A simple Christmas

[crochetmonkey74]

inspired by the brilliant thread recently about waste and being more thoughtful, I am determined to have a more thoughtful and also restful and restorative Christmas. I was browsing M and S yesterday and where normally I would feel excitement and a bit of that buying 'frenzy' I was reminded of that thread, and started to think carefully about how I want my Christmas to be.
So far I have :
make food from scratch where possible, rather than buy in
buy as little packaged food as possible
no gifts or gifts from lists to reduce token presents
I already only do about 5 cards to relatives who live away, I give out homemade sweets instead.

What will you be doing?

Could you point me in the direction of good cracker-making supplies? Never made them before but really find the traditional ones super wasteful.

Anyone who wants turkey cheap I suggest going to Sainsburys first thing when it opens on boxing day. Last year I got a Turkey Crown that was originally £39.99 for £6.00. I'm a vegetarian so I'm not interested but my Mum and the cats had it for a full week!
I don't really do Christmas anyway, just a couple of presents and a few cards. I don't like roast dinners anyway so will be having a pizza.
Even my Mum has grown a pair this year and told her brother who she never sees that she's not sending him £60.00 as she cant be bothered with it!

I think unless your motivation is entirely to save money then there can be a danger of throwing out the baby with the water.

I'll be buying gifts this year (and probably too many) but they will all be things which are needed and all bought with thought from small producers rather than high street stores.

Skorpion

I think paperchase / the works type of shops sell the bang bits.
I use loo rolls and any scraps lying around to decorate.
I know you can buy bits in the works for crafting, but didn't buy any as it defeated my objective of recycling.
But if you want to buy the bits to make yourself I definitely recommend the works or even the pound shops have some bits.
Oh, if they're for children you could put some stickers in there too, sold in pound shop.

100% agree, we are doing a no-gifts-for-adults this year, small stockings and one nice main present for kids. I really like the idea of giving these instead
centrepoint.org.uk/more-than-a-christmas-dinner/
Then at least someone gets something meaningful. I'm so over cheap bath sets and plastic crap...

I have made Christmas cards and will be sending less due to getting divorced.
Wrap got in sale last year and will probably last next year as well.
We always re use decorations and tree until they fall to bits.
Food wise anticipating all being well to go to family for 25th and 26th and will take some food with me usually puddings and soft drinks. But have bought a couple of treats as well and will be in total under £20.
Advent calendar chocolate for kids
No christmas eve box
No 1st December box
Maybe elf as we do have one but it got on my nerves last year so might not bother.

No christmas pyjamas
No christmas duvets
Snack for santa though

Anybody got plastic and tat free,non wasteful stocking filler ideas for teenage boys?

No christmas eve box
No 1st December box
Maybe elf as we do have one but it got on my nerves last year so might not bother.
No christmas pyjamas
No christmas duvets

These are all recent inventions which epitomise Christmas excess. When my DC were small (not that long ago, they are both teenagers) none of these were a 'thing'. Most people do without them anyway, don't they?

Ju2tbreathe used to get mine socks, funny underpants, can of beer/mini bottle of wine, posh shower gel, hair gel, DVD, small book, etc - much of which wasn't used or appreciated. So I'm offering them a cash alternative this year.

I am totally on board for this!
Its my first Christmas in my own home so I really want to go all out but instead of buying lots of decorations we have been making them our selves. You can get some great inspiration on pinterest and a walk in the woods is great to pick up pine cones and twigs to make stars etc..
I have shit loads of brown paper under the bed so I'm thinking of wrapping in that with some brown string and a nice home made gift tag to make it look festive

I agree. I stopped sending cards in the last few years, they are so utterly pointless. I wish the people that matter to me a happy christmas personally with a big or I phone them.
This years presents to our teens will be fewer but bigger and things they want but need/will use.
Everyone else will get consumables such as food and drink I know they like. Not buying any new decs.
Never go overboard with food anyway. Never understood the tubs of choices and sweets. I buy a stollen and a box of mince pies, and ingredients for Christmas dinner from scratch. Candles and lights and love is all I need!

RomanyRoots Thanks! I'll see if there are any tutorials on youtube and try to make some with stuff I already have (except the bang strips)

Just told DS we will be having home made crackers made from loo roll tubes & he was appalled. "They'll be contaminated with faecal bacteria!!"

Just what do you do with the loo rolls at your house??

"They'll be contaminated with faecal bacteria!!"

Tell him I made toilet roll crackers for about 20 years before I got bored of it, with no faecal bacteria problems to report.

@LoveB

yes, cards can be recycled but I prefer not to generate all that waste in the first place. Also I think there's a few question marks over whether things are being recycled or just dumped.

how many trees for all those Xmas cards...just can't see the point. Haven't sent any for years.

My snaps were from amazon with free postage. The bag will last us about 15 years!

I'm reigning in on the food this year. For example instead of buying a big box of cheese crackers, most of which will get ignored in favour for the standard cream crackers, I'm just buying an extra packet of cream crackers. Same for chocs and all that. Just a little extra packet but not tubs, boxes, multi buys etc etc.

