Christmas is the time of year when most peoples thoughts turn to family and friends, buying your loved ones presents to show your feelings for them, providing the most lavish meals you can provide and for many travelling long distances to visit friends and relatives. This makes Christmas an environmental nightmare so I thought this month I’d look at ways of reducing your Christmas’s environmental impact.
Make something to take when visiting friends and rellies? Homemade jams, pickles preserves, bake a cake, make something, paint a picture, copy treasured family pictures, these all say more than buying something made by another.
Why not give your time and expertise as a present to friends and relatives who need it most, gardening, cleaning, babysitting or teaching someone a new skill.
Buy good quality presents that can be used and enjoyed over and over again. For children try wooden toys that will stand the test of time, try not to buy plastic toys or those that need batteries (if you feel you have to, buy a battery charger and reusable batteries for that present)
Look at buying used goods as presents, look at the local papers or online petites annonces for little used or unwanted gifts, not only will it be cheaper but you save on another being manufactured - I never had a new bike as a kid!
Avoid presents with excess packaging and buy from companies that are doing their bit to help the environment, use and give paper products made from recycled materials.
Don’t send a Christmas card to everyone you know, most people you know have an email address – send them an email card, there are some excellent ones out there and they won’t sit on the mantelpiece for a month and then get sent to recycling or landfill, and the message and sentiment will be the same.
If you must have a Christmas tree get a live one and replant it afterwards or buy the best artificial one you can get and use it year after year, use reusable decorations and lights, or make them, my mum used to make figures of shortbread and hang them on the tree.
For your Christmas dinner don’t go and get beans from
If you are going to a party or Christmas dinner why not offer to give others a lift it’ll cut down the number of car journeys made over the holidays.
Think before you agree to travel long distance to see friends and family, I know the emotional pull is great but are you going to see them soon afterwards? Why not see them then and have a get together with your own theme without the commercial pressures of Christmas. If you do travel why not use one of the many the online organisations which plant trees to offset your travel footprint.
Finally after the season clean up responsibly, recycle or reuse all you can,
A Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to All
