Ginger Leaf Living

12 Days of Blogmas: Day 11 🧣

On the eleventh day of blogmas, GingerLeafLiving gave to me………………………. Sustainable winter fashions!

It’s the penultimate Blogmas post! Today we’re talking about the cute and cosy world of winter fashions, and how to keep warm and stylish this season using what you already have in your wardrobe. The fashion industry is one of the biggest polluting industries, so using second-hand, our own clothes and reinventing outfits can help with any style dilemmas this season, come snow or Christmas party!

Shop your wardrobe – In between the seasons, we can forget the clothes we already have. So before you go declaring you have nothing to wear, spend a bit of time with your wardrobe and find all your winter and festive pieces. Some you might have forgotten about or hardly wear, so can find better homes for. Some might be in need of a bit of TLC, in which case time to thread a needle or do some customisation while sat in front of a Christmas film. And the rest of your winter wardrobe can be bought to the front where it is easy to reach for. Spend a little bit of time planning out a few outfit combinations, it’ll save you time deciding in the morning and might help show you that you likely already have loads of lovely clothes just waiting to be worn 👚👖🧥

Party time – If you’ve got exciting Christmas plans, like parties or hosting duties this year, but you’re worried you’ve worn all your festive options before, fear not! No need to hit the shops. For one, there is absolutely no problem with re-wearing an outfit – if you looked and felt great once, why wouldn’t you want to again? You could also style it differently, such as pairing different pieces together, or customise it by using detachable additions like bows or pin brooches to add something different and related to this years trends (which is mainly just lots of bows… 🎀). However, say you want to look completely different in this year’s photos – why not swap with a friend or family member and borrow something of theirs? They can also try something new by wearing something of yours. Feels brand new, looks fab, but at no cost and no new clothes needed – a true Christmas miracle 🪩

Pre-loved – If after your wardrobe sort out and swapping with friends you find you are missing something staple for the winter and festive season, like a good warm coat or non-Christmas edition jumper, browse your local second hand shops to find something unique to add to your collection. If you know what you are searching for, you could try looking around vintage shops or using online collections like Oxfam’s or apps like Vinted. You can also browse your local charity shops for inspiration and give an item a new home and chapter with you. Look out for any events coming up near you selling second hand clothing and you might just meet the perfect match! ♻️

Layer up – Finally, before you turn on the heating or leave the house, remember your layers! Be that person on the cute Christmas card and get out your hat, scarf and gloves, and when at home get snuggly with some fluffy, thick socks and cosy jumper to keep nice and toasty. You’ll keep warmer for longer, even after the heating has gone off, and it makes you embrace the season more too 🧦

Christmas isn’t just about style, but if you want to keep cosy and look amazing this holiday, remember to be creative with your own clothes, shop pre-loved and embrace the layers. Oh and if you have a Christmas jumper, wear it – it’s all good fun! ✨

12 Days of Blogmas: Day 10 🍽️

On the tenth day of Christmas, GingerLeafLiving gave to me………………………………. Seasonal food inspiration!

The traditional Christmas dinner gets a lot of the spotlight this time of year, but what other seasonal produce can you utilise to make comforting, delicious food during the festive season? Grab your recipe books, it’s time to get cooking!

Seasonal vegetables – Using seasonal ingredients is a sustainable option as food can be grown more locally to the consumer, reducing transport miles and emissions associated with creating the conditions for out-of-season growth. In December, seasonal produce includes Brussels sprouts, carrots, cauliflower, potatoes and leeks ( see more and full yearly calendar here). This definitely calls for homemade soup for easy Sundays and roasted vegetables to accompany any festive spread 🥔🥕🍲

Slow cooking – Christmas can be a time of increased food waste, so its important to make sure all ingredients and parts of a meal are used. Leftovers from roasts can be made into casseroles and curries, and batch cooked to take you to the new year. Viewing leftovers as just the ingredients for another meal can help us think more creatively about our cooking and enjoy the process more 👩‍🍳

Vegetarian /plant-based festive inspiration – Reducing our consumption of animal products is one way we can reduce our greenhouse gas emissions, so this Christmas you could try doing one day or family meal meat-free. Using seasonal produce like root vegetables to make pies, spiced dishes and tray bakes which are easy to make and tasty to eat are sure to be a crowd pleaser. I’m no chef, so if you are looking for recipes, have a look through your cook books at home or try websites like BBC Good Food for vegetarian inspiration over the Christmas season. My go-to at the moment is Higgidy’s Clever with Veg cookbook, and I will definitely be trying some more of these recipes over the festive break 🥦🫑🍅

