Is anyone else trying to have a less wasteful Christmas this year?

[GrinchWithAConscience]

Every year there’s a new Christmas craze, this time it’s Labubu toys and White Fox, last year it was Stanleys and skincare.

It just makes me sad seeing how much of it ends up as waste or forgotten tat. Wouldn’t it be better if kids got things they genuinely like and will use, instead of whatever’s trending for five minutes?

I really wish more people would pause and think about what all this buying actually means, for the planet and for the kids themselves.

I've bought more fabric wrapping bags. Saves me time too.

But otherwise I don't buy things that won't get used.

not all this stuff is wasteful - I use to buy my kids Xmas pyjamas - they would carry on wearing them all year. No reason you can’t.

my 14yo bought herself a Stanley on holiday 2 years ago - she still uses it most days.

white fox Hoodie - that fit loads of wear. Reminds me she has stopped wearing it now so I can probably sell it on and get some money back.

Yep, I've got most presents from Vinted the past couple of years, or got experience presents

At least! I also don't see much wrong with OP examples. A hoodie will be worn, a Stanley cup used and skincare used up. None of that is wasteful. Most kids that want one will have a labubu doll by now.
I am trying to buy less for dd, we have been guilty of going overboard in the past. It's easier now she's older to get some well thought out things she'll love and use instead of a mountain of toys!

🤣🤣

My DH is the biggest waste in our house. My DC are all adults now and he insists on buying them a load of crap just so that they still get a pile of presents. It’s infuriating as they’d just rather have the money.

Yeah this is true, things aren’t wasteful if they’re worn and used. They’re a waste if they’re stuck in a cupboard.

Got our personalised QS tin years ago and it gets refilled with bagged or boxed sweet. No nasty plastic tubs.

Artificial tree must be 18 years old, still looks great.

Ditto hessian sacks and personalised stockings that come out every year. Have given up wrapping family gifts.

Do like a foil tray on Xmas Day but save them up during the year. Actually reused the turkey one several times but have given up cooking a big turkey as no one likes it.

My main annual buys are baubles to add to DCs’ collections, and seasonal Lego (the Xmas train this year 🚂).

And food and drink, obviously, but mainly ingredients for cooking from scratch - Xmas cake, desserts, nut roast etc.

And I’m wearing my festive-ish pyjamas now, they are more wintery than Xmas themed.

Nope, not really, as it's pretty low key anyway.

I do buy enormous rolls of brown paper and use those to wrap Christmas presents - you can write the name of the recipient on and they recycle. They are also used for wrapping birthday presents and anything that needs to go through the post. You can also make yourself a goosegrease and brown paper vest for the winter if you are so inclined...

It’s a number of decades since I have had anything near approaching a wasteful Christmas. In the past I used to throw money at it and decided it wasn’t how I wanted to do things. Since then I set up budgets for everyone, asked for lists etc and then buy much more considered gifts. I also cut out buying for anyone other than immediate family.

We don’t go mad with food at anytime of the year and Christmas is no exception. I rarely buy new Christmas decorations or such like and have spent some time this year sorting through them and am getting rid of those which I no longer need.

I no longer buy Christmas magazines but browse them on the library app. I am also careful about what subscription services I sign up to. NOW cinema is not the value for money it once was and I am lucky if I get a decent months viewing from up, so I don’t want to sign up for 6 months for a few Christmas films.

Any outings are much more carefully selected. Health plays a part, but also having done things for years the novelty has worn off for most of them and the cost can be phenomenal. There are many more free or cheap activities available which were previously overlooked; think local town events rather than light trails, train rides etc.

My dd got hers Xmas two years ago when they were the new thing. I remember taking both dd to Westfield the Feb half term following and the same - the vast majority of tween girls were in uggs, leggings and white fox hoody.

