Christmas is a time of year where there are very high amounts of waste, especially with plastic. It can sometimes seem very hard to have a more eco friendly Christmas, especially with the large amounts of presents, food and decorations. So here are a few helpful tips to make this Christmas more eco friendly.


1. Use Recyclable Wrapping Paper.

At Christmas we use very large amounts of wrapping paper, which causes huge amounts of waste. To avoid this waste, you can use recyclable wrapping paper, any paper with foil, glitter or plastic over the top cannot be recycled. Instead, buying normal paper is better, as it can be recycled, it may not look as festive or pretty, but the more rustic paper is very popular at the moment.


2. Plastic Free Decorations.

So many decorations are put up at this time of year and it always gives you that happy and festive feeling. However, a lot of them are made of plastic. Tinsel is a decoration which is used a lot, instead of using tinsel, you could use foliage, or even make your own decorations. If it’s a tradition of yours to have tinsel on the tree, you could buy recycled tinsel, and also keep the tinsel that you already have. It is better to use the plastic decorations that you already have, instead of throwing them away. If not, you can buy plastic free baubles and wooden ornaments.


3. Children’s Gifts.

The majority of children’s toys are made of colourful plastic. But children soon grow out of toys and get bored of them, instead of throwing these old toys away, you can give them to other children or take them to a charity shop. You could even buy wooden toys or recycled toys.


4. Christmas Crackers.

Nobody keeps the small plastic prizes from inside Christmas crackers, so they end up being thrown in the bin. To save on this rubbish, you could make your own Christmas crackers, then you can put your own thoughtful prizes into the crackers.


5. Christmas Trees.

In this case, plastic and artificial trees may be better, this is because real trees are then not being harmed. If you are going to have an artificial tree, make sure that you buy a good quality one so that it will last you a long time. This will save more trees from being cut down and then later on shredded or thrown away.


6. Vegetables.

When buying your vegetables for your Christmas dinner, you could try buying them from your local greengrocers or a local market. Make sure to use paper bags so that no plastic is being used or wasted.


7. Alcohol

.Christmas is a time when a lot of alcohol and drinks are bought for a big get together. When buying bottles of wine, try to buy ones with corks, instead of ones with inner plastic seals. Also, when buying beer, buy a pack in a box, instead of a pack with plastic rings. This type of plastic is often seen lying on sides of roads, or being dumped in the sea for animals to get caught in, lets stop this from happening. 


8. Meat or Meat Free Alternatives.

You can buy your Christmas meat, etc. from a local market or a butchers, this way it won’t be wrapped in lots of plastic.


9. Snacks & Nibbles.

When it comes to sweet treats, you can bake your own mince pies and other baked goods, this not only reduces waste but it’s also a fun and festive activity to do with other people. In terms of chocolate, you can buy bars which are wrapped in recyclable paper.


10. Food Packaging.

Everyone eats so much food at Christmas, which most of it is probably bought from a supermarket. In supermarkets, the majority of packaging is made up of plastic. Buying your food from other local sources is better because you’re reducing the amount of plastic being wasted, however, if you do want to buy your food from the supermarket, you can check to see if the plastic packaging is recyclable.


All of these tips are all very effective and can make your Christmas much more eco friendly, whilst still being able to take part in your favourite festivities and traditions. It could be a big commitment to try and use all of these tips, but even just using some of them can make a massive difference and help our environment this Christmas.
We hope you have a wonderful Christmas! Don’t forget to check out our eco friendly gifts and products!

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