Sustainable(ish) at Christmas – Sustainable(ish)

Category Archives for Sustainable(ish) at Christmas

Crap-free Christmas – wrapping with less waste

I genuinely can't remember the last time we bought any wrapping paper!
I'm a firm convert to fabric wrapping and have a stash of headscarves I've managed to find in charity shops, as well as a growing pile of fabric gift bags made from a Christmas duvet set I bought last year on Vinted. Honestly, this has transformed not only how full our recycling bin is in the New Year, but also how long it takes to wrap presents - SO quick and easy!

Here some other ideas for less waste wrapping!

PS. Bear in mind that whatever you're wrapping is probably a much higher impact than the wrapping paper, so making more thoughtful decisions about presents is also actively encouraged!

Buy recyclable paper
  • Avoid shiny metallic paper or any wrapping paper with glitter on it.
    Do the ‘scrunch test’ to see if it can be recycled:  Scrunch your wrapping paper up into a ball. If it stays scrunched it can be recycled (as long as it hasn't got glitter on it). If it starts to unfurl, it's probably got plastic or metal in it and can't be recycled.
    Remember to check with your local authority whether they will take wrapping paper - some local authorities won’t take any wrapping paper at all due to high levels of contamination (eg glitter, sellotape, metallic paper etc) and the fact that some wrapping papers are such poor quality and have very short fibres meaning they can’t be recycled.
  • Plain brown kraft paper can look really effective. You can even let the kids ‘tastefully decorate’ it (potato prints or cookie cutters dipped in water based paint works well) and it can still be recycled (avoid glitter!).
  • Use old newspapers and magazines. If you can bring yourself to do it(!) old sheet music or old maps can look beautiful.
Reusable wrapping 

If you get given gifts wrapped in non-recyclable paper (or indeed any wrapping paper!), channel your inner Nana and nab any big bits of paper as the unwrapping is taking place. A quiet half hour smoothing it all out and carefully peeling off the sellotape (I’m told that ironing it makes the tape peel off more easily) is surprisingly theraputic..!

Fabric wrapping is my new favourite thing. SO quick and easy!

  • Use charity shop headscarves for ‘furoshiki’
  • Nab a Christmas duvet from Vinted and make some fabric gift bags if you’re handy with a sewing machine
  • Check out ‘Wrag Wrap’ - gorgeous sheets of fabric gift wrap
  • Or search online for ‘reusable fabric gift bags’
What do you do for wrapping?
Have you tried/are you going to try Furoshiki? 
Do let me know!
INTRODUCING THE CRAP-FREE CHRISTMAS COURSE!

Join me and a merry band of similarly challenged Crap-free Christmas wannabees as we dive into into the nitty gritty, the practicalities and the emotional minefields of a festive season with less crap and more joy!

MORE INFO


Read more

Crap-free Christmas – Christmas trees

"Oh Christmas tree, oh Christmas tree, what is the greenest ver-er-sion"** Sing to the tune of "Oh Christmas tree...!
There's way bigger things in life (and at Christmas) to stress over, but if you've found yourself wondering what the 'greenest' version of a Christmas tree is, here's some info!

Artificial Trees

The biggest impact from artificial trees comes from their production - they're made from metal and plastic, usually in a factory far away, so have significantly more 'embedded carbon' than a real tree.At the end of their life, they will simply sit in landfill for decades to come.
HOWEVER they can be used for decades!

 **It's estimated that you need to use an artificial tree for at least 10 years before it has a lower environmental impact than a natural tree.**

Real trees

Real trees obviously absorb CO2 as they're growing, so their 'embedded carbon' footprint is much lower than an artificial tree. However there can be emissions associated with transporting it, so finding a local grower is a good idea.
The biggest impact from real trees, comes from their disposal - the worst case scenario being landfill where they will rot and release methane (a potent greenhouse gas).

The 'gold standard' is to get a tree with a root ball that you can plant out and then re-use each year, however not everyone has the space (or the green fingers!) for this.

RENTAL TREES
Depending on where you live, you might be able to rent a real Christmas tree!
You can go and pick your tree, it arrives, in a pot with it's root intact. You decorate it and look after it over Christmas. Then the company come and collect it, plant it out again, ready to do the whole thing again next year!

Upcycled trees

Something as simple as a ‘festive branch’ can work really well and look amazing. For less traditional ideas, Pinterest is your friend, and you will find all kinds of creative ideas.
The 'pros' for upcycled trees are: 

  • Re-using something that might otherwise end up as waste
  • Unleashes' your creativity!
  • Can be used again and again

But there is a major caveat in that they may cause tears if Pinterest aspirations not met...!
Here are some that we’ve tried over the years...

What are you doing for your Christmas tree?
And which is your favourite of our upcycled trees?!
Do let me know!
INTRODUCING THE CRAP-FREE CHRISTMAS COURSE!

Join me and a merry band of similarly challenged Crap-free Christmas wannabees as we dive into into the nitty gritty, the practicalities and the emotional minefields of a festive season with less crap and more joy!

MORE INFO


Read more

Crap-free Christmas – alternative Advent Calendars

Depending on what you do, Advent calendars can be as low impact as last year's cardboard version with the doors stuck back down a la the 1980's, or plastic tat-tastic if you've been sucked into the idea that the kids should get a small thing each day (guilty as charged).

Here are a few ideas for Advent Calendars with less waste, less stuff and more of a focus on giving and doing:

"Advent-ure" calendar 

(totally stole this word from one of the Clubhouse members!)
Aka Christmas-y things to do each day.
 
