Plastic free Christmas?

[Lovemusic33]

Is it possible?
Would love to have a plastic free Christmas or reduced as much as possible. Both dc’s are teens and don’t want much this year though dd2 does wasn’t Lego (plastic) but I would love to gift other people non plastic items. Anyone else doing plastic free? Any ideas on nice gifts?

We're not going plastic free specifically - just focussing more on less "stuff" in general so will be buying only what I know will be used/is needed and giving experiences where I can.

Gifts will be wrapped in parcel paper which can be recycled or fabric that will be used e.g. I've a cushion wrapped in a t-shirt and a bottle of alcohol wrapped in a scarf so it's 2 gifts in 1.

I'm trying to gift e-vouchers instead of plastic gift cards.

I didn't do crackers left year and tbh - no one was bothered so we won't be going back on that.

We've had the same Xmas decorations for 5 years, only new additions are school made items.

Have bought a few things second hand e.g books, audiobook CD, novelty stocking items and only bought new after checking I can't get what I want from eBay/Facebook selling page.

I only send cards to elderly relatives who appreciate the gesture - I myself can't be bothered with them if I'm honest!

We do ‘make your own’ crackers to avoid the plastic tat that so often comes in them!
We moved to a material advent calendar a few years ago, so I’ll be buying sweets and chocolates that don’t have a plastic wrapper for each of the pockets.

I’m trying to move in that direction but still struggling in places.

Crackers: have been homemade for years, with recycled cracker junk. The dc love the tat so I’ve just bagged up the discarded bits each year to re use. Also add a lottery tickets for adults and sweets for all.

Dinner is relatively good. At this stage I’m not intimidated by the “big roast” and feel the need for disposable trays etc. my ordinary shopping is largely plastic free. But I like to buy some of the side dishes and they all come in plastic or in foil trays sealed with plastic.

Wrapping: I like brightly coloured wrapping. I tried the brown paper trend one year but found it a bit dull. Now I avoid glittery, thick and embossed paper and stick to recyclable paper. I’ve been looking for plain or festive paper tape but most of that comes in plastic packaging

Adult gifts: for the last couple of years I’ve been sticking to gifts that are actually wanted and will be used. Absolutely no gag gifts. I don’t gift plastic but it’s tricky to avoid plastic packaging. I was really pleased to find turtle doves and the ethical silk company used responsible packaging but there’s only so many gifts of gloves and pillowcases I can give. I’d love to hear other company recommendations. I’m thinking of focusing on books this year as these are plastic free at point of purchase.

The dc toys are my biggest downfall. I try to steer clear of excess plastic. They’re old enough to be concerned about climate change but still young enough to be drawn into stupid trends. LOL balls are horrific! I held the line on those and when dd’s birthday came round she got a gift of one from nearly everyone of her friends who felt so sorry for her
I compromise on good quality plastic toys with resale value because they will get re used - lego, OG dolls.
It was easier when they were younger and there were lovely wooden toys, organic cotton and wool rag dolls, etc.
And again, even when I choose stocking fillers like notebooks, pencils and chocolate, there’s the issue of plastic packaging again.

The dc have always made gifts for family members. Most years it’s baking of some sort. We tried growing hyacinths one year but they didn’t bloom.

Lego is plastic but at least it's not single use, it can last for ages (my mum still had my lego, my child plays with it now!)

For other
There are great wooden toys for younger children.
Books for adults or kids
Consumable items - food hampers. Learn to make jam or chutney (easier than you think!). Handmade knitted items, plants, nice photo frames. Clothing.
Make your own recyclable wrapping paper from brown parcel paper and stamps.
Make your own crackers and fill with decent stuff rather than one use rubbish that goes in the bin immediately.

I'm glad to say no crackers I hate all the tat in them that goes straight in the bin.

My 11yo just wants clothes or PS4 games.
My 8yo will want Lego but he does play with it every day and when he eventually grows out of it I'll donate it to school for Lego therapy.
2yo is getting a wooden kitchen and wooden pretend food. She will however get a dolls pushchair and a doll that will be plasticky but again she will use daily and then eventually donate. They will all get books.

I will tell relatives to minimise the plastic toys but I'm sure 2yo in particular will still get some!

We don't have any young nieces or nephews to buy for so only adults, who will prob get clothes or perfume or vouchers/money.

Advent calendars hmm I will look into material or wooden ones as that's a good idea!

Hi I plan to try and get second hand toys as at least they aren't being bought new so creating less demand. Its easier though as ds is 3. I ll ask people what they need as well. There is a independent eco friendly shop where we live which is good for presents for adults.

