Well hello to you my reader chums! Christmas is coming up and the festive season is nearly underway. The lead up to Christmas has to be one of my favourite times of the year, I love the excitement of getting together with people, preparing gifts, and having cosy night in, it's all part of the festive fun.
Granted, this year is going to be a slightly different Christmas and nobody is sure what will happen. However, I'm trying to stay positive and make the most of the festive season, and focusing on what's really important - family, friends, and time together (whether that'll be virtual or in real life.)
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Christmas is also a time for creating gifts and buying things for loved ones which means it's also a very wasteful time of year. In the last few Christmases, I've tried to be as eco-friendly as possible, with my preparation, gifts, and everything to do with the festive season.
- Using eco-friendly wrapping/cards - The bulk of most wrapping paper and Christmas cards sold in the shops are not eco-friendly in any way and that means they're either not able to be recycled or aren't made of biodegradable materials. This is where Little Green shop comes in; they offer a selection of cards, wrapping paper, and tags - everything you need to make your Christmas presents looking super cute, without harming the planet.
- Shopping small and supporting local businesses - I run a small business myself and it means the world when customers choose to shop with me rather than buying something at their local shopping centre. Supporting a small business doesn't only support someone's dream but it also is a lot more eco-friendly. Local businesses tend to source their inventory from smaller shops around them and manufacture them by hand, rather than a huge and wasteful factory setting. Etsy is one of my favourite places to discover small businesses and Instagram too.
- Make your own gifts - Christmas isn't all about how much you spend on everyone, it's about the thought you put into presents. Try giving making your own gifts a go, this can be baking a cake, knitting a jumper, printing a t-shirt, or painting a canvas. Utilise whatever talent you have and I can assure you, the recipient will love it as much as you.
- Shopping sustainable - What I mean by this, if you're going to buy clothes or a big item, do you research into which companies have good ethics behind how they produce their products, and choose the more sustainable options and shops. There are so many companies that claim to be sustainable which actually aren't so do your research before you buy!
- Buy presents with less waste - It's no doubt that for kid's products for instance come in an unnecessary amount of packaging, likewise do gifts from Amazon. Try to avoid shopping online and save the excess amount of packaging you'll get on your doorstep. Instead, choose gifts that come with less packaging or will produce a minimal amount of waste. Be smart, be savvy, and think more about what and where you're buying from.
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I am really trying to be mindful of sustainability this Christmas - this year has really opened my eyes to this kind of thing! This post is really helpful, thank you!
ReplyDeleteRosie
https://www.loverosiee.co.uk
Thanks lovely, I'm glad it helped x
DeleteThey do the most adorable cards. I've already got my eye on a couple. I'm trying to buy more meaningful gifts this year rather than something just for the sake of it that will probably be thrown out in the new year.
ReplyDeleteDon't they?! That's so lovely, I'm the same xx
DeleteI love this, great tips that are easy to do! I haven't heard of Little Green Paper Shop before, so I'll definitely check out some of their products.
ReplyDeleteAnika | chaptersofmay.com
Thank you lovely! xx
DeleteDefinitely making the decision to shop more local this year! I feel as though gifts are more personal when purchased locally.
ReplyDeletelouisecorbally.com
I completely agree!x
DeleteA couple of things I'm doing this year is buying from small businesses and using brown paper to wrap my presents in, a great post Della! x
ReplyDeleteLucy | www.lucymary.co.uk
That sounds amazing, thank you! xx
DeleteThese are such great ideas I have never heard of Little Green Paper Shop but I will definitely be checking them out. I made everyone's Christmas gifts last year and they all loved them, so I will definitely be doing that again this year.
ReplyDeleteThank you! Oh wow, that's incredible xx
DeleteSome fab ideas here, I'm going to try and support more small businesses this year for presents!
ReplyDeleteThank you!
DeleteI love the sound of biodegradable stationery, that's such a good idea. And perfect for all those thank you letters after Christams too! x
ReplyDeleteIt's so good, definitely perfect for thank you cards! Thank you x
DeleteThese cards are beautiful! And I love that they're eco-friendly too ��
ReplyDeleteSame here!
DeleteI will have to check these out, the cards and wrapping look beautiful. I love the idea of the recycled paper as well. Last year I bought brown craft paper on a roll and printed/ painted on designs, although it took forever to complete. I'm planning on making a lot of the gifts this year, and buying from smaller businesses.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing!
Aimsy xoxo
https://www.aimsysantics.co.uk
That's such a lovely thing to do!
DeleteI love shopping small. There are so many people creating beautiful and soulful things and I always connect with giving gifts from people who have put their heart into them or creating my own gifts!
ReplyDeleteI also love these pretty cards! Brown paper wrapping leaves room for a little decoration with pencils too.