Instead of a chocolate or some plastic tat, pop in a slip of paper with a 'thing to do together' each day. This is a nice way of starting to try and shift the focus of your Christmas from 'stuff' to 'time spent together'.
Depending on the ages of your kids this could be things like "make mince pies", "star in your school nativity play", "visit the library to choose some Christmas books", "snuggle up and watch a Christmas movie"...

There's a whole printable list of ideas in the Crap-free Christmas course.


Acts of Kindness calendar 

Similar to the above, but your slip of paper has suggestions for Random Acts of Kindness eg "send a card to the local nursing home" or "take some mince pies to a neighbour" etc

Reverse Advent calendar 

Pop an item for the foodbank into a box each day (you might want to drop this off at the foodbank before Christmas eve to give them time to get it to those who need it)

Homemade Lego or jigsaw Advent Calendar 

Fran in the Sustainable(ish) Clubhouse does her own homemade Lego version with a secondhand set from Vinted, putting in the right pieces for each instruction in the set each day. And I've seen other people break up a jigsaw puzzle to do together.

Photos from the year 

I do this for my husband! I scroll back through our photos on our phones from the year, and get a selection printed out. Pop one a day into a numbered envelope and jumble them up. The idea is then to put them into an album come the New Year (we always fail miserably to do this...)

What are you doing Advent Calendar wise this year?
INTRODUCING THE CRAP-FREE CHRISTMAS COURSE!

Join me and a merry band of similarly challenged Crap-free Christmas wannabees as we dive into into the nitty gritty, the practicalities and the emotional minefields of a festive season with less crap and more joy!

MORE INFO


Read more

23 in 23!

I'm very aware that I've pretty much missed the January New Year's Resolution boat, and I was worried it was too late to be launching any kind of 2023 activity. But then I figured that maybe lots of us are feeling like we missed the January boat and would appreciate a spot of motivation for doing some planet positive stuff regardless of the time of year?
I floated this idea in The Sustainable(ish) Clubhouse and it seemed to go down well, so I'm now sharing more widely.

Here's what it is...23 in '23!
I've put together a big list of over 70 ideas for Sustainable(ish) things we can all have a go at, based on Imperial College Londons '9 things you can do about climate change' article and the brilliant work of  Take the Jump.
Your mission, if you choose to accept it, is to pick 23 to do in 2023.
The plan is that I'll create some content/resources to help with each one over the coming weeks.

The ideas are just that, ideas. Take the ones you want to focus on this year, ignore the ones that don't work for you at the moment, joyously cross off the ones you've already done!
Remember that you can 'ish' any of the ideas to make them work for you and your family. And there's space to add your own ideas too as it's by no means a comprehensive list.

Sign up to access the download here - the first two pages are the ideas, then there's a blank bingo style sheet for you to add in your ideas - one per square - so you can cross them off as you do them.

Once you've come up with your 23 in '23, do share - either drop me an e-mail or share on social media tagging @sustainableish.  Hopefully this will inspire others to have a go. Use the hashtag #23in23 and maybe we might even get a mini movement going?!

Let me know in the comments is this is helpful!

JOIN THE SUSTAINABLE(ISH) COMMUNITY!
Join over 6000 subscribers to the Sustainable(ish) weekly(ish) newsletter - get tips, ideas, and inspiration for imperfect eco-action, and all the Sustainable(ish) latest news, straight into your in-box!
OOH, YES PLEASE!


Read more

[163] The Carbon Footprint of Christmas and what’s in your control

In this episode we take a deep dive into the carbon footprint of Christmas.
Which feels a bit weird right?
Christmas is a time to let go a little, and not be so hung up on the consequences of our actions (hence the number of mince pies I may have already eaten..). I feel a bit guilty for flagging up the fact that our Christmas excesses still have an impact.
But unfortunately we can't bury our heads in the sand. And fortunately, there are LOTS of things we can do to tweak our Christmas' to make them a bit more sustainable(ish), without having to give up all the bits we love and enjoy.


However, I think we can all relate to the fact that creating change, at any time of year, can be hard. And making different choices at Christmas can feel nigh on impossible. 
So it's important to think about what's in your control (do some of these things!) and what isn't (try and let these go..).

Tune in to hear more about the carbon footprint of Christmas, and how to reduce your stress levels (hopefully!) by figuring out what are the things you might be able to change, and what are the things that other people are in control of, where you just have to go with the flow.

LISTEN...

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Android | RSS

CHECK OUT...

Read more

The Carbon Footprint of Christmas (and 12 ways to reduce it!)

In this post here, I share some stats for the carbon footprint of "Christmas" for 3 different scenarios:

  • Low carbon scenario - 4kg CO2e per adult
  • UK average - 280kg CO2e per adult
  • High carbon scenario - 1500kg CO2e per adult

An important point to note, is that these figures (from Mike Berners-Lee's How Bad are Bananas?) are only including excess - so unwanted presents, wasted food, avoidable travel, fairy lights and cards!
So we can see that Christmas can be a pretty wasteful time of year (see this post here for some not so fun festive waste stats) not just in terms of our groaning black bins come the New Year, but also in terms of the excess greenhouse gases our heavy consumption at this time of year is pumping out into the atmosphere.

So should we just cancel Christmas?
Of course, that would be the 'greenest' option, but here at Sustainable(ish) it's all about trying to figure out how we can still do the things we love, in a less impactful way. And fortunately there are lots of things we can to reduce the carbon footprint of our festivities without having to resort to cancelling Christmas.  

