Happy Advent! The time of getting ready…
For Christians, Advent is a time of spiritual preparation before celebrating the birth of Jesus at Christmas. If you’re looking for tips to help with that I can recommend lots of other blogs on the topic that you can find here.
Often our minds can be overwhelmed with the seemingly endless preparations for The Big Day*, especially since we’re bombarded with Christmas capitalism from before Freshers’ Week gets into full swing. It can be easy for all those practical tasks to overshadow the real meaning of Christmas - what presents to buy who, where you’ll be on the 25th December, what you are going to eat, planning time to wrap presents and finish off any work so you can “properly enjoy the day”.
It can be hard in this busy time to think of anything other than getting all these tasks done, let alone how to do them with the least environmental impact. So when I see a rush of eco-friendly Christmas trends, I’m pleased- but also overwhelmed. Often these tips can be pricey or time consuming, or actually not that eco. So, I have cherry picked a few favourites which are easy swaps or simple to do!
As Christians we have a duty to protect our beautiful planet, and those on it, so where we can it’s important that we try and make a couple of these small changes. Then hopefully we can all begin to have a more eco-friendly Christmas David Attenborough can be proud of!
We do not own the world, and its riches are not ours to dispose of at will. Show a loving consideration for all creatures and seek to maintain the beauty and variety of the world. Work to ensure that our increasing power over nature is used responsibly, with reverence for life. Rejoice in the splendour of God’s continuing creation.
-Quaker Advices and Queries 42
Tips for wrapping:
Swap wrapping paper for recycled paper:
I have seen quite a few people swap out their wrapping paper for newspaper, finished off with old string, ribbons and natural decorations like a sprig of holly. It can look really lovely and effective.
You can also reuse old paper bags, by cutting them up and using them to wrap presents. 
Brown paper
A suggestion from one of the team! Instead of using wrapping paper, buy a long roll of recycled kraft paper and decorate it yourself. Grab a hot chocolate, a couple of friends and stick on a Christmas film and enjoy an evening of Christmas doodling. 
Furoshiki
Furoshiki is the art of wrapping presents in cloth. Now as a woman who barely folds her clothes, this is not one for me! However, there are plenty of tutorials out there to make really stylish designs that are easy to follow. Tip: only gift this way to people you think will reuse the fabric, otherwise you run the risk of creating more waste. Why not write out and include instructions for how you created your wrapped masterpiece to inspire them to do the same? 
Fabric bags
As well as wrapping in pieces of fabric, you can also buy or create fabric bags which can be easily reused. 
Tips for decorations:
Paper chains instead of tinsel
I am by no means suggesting chucking out old tinsel… but if you decide you need to buy new decorations, consider swapping plastic tinsel for paper chains. You can use old Christmas cards, magazines, old revision notes (subject dependent I’d say…!). 
Dried fruit
You can create lovely smelling and lovely looking decorations using dried fruit slices, cinnamon sticks, pinecones, and holly. To dry your fruit use paper 
towels to soak up as much juice as you can before popping them in the oven on a low heat for about 3-4 hours. Bonus points for eco-friendliness if you’re using the oven anyway to cook a meal!
Fallen leaves wreaths
You can use cardboard rings and natural decorations such as fallen leaves, moss, holly, pinecones etc to create your own natural wreath. I once created a ring out of ivy (wearing gloves) and weaved in other natural plants too. You can also compost it when you’re finished! 
A couple other notes!
- Consider your travel nice and early! Can you go to your Christmas destinations by train? Or carpool with other locals.
- If you decide you still want to go for traditional wrapping paper, avoid ones with unnecessary plastic and head for ones with the FSC logo on.
- Consider buying people experiences, or making home made gifts, rather than over-buying ‘stuff’.
- Buy your Christmas jumper second hand. I have pulled out a lovely number already this year from Oxfam!
- Consider how much food you ‘need’. Christmas can be a wasteful time of year, and as a massive fan of food I find missing out on some treats a tricky swap, however it’s worth thinking ‘will I eat all that’, before popping it in your basket. In general, try to eat in season too. Christmas can also be a meat-heavy time, and as we know a vegetarian diet is one of the best ways to help the environment, so try out a few swaps this year! Never underestimate the power of a chestnut based meal!
*Of course Christmas isn’t just one day, but it’s easy to think that when Easter Eggs go on sale on Boxing Day...