Same here, I find it's a lot more fun too as you find more unique things to buy xx
DeleteWow these are gorgeous images, and such good ideas for a sustainable Christmas! With wrapping paper and cards etc. Christmas can be very difficult for the environment, so these are some great tips to reduce waste and help the environment :)
ReplyDeleteThank you lovely!
DeleteNice idea, great tips for preparing for a sustainable Christmas.
ReplyDeleteI'm trying to make my own Christmas presents this year! Definitely hadn't considered sustainability at Christmas in particular so will bear this in mind :)
ReplyDeleteHttp://achaosstory.com/
That's so lovely and thoughtful! xx
DeleteI love this and I am also trying to be more sustainable this year. I've never heard of this brand before and I'm obsessed with how you can plant the cards so there is no waste, it's such a genious concept!x
ReplyDeleteThank you! It's amazing right?!
DeleteThanks for sharing, these look lovely ideas for sustainable Christmas this year :)
ReplyDeleteNic | Nic's Adventures & Bakes
I've seen a few bloggers talk about this brand and I'm definitely intrigued! I can't believe how much the planet suffers for Christmas, it makes me really sad. There's certainly small changes we can all make! x
ReplyDeleteIt's a brill brand! It breaks my heart how much Christmas kills the planet x
DeleteGreat suggestions! I love homemade gifts, personally. The fact that they have that special individual touch is so special to me. I love making and gifting them, I love receiving them, I just love everything about them...
ReplyDeleteThank you, I completely agree xx
DeleteI love this post - one of my main aims this Christmas is to shop from small businesses, as I know how important it is to support them! x
ReplyDeleteThank you lovely! I completely agree xx
DeleteI'm sure there are quite a few families like mine who just have rolls of wrapping paper stored from many years ago, and whilst I won't be buying anymore, it'd be wasteful to not use what we already have. I'm definitely focusing on becoming more sustainable for Christmas x
ReplyDeleteEmily | emiliamarlowe.co.uk
That's so true and a fab point to use up everything you've got in the house xx
DeleteThese are so pretty! I love how everyone is more into being less wasteful with wrapping paper and things. I had no idea until recently that most wrapping paper couldn't be recycled!
ReplyDeleteCorinne x
www.skinnedcartree.com
Same here! It's something I learnt a few years ago and honestly have been shocked ever since xx
Deletehttp://www.dellalovesnutella.co.uk/
Biodegradable stationery! Nice idea. I'll have a look around for this. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteThank you!
DeleteThis is a really helpful post with suggestions about sustainable options for Christmas. Thank you for sharing.
ReplyDeleteThanks lovely! xx
DeleteI'm so excited for Christmas, and these ideas are just fab! I'm going to be buying from local small businesses to help support them - but one thing I also do every year is recycle the Christmas cards that people send me and turn them into tags for presents as well!
ReplyDeleteThank you! Oh wow, that's such a brill idea xx
DeleteI've run out with Christmas gift ideas (after years of gift giving) so anything simple and sustainable is great for me.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.anouk.co
It's such a massive thing across the festive period that most people don't even think about. We definitely need to be thinking about it a lot more
ReplyDeleteI completely agree!
DeleteFantastic tips, Della! I've come across so many blog posts that prepare people to shop sustainably during the festive periods, and I love all of them including yours. I didn't think about the last point regarding online shopping and the amount of wasteful packaging it generates. That's something new for me to think about. Thanks for sharing! :)
ReplyDeleteThanks so much!!
DeleteIt's a great idea to buy local and green as much as possible. I liked the idea of making your own gifts and using less paper in wrapping. Thanks, Della, for writing an article about buying green and local, just before the shopping season is going to begin.
ReplyDeleteThank you lovely!
DeleteThese seed paper cards look beautiful!
ReplyDeletexoxo
Lovely
www.mynameislovely.com
Aren't they?! x
DeleteI need to look into the Little Green Paper Shop, sounds so good x
ReplyDeleteSteph | www.stephhannam.com
Thank you for sharing this. I don't know why more people don't "make their own gifts" - it means so much more I think.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree!
DeleteBrilliant suggestions here. I love making gifts for people. It just means so much more giving something you've spent time on.
ReplyDeleteI love those cards you've shared, Very cute x
Me too!
DeleteGreat suggestions. I switched to using only recyclable gift wrap/cards last year and I think it’s so important to support small businesses. I’ve asked for gifts from quite a few Etsy sellers.
ReplyDeleteWhat I Have Wrote.com
I agree! I adore Etsy sellers x
DeleteThis year is all about small business support for me. Going to try and get all my presents from people i know or creator friends. Theres always so many cute items you just dont find anywhere else. And i definitely want to make my own cards this year!!! Awesome post. Xxxx
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful cards! And I agree with every tip! Let's make the gifts not only beautiful, but also practical and sustainable.
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