What are you doing to be greener this Christmas?

[Nc123]

Inspired by a thread elsewhere, I’m interested to know what are you doing to be greener at Christmas this year?

I reuse advent calendar, decorations and tree each year.
I have a clear out each November to make room for stuff coming in.
I generally try to buy preloved where I can (though I’ve not been good at that this year)
I buy useful gifts and only things that I’m sure will be used or played with.

This year I’m also planning to use brown paper to wrap with natural decorations made of things like dried orange slices and cinnamon sticks to minimise wrapping waste.

I do buy my kids quite a lot of stuff at Christmas but i try to keep plastic low, don’t spoil them the rest of the year, don’t fly, walk rather than use the car for short journeys and buy preloved wherever I can - so Christmas is my chance to give them nice things.

Tell me what you’re doing for a greener Christmas!

@Otherpeoplesteens

We normally just get a turkey crown but not sure if that’s more or less green than getting the whole thing tbh. Means less waste in our house, but is it wasted elsewhere?

As far as I know the rest of the turkey does not go to waste, in the sense that it will wind up elsewhere. Whilst buying just a turkey leg in a supermarket or butcher isn't really a British thing it is common enough throughout the rest of Europe - I just hope Brexit hasn't cut off the opportunity to move parts of the carcass across borders to where the demand is. The rest of the carcass will be stripped and processed into turkey twizzlers or dinosaurs or whatever the kids are eating these days, and the bones will be used to make pre-prepared turkey gravy.

What is definitely wasted is your money. Buying a crown is barely any cheaper than buying a whole bird and if you consider it in terms of price per kilo then it's quite frightening.

That may be true Re the money, but if I can afford it then I’m reducing waste. The cost of being green.

For eg I get milk from the milkman now, glass reusable bottles, electric vehicle, etc, but costs me more than Tesco milk in plastic.

I hope that if people like me invest extra in greener ideas it helps bring costs down overall, as well as me being greener.

I just find it ridiculous when people worry about plastic packaging/ walking more often than driving when they have already done the worst (have children). If my comment is seen by others who want to make a genuine effort for the environment perhaps they will consider not having children!

We're not big on presents anyway, but we've refused to buy unrecyclable wrapping paper (shiny plastic stuff) or cards (glitter) for four or five years. We have stopped sending masses out in the post because of the transport footprint and the cost.

I refuse to wear Christmas jumpers until I find one made without artificial fibres which shed microplastics in the laundry. They'd probably only get worn two or three times before being washed and put away, so it's a particularly high wash-to-wear ratio.

We don't light up the night sky with outdoor decorations - just one LED string on the tree.

The big advances this year will be on food. I read this morning that according to WRAP the UK wastes 36m tonnes of carbon dioxide every year in food, and 70% of that is in the home. So, we'll use every scrap of flesh from the turkey, every last sprout will find its way into one dish or another, and absolutely nothing will get wasted.

We keep a box in the freezer for odd splashes of leftover gravy; when the box is full that's enough for a pie. Ditto odd bits of veg. If it's something that only one out of six or seven of us will eat (Christmas pudding is a good example in our case) then we'll buy either a single portion or - in all probability - not buy at all.

In truth, we've always been pretty good at not wasting things, but one of our traditions is to share a chateaubriand on NY Eve and that's being canned this year as part of the climate drive.

That may be true Re the money, but if I can afford it then I’m reducing waste. The cost of being green.

I'd rather eat the whole turkey ourselves and save the money into the bargain, but then I've got no issue with completely stripping the carcass with my bare hands on Boxing Day, boiling bones for stock, and can find a use for every part of the bird, including giblets. I'm conscious not everyone can do this, so I can see why a crown makes sense to some.

Go for a walk in the woods.thats it.

@Bpickle1

I just find it ridiculous when people worry about plastic packaging/ walking more often than driving when they have already done the worst (have children). If my comment is seen by others who want to make a genuine effort for the environment perhaps they will consider not having children!

I honestly don’t think this is the thread for this.

I’m not even sure this is the forum for this.

I get what you’re saying, but we all make our own decisions about what is important to us. I kept my biological children to two for environmental reasons (my eldest is adopted). I don’t have to justify the existence of my children.

Everything we do to be more green, however small, makes a difference. Please don’t discourage people by suggesting that it doesn’t matter whether they use furoshiki wrapping because they have already had kids so it doesn’t matter. It does.

I’d like to use furoshiki wrapping cloths but they are expensive for a relatively small number! Maybe that’s one for next year.

@Nc123

I’d like to use furoshiki wrapping cloths but they are expensive for a relatively small number! Maybe that’s one for next year.

I just bought fat quarters and offcuts from eBay, not the specific stuff.

Ooh thanks VanGoghsDog I hadn’t thought of that.

No meat or dairy,less gifts and no visiting family who live far away (argentina)

You can also use scarves for fabric wrapping, not woolly ones but the type that women used to wear with a nice blouse or suit. I have a few of those hanging around in my wardrobe.

I buy only for my adult DS's and only buy what they need( 2 airfyers this year)
I use drawstring cotton bags for " wrapping" which they return
I buy mine from cotton baggers which sell cheaply and in bulk
( no idea how to link, sorry)
Food wise I only buy what we need and always consider how it's packaged.
Haven't sent cards for years
Every bit helps I think

I'm buying people food/alcohol gifts only

Buying nothing else apart from a fresh wreath

I need nothing/want nothing myself though I'm going to ask DH to buy me a new pair of organic/small business pyjamas from Scamp and Dude or Kate Barnett