Tips For A Greener Christmas

'At this time of year around 30% more waste is generated. This includes over 1 billion Christmas cards which are thrown away each year. It’s estimated by the Department for Environment Food & Rural Affairs, that around 50,000 trees are cut down each year to make enough paper to wrap presents. Also, around 12 million tonnes of plastic enter our environment each year, equivalent to a bin lorry load every minute.' Gov.UK

'Of the 175 million mince pies purchased every Christmas in the UK, 74 million are thrown away. Unfortunately, that is the tip of the iceberg, as two million turkeys, 9 million carrots, 7.1 million pigs in blankets, and almost 10 million cups of gravy are wasted every year.' YorWaste (UK Waste Management Company)

I'm so sorry to be such a Grinch, but every year, I find myself getting frustrated and pretty low during this festive season. The excessiveness of it all really angers me! In a society already obsessed with consumerism, Christmas encourages even more, and I find it unsettling. It saddens me deeply as all of these new material items and new foods are purchased without thinking about their environmental impact. The big companies churning out these items have very little care, if any, for our Earth. And the more we buy from them, the more power we give them to continue putting profit over planet.

The worst bit is how easy it is to be pulled in to the Christmas Chaos.

This year I hand made my niece and Nephew desk tidies using items from my recycling as well as some second hand decorative bits and bobs. When they opened them, I felt guilty that I hadn't purchased them something from their Christmas list. I also find myself feeling guilty for only getting a few small, but thoughtful gifts for my son and not filling a huge sack full of everything he has ever wanted. I find myself feeling guilty for baking an edible gift for someone I love. But isn't this what christmas should be? Showing gratitude for people in your life who you deeply value. I know my intentions are good and my actions align with my values, but I feel so much pressure from the societal christmas norms. I want to experience a Christmas where people think more about the Planet. I want Christmas to be a time of warmth, gratitude, genuine heartfelt giving and not the hyper consumerism madness that ensues every year.

As a vegan, I find can't help but feel saddened by how many more animals are consuemd at this time of year and how many of those lives are wasted. Plus all of the cheese baords and chocolates - those poor dairy cows. It is, without doubt, a frustrating and emotional time of year for anyone who has made that connection and is trying to live gently upon the Earth. So this blog post is just my way of putting some ideas out there to make Christmas more gentle and Kind on the Planet, the animals, our mental health and our bank balances!

Here are some of the things that I do for a kinder, greener Christmas

GIFTS FOR LOVED ONES

1. NORMALISE BUYING SECOND HAND GIFTS

   
   

   There is no need for new items. There are so many ways to get quality second hand gifts. Charity shops, Ebay, Vinted and vintage shops are all good options. By buying second hand gifts, we are encouraging a circular economy and getting the most out of each material item created. For every second hand gift you purchase, you are avoiding purchasing a new item, which means the sale of new items will go down, and the companies will eventually stop making them. We have the power to create this change! The more of us who do it, the bigger the change will be! Also- don't feel like you have to buy loads of second hand gifts for one person because they are cheaper- honestly- just enjoy shedding the financial stress of Christmas and helping the Planet at the same time! There are so many wins here!

   
   
   
   

2. HAND MAKE / BAKE YOUR GIFTS

   
   

   If you are a crafty person, you might like the idea of making gifts. This year I have made most of my gifts using recycled or second hand materials. Some nice ideas are hand made notebooks, homemade beauty products and soaps, homemade cookies and cakes, hand made cushions and old school photo albums. The possibilities are endless! I like to browse Pinterest for inspiration and then gather my supplies. Make a cup of tea, pop a christmas film on in the evening and start making!. Every year I make a photo album scrap book for my son. He is only 3, but often asks to look through his photo album! I am currently working on this years album and I can't wait for him to look through it! What a beautiful way to look back over a year with love and gratitude!

   
   

3. SUPPORT SUSTAINABLE SMALL BUSINESSES/ BUY FROM LOCAL CRAFT MARKETS

   
   

   There are so many christmas markets at this time of year and a lot of them are craft markets. I have sold my art at quite a few of these markets and so, I can tell you, that when someone comes to my stall and purchases my hand painted piece of art to gift to their loved one, it feels absolutely wonderful! It has so much more depth that going to a chain store and buying a mass produced product. Yes, often the cost of hand made items is more, but the meaning and often the quality is more too! This same thing applies to buying from individual makers online. The hand crafted items are made with so much love, so much time and so much effort. Look for makers who create using eco friendly materials for a better environmental impact.

   
   

4. GIFT EXPERIENCES

   
   

   This is a tricky one. The thing about gifting experiences is that it is important to gift an experience that you know a loved one will enjoy, so that you are not wasting money. So often these vouchers sit on the shelf all year round, getting dusty, never redeemed. So I would say that they best way to gift experiences would be to say to your partner or your mum or sister 'Lets not do physical presents this year, lets go on a weekend away instead?' or 'lets book tickets to that show we want to see!' or 'Lets go out for a fancy meal!' Something mutual that you agree on. How many physical gifts do you remember from your life time? We don't really remember them do we? But experiences, we remember.

   
   

GIFTS FOR YOURSELF

1. DON'T BE AFRAID TO SAY NO TO GIFTS

   
   

   If you are anything like me, you don't want for much. I live a very simple existence and, other than used books, vegetable seeds for my allotment, art supplies and the occasional need for new underwear, there is not much I want! So I have said to some family members that there is no need to gift me anything this year. Sometimes people won't be comfortable with that, in which case you can ask them to gift a charity donation in your name.

