Christmas is a wonderful time for friends, family, giving and creating memories. As we grow more eco-conscious about the impact of endless gifts, it’s time to make Christmas more eco-friendly. We’ve put together a green gifting guide, for how you can take steps to reduce waste this Christmas time, without losing any of the magic or love.
Eco-friendly gift wrapping
Australians alone use more than 150,000km of wrapping paper during Christmas – enough to wrap around Earth’s equator nearly 4 times! (source: CARE Australia)
Most wrapping papers are beautiful, but are often made with plastics or embellished with glitter, making them non-recyclable.
Get creative with how you can wrap your gifts this year- spare fabrics, newspaper, or some magazine paper! Decorate with sprigs of rosemary, home made Christmas cards / tags for a personalised touch – get the kids involved as well and have a fun afternoon of craft.
Bonus points: Who Gives a Crap? toilet paper comes wrapped in recycled paper, with every intention of being reused again. Their colourful designs make it an easy option for gift wrap that you don’t even need to leave the house for!
via @collective.gen
Experiences/workshops
A present to be remembered, give the gift of an incredible experience! Some ideas to start- send them to a pottery class, a cooking class of their favourite cuisine, or any workshop you know they would enjoy! This is a great gift for parents, give them the night off to have some fun together! This is a good way to support your local community as well.
via @workshopaus
Donation gift:
You can give a gift and improve someones life through a charity donation in the recipients name. Participating charities, like OXFAM, give you a physical Christmas card explaining the gift and how it will contribute to their work. Local wildlife funds, homeless support, domestic violence groups … this really embodies the Christmas spirit of giving to those in need. A real warm-and-fuzzy gift idea.
Home grown fruit & veg
If you’ve been working hard on your veggie garden all year and have some quality produce, what better way to use it than gift it to someone you love! You can try your hand at making some yummy chutneys and jams as a lovely gift they can enjoy. If you’re missing your green thumb, play around with some recipes made with certified organic fruit & veg: here’s some ideas to get you started:
Upcycled gift
If you’ve been hoarding unwanted gifts from previous years, unsure what to do with them – break the stigma and re-gift! It’s a much better option than heading to landfill all shiny and new.
Give that apron you’ve never worn to a neighbour.
The kids train set that’s been outgrown to a niece or nephew.
An essentials oils diffuser you haven’t utilised to a colleague.
A good book you’d regift to a friend to read.
It just takes a little bit of savvy, effort and creativity to master green-gifting. But it means you can dodge busy shopping centres, avoid contributing to landfill, and give a gift they will absolutely adore.
Leave a Reply