The Sustainable Christmas Guide

As the nights draw in, the fairy lights go up and the kids start scribbling their letters to Santa – it’s impossible to ignore that Christmas is a coming.

It’s easy to get caught up in the whirl of parties, presents, mulled wine and food. But many people end the holiday season questioning why it hasn’t quite measured up to their expectations. Where was the festive cheer and good will to all men? What happened to enjoying quality time with family or friends? Did we really spend that much? And where can we recycle the tree this year?

It’s definitely got us thinking at BPEC – so we’ve come up with our own Advent Calender, a check-list of 25 easy, practical things to do for a merry, peaceful and sustainable Christmas. Try a few of these and we reckon your Christmas will be a cracker!

#1 Buy secondhand gifts: it reduces the environmental impact of production, transportation and packaging. You can find good stuff at charity shops and vintage clothing shops. Or shop ‘n’ swap online at Freecycle – www.freecycle.org.uk or eBay – www.ebay.co.uk.

#2 Try not to waste it: The average family wastes a third of the food they buy. Every Christmas we throw away 4,200 tons of aluminium foil. If you can’t re-use the foil for cooking, try to recycle it. Use crockery instead of disposable plates and cups. Reward the washers-up with a treat!

#3 Get some advice: download the helpful “How to Have a Better Xmas” from LifeSquared or go on one of their workshops www.lifesquared.org.uk http://lifesquared.org.uk/publications

#4 Buy seasonal, buy local: Reduce your Xmas carbon footprint by shopping for locally made and grown produce from local shops, farm shops and farmers’ markets. Keep it close to home.

#5 Smell good with a clean conscience: If you give toiletries or cosmetics as gifts, choose natural essential oils or organic toiletries, or cosmetics which haven’t been tested on animals.

#6 Clever Christmas Cards: It’s easy to make your own, just cut out pictures from old cards or magazines and stick them on bright coloured paper. Or if you’re buying, choose recycled paper and charity cards so every penny you spend is counting.

#7 Get Tree Smart: If you buy a tree, ditch the plastic and get a real one in a pot and keep it for next year or replant it. You could also get creative with evergreens and branches from your local park, or use a holly or bay tree.

#8 D.I.Y. Decorations: kids love making their own and taking some time to do something creative is good for grown-ups too. Use recycled card or almunium from drinks cans. Or make salt dough shapes and hang them all on your tree. http://kids.creativity-portal.com/d/recipes/salt.dough.shtml

#9 Take a Time Out: No point in getting to the end of the holidays without some down time. Why not go for a walk in the park – or get out into the countryside? Or just curl up somewhere peaceful with a book or something good on the stereo.

#10 Be fair: Buy Christmas food, wine and presents with the FairTrade label on it, it guarantees workers have been fairly rewarded for their labour.

#11 Turn out the light: Remember to turn off Christmas tree lights when you are not around, or fit a timer. If buying new lights, look for LED ones, which last longer and are more energy-efficient.

#12 Seek out 3 wise men or women: This is a time of year for reflection and celebration, with not just Christmas but also the Islamic New Year, Hannukah and the Solstice being celebrated. Why not find out more from colleagues, friends and neighbours about why this time of year is special to them?

#13 Getting to know you: Christmas can be a lonely time of year for many people. Invite someone you know is on their own round for a mince-pie, or stop and say hello to those folks in the hall you only usually nod to.

#14 It’s the thought that counts: Why not make something for someone your love? There are lots of ideas online – http://www.wikihow.com/Make-Your-Own-Christmas-Gifts And lots of great books that’ll give you ideas.

#15 L.O.L. That’s the Local Organic Lunch! Here’s an idea … could you source ALL the food for your festive feast from local shops and farms? Or go Organic and pick one or two special things, for an extra environmentally tasty and healthy Christmas meal.

#16 Secret Santa: This is great for groups of friends or large families – agree a budget, pick another person’s name from a hat and then only buy or make a present for that person.

#17 Gifts that keep on giving: Why not buy a practical gift for those less fortunate like a share in a well, or grain for farming. Visit www.practicalpresents.org or www.oxfam.org.uk/shop Or you can make a difference with www.greenpeacegiving.org.uk

#18 Volunteer: for a local charity or homeless shelter. Many great organisations could do with a few hours of your time and goodwill at this time of year. It’s also a great way to make new friends in your community.

#19 Wrapping it all up: More than 8,000 tons of wrapping paper are used at Christmas then thrown away. Why not recycle yours this year, or make your own from old magazines or newspapers and personalise with potato stamp pictures?

#20 Left someone off your list?: There’s always someone you forget to send a card to. Why not send an E-Card? It’ll be there in a click and if you send all your Christmas Cards this way you can save trees and money.

#21 Become a member: Why not buy someone you love membership of Brighton Peace & Environment Centre? You’ll be supporting a great local charity, and as a thank-you we’ll give you discounts and money off vouchers to buy other great green and ethical gifts.

#22 Recycle: Why not set your family and friends a challenge, and see which of you has the fewest rubbish bags for the bin men after Christmas. Winner gets the left over bottle of wine from New Year!

#23 Take a breath: Is it all getting a bit mad? Stop, look around you, remind yourself what’s important to you at this time of year … and as much as you can … just do that!

#24 Recycle your Christmas Cards: as the last cards land on the mat, find out where you can recycle them in January. Many supermarkets now offer this service, and so does the Woodland Trust.

#25 Tree Heaven: remember most councils have collection areas for Christmas trees which are then turned into wood chip and used by Parks Department. There’s never a recycling point far away from you.