Forum home Product Tests Sponsored discussions

Tell Whirli your tips for little ways you can make Christmas more eco-friendly: £200 voucher prize

2456712

Replies

  • We bought a potted Christmas tree a few years ago so it gets dragged in from the garden, it’s getting quite big now though! Asking for gifts like zoo membership to reduce amount of toys. Both of ours are into duplo and Lego so last year I got some on eBay and this year managed to get a sponge Bob Lego set on eBay that I know my son will love. I just give it all a good wash in soapy water and it looks brand new! 
  • We buy secondhand on online marketplace/Charity shop or our local buy nothing group. You can reuse packaging or use fabric to wrap presents, you can bake ornaments for the tree or gift edibles and reuse glass jars. We try and give them things that last a long time. This year we are trying to stick to one present each for the kids and trying to work on our attitude towards Christmas rather than what we get. 
  • We always end up with loads of packaging from delivery companies, so last year we decorated that to use as Christmas wrapping paper. It was a fun activity, saved money and good for the environment, so a triple win in my eyes! Plus, family loved the personal touch of my daughter's arty skills. 
  • We won’t be wrapping the kids Xmas gifts to safe on paper :)
  • I use newspaper to wrap presents, clothes are hand me downs and we make our own decorations and use them again and again. I also make sure that toys are given to children without and this year am going to wrap my daughters old toys for my son to open 
  • We have made quite a few changed this Christmas to become more eco friendly. Not only for the planet which is of course the most important but also having had a baby were saving or purses!

    We made small changed last year such as buying eco friendly wrapping paper, as most wrapping paper isn't recyclable sadly. We've then upgraded the wrapping paper with friendly alternatives such as dried orange slices and pine cones which look so beautiful and can actually be used the year after as tree decorations.

    For our friends and family we've been a lot more forthcoming in asking what they actually need and want rather than surprises which is actually not what they want a lot of the time! We've also they sourced these things from more renewable sources such as refurbished and second hand.

    For our own daughter we have spent more and bough solid (usually wooden) quality items which can hopefully be past down to our next child or family and friends and reused rather than friable plastics. We've also asked for experiences that we would like to avoid the plastic presents and got hand me down toys which have still got lots of life in them. Then when our baby grows out of they we will pass them on again to get maximum use.

    We bought quality Christmas decorations last year which we're reusing this year and will for many more. We've also invested in biodegradable Christmas cards, next year we hope to ger Christmas cards which are plantable and have seeds mixed in.

    We've also bought a reusable advert calendar that we can recycle every year, which will actually grow with our baby for a lifetime! We've also got a smart meter than we watch like a hawk and have made lots of little changes such as only boiling as much water as you need to reduce our energy consumption!

