This is not my... Christmas

 

  

 

Christmas Dinner

 

Food

 

Buy the local and seasonal produce which makes up our traditional Christmas dinner.... yes - sprouts are in at this time of year!

 

Abel and Cole have Christmas boxes, as I am sure will other delivery companies. Or your local market will have everything you need. If you buy loose vegetables it will minimise waste packaging.

 

Leftovers

 

Don't cook too much! If you do, freeze it or compost it (Greenfingers have some bins if you don't).

 

 

 

Christmas Decoration

 

Lights

 

Be on the cutting edge with light-emitting diode, or LED Christmas lights. Each bulb with this new technology uses only 0.04 watts and is up to 90 percent more efficient than its incandescent counterpart.


To maximize lighting savings - remember to turn them off when you aren't in. Leaving lights on 24 hours a day will quadruple your energy costs – and create four times the pollution.

 

Trees

 

If you buy a real tree, and more than 6 million of us do, check with your local council if they will recycle it. Many local authorities grind the trees into wood chips and use them to mulch gardens or parks.

  

 

 

Alternatively - buy a live one that you can grow. Tree2mydoor have some but you should be able to pick these up from your local tree sellers too.

 

Cards

 

Last year we sent around 744 million Christmas cards. If all these were recycled instead of thrown away, it would help to save the equivalent of 248,000 trees. The Woodland Trust will be putting recycling bins in WHSmith and Tesco's.

 

Choose charity cards and wrapping paper which have some recycled paper content.

 

Save envelopes and reuse them with reuse labels, available from Friends of Earth.

 

Send email cards rather than - erm - card cards.

 

Decorations

 

Choose decorations which can be reused. You can also make decorations from scrap materials.


Wrapping

 

Gift tags can be made from old greetings cards. Any kind of unusual paper can be used to wrap gifts.

 

 


  

 

Christmas Presents

 

Buy things that people want!

 

If you don't know what this is then why not get something that reduces energy (the gift that keeps on giving) or has been made well. If you are buying electronics then look out for A-rated.

 

Have a look through our directories for all sorts of fabulous companies and products or head off to your nearest antiques markets to pick up some unique and recycled (or do the cheeky age old 'wrapping up presents you got last year but didn't want!)

 

Alternatively buy someone an experience. Take them to the theatre, for dinner or out for mince pies and coffee.

 

As a bonus you can make sure that you get to go too!