Last year we were going through a hard time and didn't do much because just didn't feel like it, no tree up, just a few presents and a really nice meal, games, perfect quiet Christmas. It was so nice, we're doing it again this year! We will be moving hopefully sometime in the NY, so buying stuff just to pack up is pointless. Instead we're doing an IOU for later, once settled in case we want anything for the new home. We were already coming to the conclusion that we were buying too much tat, books that sat there unread for years, gadgets unused, whole bag of socks collected from over the years still unused..typical little Xmas presents. Well, waste of time and money.

People saying Christmas jumpers and pyjamas are wasteful- I wear them throughout winter and I have done that are years old. The kids’ ones get passed around.

Abolishing the practice of Secret Santa in the workplace would be a start.

So much shit gets bought and gifted: do I really need another mug to keep at the back of my cupboard or another Baylis & Harding gift set to take to the charity shop?

I love a christmas/winter jumper and PJs. I don’t necessarily buy them every year, only if there is something I like, but like you have some that are years old. Jumpers are worn virtually every day in December and the more winter ones are worn a little earlier until it warms up a bit. Almost the same amount of wear as a normal jumper.

@Charlize43 I totally agree with the secret santa at work. I ended up opting out, but it wasn’t that easy to do so. The better ones were where we had to give a wish list of a handful of items, so there was a chance of getting something useful.

I think this ‘new Christmas jumper every year’ line that gets trotted out on threads like this is a complete misnomer. My kids get a new one every 2 years, by which time they’re grown out of it, just like all their other clothes (as kids grow!). They’re worn all of December, over Christmas and into the New Year, so they actually get far more wear than some of their other winter clothes. I’ve had the same one for years, along with most people I know (I certainly see them in the same ones every year!). I don’t think many people are replacing them every year.

Agreed! 👍

I feel really ungrateful but we’ve also had a lot of wasteful presents over the years. Like mugs with hot chocolate in that we never use, multiple scarf and glove sets for kids each Xmas. There’s so much of it and I can’t find room for it all. It gives a moment of glee when first opened but after that it remains forgotten. I’m guilty of it too. Buying for quantity rather than quality. I’m trying to rein it in this year though. It’s way too much and on Xmas eve when Santa puts all the presents under the tree I’ve had feelings underneath of it looking so obscene with so much. It’s overwhelming.

Kind of yeah. I’ve actually bought quite a few bits on Vinted. I’ve had a massive clear out, sold lots in there and used the money to buy Xmas gifts.

We do Xmas pjs for the kids each year too but use them year round.

we don’t do Xmas eve boxes but we have similar and give them the morning after they break up from school. But I put the books and some flashy items away and reuse them each year.

I don’t really find Christmas particularly wasteful. We have Christmas jumpers that are older than our dc and when they were smaller, just picked up new ones second hand that were barely worn, and passed ours on.

I’ll be setting the table with table linen from one grandmother and silverware from another. I cook in dishes that can go straight to the buffet, and after to the fridge, that get used year round, Everything gets eaten eventually as we all love our leftovers and the bones are boiled for broth.

We’ve switched to gift lists for almost everyone we buy for which reduces waste dramatically. DD’s whitefox hoodie is her most worn item of clothing and responsible for her buying less clothes this last year. We don’t have Stanley cups because she still has her chilly’s bottle from the year before.

The dc have sold a lot of their toys so there’s a thriving market for second hand. Some of them were bought second hand too.

I’m still stubbornly partial to paper wrapping, but I take care to choose recycled and recyclable options. Fabric production has a significantly higher carbon impact than paper, so if you’re switching to it for wrapping, try and recycle old fabrics rather than purchasing new ones.

This is all pretty normal in my circle. And gathering together in one house for big meals surely saves a lot on cooking, lighting and heating.

Because most people can drink responsibly

You can drink responsibly and still get a headache and be pissing the money away. But, as I said, not my worry.

Mine isn’t wasteful - makes me nauseous when I see waste. I don’t have kids or a nuclear family but extended family do secret Santa with a decent budget. We’ve long had both a gift bag circuit and a Tupperware circuit - got a present last week in a gift bag which I last passed on two years ago - and I don’t do Xmas PJs as I sleep in the nip ☺️