1. Give less and give better


According to Mike Berners-Lee, one of the biggest 'pieces of the pie' in that high carbon scenario is unwanted gifts. And apparently 81 million unwanted gifts are received each year, with 1 in 10 unwanted gifts ending up in landfill! (1)
Can you prune your list? Buy for kids only? Do a secret santa? 
Martin Lewis aka The Money Saving Expert has been talking about this since 2013 when he first started talking about his 'no unecessary present pact'. You can read more about it here.

(Genuine fact: The Society for the Prevention of Useless Giving was a campaign group founded in New York in 1912, against pointless gifts at Christmas in response to what the women perceived to be unnecessary Christmas-related materialism. Membership grew to 6,000 people by 1913 but stalled in Christmas 1914 due to the outbreak of WW1 in Europe.) 

2. Keep the receipts!


Really encourage people to be honest in their reactions to your presents. Emphasise that no offence will be taken, and that you'd rather return it and either get them something else (after consulting with them!) or give them the money, rather than something sitting there unloved and wanted and possibly ending up in landfill.

3.Reduce food waste


Food waste is another of the big chunks of the Christmas carbon footprint, and we waste around 7million tonnes of food at Christmas (3).
Make a meal plan for the festive fortnight - where you'll be when, and how many you're expecting for meals when you're at home. Factor in leftovers, and make good use of your freezer! Lots more food waste reduction tips here.

4. Send fewer cards


It never really occurred to me that most of the footprint from sending a Christmas card comes from the postal service, but when you think about it, it makes total sense.
Whilst it might not be possible to eradicate your Christmas card list entirely (many people have elderly relatives who really love receiving cards) but could you cut down a little? E-cards are an increasingly popular option, and if you're sending cards to local people, can you bike or walk and post by hand - who knows, you might even be invited in for a cuppa and a catch up! (And if you're thinking "Oh god, no thanks, not sure I want a cuppa and a catch up with xxx", maybe you don't need to send them a card..?!!)

Christmas cards from kids to every other child in their class is a problem I was naively unaware of until my own started school. And then I spent several years battling with my kids to get them write 30 of the bloody things, and then latterly feeling very guilty at the sheer waste generated. 30 kids in a class, each sending each other a card is 870 cards and envelopes. For one class! Multiply that by the number of classes in the school and you're suddenly looking at a LOT of card and paper. Even if it's all recycled afterwards. 
If you get in early, you might be able to whizz off a quick e-mail to your class teacher, or even headteacher, suggesting that each child can make one card, and that these can be displayed on the wall?

Pic: Eco Essex on FB

5. Green your fairy lights

With energy prices at record levels, we're all watching the bills this winter.
Check out your fairy lights to see if they're LED - these use way less energy than the old-fashioned types. Make sure you take any older style ones to the WEEE recycling at your local recycling centre.
Turn your lights off overnight and when you're out, and if you have a timer plug or a smart plug, use this to make sure you don't leave them on overnight accidentally.

6. Trim your Christmas dinner

This is a great graph from this article here that dives into the carbon footprint of our Christmas dinner:

So beef and lamb are the highest carbon options. And turkey has 3x the footprint of chicken!
There aren't any veggie or vegan options shown on here, but clearly they would have even lower footprints. It's also worth noting:
- Organic veggies will have a lower impact than conventional
- Avoid air-freighted and out of season foods if you can - so no mange tout, strawberries, blueberries etc
If you're feeling super geeky, you can even work out the carbon footprint of your very own Christmas dinner using the Floop app! They've got a brilliant blog post where they've broken down the footprint of a typical Christmas dinner.

7. Real vs artificial tree

This is a good video here from the BBC that explains where the footprint of different Christmas tree choices is coming from. 

- Artificial Christmas trees - if you have one, or you buy one, keep it in use for as long as possible. It needs to be used for around 10 years before it has a lower impact than a real tree. But even then it's still impossible to recycle and will end up in landfill.

- Real Christmas trees - buy locally grown, and make sure it's composted or mulched after you're done with it.
 
OR buy one with roots that you can plant out.
OR rent one! 
OR upcycle like we do - we made our pompom tree from secondhand yarn about 5 years ago and it's still going strong and always sparks off some great conversations!

8. Stay grounded


Potentially this one is tricky if you have family abroad, BUT for anyone else, not flying at Christmas (unless you have a reindeer powered sleigh) is key. I genuinely think we need to question whether a 2 or 3 day trip to Lapland is a good use of our remaining carbon budget. I feel Scrooge like saying it, and I'm sure it's super magical, but there are loads of good 'winter wonderlands' here in the UK that don't need a flight.

10. Reduce your heating


If you've got lots of extra people in the house and the oven is on a lot, you should be able to get away with reducing the thermostat a degree or two. Not only will this reduce your gas usage and associated greenhouse gas emissions, it will save you money too! According to The Energy Saving Trust "turning your room thermostat down by just one degree could save £60 on your heating bills and 310kg of carbon dioxide a year from your household carbon footprint". Even if you just manage if for a few days over the Christmas period, it will still make a difference!

10. Cook clever


Try to plan ahead so that if the oven is on, it's full. Can you pop a pudding or some mince pies in there while you're cooking dinner?
Embrace your slow cooker - great for batch cooking big meals if you've got family round, but you can also do your Christmas pud in there, using way less energy than boiling away for hours on the hob. 
Using the microwave for re-heating leftovers is also lower energy than putting the oven on.

