Low Crap Christmas

[FurForksSake]

Anyone else trying to have a less wasteful Christmas? I want things to be festive, but there are lots of things I will no longer be doing or buying as I have become a bit more aware of their impact.

• All gifts will be usable or experiences bar stockings for the kids or specific requests
• No christmas cards aside from handmade and hand delivered ones
• No wrapping paper - brown paper and string instead
• No single use items for making meals
• Really good meal planning to make the most of left overs
• No BIG christmas shop with food we don't need to eat.

Maybe most people do this anyway? I just look at the magazines and all the things to buy and I feel a bit sick. Most of the things are going to end up in landfill within 5 years. There is just so much STUFF.

I am going to try and do 24 days of craft with my children for advent, all using stuff we already have or can collect. Also doing a reverse advent this month for the food bank to encourage us to be thoughtful and remember the giving aspect.

Am I being daft? Was I just being a wasteful idiot in the past or am I becoming Grinchy?

Nope. YANBU. Another one here making major cut backs for the environment. I am no longer buying for anyone other than my kids. That sounds really tight but I can't get them anything they need or particularly want that they don't buy themselves in this day and age. I am instead hosting several dinner parties over December offering food and wine and delicious snacks and music. My kids will be getting one main toy and others have been sourced from charity shops but I know they'll still love them. I am so sick of the consumerism. Boots every year change the packaging for the same 'gifts' why not just save a lot of them and put them back on the shelves the following year. Oh I could talk about this for hours. I've had enough ! Good luck with your scaled back Christmas! I'm looking forward to mine.

I am trying to be less wasteful buy buying less. Asking for things like annual passes and swimming lessons instead of cheap, toys from family. £20 limit for me and DH and similar for parents and siblings. For the kids we are only buying stuff they will really want!

I think the Boots 342 has a lot to do with my withdrawing from the overt commercialism. Over priced, lazy, over packaged and often unwanted/needed but still they put them out and we buy them.

I am grateful for all that we have and that I can choose to have a paired back Christmas. I grew up very poor and Christmas was quite small, but we always got the one thing we wanted (within a very tight budget) and had lovely traditions.

Every gift I am going to give is going to be conscious but hopefully not worthy. My five-year-old nephew really isn't going to want a donkey for an African village!

I am totally into no-crap Christmas. Agree with your list and I don’t do cards at all.

Mum and I are not even buying anything for each other as we don’t particularly want anything and would rather not buy for the sake of it. We are having a day out to a favourite place together in the spring instead.

I am cutting back to. We buy so much rubbish that's just not used. Mine are older now and not as into Christmas. I am doing 1 shop for the Christmas period. I'm not buying stuff as I see it.

We buy our children 'luxuries' that are wanted but not essential. For example our daughter has awful old pans so I'm getting her 2 (Sainsbury’s) cast iron casseroles. The other one has just moved house need needs new bedding which she can't afford to get. Then they get 'stocking stuff' chocolate, socks etc. Not much in the way of surprises but things they want but can't afford themselves.

I've got one of the Sainsbury cast iron casseroles, it has been going for years!

Stockings here are a mix of frivolity and necessary and edible. New socks and pants, new flannel, toothbrush, fun bubble bath, always feature. The children are 3 and 5 and think it is brilliant that santa likes them to be clean!

I usually use lots of gift wrap and bows and ribbons, then I discovered that the paper isn't recyclable so won't be buying it again.

I was reading Good Housekeeping and it was extolling the benefit of buying foil containers for cooking Christmas dinner in, ok you can wash and recycle it, but who does? It still has to be manufactured, transported and packaged in non-recyclable film.

I've bought Christmas chocolates (heroes) already, but this will be the last year. All the packaging and greed is too much. Next year we will buy big bar or make treats ourselves. I wonder if we will miss them?

We’re definitely going to cut down on food. Every year we end up with too much.