    We have already placed our order for our Christmas food from a local farm shop. That way travel has been reduced and we also know it's of a good quality. With it being a bit more expensive we're also more conscious of how much we buy, minimising waste! However as waste is inevitable we plan to eat out of the freezer for the coming months to ensure there is lots of room for leftovers!
  • Brown paper as gift wrap with pretty ribbons so the paper is fully recyclable. Let the kids draw on it for a bit of fun or do your own neat ones, just don't add anything non recyclable. Second hand gifts from Facebook marketplace and charity shops or my parents attic (I see your old Lego in the attic, brother, and I'm coming for it!) 
  • Our family always save Christmas gift bags and boxes, we all try to use as little wrapping paper as possible. It's a running joke now, trying to guess who gave or received the bag previously. When we buy new wrapping paper we try to use degradable. In terms of gifts, I like to make homemade gifts where possible. Biscuits are simple and cute! I love buying secondhand or preloved, using Vinted, ebay, and Facebook market place. I do love a charity shop bargain too but depends on the item. 
  • We buy secondhand gifts from charity shops, ebay and marketplace for LO and often each other. 
    We buy useful gifts for each other that we really need or will benefit the environment like bird or hedgehog boxes and bird feeders. 
    We use recyclable plain paper and reusable ribbon to wrap and stamp it to decorate. We cut up old Christmas cards for gift tags as needed and reuse giftwrap we've previously received.  
    Our diet is plant based and this year we are hosting on Christmas day, so we are in the dilemma of whether to subject our meat-eating guests to full on vegan or just a little meat,  fish and dairy. Either way it will hopefully produce less CO² than a traditional Christmas dinner. 
    We buy a pot grown tree and then guerrilla plant it in the woods, though we now have a garden, so we'll plant there. 
    We add one decoration to the tree ornaments each year. Last year I made it out clay. We're now conscious of avoiding plastic and glitter when choosing, but our previous unethical decs go up with them all the same so they don't hit landfill. 
  • Instead of buying gift bags were reusing newspapers and children’s pictures to turn into one of a kind wrapping paper. We’ve also bought Christmas pjs/jumpers/outfits etc slightly big to get the most wear out of them. 
  • I Reuse gift bags and boxes and any decent paper I can save every single year. I also save old Christmas cards and cut the fronts up to reuse as gift tags the next year. We have opted for smaller presents with less packaging this year for example, computer games or tickets to a concert or money. We also don’t send Christmas cards anymore.
  • We buy as many toys in wood as possible, they last much longer and not horrible plastic material. We buy our christmas outfits for kids (jumpers, babygrows etc) second hand as they are always near new condition anyway and always try to reuse boxes and packaging for posting parcels in future, lots of boxes from xmas toys! Oh yes and ive got the dreaded gift bag drawer full of my reused gift bags, gift tissue paper and christmas cards we cut up to handmake cards.
  • I think it's so easy to get carried away at Christmas and before you know it you've spent (and likely wasted) a lot of money. Whenever I'm out, I always have a look out for potential gifts. Charity shops and car boots are amazing! I often find brand new toys/clothes for very little money. When it comes to children (particularly the younger ones), they are not focused on how much you've spent. This year, the children and I will be making our own wrapping paper. I've kept the brown paper that arrived with parcels (currently sitting under some heavy books to help straighten out the creases!) then we'll spend an afternoon getting crafty and decorating them ready for Christmas!
  • My NCT group and I have each chosen a toy that our little ones like but play less with and swapped them with each other so that each has a new toy for Xmas! I have also been reusing wrap for a few years or paper gift bags and using old decs to spice up the wrapping etc! 
  • Oooh, well apart from using Whirli of course, we ask for clothing subscriptions and vouchers for experiences instead of ‘things’. Children get very bored of the same toys/clothes so these are such a fab idea! 
    We also source local meat & veg for our Christmas dinner and of course local producers for our Christmas treats such as gin & chocolates (resulting in less miles travelled) 🎄
  • Using our very large pressure cooker to cook the turkey
    It reduces the energy needed from a traditional oven and we just use it to crisp the turkey for about 30 mins, reducing the carbon footprint
  • We want a more eco friendly Christmas this year by ditching the plastic. Instead we’ve opted for wooden toys, clothes and books for our children’s gifts and biscuits/cakes for the adults 
  • We buy things through the year in the sales if there’s something specific or get bits like wrapping paper and Christmas cards after Christmas for the following year when they’re all in clearance. 
  • We're doing lots of little things to be less wasteful at Christmas. No "joke" presents that will get no use, buying lots of 2nd hand presents. Wrapping in recyclable paper. No Christmas crackers. We don't buy any new plastic, so from decorations to presents, if it's plastic, it's second hand. Also with food, well be cooking a bit less of things that won't save for another meal, so fewer leftovers and we'll throw less away.
    Also considering buying second hand fabrics to wrap presents in that we can keep and use every year.
  • In the past we have reused cards as gift tags, use wrapping paper which can be reused or recycled. We try to buy only what we need to reduce waste e.g. food.This year we plan on buying more second hand presents and reducing the amount of one use/plastic items which are bought. We try to shop locally where possible and from ethical shops. I'm going to encourage the kids to make more home made things this year e.g. decorations, wrapping paper and cards. 
This discussion has been closed.

Featured Discussions