11. Travel light


Christmas centres around family for many of us, which can mean trawling up and down the country in our cars.
- Can you go by train? Not always possible and possibly fairly pricey, but worth a look! Check out TrainHugger who plant trees for tickets!
- If you have already have an EV, then that's great. If not, could you rent one for the week? Have a look to see if the Karshare scheme is up and running locally to you - I did a podcast with them and it sounds like a great idea!
- Stick to the speed limit....! The faster you go, the less efficient it is...
- Pack well - if you can, try and get everything inside the car - roof boxes add to drag, meaning you'll burn more fuel.
- Plan well - if possible, try and plan your trips to avoid the expected busy periods, saving you the petrol burned sitting in tailbacks.

12. Think secondhand first


Secondhand gifts, Christmas jumpers, nativity costumes and decorations will ALWAYS be a lower carbon option. You're making use of the energy and resources that have already gone into a product, potentially saving something from landfill, AND saving money - what's not to love?! 

References

(1): https://www.ribbex.co.uk/news/one-in-10-unwanted-christmas-gifts-ends-up-in-landfill/
(2): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Society_for_the_Prevention_of_Useless_Giving
(3): https://commercialwaste.trade/food-waste-christmas/

Have you got any plans for a lower carbon Christmas this year?
Do share in the comments!
INTRODUCING THE CRAP-FREE CHRISTMAS COURSE!

Packed with hints, tips, ideas and links for a Christmas with less waste and less impact on the planet, one imperfect step at a time!
This is an online self-paced course, meaning you can dip in and out at your own pace and pick and choose what you want to focus on.

MORE INFO


Read more

What is The Carbon Footprint of Christmas?

Before we start, let's get back to basics. What is a carbon footprint?

Everything we do releases carbon dioxide (and other greenhouse gases) into the atmosphere, and it's these greenhouse gas emissions that are contributing to the greenhouse effect, trapping more heat in, and making the planet warm. All of which leads to climate change and the increase in frequency and extremes of 'weird weather' and the impacts that that has on ecosystems and human lives.

We all have a carbon footprint. The average footprint for an individual in the UK is around 9-10 tonnes (this figure will vary depending on how it's calculated and exactly what's included, but let's work with a round number of 10 tonnes for ease).
There's a great podcast episode with Jo Hand, co-founder of Giki Zero here if you want to hear more about carbon footprints!

The carbon footprint of Christmas comes from everything we buy for the festivities.
And as we buy A LOT at Christmas, it's perhaps no surprise that the carbon footprint of the festive fortnight is the same as that of a regular month.
And obviously the carbon footprint of Christmas will vary depending on how extravagant or otherwise our festive celebrations are.
Mike Berners-Lee is the carbon footprinting King and in his book 'How Bad are Bananas?' he gives three different scenarios:

  • 4kg CO2e per adult for a low carbon scenario
    - The food is great but none is wasted
    - Presents are thoughtful but not necessarily expensive, and you've kept the receipts so you can return any unwanted gifts.
    - You have LED fairy lights.
    - You only send a few cards to people you haven't seen in ages and don't want to lose touch with.
    - You stay home and video call any far-off relatives.
  • 280kg CO2e per adult - UK average
    - Presents - the average spend in the UK is £600 per adult. In this scenario 20% are unwanted (we receive 81 million unwanted gifts each year in the UK!)
    - We spend around £220 more than usual on food, and these figures are based on the assumption that a third will be wasted (shockingly we throw away about a third of our food all year round)
    - Fairy lights burn through about 45kW/h (not clear if these figures are for LED lights or regular ones)
    - The average adult posts about 20 cards, and most of their impact is from delivery
    - We typically travel about 50 miles each, above what we would normally travel, and mostly by car
  • 1500kg CO2e per adult for a high carbon scenario
    - £1400 spend on presents, with a 'wasted-ness' factor of 30% and you don't keep the receipts
    - Loads of non-LED lights
    - Post 200 large cards
    - 500mile round trip in a 'thirsty' car to see relatives

The good news is that there are lots of things we can do to easily reduce our footprint but not the fun factor!
There's a post here with 12 ways to reduce the carbon footprint of your Christmas, but I wanted to share this as well...

Christmas can be a tricky time to make sustainable(ish) changes for lots of reasons.

Firstly, it only happens once a year, so it can feel like starting again each year and it's hard to build on small changes we've made a year ago.
Secondly there's all the traditions and societal expectations that come with this time of year.
And then there's the fact that at Christmas, it tends to not just be us and our household that's involved, there's the wider family, friends, colleagues, school etc etc as well.
Change can be hard at an individual level, and it can certainly be hard to get the rest of the household on board at times, but changing the 'hearts and minds' of in-laws, work colleagues etc etc can feel impossible.

And that's ok, because that's not our 'job'.
If we want to make changes at Christmas to make it a bit more eco-friendly it's super important to focus on what IS in our control. Because a lot of it won't be. We need to make peace with that!
I've put together a little Venn diagram (because who doesn't love a Venn diagram!) with some ideas of things that might be in our control, and things that might not be.

The important thing to note is that overlap (with the bloody great green star in it!)
While lots of things might be out of our control, we might still be able to have an influence over them:

- Can we be ready with a list of things we think our kids will actually love and enjoy playing with when we're asked by relatives what they want for Christmas?
- Can we wrap our own gifts 'furoshiki' style in reusable fabric and rave about how quick and easy it was?
- Can we send an e-mail to our kids school asking them if they'd be up for hosting a Christmas jumper swap for all the kids?

If you fancy it, here's a suggestion for you that might help to take some of the stress out of trying to make Sustainable(ish) changes at Christmas.
Make 3 lists:
1. Things I can control (this is where you can start to make some sustainable(ish) changes!
2. Things I can't control
3. Things I might be able to have some influence over

And keep referring back to it whenever you feel your stress levels start to rise over the festive period..!

