How To Have A Sustainable Christmas

Christmas is full of food, wrapping paper, gifts, trees, baubles and advent calendars. One thing Christmas also brings with it is a lot of WASTE.


Over the years, I've noticed how wasteful I, and so many others, can be in the festive period. Think of it, all the wrapping paper, food packaging, packaging from our gifts...the list is almost endless.



I remember when I was a kid, my Mam would bring in a black bag to put all the torn wrapping paper into, then she would put it straight in the rubbish bin and it wouldn't be thought of again. I can't remember if recycling bins were around back in the 90's to be honest. 


Fast forward to 2020, I kind of made a promise to myself this year that I was going to be a little more sustainable this Christmas. I think if we all played our part, we could easily achieve a somewhat sustainable Christmas. Of course Christmas is a time to be little indulgent, we like to buy a tonne of presents for loved ones and eat until we burst out of our pyjama bottoms - but there are ways to be more environmentally friendly this Christmas! 



1) THINK  ABOUT  HAVING  A  REAL  CHRISTMAS  TREE
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Now, I can't say that I've ever gotten a real tree for Christmas every year, purely because I couldn't afford to buy a new tree every year so I do have an artificial one, which I have had for quite a long time now. But yes, if you are looking to be more sustainable this Christmas, then invest in a real tree. A real tree has far less of an environmental impact than an artificial one would. Plus you can easily replant a real tree back into your garden once Christmas is over, two birds and all that! Also, until just recently, I found out that you can actually rent a Christmas tree and it costs far less than buying one if you wanted to save a little money!



2) GIFT  SUSTAINABLY
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How many Christmas gifts have you gotten and have immediately wanted to give away to someone else or even thrown away? We've all been there. Gifting sustainably is a great way to not only help the environment, but also save money. For example, you could buy someone a vintage piece of jewellery for your mum or nan, buy a reusable water bottle for the exercise freak in the family or a load of candles for the...candle freak in your family. 


3) USE  ECO  FRIENDLY  WRAPPING  PAPER
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I bought recyclable wrapping paper for wrapping my presents for this year and I honestly won't be buying store paper again. I bought two rolls of red sustainable paper from Amazon and some string to make the presents look a little prettier and I love it. The paper can be thrown straight into the recyclable bin outside (be mindful of the Sellotape though, you might be better tearing that off the paper before recycling). When buying your wrapping paper this year, check to see if it is recyclable or not. If it's got some form of glitter or foil on it, then chances are it can't go in the recycle. 



4) USE  ECO  FRIENDLY  CHRISTMAS  CARDS
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M&S have made a promise to not sell Christmas cards with any sort of glitter on them as glitter is infamously known as being a nightmare to recycle! A great move by one of the big high street brands! If you fancied getting eco friendly with your Christmas cards this year, consider making them yourself (if you have have a hella lot time!) or sending an e-card. But I do like opening Christmas cards, that's such a tradition for me, check that your Christmas card can be recycled!


5) MINIMISE  FOOD  WASTE
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Let's face it, we definitely over-indulge with the food and drink over Christmas! The cookies, the gingerbread, the mulled wine, the turkey, the veg, the stuffing, pigs in blankets, mince pies, Christmas pudding...I could go on. It's safe to say that we do buy a lot of food over the festive period, thinking that our bellies are big enough to fit in all the food that we have bought. It never works out, believe me. We always end up buying more than we need. Just buy what you would normally buy to make a roast dinner!

Will you be doing anything sustainable for Christmas?
50 comments
  1. These are great tips Lucy! I love the idea of the recyclable paper, I used kraft paper last year, so will have to get myself some more! I guess you forget that there are a lot of items that can't be recycled...there is biodegradable glitter which could be used if you do want to add any sparkle.
    Thansk for sharing!
    Aimsy xoxo
    https://www.aimsysantics.co.uk

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    1. Thank you Aimsy! Yeah recyclable paper is just the best for wrapping presents! I do like glitter but I hate the mess it creates after using it! Thank you for that suggestion of biodegradable glitter though! xx

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  2. I've been using eco-friendly wrapping paper for a few years and it honestly is such an easy swap to make! Thanks for sharing these tips Lucy X

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    1. I agree Kayleigh, it's so much easier to wrap presents with eco friendly paper! x

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  3. Some great tips, Lucy. I always reuse wrapping paper and gift boxes and bags, it's a no brainer really x

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    1. Thank you Lisa, it really is, I always recycle and reuse bags and boxes x

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  4. What a great post! I had no idea you could rent a Christmas tree, what a great way to save money. Totally agree about gifting sustainably, it can be so hard to know what to get people, but there is nothing worse than buying someone something they aren't going to use xx

    Hannah | https://luxuryblush.co.uk/

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    1. Yeah I read about it online and it's definitely a great way to save money! xx

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  5. These are some great tips. I didn't realise you could rent a tree but that is such a great idea.

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    1. Yeah I only found that out just recently, it's a great money saver!

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  6. These are great tips! We always had a real tree when I was growing up (& still do), so I couldn't imagine having anything else now. I try to think of as many recipes as possible to make sure I don't have food waste too. I used the brown recyclable wrapping last year and loved it! I think it looks so nice with a little ribbon or a bow x

    Sophie
    www.glowsteady.co.uk

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    1. Thank you Sophie! That's lovely that you've kept to the tradition of having a real tree every year! You can't beat brown paper and ribbon can you?! x

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  7. I love these ideas! My sister and I committed not to buy any sort of wrapping for presents and reuse something we have at home instead. So far, we're doing fine with that. This Christmas will be very special after everything we've been through, but that is no excuse to mistreat the planet.

