Since becoming a mum this statement really hits hard. Of course we want to do what we can to be more environmentally friendly, but it can be overwhelming knowing where, when and how to start.
Christmas can easily become a time of overindulgence and wastefulness, so it’s a key time to take action!
Just a few simple changes really can make a big difference to the impact you have on the environment this Christmas, so we’ve pulled together some tips & tricks to get you started.
Gift Giving
There’s so many alternative, more eco-friendly options when it comes to gift giving this Christmas. Buying something brand new should be the last resort.
Buy an experience, give the gift of fun and fantastic memories this Christmas.
Ideas include: Theatre/Concert tickets, spa voucher, a term of classes, cinema pass or an annual pass. Many of our wonderful local swim schools offer gift vouchers.
Give a gift voucher for your time e.g. a voucher for babysitting or to do one basket of ironing! etc
Encourage someone on their eco-friendly reusable journey by getting them a reusable coffee cup, drinks bottle or bag. There’s also eco-friendly products they may not have tried e.g. A shampoo bar or beeswax wraps as an alternative for clingfilm. We love the wax wraps from local mum Bobby, at Bee Eco Friendly.
Buy second hand. This is made so easy these days with Facebook market place, gumtree or ebay. Don’t forget you can buy and sell child related products every weekend on the STAG Mumbler Chat Group. There’s also many fantastic charity shops in STAG and surrounding areas to peruse!
Make something! Examples include: Fudge, a cake or some cookies, grow a plant and decorate the pot, or have a go at making a face mask, body scrub or candle – there’s lots of DIY recipes online!
If you do have to buy something, buy local where possible. Our Christmas Special is packed full of local craft fairs, where you’ll be able to pick up some super items.
Gift Wrapping
The Majority of wrapping paper isn’t recyclable, meaning tons and tons of it ends up in landfill. What about using brown paper this year instead??? It’s cheaper (always a bonus), easily available and can be recycled. It looks beautiful tied up with string and a quick google shows you lots of creative ways to decorate the parcel including using ink stamps or a spring of Holly!
Christmas Cards
An astronomical amount of Christmas cards are thrown away each year. Consider whether you wish to send them at all this year?
Some people choose to donate the money they would have spent on cards to a charity instead and spread the Christmas cheer that way.
You could send an e-card! Lots of free options are available online.
If you do wish to send a few cards, try finding ones made from recycled materials and also fit to be recycled again.
Advent Calendar
Material or wooden advent calendars are available, these can be used year after year so a definite money saver in the long run and 
reducing plastic too.
Ideas for a daily treat:
Handmade treats – gingerbread / fudge
A joke
Chocolate but ideally buy a box of chocolates and use these rather than chocolates all individually wrapped in plastic.
What about a reverse advent calendar?
This involves putting something each day into a box e.g. food items with a long shelf life or toiletries. These can then be donated to a local charity /food bank/ person in need at Christmas time.
Christmas Decorations
A lot of Christmas decorations are made from plastic – tinsel and glitter for example. Trying to reduce the use of this is definitely desirable for the planet.
Other options include:
– Recycled paper chain decorations – hang where you would have hung the tinsel and have great fun making them with the kids too.
– Recycled paper decorations – snowflakes are the obvious choice but with some simple folding techniques beautiful creations can be made to decorate the tree.
– Edible treats for the tree – How about making gingerbread decorations? Decorations you can eat, what’s not to love?!!!
– Salt dough – try your hand at some salt dough decorations, easy recipes and tips can be found online.
– Make or buy a natural Christmas wreath, holly and pine cones create a lovely Christmas feel.
Christmas Tree
Ideally don’t purchase a brand new plastic tree, if you already have one however, you may as well carry on using it. If you have your heart set on a plastic tree, consider buying second hand.
If you have your eye on a real tree this year, consider if your tree been grown sustainably. After use, ensure your tree is recycled, so they go on to be used as mulch or recycled as compost. We have some fabulous local Christmas Tree sellers listed on our website.
Food Glorious Food
The food we eat has a massive environmental impact. While a lot of people will not wish to consider giving up meat, what about replacing some with vegetarian / vegan goodies this Christmas? There’s a great choice out there and you may discover some new favourite family recipes in the process.
Try to reduce food wastage this Christmas. Calculating amounts when guests are staying can be difficult, but consider recipes to use up any leftovers e.g. turkey curry or sandwiches the next day.
Food often comes in large amounts of single use packaging (a big no no for eco-friendly living). Whilst a lot of shops make this tricky, try to avoid unnecessary plastic wrapping where possible. Market stalls rarely use it on their fruit and vegetables and more supermarkets offer the choice now. You can take your own containers along to a lot of fish/meat/deli counters too to reduce packaging waste that way. More shops are popping up that allow you to take your 
containers along to refill with certain produce, so just buy the amount you need and avoiding the plastic.
Key points for an Eco-friendly Christmas:
🌍 Reduce waste – less to landfill
🌍 Recycle
🌍 Less plastic – avoid single use plastic wherever possible
🌍 Reusable is the future
🎄 This list is far from exhaustive but it’s a few ideas to get you started on the road to more Eco-friendly living this Christmas time.
🎄 Good luck and Happy Christmas!!! (🎅 Eco Ho Ho!)
With special thanks to York Mumbler for this super blog