Is this helpful?
What's on your lists?
Let me know!
INTRODUCING THE CRAP-FREE CHRISTMAS COURSE!

Packed with hints, tips, ideas and links for a Christmas with less waste and less impact on the planet, one imperfect step at a time!
This is an online self-paced course, meaning you can dip in and out at your own pace and pick and choose what you want to focus on.

MORE INFO


Read more

CONFESSIONS OF A KNACKERED MUMS ECO(ISH) CHRISTMAS

I've spent the last couple of months helping running a couple of rounds of the Crap-free Christmas Bootcamp, and helping the Knackered Mums in the Clubhouse make some festive sustainable(ish) changes. So you would think then that I would have this whole 'Eco Christmas' thing nailed then right?
Ermmmm. Kind of. Maybe. Not really....

You see, and I've been saying this ad infinitum in the run up to Christmas, it's a journey. And we won't change our Christmas' overnight. Indeed, we might never arrive at that 'perfect eco Christmas' because (whispers) I don't think it exists. Or if it does, I'm not sure how possible/realistic it is, especially when there are kids and/or wider family involved.
I spend November vowing to not really get the kids much as there's nothing they really need, and then December panicking that they won't have anything to open. On Christmas morning I feel anxious about all the presents under the tree, and where they're going to live, and the fact that the kids already have so much stuff, at the same time as worrying the kids will feel disappointed. It's not easy.

Let's face it, the greenest Christmas would be one that's not celebrated. 
All of the extra food, the presents, the decorations, are inherently unsustainable. 
But so is living. And it would be a pretty joyless life if we denied ourselves all the things that bring us, and those around us, joy. So what we're left with is that another C-word that can cause so much angst - compromise.

So in that vein, settle yourself in for a tale of one Knackered Mums Eco(ish) Christmas - in all it's imperfection.

Advent Calendars

Oh god, I feel so guilty about this one....
Every year I talk about the 'Advent Activity' lorry that we do with our kids, which is one of the first things I did to try and shift the focus from 'stuff' to 'experiences' when I started to think about trying to do Christmas a bit differently. We have an Advent lorry that my Nana gave our eldest for his first Christmas - it has 24 drawers in it, each a little bit smaller than a matchbox (ie too small to really fit much into). So I had the idea of popping a slip of paper in there each day with an Advent Activity in it - things like 'decorate the tree', and 'star in your school nativity play'. Many of them things we would have been doing already to get ready (eg making mince pies etc) but with the odd treat thrown in like a trip to our local town pantomime (not this year sadly).

And it worked really well when they were little, and there was lots more time to fill and they were more easily entertained by the prospect of baking with mummy. Now they're both older, it's much harder, and with school and homework, most of the activities don't really get done, but they are still loath to knock it on the head.

So far, so good right..?
Ermmm, here comes the confession. My mum died the year after our year buying nothing new, and would always buy the kids an Advent Calendar. And the year before she died she bought them a Lego Advent Calendar. When Christmas came around after she had died, my auntie (my mum's sister) rang up and asked if she could buy the boys an Advent Calendar each year as my mum now couldn't, and honestly, it's still the loveliest thing, and still brings tears to my eyes. So there we go - my boys get a plastic encrusted Lego Advent Calendar each year. And do know what? They LOVE it. They absolutely love it. And I know it's not eco. But it's an imperfection I'm more than happy to embrace for the joy it brings (and the memories it holds for me). 
Decorations

I'm pretty happy with our decoration situation:

- We have a pompom Christmas tree that we made about 4 years ago which gets stored away in the loft each year and then trundled out. We also have two trees made from old pallets - one for the conservatory and one for outside. All are fitted with LED lights, and we turn them off when we're out and at night. The outdoor one is fitted with a timer so it's only on for a few hours.  

- All our other decs are a mish-mash of things from previous years, including the Christmas lego from the aforementioned Advent Calendars...!

Gift wrapping

I'm that irritating person who snatches up the wrapping paper off the floor as soon as it's discarded and then sits there picking off the tape. Any reasonable sized bits then get squirrelled away for next year (my mother in law has even been known to take them away and iron them...).
I bought two new rolls of paper from a local independent stationers that are recycled kraft paper, but they did have a plastic sleeve. The rest was paper left over from previous years and reused bits and bobs.
Confession: there were still a few bits of metallic-y paper bought many moons ago.

Last year we bought some Christmas paper tape from Babipur and still had plenty left this year. I'm not sure ours still believe in Father Christmas, but if you're more careful than we are about making sure your FC pressies have different wrapping and tape, you might need to get a bit more inventive.

I used an old ball of green wool that has been kicking around for ages to bundle things together in place of ribbon.

I'm a firm convert to fabric wrapping this year having wrapped a few gifts this way - OMG, SO much quicker and easier! I'll be scouring the charity shops for head scarves and other suitable bits this year! 

