Christmas is a time of joy; we all love feeling festive, spending time with family and friends, decorating our houses and making our way through as many Christmas films and mince pies as possible! But Christmas can be the season of indulgence, this year why not think about how you can be more environmentally friendly and less wasteful?
Here are our top tips:
Buy Eco-friendly Christmas gifts. Look for presents with as little packaging as possible or packaging that can easily be recycled. Treat someone to plastic free and reusable gifts such as handmade soap or reusable water bottles and coffee cups.
Give someone the gift of nature with a gift membership to the Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust and support your local wildlife and wild places. For all NEW annual family memberships bought before the 31st December, we are offering a FREE 'Ponds for all Booklet' along wiith a FREE magnifier. (To ensure delivery before Christmas, all gift memberships must be purchased by Friday 13th December.)
Give a bat a home this Christmas and sponsor a bat box for your loved one. Boxes can be sponsored for £25 and the recipient will receive a certificate and bat themed goodies. Find out more here.
Did you know millions of Christmas cards are thrown away by UK households each year? Mix it up by sending e-cards this year or why not donate to a charity instead of sending cards. You could also save any cards you get and cut them up to use as gift tags next year!
Use natural materials to decorate your festive table such as pine cones and holly leaves.
Shiny and glittery wrapping paper looks pretty but most of it is non-recyclable. Instead use brown paper or newspaper and avoid plastic sellotape by wrapping it in twine or reusable ribbon. Avoid wrap altogether by putting it in a cardboard bag or box or wrapping it in pretty cloth.
Try and buy locally sourced food for your festive feast and cutting down on the amount of meat you eat will also help reduce your carbon footprint. Planning meals ahead of time and only buying what you need will also help reduce any food wastage.
Avoid buying new plastic decorations; instead use bunting, pine cones or paper chains. You could also do a decoration swap at work or with friends and family to give you a fresh look or raid your local charity shop for new festive pieces.
Christmas crackers contain plastic toys which are often wasted and thrown away, why not make your own out of toilet roll tubes and fill them with edible treats or plastic free gifts.
Turning off Christmas lights at night and when you are out will help save energy and save you money!
Make a Christmas wreath out of natural materials and you could even have one that will feed the birds as well, see how to make one here.
