Christmas for environmentalists...your tips for a better Christmas

[joggerbottom]

Over the years we have made small changes to how we consume over the Christmas period. What do you do to reduce waste etc whist still embracing the Christmas spirit?

This year we will:
Have a vegan Christmas dinner for the first time - thankfully Christmas pudding falls into this category!

Make my own crackers with cardboard and handpicked gifts for the children only (last year we did wooden finger puppets)

Refuse to use wrapping paper that cannot be recycled / any packaging that is shiny or has glitter on it. Last year I decorated paper with Christmas stamps

Shop local for gifts and food

Having done a bit of googling it would seem that a real, locally grown Xmas tree is the better choice. However for those (like myself) who already have a plastic tree we’re surely better to keep using it until it’s worn out

However for those (like myself) who already have a plastic tree we’re surely better to keep using it until it’s worn out

Yes definitely

We go to a local Christmas tree farm, you go out to the field and choose your tree and either cut it yourself or get them to cut it, it's a lovely experience. It then goes in the council garden waste scheme for composting.

Yes we have a fake tree which is 17 years old. Keeping it until it's falling to bits is the eco choice.

If you'd rather nothing, than that's great. But to imply that nothing is somehow better than giving a second hand item as a gift seems a little snobby...

Where the feck do you get that from? I would rather have nothng than someone buy me 'something' just because they think they should and because they've decided to be environmental buy me something I don't want . Whether its from TKMaxx, Oxfam or An.N.Other shop.

Like I said in my post , it all means nothing doing it for one event . It needs to be sustainable .

In fact if someone insisted on buying me a present , I'd ask them to foster me a cat from CPL (the ones who cannot be rehomed but have to live in Rescue)

And as a matter of fact (this has hacked me right off ) I have bought things from eBay ...MY choice .
I wou;dn't want someone making the choice for me .

the idea of new every year baffles and disgusts me.

Do people buy new baubles every year?! Surely part of the joy is the nostalgia of your old favourites!

I wondered that. We’ve had ours for years and years and I’m attached to them.

Bring in the same Christmas tree that’s been planted in w pot for the last 3 years
Not bother with crackers

2nd hand toys for small DC is a great idea...especially plastic ones. DS was super happy with his fireman sam station and vehicles and little ride on train last year. He didn't care they weren't new. I saved about £100 too!

DM has already bought DSs 2nd hand Christmas present on ebay - a new looking copy out of print childrens book that he loves reading at hers (it was DBros) but is covered in scribbles and missing a few pages.

We do adult presents for immediate family but ask people if there's anything they need...dad usually wants bike riding accessories (gloves etc) and I usually get kitchen stuff.

We have a fake tree that was already a few years old when it was given to us 6 years ago. The other fake tree is probably 10 years old. We re-use the same baubles every year: I don't see the point in buying new tinsel, baubles, trees, decorations etc every single year. Not only are you wasting precious resources, you're also wasting your money.

Don't buy wrapping paper and cards with glitter or metallic detail. If you're given gifts stairs in such paper, try not to tear it when you open it and it can then be re-used.

Don't waste food: buy only what you need and if there are any leftovers, reheat them the following day for a special Boxing Day meal.

Don't buy presents for the sake of it. I only buy for my dc and occasionally for dh. We don't do the big gift swap thing with the whole family that a lot of people on here seem to do. Admittedly this is because we can't afford to buy gifts for 25 other people, but it does save on waste, delivery, packaging and wrapping as well as all the stress and hassle that it would cause.

Make things where possible, for example, this year I'm going to knit my dc's jumpers for Xmas jumper day (the ones they had last year are too small so they're being handed down to cousins. Mine still fits so will be good enough for the next decade or so!)

@PamelaTodd what brilliant gift ideas you've had! That's inspired me to think differently about presents for my family.

Many things I have been doing for years just because it is wasteful otherwise. Not really driven by environmental reasons but just to save money etc.

I reuse wrapping paper, gift bags are generally re-used, we never go overboard with food and the decorations are the same every year. Our tree is plastic but I got it in 2001 so lessening the impact. I don't do themes for decorations, much preferring the mix and match we have.

I shop locally for quite a lot, butcher, greengrocer, charity shops for cards and stuff. It is an easy walk into our town and can load up the two wheel trolley. Greengocer does brown paper bag packaging, bags get shredded and added to our garden compost bin along with the raw fruit and veg waste!

I plan meals and resist the temptation to buy too much food, never bother with what we should have because ‘it’s traditional’ if we don’t like it. I do make my own mincemeat and mince pies because we like them and they can be frozen, so only need to defrost what we need. We have a large free-range chicken from butcher for Christmas lunch, stacks of meat and less expensive than turkey and local veg. Always use leftovers for other meals.

I re-use gift bags and ribbons, don’t buy gifts for many people. I did buy a new Christmas tree this year, our old one was 16 yrs old and a bit tatty, but because it’s stand, trunk and branches were metal they could be recycled so not all bad. I don’t do themed decorations every year, I may add a couple of new things but certainly not a whole new set. I had a big clear out after last Christmas and gave all the unused things to my friend’s DD, as she is a guide leader and her guides can have fun re-creating new decorations and doing crafts. I have often done the same with garlands and wreaths, adding lights and decorations to make them more individual. Our market sells plain fir wreaths cheaply which I buy one to decorate for outside our house.

I enjoyed this thread. We've been making changes steadily over the last few years.

*brown paper only- we decorate with stamps etc

*no excess food except Christmas Day and New Years Eve. We eat totally normally the other days

*same Christmas tree and decorations- we buy one new one each year- all good quality, no tat

*reusable advent calendar

*bought a beautiful expensive personalised door wreath five years ago that I hope will last forever

*thoughtful useful gifts and experiences. No junk. I try REALLY hard to stick to this.