1. Leave the advent calendars in the shops.
Traditional advent calendars are choc full of plastic (pun very much intended). So why not go for a more eco friendly alternative this year? An advent candle can be a lovely and sophisticated way to get yourself excited during the run up to Christmas (and a great way to make your house smell amazing). Although this option may not be so popular with children there's always alternatives for them too. Why not buy some of their favourite chocolates and hide one in the house each morning, wake them up 10 minutes earlier than usual and have a little scavenger hunt! Or if that's not realistic then maybe one of Santa's elves could slip a chocolate coin under their pillow overnight?
2. Get rid of glitter
Glitter is a micro-plastic and the long and short of that is, don't buy it. We all know it ends up everywhere, our carpets, our hands and our hair and so inevitably some of it will end up getting washed down our drains and then sadly in to the stomachs of birds and marine life. If too much plastic gets stuck in a birds stomach, it can actually die of starvation. So this year, glitter is off the menu. Personally, I'd avoid cards and wrapping paper all together this year (more on that later) but if you are fairly traditional and you love all the tacky wonderment of Christmas then go for a glitter free option this time (or at least do your research in to biodegradable glitter alternatives).
3. Don't buy wrapping paper
Brown parcel paper, reusable bags or even newspaper all work fine to wrap your gifts this year and if you end up being gifted lots of presents in plastic wrapping paper then be careful with it, save it and use it next year. I actually put out a message in my family Whats App group asking everyone to avoid wrapping my presents in plastic paper this year and that we should all just be using brown parcel paper (plus it's cheaper). Gift tags are also included in this, leave them in the shops! Write directly on to your bag or paper, keep it simple.
Save yourself some money and buy less. We all overspend at Christmas and this year I'm taking the time to think about one special gift for each of my loved ones rather than lots of little bits and bobs that won't all get used! The less we buy, the less likely we are to run in to plastic packaging.
5. Or don't buy physical gifts at all
I'm planning to gift experiences this year. A weekend away or a concert with a close friend or relative is going to mean much more to both of you than some nice perfume and a pair of socks in a few years time. I think memories are the best thing you can give at Christmas. It doesn't even have to be extravagant, a nice dinner out or a promise of a wine and movie night at home is a really lovely way to show someone you care whilst also avoiding plastic.
6. Don't throw last years fake tree away!
Photo by Rodolfo Marques on Unsplash
There are lots of great ways to create your own eco trees in 2019 from stacks of old cans, books or even old, dead trees. They all make for a wonderfully green way to decorate your home, but this post is about the lazy ways to be green this Christmas. Do you have a fake plastic tree hiding up in the attic somewhere? Don't throw it away. Get as much use out of it as you can. Plastic is a more viable option if you know it won't become single use so if you really want to invest in a fake tree this year, that's fine but just make sure you use it for many years to come!
7. And don't travel far for your Christmas shop.
Stay local this Christmas. I realize not everyone is able to get out the house during the colder months to do their Christmas shop and heavily rely on online shopping for their gifts but if you can, shop locally. Whether it's food or gifts, you'll be saving emissions by walking to your local high street as opposed to driving to the outlet 2 hours way and you'll be most likely supporting smaller, independent businesses. Like I said earlier, I know that not everyone has the option to get out to do their shop, and shopping online can still be a viable option. Whilst it isn't ideal you can reduce emissions if you do big orders from single suppliers. Then, ideally, all your things would be delivered at once therefore saving delivery van emissions!
Let me know in the comments below if you're going to try and or all of these things this year and if you have any suggestions of your own on lazy ways to make your Christmas greener in 2019! Thanks for reading and I'll see you in the next post
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