Presents for our kids

Their lists were pretty book and Lego heavy respectively, so fairly easy.
Lego - secondhand from eBay.
We had one set that was listed as 'a few pieces missing' which is stretching the truth a little, and we're now trying to source the missing bits in time for his birthday in April! The rest were all fab.
Books - we're lucky enough to have an independent bookshop not too far from us and managed to get quite a few of the books from there. The rest were from The Bookshop, as well as a couple secondhand from eBay.
Laptop - our eldest has just started secondary school and asked for a laptop, and given the strong possibility of home schooling again in January we felt this was a good investment. We got a refurbished one from these guys, who donate all their profits to charity, so felt like a bit on a win-win.
Stockings - these were the biggest headache, and there were a few 'less than sustainable' bits and pieces in there.
Confessions:
- my husband randomly bought them a packet of Jaffa cakes each to go in their stockings
- as well as a regular toothbrush each (if I had known, I would have got these ones with replaceable heads)
- there were also candy canes (leftover from last year) that are plastic wrapped and probably contain palm oil, as well as some other sweets that undoubtedly wouldn't score highly on the eco scale

Most of the family transferred money to us and asked us to get them something, which makes life easier (apart from the wrapping up...!) as we then have no issues with buying stuff secondhand!

Other presents

We've managed over the years to pare down our gift list quite significantly. Both of my parents are no longer with us, and we decided a few years ago between the various aunts and uncles to only buy for the kids.

We bought my brother's kids an annual Whirli subscription back in May, as birthday and Christmas presents for both of them. But I also sent them a Bake at Home kit from my friend's brilliant business (thinking they might be driving my sister in law mad in the run up to the big day and this might distract them for about 3 and half minutes) and a kilo of Christmas sweets from another local business. Because isn't that what you send to other people's kids when you won't be there to witness the fall-out..?!!

My husband and I tend not to really buy each other anything but he got me a few stocking bits (sweets and chocolate), and I saw a 'Storm Pooper' print on the Uranus loo roll site and couldn't resist getting it for him and the kids. It's printed on FSC paper with water based inks.
And because I didn't manage to get organised with my husband's usual photo Advent Calendar, I put together a photo book of our 2020 - I had a quick Ecosia search and found Pixum, who use FSC certified products and are carbon neutral - if anyone knows of any other eco-friendly picture book providers do let me know! 

Food

Confession: We're not vegan. Or even veggie.
We opted for a chicken rather than a turkey, just because none of us are actually that keen on turkey.
Confession: my husband somehow managed a 5kg chicken (free range but not organic) from our local butchers. For five of us. Our kids were smaller than this when they were born.
There were a LOT of leftovers... BUT they've all been frozen. AND I made slow cooker chicken stock from the bones, so feeling pretty smug there.
We also had pigs in blankets (from the local butcher but not sure of their provenance) and sausage meat stuffing (ditto).

We get a regular organic veg box from Riverford, which makes Christmas dinner veggies SO easy. All the usual Christmas stuff is there - sprouts, parsnips, red cabbage etc, all organic and plastic-free, delivered to our door without me even having to think about it.

Leftovers: We had Christmas pizza topped with leftovers (including brussel sprouts..) on Boxing Day, and Bubble and Squeak the day after, and everything else has been frozen.

I love to bake so made Christmas cakes, mince pies, Christmas pud etc.
Confession: I didn't get the dried fruit from the refill shop, so a reasonable number of plastic bags into the bin.

Confession: There is a teeny bit (a lot) of plastic wrapped chocolates that are probably choc-full of palm oil and made by companies that are officially gits in the house. They taste bloody lovely but I do feel quite guilty.
If someone could please make it their 2021 mission to create their own ethical chocolate company that does a tin or tub or delicious chocolates in time for next Christmas I would be very grateful. 

Cards


We failed to send any this year - I'd love to say it's been a conscious decision made for eco reasons, but in reality it's more apathy/laziness...

Crackers

I think this is one my favourite traditions that we've started - we bought a set of reusable crackers several years ago and they get dragged out of the loft each year. 
Everyone picks a name out of a hat to see whose cracker they have to prepare, and then they have to make a hat, find an appropriate joke, and have a £2 budget for a small (ideally plastic-free) present. We also stick a scratch card (not eco at all, but you've got to be in it to win it..) and a chocolate brussel sprout.

This year I decided to have a go at making a reusable fabric hat for my mother in law with some Christmas fabric that I've had for years. I was pretty pleased with it!)

Confession: the £2 limit on gifts does make it hard to find anything decent/not plastic tat. We may need to reassess this (although our youngest bought me a mini bar of Tony's Chocolonely from our local Refill Shop so did very well!)

I don't know if I feel better or worse seeing it all written down like that..!
The whole point of this post isn't really to tell you about what we have and haven't done, our successes and our failures, it's to try and reassure you that imperfection is ok - especially at Christmas. 
It comes down to having a more thoughtful, more deliberate Christmas. Accepting some compromises, chipping away, and slowly working towards the Christmas you consciously want to create.  

How about you?
What went well this year?
And what are you bookmarking to work on next year?
Let me know in the comments!
INTRODUCING THE CRAP-FREE CHRISTMAS COURSE!

Join me and a merry band of similarly challenged Crap-free Christmas wannabees as we dive into into the nitty gritty, the practicalities and the emotional minefields of a festive season with less crap and more joy!

MORE INFO


Read more

ECO-FRIENDLY AND PLASTIC-FREE CRACKERS

  • 40 million Christmas crackers end up in the bin each year
  • 99% of people in a survey said that they just threw their Christmas cracker gifts in the bin at the end of the day
  • And that's before we even think about the hats and the jokes

Clearly we could simply just not bother with crackers at Christmas, but would we want to? For many of us it's just not Christmas without a cracker, but clearly they're generating a pretty massive waste mountain, as well as using up resources and emitting 'a lot' (technical estimate) of carbon in their production and getting here to us.

Fortunately it's becoming easier and easier to go plastic-free and lower impact with your crackers, with choices for every budget. 