    Lindifique

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    1. I love that you and your sister have the idea of reusing something you have at home instead of buying for each other, that's a great idea!

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  8. Really great tips here Lucy, especially the food waste one! I've tried to be more sustainable each year and always try to buy recyclable paper and tape - and there are biodegradable cards you can get too xx

    http://www.dellalovesnutella.co.uk/

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    1. Ooh I didn't know you could get biodegradable cards Della, I'll have a look out for them next year! xx

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  9. All incredible pointers. I heard somewhere that Christmas produces the same carbon footprint as one single car driving around the world 6 times. So yeah it's not a good time of year for the planet. I think we could all do with being a bit more sustainable over the holidays x

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    1. Wow that is an interesting but equally as scary fact Jenny, that is insanely bad for the planet. I agree lovely, we could all do a bit more to be sustainable over the holidays x

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  10. Great tips! I've been trying to be more sustainable with gift wrapping, I got myself some eco friendly paper tape last month ready for my wrapping.
    Another tip (if you have the patience for this) cut the front page of the Christmas cards you receive and save them for next year. You can cut them up and use them for gift tags on presents next year! Last year I packed them up in my box with the Christmas tree when I took everything down. x

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    1. Thank you Chelsea!
      Oh my goodness I love that tip with the Christmas cards! I'm going to do that next year when I wrap presents! x

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  11. These are all great tips, I never knew you could rent a Christmas tree! I always make sure to use sustainable gift wrap: usually just brown paper that can be recycled. I also save the paper from birthday presents to re-use. My flatmates and I end up gifting each other with the same paper over and over again! I'm glad to hear that M&S aren't selling Christmas cards with glitter on this year, glitter is the worst.

    Emily from https://emilyunderworld.co.uk x

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    1. I know Emily, my mind was blown when I found out you could rent a Christmas tree!
      I love that you and your flatmates end up using the same wrapping paper for gifts over and over again, that's a great idea!
      Glitter is a nightmare, not only because of the environmental impact, but god it's messy! x

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  12. Such a great post, I am literally so obsessed with your blog, it's so stunning :)

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    1. Oh babe thank you so much, words like that mean the world to me! x

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  13. Brilliant tips here. I am becoming more and more aware of waste and trying to reduce the amount we create. This year I have opted to buy experiences over gifts and instead of sending cards and buying for extended family, we are all making donations to the Hospices that Mum was in.

    Hopefully this will reduce the rubbish we create x

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    1. Thank you Claire, I love that idea of buying experiences over gifts and what a wonderful way to remember your Mum at Christmas by donating to the hospice she was in, I'm sure they will be ever so grateful x

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  14. These are great tips. I didn't know you could even rent the Christmas Tree.

    https://www.ninakobi.com

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  15. What a fab post! Always had a real tree & couldn’t imagine not having one now ��

    Han // www.behindthefalselashes.com

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    1. Once I get my own place, I'm going to get a real tree, they look so festive! x

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  16. These are all such great tips on how to have a sustainable Christmas. Thanks so much for sharing.

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  17. so many great ideas in this post - I am searching for better wrapping paper this year as I go through a lot!

    Rosie

    https://www.loverosiee.co.uk

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    1. I bought two rolls from Amazon for £10 and I got enough for next years presents which is great! x

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  18. I love your tips! Its so important to reduce impact where we can. I made the switch to non coated wrapping paper and stopped buy crackers too as they tend to be a bit of a throw away thing. I also like to invest in decorations that will last years and not things that will be going in the bin come the 26th. xx

    Violethollow.com

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    1. Absolutely Violet, I haven't bought any crackers for this year as there's just absolutely no point, it's just a waste, the hats never fit and the prizes in them are crap and I hate that they're made of plastic! I do the same about the decorations, I always buy ones that will last for years xx

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  19. Great tips. Minimising food waste is a great one, and could be used all year too.

    Anika | chaptersofmay.com

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    1. Absolutely Anika, we can all try to minimise food waste all year round! x

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  20. Thanks for sharing, these are great tips, I hand make my cards for my family so I have sent less over the years :)

    Nic | Nic's Adventures & Bakes

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    1. That's lovely to hear that you hand make your Christmas cards for your family x

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  21. I'm all for this Lucy! I've made sure that all of my paper is recyclable and I hate food waste so will definitely be sure to minimise that!
    Soph - https://sophhearts.com x

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    1. I'm glad you feel the same as me about sustainability at Christmas Soph! x

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  22. These are some great ideas. I will be buying all recyclable paper.

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    1. Recyclable paper is the one at Christmas time!

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  23. Really great ideas! next year I'm definitely going to hunt down some sustainable wrapping paper :)

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    1. It's so worth it Ellie and it wraps much better than other wrapping paper!

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  24. Great tips here! I'd honestly love a real tree but my OH has Christmas tree dermatitis & they worsen my grans asthma so that's out the window, but one day I will have one! I love using eco friendly wrapping paper, I always use brown paper or gift bags.

    Jordanne || Thelifeofaglasgowgirl.co.uk

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    1. Aww that's a shame Jordanne, I hope that one day you will get one! Yeah I love the brown paper as you can use ribbon or string to make it look pretty!

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  25. Some really great tips here! I've been trying to live more sustainably lately so these are definitely things to bear in mind!

    Grace xx

    www.gracebee.co.uk

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    1. Thank you Grace, we can definitely all try to be a bit more sustainable now! xx

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