Baking – One of the cosiest winter pastimes, who doesn’t love creating something delicious from things in the cupboard? Christmas calls for gingerbread biscuits, indulgent sharing cakes and mince pies. Again, a great opportunity to see what you have at home and what you can make out of it – maybe even to share with friends and neighbours too! And if done right, no waste at the end! It would be rude not to have a slice in that case….. 🍰

Let’s be honest, one of the best parts of Christmas is definitely the food. So this year, make sure what you eat is quality and used in it’s entirety. Include lots of seasonal vegetables, foods with sustainability accreditations, minimal packaging and make your own, be it savoury or sweet. Get ready to enjoy an incredibly tasty yet planet-friendly festive feast! 😋

12 Days of Blogmas: Day 9 ⛄

On the ninth day of Christmas, GingerLeafLiving gave to me………………….. Plastic free Christmas crackers!

Hello friends, only one week until Christmas! If you like to celebrate the season by pulling a Christmas cracker around the table or with friends, you’ll know that previously these have usually been pretty wasteful. Pointless plastic toys, difficult to recycle packaging, the cracker’s lifespan was pretty short. So here are a few ideas of better options you can enjoy this festive season…

Buy plastic free & eco-friendly crackers – If you usually buy crackers, there are a few things to look out for. 1) Is the contents something you will use and enjoy? Swap the plastic rings for more reusable gifts, like decorations or games you can bring out each year. 2) Make sure the crackers are plastic free, so they can be easily recycled with paper. And 3) Look for additional sustainability credentials, such as being made out of recycled materials or more locally produced. There are many more places now stocking more eco-friendly crackers, for example from the RSPB and small businesses like The Little Green Cracker Company. With cracker gifts this good, its like having an extra present! 🎁

Make your own – If you are feeling creative this year, you could create your own crackers from materials you already have at home. Many of us will have some wrapping paper left over, plenty of ribbons from packaging and carboard tubes that can provide the cracker shape. Fill with gifts your family will love, such as chocolates or sweets, and have fun tearing them open. You can also personalise the outside of the crackers for each of your guests, or even create reusable crackers using fabric scraps that you can fill year after year. For example instructions on how to make your own, check this out. 💥

Alternatives – If the traditional cracker is so last year for you💁 , try something new this Christmas. You could try crackers that don’t contain a traditional gift, but are part of a wider game, such as a mystery puzzle or guessing game – great for parties and hosting guests. Or you could skip the explosion altogether and instead create table favours, perhaps containing a small gift or handwritten note. Look out for alternative and ethical favours in shops and online, or use your own small boxes or paper folding skills to make your own. Still lots of fun to be had, but without the unnecessary waste. 🧩

And just like that, we are nearly ready for Christmas! I hope you and whoever you share with enjoy this festive tradition, but maybe with slightly better gifts this year, or even a memorable game. And no part going in the bin, the best gift of all!

12 Days of Blogmas: Day 8 🎀

On the eighth day of Christmas, GingerLeafLiving gave to me……………………………… Eco-friendly gifting ideas!

How do you help someone have their most sustainable year in 2025? The biggest results will come from lobbying for large scale political and systems change, but as for something you can fit under a tree, here are a few ideas of more eco-friendly gifts you can gift this year to help those around you lessen their impact on the planet.

Firstly, when shopping for ideas, there are lots of eco gifting options for you to browse to find the perfect gift. You can visit your local waste free shop for browsing packaging free gifts (and refilling your store cupboard staples!) or use websites like the Ethical Superstore and a range of eco gifting sites to help you pick presents that have been selected for their minimal impact but maximum enjoyment. Just an internet search away!

Reusable water bottle – Still know somebody who uses disposable plastic water bottles every day? Get them a bottle they won’t want to be without! With so many designs and styles to choose from, including insulated for hot and cold drinks, gifting someone a water bottle they will enjoy using is an easy way to change hydration habits into the new year and beyond 💦

Beauty – Know a skin care connoisseur? The beauty industry can be full of disposable products and packaging, so set them up for a waste-free year with useful gifts, such as washable/reusable make-up pads, solid shampoo bars or even setting them up with a refill subscription service, such as for deodorant, razors or shower gels (check out Wild). Making the products we use everyday more sustainable has a big impact over time, so taking the first step towards a more eco-friendly bathroom is a thoughtful and impactful gift 🫧