Make your own
If you're the crafty type OR you're desperately trying to think of ways to keep the kids occupied as excitement levels reach fever pitch, this might be your cracker of choice. You can go full on Blue Peter with loo roll inners and wrapping paper, or you can download and print off templates.
If you don't fancy that, then you can get 'make your own cracker kits' that come with everything you need and you can simply assemble whilst watching a Christmas movie with a glass of something mulled at your side. These ones here even come complete with eco-friendly gifts.

ECO FRIENDLY CRACKER SNAPS

You can even get eco-friendly cracker snaps to go with your homemade crackers. These ones here are recyclable, compostable and made in the UK.
It does say that they are 'silent snaps' and therefore pet friendly and I haven't tried them, so you might need to channel your inner Barbara Good (this reference will make no sense to anyone under a certain age) and shout "BANG!" as you pull your cracker..

Pic from Keep This Cracker

Go reusable

We bought a set of reusable crackers from Keep This Cracker several years ago and they're still going strong. All you need each year is the snaps.
We have a Christmas tradition whereby everyone picks a name out of a hat, and then has to fill the cracker for that person - a homemade hat (newspaper/comics/wrapping paper); a personalised joke; and a plastic-free gift with a budget of £2. The kids really enjoy having actual money to spend and having to think of something the recipient will actually like, as well as searching for 'hilarious' jokes...

Buy fill your own

Oxfam have bought out 'fill your own' crackers this year - they are recyclable, and come complete with snaps, hats and jokes. All you need to provide is the gift which means people are much more likely to get something that won't end up in the bin within 12 hours of opening.
John Lewis and M&S also do their own versions, or why not look on somewhere like Etsy and support an independent business in what has been a really tough year for many small businesses. Just remember to look for cracker outers that are paper/cardboard without any glitter or metallic/shiny bits on them (this will render them unrecyclable).

Pic from Oxfam

Filling your crackers...


Hats
- Again, you can full on Blue Peter and make your own from newspaper, wrapping paper or old comics etc. It can be helpful to have an idea of everyone's head circumference, especially if you've got young kids and adults to equip, but it's not the end of the world. And isn't it kind of a Christmas tradition that the kids end up with hats that slip down over their eyes?
- OR if you're a dab hand with the sewing machine you can make your own fabric reusable 'crowns'. There are loads of templates for patterns on Pinterest. 
- OR you can buy a set of reusable fabric crowns. Depending on your budget, there's some here, or some here.

Jokes
Go crazy on Google Ecosia and find a joke that suits the recipient.

Gifts
What you choose will depend on your budget but there are lots of options to suit all purses:
- a homemade biscuit eg a gingerbread man etc if you want to keep it festive
- chocolate coins
- a scratch card (probably not entirely plastic-free, but we're invoking the 'ish' here)
- a packet of seeds to grow in the winter
- a small bar of soap/shampoo bar
- an alcoholic miniature
- an ethically made face mask - there's a great selection here
- bicycle inner tube keyring
- upcycled earrings
- twig pencils
- Play n choc - like a kinder egg but ethical and plastic-free!
- collapsible reusable drinking straw
- mini bar of Tony's Chocoloney (your nearest Zero Waste store might well stock this, or I think Sainsburys do)
- a pair of ethical socks
- eco friendly lip balms

Pic from Eco Vibe

Buy ready filled plastic-free

If all of that feels like just too much and that thinking about finding eco-friendly gifts that will actually fit inside a sodding cracker might well be the straw that breaks the camel's back this Christmas, don't worry!
There are an increasing range of plastic-free crackers available this year - most of the major supermarkets are doing their own versions. 
Alternatively:
-  these ones here have a packet of seeds in instead of a plastic toy
- the RSPB do these ones with a sheet of paper and some origami instructions
- Nancy and Betty do a range of gorgeous designs with different plastic-free gifts. The crackers are made here in the UK, and they plant a tree for every box bought. 

Are you a cracker fan?
What are you doing this year?
Let me know in the comments!
INTRODUCING THE CRAP-FREE CHRISTMAS COURSE!

Join me and a merry band of similarly challenged Crap-free Christmas wannabees as we dive into into the nitty gritty, the practicalities and the emotional minefields of a festive season with less crap and more joy!

MORE INFO


Read more

10 LAST MINUTE TIPS FOR AN ECO-FRIENDLY CHRISTMAS

We're 9 days out from Christmas Day, which still feels like a way out to be thinking about 'last minute' tips, but I'm guessing most of us already have our trees and decorations up, and are starting to fret about posting dates (and post office queues...) if we still have anything to send/order.
So is it too late now to do anything to 'cut the carbon' this Christmas or can we still make a difference?
Glad you asked. Of course you can!

1. Turn off your Christmas lights when you're not in/overnight

You might already be doing this, in which case, yay you!
If you're not, this will save energy (carbon) and pennies, so it really is a win-win! If you're like me and pretty useless at remembering to turn stuff off, you can get timers that you can fit to plug sockets - these are especially good for outside lights and save you trudging outside in the dark in your PJs.
2. Go green with your gift wrapping

In the UK we use 108 million rolls of wrapping paper at Christmas - enough to wrap around the equator 9 times!
Can you challenge yourself to not buy any new wrapping paper this year?
- Make the effort to go up into the loft and use up those rolls that have been up there for the last 3 years..! 
- If you've been getting the 'odd'(!) online delivery or two, can you reuse any of the paper packaging from these?
- Use old comics, newspapers, or sheet music
- Raid the charity shops for pillowcases and sheet/duvets and then make your own fabric wrapping - check out 'furoshiki' for clever ways to wrap with fabric

3. Ditch the sellotape

Branded sellotape used to be made from cellophane and was therefore technically biodegradable, but nowadays even the genuine stuff is plastic. Having said that, Sellotape have released 'Sellotape Zero' this year which is supposed to be plastic-free and 'compostable'. I'm not sure if this means it's home compostable though, or how it will fare if it gets chucked into the paper recycling with your gift wrap.
An easier and more reliable solution is to use paper tape. You can get plain brown tape which works well if you're using kraft paper or packing paper as your wrapping of choice. Or there is a wide variety of patterned alternatives.

