your tree and tend to buy new baubles each year, try threading your old ones into a garland to hang around doorways and walls elsewhere in the house.
If you’re crafty, you could knit woollen Christmas stockings for the kids, or get them involved with making felt stockings themselves. Making paper chains for bunting or the tree is also a nice way to spend a quiet but fun afternoon with the kids.
Make your own advent calendar or invest in one you can fill yourself and use year after year. Wooden or cloth advents are delightfully nostalgic and tasteful, and you can fill them with personal little items and treats.
When it comes to the tree, there are sustainable alternatives here too. Some environmental experts recommend making sure you’ll use a plastic tree for at least ten years, if that’s your preference. But there are alternatives, from small potted, living trees you can rent if you don’t want to look after one through the year, or wooden tree ornaments you can decorate yourself. A couple of smaller ones would look lovely alongside traditional nativity displays or as a centrepiece to showcase your Christmas cards. You’d also save on floor space so there’s more room to play – for the grownups as well as the kids.
When you start thinking about it, there are lots of relatively small things we could do to make Christmas more sustainable and less commercial without detracting from the joy or fun. In fact, it can give the whole event a little more warmth and get us closer again to the real meaning of Christmas.
*Collaborative post
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