Our Eco-ish Christmas

In the run up to Christmas, I had planned various posts that I wanted to share about ways to make the festive period more eco friendly but, well, life kinda got in the way. So, instead, I thought I would reflect on the ways that it was or wasn't a sustainable Christmas.  Some of us were struck down by a stomach bug so that got in the way a bit but that's what sometimes happens and why it's good to reflect on the positives as well as the negatives (or the "room for improvements")

Eco Wins

Gifts - these were mainly either secondhand or purchased from small businesses with I think only two not being either of those but then one of those was a new Man Utd shirt for my dad so that was never going to be either of those things! We did Christmas lists and also gifted and received vouchers/experiences, and have gifted consumables like spiced rum or vegan chocolates. We've also gifted some eco-friendly gifts like a reusable coffee cup for my mum or some eco beauty products.

Gift wrapping - We mainly reused paper from last year or paper from online deliveries etc that we've received this year, as well as reusing some of the many gift bags we own.  I also tried more fabric wrapping this year which worked really well, especially for some of the awkward shaped secondhand toys that we bought for Z. We even just threw a small table cloth over one of his toys!! And we used paper tape for the stuff that needing taping shut!  I've kept some paper from this year to be used last year, and cut up Christmas cards we received for gift tags next year.  On that note, we also didn't buy separate cards for grandparents etc - we used up some multipack cards that were in the cupboard and my parents loved theirs!

Food - We tried to limit the amount that we bought but probably still got too much, although it's difficult to judge that properly when there were days that three adults weren't eating anything.  We got a local veg box delivery for our Christmas dinner and it was an entirely vegan Christmas dinner (although some of us did have some cheese later on in the day).  

Decorations - mainly reused from last year, as were one of the lots of crackers used.  The others were ones that my mum had bought where you could add your own "toy" so she added some minature gin and rum bottles for us (not the kids, obviously! Z got a little toy car). 

Tree - We have an artificial tree that we have used for just over 10 years.  It's a smaller one that we bought to fit in a particular space in our old house and we decided to get a new one last year.  After much deliberation, we went for an artificial one but know it will last us ages.  We still use the old one in another room but thinking about giving it away this year. Some people might not see this as a win but I am taking it as one!

Advent - the fabric paper chain was a hit, as was the jigsaw advent - he added a couple of pieces each day until Christmas.  We filed the time doing some activities as well, like having a Christmas dance party in our living room, making some decorations, going to see some Christmas lights etc.  Check out my blog on advent activity ideas if you'd like some inspiration!

Room for improvement

There were some not-so-eco things about our Christmas but I'm just acknowledging this rather than beating myself up about it!

Buying too much - we did reduce presents but I think we could have got away with fewer presents and I know I got more carried away in the run up to Christmas than I intended to. 

Food - part of me thinks this is because some of us weren't eating but I also think there was too much food even if we had all been eating!  

We also have a "party food picnic" on Christmas Eve which I love but we buy ready made things from M&S so there's a lot of plastic. The intention was to try making our own this year but it didn't happen.

Waste - there were things that could have been rescued from the rubbish bin but weren't like the crackers and some wrapping paper.

Car journeys - with us being unwell, there was a bit more too'ing and fro'ing between our house and my parents' house (about 20 miles away).