4. Use last years cards as gift tags 

My mother in law has been doing this forever, but it was a revelation to me when I met my husband! No idea why I'd been forking out good money for gift tags, when with a swift wielding of the scissors it's super easy to 'upcycle' some old cards!

And whilst we're here... Save this years cards for next years gift tags...
If you haven't got any of last years cards stashed away to use as gift tags this year, just remember to put this years cards away somewhere safe so you can feel smug next year.

5. Shop local for your last minute bits

I know, I know, Amazon is just so bloody convenient. Especially with the whole next day delivery thing, but if you can, resist the temptation and making Jeff Bezos even richer, and support your local independent shops. Whether that's for your sprouts, or the last minute gifts, it's been such a tough year for retail - make someone do a happy dance!

6. Do a meal plan for Christmas week

Food waste is a huge issue for the climate crisis and is unsurprisingly even more of an issue than normal over the festive season. So make a list, check it twice...! Doing a meal plan is dull and boring and some people claim it sucks all the joy out of eating, but it really will help to cut waste (and save money!). With lockdown restrictions changing on a confusingly regular basis, it's kind of hard to know who will be around over the Christmas period, and what meals will be needed, but just do your best! If you've got time(!), maybe you could prep some meals to stash in the freezer in case your family suddenly decide they want to 'bubble' with you...
Think about what meals you'll be eating, what lovely Christmas traditions of special foods you want to keep, and then make a plan around them. Factor in leftovers, as well as those days when you simply can't be arsed to cook and will want to order a takeaway or simply eat chocolates (I'm reliably informed that the orange and strawberry creams both count as one of your 5 a day over the Christmas period).

7. Love your freezer

If your meal plan was a little over ambitious in terms of just how much people could squeeze in, or you never actually got round to making one, and now you're starting a fridge full of food that all needs eating within 24 hrs, then this is the time to get friendly with your freezer.
Most things can be frozen - if you're not sure, Kate at The Full Freezer has a great "Can I freeze it?" section on her website, and Love Food Hate Waste also has a fab "A-Z of food storage".
Things like cream and cheese can be frozen if you know they're not going to be eaten before they go off.

8. Go plastic-free with your crackers

If you've not already bought them, then you still have an opportunity to go plastic-free with your crackers.
If you're the crafty type, or you're desperate for something to keep the kids entertained in the run up to the Big Day, you can make your own from loo rolls and wrapping paper. You can even get eco-friendly snaps. 
OR you can get some reusable crackers (we have some of these) that you use each year.
OR you can buy 'fill your own crackers' like these ones here from Oxfam.
OR you can find plastic-free crackers at many of the big retailers this year which is great news.
Check out this post here for lots more links as well as ideas for what to put in them.

9. Recycle well

When it comes to recycling your Christmas, the most important thing to do is to check with your local authority what they will accept and what they won't - just head over to your local council's website and you should find the info you need. If it's not clear, drop them an e-mail or a message on social media.
- Some local authorities won't accept any wrapping paper, as much of it is of too poor quality to be able to recycle. Brown kraft paper is ok, even if it has paint or decorations on it, as long as there's no glitter!
- Make sure you remove any tape (paper tape is ok) or ribbons/bows etc.
- Wrapping paper with glitter on it, or paper that is metallic/plastic-y can't be recycled and has to go in your landfill bin.
- The same applies to cards - if they have glitter on, they can't be recycled. Some supermarkets have collection points in the New Year which raise funds for the Woodland Trust, but again, no glitter!
- Foil from Christmas chocs has to be collected up into a ball about the size of a tennis ball for it to have a chance of being detected on the recycling line.
- When it comes to your tree, if you have a real one without roots, again check with your local authority - many will collect them on specific days to mulch them. 

10. Give yourself a pat on the back

Making sustainable(ish) changes can be difficult, and at Christmas it's even harder, because we've got the wider family to consider, as well as so many societal pressures about what constitutes a good Christmas, and wanting the kids to have a magical time. It can feel frustrating, and progress can be slow, but there will be progress I promise. 
Have a think back to last Christmas, and then look at the changes you've made this year. You might not have arrived at the 'perfect eco Christmas' (spoiler alert, I don't think such a thing exists!) but you're making changes, and it's always going to be a slower 'journey' because Christmas only happens once a year (thank goodness!).
Instead of berating yourself, and feeling guilty about the influx of presents that are still flooding in from loving and well meaning relatives that you possibly wouldn't have chosen yourself, look at all the things you have been able to change and give yourself a little pat on the back, and maybe treat yourself to one of the posh biscuits you've been saving. 

How are you feeling about Christmas?
Let me know in the comments!
INTRODUCING THE CRAP-FREE CHRISTMAS COURSE!

Join me and a merry band of similarly challenged Crap-free Christmas wannabees as we dive into into the nitty gritty, the practicalities and the emotional minefields of a festive season with less crap and more joy!

MORE INFO

Read more
1 2 3 4