We are doing secret Santa amongst friends and family, so cutting down on presents and giving presents that will probably be landfill before long, just for the sake of it. Have also cut down on gimmicky stocking-fillers type presents and all the "Christmas Eve box" type nonsense. My DCs don't need all that bought stuff to feel happy and loved at Christmas. Just because that Christmas tat (i.e. teddy bears wearing "Happy Christmas" jumpers which will be forgotten by Boxing Day etc) is in the shops, it doesn't mean it has to be bought!

I am making a huge effort to buy local as much as possible this year, having seen the High Street advert - it really made me think/feel guilty. Especially will be cutting down on purchases from large online-only companies.

Cutting right down on fast fashion and gimmicky type purchases. I have got the DCs one Christmas jumper each which I'll wash a lot so they can wear it a lot through Christmas.

Basically I'm really focussing on not creating more landfill and also supporting local High Street. That's what I want to do.

I think we’ve always done a fairly simple but traditional Christmas.

We’ve never really done plastic tat and presents have generally been needed or useful things - boots, coats, luggage etc as adults,

Sports/dancewear or musical instruments as children with the odd wooden train set/Wendy house/dolls prom when they were younger.

We don’t have Christmas jumpers or pyjamas or bedlinen. I do have tartan tablecloths I made about ten years ago.

Food has always been very locally sourced and cooked from scratch. Meat travels about a mile. Eggs 500 yards. I collect chestnuts when walking the dog. Wine is delivered but produced within 20 miles. Same for cheeses.

Our advent calendars we’ve had for years and just refill. We do send lots of cards though, as a way of staying in touch and because some older people often get little else. I use our cards as gift labels the following year.

Decorations are either foraged greenery, fresh flowers or things we’ve had for years. No tinsel or plastic Santa’s. I make the door and table wreaths.

Kindling and logs we collect. Although, we do have a local logboy deliver a cwt too.

We have been scaling back for the past few years anyway, but this year we are buying second hand (Playmobil, lego etc) where possible.

No plastic chocolate filled advent calendar (I make one, and each day has a different Advent activity - such as 'make Christmas decorations' or 'make and deliver cookies to friends').

We also do a 'reverse' advent calendar where every day we put one item into a box that we take to the foodbank.

No Christmas wrapping paper (as it can't be recycled) so we we'll be using the usual recycled Kraft paper (can be bought in the Post office) which the kids love decorating, and we'll only be sending a few handmade cards,

We buy small tins and make things like lipbalm and body butter out of shea butter/cocoa butter etc and wrap them nicely for gifts.

I will make some gifts for the children - some clothes for their dolls, a little sewing kit etc

Buy things like art materials for stocking fillers - so stuff that the kids will actually use, rather than being something just for the sake of buying something!

My daughter has recently had a birthday and she was thrilled with a sponsorship of her favourite animal through the WWF, so we are going to do one gift like this every year. Also asking family to buy 'experiences' - e.g. tickets to our local trampoline park which the kids will love.

Not buying from bloody Amazon - which is going to be tough as it is so easy to just fall back into relying on it. So buying less, buy second hand, buy locally and ethically, and not buying plastic crap or fast fashion.

notso

Same in our house all cheese eaten!! But that’s because I don’t buy it the rest of the year as I only have to look at it and I’m a size bigger!! We don’t but adult presents only kids get presents but we do eat and drink like kings for a few weeks till 2nd January when have to go on a diet!! But ha ho it’s Christmas!!

We have had a chilled Christmas for years. Christmas Eve we spend with friends. We have food that’s nice and left overs for Christmas Day.
We only send cards to our parents and my brother ( dh is an only child).
We don’t buy presents for my parents but do something with them when they visit. Something that we wouldn’t normally do. My brother buys his children something they want on our behalf , likewise we do the same for ours ( we live in different countries so saves exchange rates, parcels etc) my mil gets flowers ( her request )
As my dad came from a big family we have never done cards or presents for aunts, uncles , cousins. Gets to expensive

One of the best things about a simple Christmas, is that it is so relaxing...... :)

I feel our Christmas is still somewhat excessive, but we have always tried to be careful, and have neve been in a huge gift giving culture. Our own children will have five gifts each under the Christmas tree, which are all things they really want. In previous years, these have largely been wooden or second hand, but this year they really want certain things. I can’t help but think DS1s main present is plastic tat, but we have kept it small and not bought the whole range of what he wants. F

M

Sorry, that posted by accident! Other toys are mostly things we know will last years and be able to pass on. We have also bought our Godchildren either Lego or books, and I have bought my mum & siblings books they would like, or wine.

DHs family, though, are a different breed. They claim to be really ethical and boycott all sorts of brands, but MIL will have filled each of us a bag with at least 12 gifts in it. They are always ‘bargains’ she has picked up, which are never things we like or need, and always end up going to charity/ in the bin. We have asked her to stop multiple times, but she get upset and says she gets so much joy from it!