Simply having a wonderful Christmas time 🎀

Hello friends, it’s December again! Anyone else thinking that we seem to have missed a few weeks this year, we cannot nearly be at the end of 12 months again surely? But if our advent calendars are right, then we are just one week away from Christmas. It really is a wonderful time of year, but also one that can feel increasingly pressurised to have it all and result in less than seasonal gifts, like huge amounts of waste from food, decorations, packaging and unwanted presents. If you celebrate this season and need a reminder of how to approach Christmas more mindfully, here is our 2025 Sustainable Christmas guide.

Firstly, the presents. I recently saw this brilliant infographic by Jen Gale, the author of Sustainable(ish) which perfectly summarises the hierarchy of Christmas gift giving. Celebrating the end of another year and showing those you care for how much you love them really is all about the thought behind the present and spending time together, rather than buying something for the sake of it. How we spend our money at Christmas (and all the year round of course) is one of the biggest ways we influence the world around us – who we support, who loses out, their ethics and their footprint. So buying ethically, locally and second hand means supporting people within your own communities, whilst also finding a unique present idea. If the person you are buying for has something specific on their wish list, which you know is something they will love and use for a long time, then gifting them an item that they can enjoy for years to come is much more appreciated by recipient and the planet than one-off novelties. And if you normally end up having to buy loads for extended family, colleagues etc, you could try a Secret Santa – still loads of fun and you actually get to enjoy planning the gifts for the person you pick!

Handmade gifts are also a fantastic option, and a chance for you to share the things you love with the people you love. It could be crafting, cooking, baking or something else entirely, either way you get to enjoy the process of the making as well as the gifting. Or you don’t even need to gift something physical at all, organising an experience, shared day out or gifting a ticket or experience are all amazing ways to create excitement to take into next year.

What if you’ve sorted all your gifts? Well my organised elves, here’s a roundup of a few more festive tips to keep Christmas kind and joyful this year:

• Wrapping – reuse pieces of fabric, wrap with recyclable paper and tape and sort your wrapping post-opening for reuse, other projects or recycling. No over-spilling bins on our watch! 🎁
• Food – Christmas is about all the trimmings, but there’s no need for wasteful excess. Be creative with your leftovers, share with others around you and enjoy every single bite. Dust off those recipe books and enjoy having the time to actually enjoy the process of cooking 🍽️
• Decorations – Keep those traditions alive and reuse your decorations from Christmas past, pick natural/biodegradable options and avoid anything single-use. We want to see it all looking merry and bright next year! 🕯️
• Be kind – Make a donation to charity, check in on a friend, send a personal card; all things that we strive to do all year round but feel especially precious as the year draws to a close. End 2025 on something good by helping others and that Christmas spirit feeling will be stronger than ever. 💖

With just one week to go, let’s try to release the stresses of a perfect Christmas and enjoy the process – the putting up of generations-old decorations, of making gingerbread to give to friends, and bringing everyone together. These things are what makes Christmas and they don’t cost the Earth. So as those final festive advertisements push harder for your attention and try to convince you that you haven’t bought enough, just let them be. Content in the knowledge that for so many of us we already have all we need to enjoy this wonderful season. If you celebrate, I wish you a very Merry Christmas, and if you don’t then a wonderful restful break to finish the year on – Happy Christmas everyone! ❄️🎅🤶🎄