To think Christmas has descended into a pile of landfill?

[TheLostMonopolyTopHat]

I’ll start by saying this way of thinking is getting me down. I find it overwhelming and depressing as it takes the magic away but I can’t unsee it.

Everywhere you look there’s Christmas tat. As I was shopping in the lead up all I could see was shelves and shelves of total shit: plastic stocking fillers that wouldn’t last two minutes, plastic toys that’ll sit in landfill long after the children who receive them have grown up, plastic polyester Christmas pyjamas for the whole family you’ll wear for one night, Temu shit, SHEIN shit, loads of shit. People buying ‘token gifts’ or secret Santa crap, new colour themed decorations every year, shelves full of cheap stuff, it never ends.

I used to get swept up in it but the past few years I’ve found myself struggling to buy toys children in the family ask for because it’s adding to the destruction of the planet. I, like everyone else, have been guilty of buying things for the sake of buying and I hate it.

Christmas has become a consumerist hellscape. How much worse will it get? We’re all full of microplastics yet very few people seem to stop and think before buying it all only to chuck it all away.

Why are you so sure that they don't wear the pyjamas for the whole winter and for many winters besides? I've had winter pyjamas that I've worn constantly for 20 years, except in summer.

I'm finding all these assumptions and judgements on this thread very sniffy and virtue-signalling. "Facile" when you're just assuming that they only have the pjs for one Christmas Eve!

For Christmas this year I gave everyone dolls made out of clothes pegs, and they were happy and grateful for it! 🤣

EXACTLY!

I get it. BUT.

I collect greenery and have two real trees put decorations on I've had for many years. Make all my food. Buy other food locally and sustainably. I had a few presents, a pair of cashmere gloves from recyclable sources, a wool blanket, a book, some chocolate. That's nice. We had crackers that were entirely recyclable, they had games in that were fun.

They'll be no waste here.

Lego's just as bad as any other plastic though, isn't it?

!

That’s the most ridiculous excuse I’ve ever seen for being too lazy to recycle!

I’ve just bought some fat quarters of Christmas fabric for wrapping gifts next year but if course you can only do this if you’re sure that the recipient is going to reuse them.

Yep, new pjs on Christmas Eve, matching or not, continue to be worn through winter.

this is yet another snobby thread about how poorer people shop and the perceived low quality gifts given. @TheLostMonopolyTopHatwould not enjoy any plastic items so presume they are put in the bin shortly afterwards.

Oh and if you actually care about the landfill element of Christmas gifts- it’s not the gifts or the clothes that are the problem. It’s the packaging.

We filled two bin bags not with wrapping paper, but with the packaging from gifts. The boxes with inserts gifts come in, the packaging from online orders. There’s so much packaging that could be removed.

It’s really disgusting how much tat we produce and throw away. Complete sin, we should be so ashamed as humans what we are doing to the world.

My parents did this to the extreme and just stopped gifting anything as soon people reach 18. Definitely no waste or excess landfill from their home.

I tend to buy food/drink so it’s not going to waste.
For my young adult kids this year I filled their stockings with toiletries that they already use ( DS was very happy with this as he’s between jobs and low on money), and only bought stuff I know they wanted or would use.

We spend money on going out. My kids are teens so part of the present was tickets to a show that we’re all going to over the period, invitation to brunch out at a place nearby place and money. Actual gifts were money with a few bits.
when they were younger, they were happy with just a few things.

Every single plastic thing is made by someone who is paid to make it. They take that money and use it to feed a family just like yours. That is economics!
There are far too many of us and we are destroying the planet, but are you going to choose who gets fed and who doesn’t?
This stopped being a simple problem of “ Just don’t buy the tat” many, many years ago, unfortunately!

It's the Halloween tat that now merges seamlessly with the Christmas tat....it's constant & depressing thqt so many people buy into it. And they must - because the retailers wouldn't do it otherwise. Also one house in our street that filled their garden with halloween crap only took half of it down, the rest of it being blown up and down the street....
Any seen any easter eggs/plastic rabbits etc yet? That'll be next.

I am much more concious of the things I am buying than I used to be, but I have always hated plastic tat.

For my young DGC I bought a European made wooden toy that should last for many years, a pure wool item of clothing and a book each. The presents are more expensive because they are sustainable, but they get less stuff and the items will last longer and can be passed on rather than adding to landfill. I really didn't spend a lot of money on these items, just spent my time looking for them rather than buying what's in the more obvious shops.

For most other people I either buy tickets to events or food items I know they will enjoy. I have allergies so often end up re-gifting food items I have been given.

I usually wrap most things in plain brown paper that I decorate myself so it can be recycled or in reusable paper gift bags or boxes with a bit of tissue paper. I have now cut out Christmas cards too.

We had a family Christmas with me hosting and others bringing contribuitions. The one thing I was disappointed with was the Christmas crackers (donated by a family member) as they were just tat that got thrown away as soon as the meal was over.

I attended a Carbon Literacy course for work just before Christmas.
There were four areas looked at in detail..
Travel
Homes
Stuff
Food
The biggest contributor to climate change is food. And wasting food is the biggest part of that. If everyone stopped food waste it would make a massive difference.
So all those food gifts are not necc the answer. I filled a carrier bag with food gifts we had been given as a family which far exceeded our ability to eat and they are going to the Foodbank, but it would have been better if everyone had not bought them for me/us, as I repeatedly ask for.
Stuff is also a massive issue. Think before I buy anything. That is what I took away from the course.
(As well as a constant feeling of impending doom, which feels closer and closer, landfill is the least of human kind's worries).

I receive a lot of them because of the nature of my job but yes, I also exchange gifts with extended family. We tend to give gift vouchers for restaurants or experiences but it’s that thing of “having something to open” that I think drives them to also give chocolates or gift sets. I’ll broach the subject of scaling back next year.

🥺

It’s been this way for years. I was sick of it 10yrs ago. I don’t partake in it – no cards, no crackers, fake tree, no excess food, only do presents for my DH, kids and mum. We do have lots of other sustainable Christmas joy.

Look at the very people on here! It’s not just instagram. A post the other day of a single mother who bought 16!!! Gifts and was worried that it wasn’t enough. The shame starts here.

No tatt here. Fortunately!

My adult DC’s decided on quality over quantity and were happy with one or two British made items of clothing and handcrafted treats from our local independents.
One of the patterned shirts was beautiful, pattern matched large check, gorgeous natural fabric. Made about 40 miles from us.

On the other hand I have family members where photos showed the piles of presents were horrific.

I think social media has a lot to answer for, the number of MNers asking if they’d bought enough presents for their DCs, one was in a state because some nonentity on Instagram had over 100 presents for each dc. WTF is going on in some peoples minds?
It’s obscene, teaches children that we have a throw away, I-want-everything-now society that knows the value of absolutely nothing.
Yes, I’m old and grumpy but at least I recognise when enough is enough.

I agree with you OP. Christmas seems to be full of expensive, wasteful rituals that people can't bear to let go of.