   
   

2. ASK FOR SECOND HAND OR HAND MADE GIFTS

   
   

   I have very specific items that I am comfortable bringing in to my home and my life. As an environmentalist, there are places I WILL NOT purchase from (*cough*Shein.. *cough* Temu) and pretty much any fast fashion outlet! If I found out that I had been gifted something from one of these places, I would be mortified. So I often ask for second hand or hand made gifts if someone wants to gift me a surprise. My friend makes the most most hand made gifts and I cherish them. As a book lover, this year, I created a wishlist on www.worldofbooks.com of used books that I would like. I take comfort in knowing that my gifts are not negatively impacting the planet and my loved ones bank balances!

   
   

FOOD

1. ENJOY A VEGAN CHRISTMAS!

   
   

   My small family unit are not all that big on roasts! Myself, my husband and my son are vegan and we just don't have roast dinners- apart from one day a year! On our Christmas dinner, we usually have potatoes, veggies, gravy, sage and onion stuffing and my favourite creamy mushroom pie! You might prefer a nut roast or a wellington or a meat substitute. There are lots of options. Or, if you're like us, and you don't like roasts so much, why not (do what we would do if we were having Christmas in our own home!) and just make Christmas mexican bean burritos or Tofu noodles?! As long as you're sat together enjoying food, chatting and laughing, what does it matter?! As far as treats are concerned- there are so many vegan options now! Or enjoy the process of baking a batch of cookies and decorating them or baking a cake! I am excited to bake vegan gingerbread with my son on Christmas eve- Father Christmas will be hungry and we need to leave him something yummy to help fuel his journey!

   
   

2. ONLY BUY WHAT YOU INTEND TO EAT

   
   

   It is tempting to over buy- especially when you are hosting Christmas for your whole family. But take some time to work out the rough figures. If you are hosting Christmas for 10 people, think about what one person might manage. Are they going to actually eat the whole soup starter with all the bread, the entire roast dinner, the slice of yule log and ice cream for dessert, the cheese board, the cakes and sweet treats that come out in the evening, the crips and other snacks too. Or is that probably going to be too much?!

   So much food is wasted over the festive season, so adopt the less is more approach and focus on quality over quantity. Bake one batch of mouth wateringly good, gooey chocolate chip cookies-. Hand one out for each person to enjoy, instead of putting a buffet table full of different cakes and sweat treats that won't get eaten. If you do stock up on extra snacks, open one packet at a time as required so that the left overs can keep for months to come. Dish up smaller portions of starters, mains and desserts to top up if needed. You are much more likely to save leftovers that are still in the roasting tin or in the pan, than the half eaten leftovers on someone's plate.

   
   

DECORATIONS

1. USE AN OLD ARTIFICIAL TREE YEAR AFTER YEAR AND THEN PASS IT DOWN

   
   

   There is quite a debate on this one and, without doubt, buying a brand new artificial tree is worse that a natural one- but I always think that a second hand artificial tree is environmentally better, over all. The key is to take good care of it so that you can use for many years and even pass it down through the generations. My tree is an old artificial one that my parents used when I was child. It's not the most beautiful tree but it has history and memories attached to it. So far it has had about 30 years of use and I intend for it to have many many more!
   

2. BUY SECOND HAND DECORATIONS OR HAND MAKE THEM USING NATURAL ITEMS

   
   

   As Christmas is a temporary time, why not use temporary materials to decorate with. You could put pine cones on your tree or hang dried orange slices. If you forage sustainably, you might find ever green foliage that you can bring in to your home for the festive season. The activity of finding these items could become a christmas tradition and a nice way to enjoy nature during Winter. If you want to have baubles, tinsel and all the sparkle, there are so many decorations in charity shops! You can easily create a beautiful tree without needing new decorations.

   
   
   
   

CRACKERS AND WRAP

1. MAKE YOUR OWN ECO CRACKERS

   
   

   This year I actually bought an eco friendly cracker kit whoch is made using 100% recycled materials. I hate traditional crackers. The little plasticky gifts you get inside leave me with my head in my hands! If you make your own you can make little gifts or you can buy little second hand bits and bobs, tailored to each individual. Or how about writing a note of gratitude to each person in their cracker!

   
   

2. AVOID USING PLASTIC STICKY TAPE

   
   

   This is one of my pet peaves! Most wrapping paper now is fully recyclable, but sellotape is not! It is so frustrating having to go through a pile of used wrapping paper, peeling sellotape off of it before putting the paper in the recycling bin. Instead, use a small amount of recyclable tape Ii use paper packing tape) which can all be recycled along with the paper.

   
   

   I know it's tempting to pull apart the wrapping paper to see whats inside, but if the gift giver has used a small amount of recyclable tape, you can neatly open the gift, fold the paper and use it next year to wrap a gift you are giving!

   
   

A FINAL NOTE ON GRATITUDE & GIVING

Christmas is a time to recognise the good that we have. To cherish our loved ones. To reminisce over the year as it comes to an end and to think ahead to new ideas, intentions and beginnings. A time to bring a little magic in to these dark winter days and celebrate the Winter Solstice, knowing that the days will begin to lengthen and the light will soon return. It isn't about material posessions or eating and drinking more than we need. Giving is simply a way to show our gratitude and it can be simple and beautiful. It can also be a time to think about those less fortunate and offer a helping hand, whether thats helping an elderly neighbour or buying a warm hot chocolate and a blanket for someone without a home. We can get so caught up in the superficial side of Christmas that we forget the deeper, simpler meaning.

I hope that these tips have inspired you to have a greener Christmas. Despite my 'Grinch'ness, I actually enjoy the festivities when I stay true to my morals nad values and I hope that you can too.

Merry Christmas