It's so easy to get drawn in to the big food shop, the stores really push you to book your slot and buy all the goodies. There are only so many meals to eat and snackertunities.

I'm the only one who likes smoked salmon so I am going to make sure i remember that when I am purchasing. That's tricky, two adults and two small children with differing tastes can mean things go to waste. Lots of package sizes seem too big at Christmas.

I think it's a good idea OP. The crazy consumer frenzy gets worse and worse each year. It's madness. I know what you mean about magazines - obviously they are there to make us buy, but do they honestly believe you have to spend that much money to have a nice time? It makes me feel quite sad.

I hear you about the Boots 3 for 2 and the like. My other festive bugbears are gifts described as "stocking fillers" when they cost £40-50 or more! In the Cath Kidston catalogue, there is a watch on the stocking filler page! It's ridiculous. And incentives to buy more such as spend X amount and get a free something or other that you probably don't want. Oh and the get a new sofa/curtains in time for Christmas ads. Yep, because Christmas would be rubbish without new curtains. It's quite gross when you stop and think about it.

I feel the same as you though OP, I love Christmas and I want it to be festive but the ridiculous consumerism drives me nuts. There was a great thread on here last year about the simple things you remember about Christmas, and most people mentioned things like going to see Father Christmas, staying up late, having "treat" food that you wouldn't normally get, the same tree decorations being brought out each year, etc. People didn't really remember getting loads of presents (maybe a certain thing they'd really wanted) - or new curtains for that matter!

I completely agree. I'm only going to buy for close family and most presents will be food/drink hampers supporting local businesses.

As a slight aside, I'm the only one that likes smoked salmon here too, but you can freeze it.
:)

joining in. There's a lot that can be done to pare back and fight consumerism without being overly virtuous or parsimonious. (Sorry, had to use that word, love it)
We long ago abandoned "the big shop" and just get nice stuff for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Boxing day is leftovers and then the shops are open again for normal food.
No glittery wrapping paper as it can't be recycled and hand made gift tags. top tip here is if you havent kept cards from last year for this, buy one nice bottle bag and cut it up to make tags. Doesn't cost much and you get loads of tags - plus the string/ribbon and the tag on the bag itself!
Keep all bottle bags, and gift bags to reuse. Support local retailers if you can. it's not always possible though.

Ooh, freezing is good, that would be ok, though it would still be Christmas without it.

I agree, small businesses are the other place my money will go, precious handmade items are always well received.

I do wonder if the problem is that we are relying on things we can buy online? people buy on black friday / cyber monday and buy things that are heavily marketed and easily acquired. Time is precious and we have become a nation of bargain hunters.

Part of my low-crap is trying to remember to place value appropriately, £10 spent on something worth £10 not something that someone has convinced me is worth that.

One of my favourite parts of Christmas is when we go and see the lights at Kew gardens. The children fall asleep on the way home and it is so peaceful and festive driving home in the dark, we listen to Christmas tunes and spot Christmas trees. That journey is priceless, ok we pay to go to Kew and that isn't cheap, but actually it is the journey that really makes it.

Demented - parsimonious is an excellent word, and yes I want to avoid that.

I have a set of beautiful Christmas stamps and I buy one new one each year, I then buy cheap luggage tags and make my own. The children help and often use them to make Christmas cards too.

I am wrapping some gifts in tea towels, similar to the Japanese cloth wrapping. The tea towel is then a nice and useful part of the gift and zero waste.

It no longer become a treat. My in laws buy my DC loads of selection boxes, chocolates Santa's ect that they don't even get excited about chocolate anymore. I remember when chocolate was a treat. This year we are having a traditional advent calendar with a scene behind each door and no chocolate. I do a lot of home cooking and baking so my kids consider those as the real treats. We are going to play games and watch movies. I am normally done by this time for presents and all shopped out but I'm that fed up at it all I haven't even glanced at a Xmas email in my inbox or looked at a Christmas catalogue. And I'm looking forward to this Christmas more than any.