Thanks for the great ideas. We don’t do crackers (haven’t for a few years), would love to use brown paper and ribbon/string for wrapping this year. Luckily I don’t buy for many people and mainly adults so it’s a bit easier to avoid the tat. I told my mum today what I was doing this year (not buying plastic tat) as she was talking about how we need to do more for the environment, funny as she’s queen of buying cheap plastic toys and things that will hardly get used. I think for the adults I will just buy gin 😁, it’s easier and glass is recyclable.
Most of my tree decorations are handmade by me using pine cones I have collected and I do dried orange slices with cinnamon sticks, we have some fancy glass tree decorations and we usually add a new one each year, I will avoid the plastic decorations from Poundland.

And yes, Lego lasts forever and can be passed down so I will be still buying my daughter a Lego set. I think it’s harder when you have younger children that want the latest plastic crap such as LOL dolls (tiny bits of plastic tat) and toys based on tv shows. Now mine are older they mainly want Nintendo switch games and clothes.

I've noticed more and more people asking for reusable and plastic free gifts and christmas decorations. Etsy also have mentioned this trend in their Christmas 2019 trend report. Its definitely gathering momentum and there should be lots of ideas, gifts and decorations focusing on less plastic and more environmentally friendly.

And to the poster that said about food containers used for pre prepared food, they make great seed trays if you plant seeds (flowers or veg), there are uses for them.

Have a look at websites like Plastic Freedom, you can get paper tape for wrapping presents etc. and they have a few gift type things. A really good idea! I’m doing everyone a painting this year with my new watercolours (plastic caps on the tubes but that’s all), and using frames from charity shops rather than buying new ones. Good luck!

I shall have a look at plastic freedom. We have a plastic free shop near us that sells a nice selection of things including shampoo bars and bath bombs, hopefully they will have some good Christmas gift ideas.

Does anyone have recommendations for the material advent calendars - just seen one for £89!!! I mean I know they will be reused for a few years but I normally only spend £2 on each one lol

icecream we have advent bunting (little numbered stockings to put things in), I bought it from home sense/tkmax a couple years ago, they often have fabric advent calendars for £10-£20.

Aldi and Lidl usually do the wooden ones for around £12 too.

M&S have declared that this year all their cards and paper will be glitter free so that they can be recycled 👍

As a family, we've been reusing wrapping paper for years now - each piece gets cut down so it doesn't look too reused - so it's usually only the larger presents that need new paper (wasgijs for my Grandpa tend to be in this category 🙄).

We've also been filling our own crackers for a few years too. If you're feeling creative, you can buy the material to make a fabric advent calendar in places like Hobbycraft - I think the front panels are about £12 (I got mine in the John Lewis clearance for half that - so might be worth aiming to do that for next year) and it's good fun making it up.

Might look into making some fabric bags for DC1's presents which can be reused (due end if November so this year won't be necessary) - I picked up some Christmassy fat quarters from Hobbycraft last year so would be a good thing to put them to use.

Agree with everyone who has already said about only gifting stuff that you know people will use and no plastic tat joke gifts 👍

There is a Facebook group for this very topic! Plastic Free Christmas FB page

I've just been out and picked a couple of pounds of sloes and the same of blackberries.
I've now got 3 litres of sloe gin, sloe vodka and blackberry gin on the go.

I intend to buy glass bottles to decant some in to give as gifts.

Do it now though, so it's got time to mature.

The same with making Christmas cake to give!

Our wooden Advent calendar is from The Range. I usually do a mixture of sweets and bits of paper saying an activity for the day.

For dc I'm trying to stick to stuff that will last and can therefore be sold / donated when they're done with it. Looking at Facebook marketplace I think I'm going to try and get big stuff like a dolls house second hand.

I found some felt advent calendars with pockets on eBay for £5 each and a discount if you ordered 3 so I've ordered them and will see what they are like! I'm not crafty enough to make my own with hobbycraft kits!

Am wondering if will come across cheeky to say to family no plastic tat as the in-laws in particular buy loads of tat to make it look like the kids have loads of stuff to open at theirs...no matter how many times DH says just buy one or two decent things they still do it! My family usually ask for suggestions so I can send links for wooden toys....

We are trying, but as others have said, the packaging makes it even trickier!

Ours are both having bikes this year, which helps a bit. We are buying second hand, too, so waste will be minimal. We also plan that the bigger bike will be handed down (and smaller one sold on), so that should all be good.

On the flip side, they need new helmets, which will off course involve lots of plastic!

Other gifts for them will be books, clothes and Kapla blocks. Other children are all having books, and relatives will have practical things, photographs etc.