It’s that time of year again – the Christmas festivities are in full swing, the Christmas tree is up at our house and I’ve even started shopping for presents, because the 25th of December will be here in no time!
It’s a time where we eat and drink to excess, we catch up with friends and family, and we reflect on the year gone by. But we also create so much waste at this time of year! All the beautifully wrapped presents under the tree, the Christmas cards given out and posted, the packaging from all the gifts we purchase, so much of it ends in the bin. Hopefully the recycling bin, but it all only has a short lifespan before it is no longer needed and thrown away.
I love seeing the excitement as the kids unwrap their gifts, but I cringe when I see the big bag of torn up wrapping paper after the fun is over. There must be a better way! I remember being given my presents in a pillow case one year when I was younger – I didn’t think much of it at the time, but now I think it’s a great idea! The ‘wrapping’ can be used again and doesn’t end up being thrown away.
So what other ideas are there to have a more sustainable and less wasteful Christmas? Here are a few that I hope help overcome this dilemma.
Wrapping paper
Use what you already have at home
Instead of using wrapping paper, wrap gifts in newspaper or pages out of magazines, or any other nice looking paper that you already have lying around. You could get crafty and make the gifts look amazing! Have you bought anything that came in brown paper? Or paper bags? Any of these could be spruced up to be used to wrap your gifts. Check out pinterest to get some inspiration!
Do you have kids’ artwork that is piling up that you could use to wrap gifts? The kids would love to see their art displayed on the gifts under the tree, and it has a real personal touch.
Use a reusable option
You could use reusable bags to hold gifts – calico bags or reusable shopping bags would be perfect and can be used again and again once Christmas is over.
Beeswax wraps would also make a great gift wrap for small items, and the wrap is a gift in itself! Check out our website to see the range.
Fabric
Fabric is a great alternative to wrapping paper, and has been used for centuries in Japanese culture through furoshiki. Furoshiki is the art of wrapping gifts or goods in cloth. For tips on how to use the fabric for your wrapping this Christmas, check out this website.
If you are handy on the sewing machine, you could make your own fabric gift wrap, choosing your fabric and making it as large or small as needed. Knotted or tied up with ribbon, this would look great! Or make into bags with a drawstring, to be used again and again.
If you aren’t into sewing, then there are options available online, try ecoChici for a design already made for you!
Fabric wrap is an eco-friendly option and you can encourage the recipient of your wrap to use it again when they are gift-giving, to spread the message and reduce the amount of wrapping paper that is thrown away.
Don’t use wrapping at all
For gifts for adults, some things look great not wrapped at all, with a simple message written on the box in a fancy pen (think white texta on a black box, or a glittery pen on a white box).
Start collecting for your Christmas wrap next year!
If you are given gifts in gift bags this year, keep them! You can use them next year and encourage everyone else to do the same! They are usually sturdy and there is no need to throw them away, and it saves a whole new round of thrown away gift bags next year.
Christmas cards
It is still lovely to receive a card in the mail (it makes a nice change to bills!), but with e-cards and access to many other means to say hello and merry Christmas, I’m sure your far away family and friends would appreciate any form of greeting and there are eco friendlier options out there. An email or a phone call would still send the Christmas cheer. If you do want to keep the tradition alive, there are now seed embedded cards available – so at least your card can be planted and it will grow, instead of ending up in the recycling (or worse, in the rubbish bin). Some options are available here.
Gift ideas for those who don’t need gifts
We have so much ‘stuff’ these days that the thought of getting more ‘stuff’ for Christmas is overwhelming. It’s hard to keep track of the ‘stuff’ we already have. My family has agreed not to get Christmas presents for the adults anymore, just for the kids, which I LOVE! It is more than enough to spend time together and enjoy each other’s company.
If you are struggling to think of gift ideas for people who have enough ‘stuff’ there are heaps of alternatives that don’t involve giving a material object. How about donating to a cause, to those in need, to spread the message of goodwill. A friend’s family nominates a charity each year, and each family contributes a donation to that charity instead of buying gifts, a very generous approach and a reflection of how we can give to others at Christmas.
Here are a few other ideas (but there are of course many more – just google ethical Christmas gifts)
I hope this has inspired you to come up with some creative and eco-friendly ideas to reduce waste this Christmas, and also to prepare for the next one!
For more reusable options and sustainable ideas visit our website here
Wishing you a happy, safe and fun Christmas, from Green Bandicoot Styling xx