I think the real treat my children want is our time and attention, we are going to try and lavish that on them. They'll also get a selection box in their stocking :)

There is so much over consumption and it really does seem to go from November to January. I'm going to try and keep the special food to Christmas week and not let it bleed out either side.

I am in. Definitely brown wrapping paper. Can tissue paper be recycled?
Am going to cook stuff in advance and freeze. Charity shops can have beautiful decorations, I have some red apples with gold frosting that come out every year.
Good idea about the stamp.
Wilkins also do lovely paper decorations.

Yes, I think it can, but all paper must have the sticky tape removed and binned before recycling. www.wrap.org.uk/content/tis-season-be-aware-recycling

Charity shopping is definitely going to be my go to, I need to go for a browse next week. I bet instead of buying gift boxes of bags you could find something fun to re-use from one. Seasalt hessian shoppers are excellent as they look so pretty, are natural and reusable. www.seasaltcornwall.co.uk/accessories/jute-bags

Things seem to be going full circle somewhat to less consumerist times. When I was young in the mid 80s we still had a fantastic Christmas and consumerist to an extent but we certainly didn’t get the masses of tat kids get nowadays. There was no Poundland or internet then and my parents never had a credit card. We tended to get a main present and a couple of smaller ones and then selection boxes etc. It was special but not ott. Plus we had one day of naughty food, selection box for breakfast etc plus lovely leftovers but not weeks of it. When my dd was at primary about 5-10 years ago it was sickening the amount parents were competing to buy their kids and how the kids expected more and more each year. It’s nice t exactly austerity but cutting back is certainly a positive thing and I embrace it!

I think there is a real temptation to bulk out offerings with piles of poundland tat. Stuff that doesn't get used, doesn't last and is poor quality, but gives the appearance that is wanted. I want to get my children used to small amounts of good things and that it is perfectly acceptable to have less THINGS and more EXPERIENCES and TIME.

I don't judge people who make different choices, but I can't stop knowing that those cheap toys and pens are going to landfill and probably fairly soon.

That describes my childhood Christmases too Pizza. We looked forward to it massively, had treats etc but it wasn't OTT. Hopefully it does go full circle. Did anyone see that Christmas programme last year that was a spin off of Back In Time for Dinner? They showed Christmases from each of the 20th century decades, and the most popular one was 70s/80s, because it was a balance of fun/treats without too much stress!

I wonder if it is on iplayer, I might look it out.

Yes I'm definitely with you. Pared down Christmas is our theme this year. I've already discussed it with visiting family.

Less waste, less spend and less hassle.

We've agreed on one main present for the kids and a stocking each. Adults aren't getting anything.

We're going to have a normal family meal e.g. chilli on Christmas eve and still have the traditional Christmas dinner.

And even though I'm hosting I am determined not to spend days stressing, cleaning and panic buying. Disclaimer: I say this every year but I always still end up in the manic Christmas zone

What I can't decide is whether I can give up the tree. I usually get a real one for £50ish. I love a real tree but it really seems wasteful and unnecessary

We get a real tree, we buy it from a local Christmas tree farm and choose it in the field. Supports local, it is a lovely ritual and I adore it. Afterwards the tree goes to be chipped and composted, so that's not tooo horrendous.

And this is why I am going for Low Crap and not No Crap. I am still buying Christmas crackers too, they are just wasteful tat too!

I'm on a second hand present mission for DS & DD. I would say that about 80% of their gifts I've been able to source 2nd hand from local selling sites and eBay (including the main item that DS would like, plus something else that he doesn't know exists but will be delighted with!). Everything I've bought is in immaculate condition so I'm thrilled with how much it's saved us and that the items are being recycled :)

I'm going to really try and meal plan for the festive period to minimise food waste, and I've asked my mum not to buy the huge tubs of Roses etc just because they're on offer!

I'm not going to be tempted in to buying special Christmas outfits for the children to wear for one day and never again