Seeds – If someone you know has a garden, or even a space for pots on a balcony or patio, gifting seeds for wildflowers or vegetable growing is a lovely way of getting people started into introducing plants into their space and making their outdoor areas more wildlife friendly. There are seed mixes for a variety of spaces and functions, for example butterfly or bee friendly mixes. Or if your recipient is a keen cook, gifting herb or vegetable seeds so they can grow their own would be a great way of supplying them with produce long after the Christmas season. What better gift than something you can enjoying watching grow and flourish throughout the year! 🌼🐝🦋

Reusable coffee cup – We’ve all been there: you decide to get a takeaway drink but then remember you have left your reusable cup at home or it won’t fit in your bag. Gifting a collapsible cup will not only space on single-use cups used, but is easy to carry around due to its ability to collapse to a smaller size (see example here). There are plenty of colours and designs to choose from to make sure you get one your loved will will be sure to never forget! ☕

Stationery – Perfect for students and planners alike, sustainable stationery makes a great gift. A few years ago I was gifted a notebook and set of paper pens from Eco Scribe which I have just finished using and really enjoyed! The pens are plastic free and once used up can be separated to recycle each of the parts. A fantastic edition to desks and homes for the New Year 📝

There are plenty more ideas out there, from more eco-friendly cleaning kits, to ethical chocolate and reusable bags. If you think someone in your life is lacking something that would make their life easier and more sustainable, a gift that helps them achieve this would be the perfect thing to find under the tree. Maybe browsing these sites and ethical shops will give yourself some wish list ideas too!

12 Days of Blogmas: Day 7 🛤️

On the seventh day of Christmas, GingerLeafLiving gave to me………………………. Christmas market trips!

With not long to go until the big day, you may be in need of a last minute festive trip to tick the last few items off your list and get into the festive spirit. So this year, leave the car at home and plan a visit to a Christmas market or shopping day by bus or train.

We know that car use needs to be reduced to help us live sustainably, so why not try planning a completely car free day/ weekend trip this Christmas? Firstly, you can research where you can get to easily from your local train station or bus route, and explore their festive offerings. Maybe there is a stop near you where you never get off, and you can be a tourist in your own area. For local events, familiarise yourself with your local bus service to make the most out of planning your trip. Or you might have somewhere in mind, to visit the markets and attractions on offer. Then you can use apps like Trainline to plan your route to get there. Using public transport is not only better for emissions and issues like air quality, but takes the stress out of driving and parking in busy periods and navigating new places. You can also relax and watch the world go by while sipping a hot drink, listening to a podcast or festive music or looking through your market purchases. Going to markets relates back to one of our earlier festive Blogmas gifts of supporting independent makers, so the money that would have gone on fuel can instead to be used to get a unique gift for a loved one while supporting someone’s livelihood.

⬆️ Here are a few pictures from my visits to the Chester and Manchester markets this year – all done by train!

So whether you pick a meeting place to get together with friends, a family day out or a solo trip away, have fun planning your festive trip by rail or bus and enjoy the fun of the season without the stress and dependence on car travel. See where you can explore this month!

12 Days of Blogmas: Day 6 🧵

On the sixth day of Christmas, GingerLeafLiving gave to me…………………………………………Homemade gifts!

We’ve reached the halfway mark of Blogmas 2024 – I hope you are all feeling festive and green! So far, we’ve covered gifts that support small businesses, and getting people gifts that they actually need, but today covers the best gift of all: something homemade. And the best part is, even if you are not a super crafty or creative person, everyone has something they can offer. Here are just a few ideas …

Baking – Everyone loves a homemade treat, and especially if you are seeing friends and family over the festive period, taking something you’ve baked makes an excellent present. Whatever your specialism, be it biscuits, cakes or bread, home baking makes a delicious and minimal waste gift that can be shared widely. Maybe take a neighbour a batch of biscuits, or bring along a dessert for a family gathering – whatever you make, it will be greatly appreciated! 🍪
Craftwork – If you do enjoy making, create handmade gifts for your loved ones. You might like to paint, or sew, or do woodwork, it could be anything! Share your passion with friends and have fun personalising your craft to each recipient. Whatever it is you like to do, there are plenty of ways to turn your craft into gifts that allow you to spend time enjoying making them too 🪡
Preserves – If you stored berries from late summer picking, or produce from your garden at harvest, now is the time to preserve it and share with others. Options include making jam or cordial with fruits, or using vegetables to make chutneys and relishes. Research recipes for the produce you have and extend the life of your fruits and veggies by making tasty treats that can be enjoyed for longer 🫙
Photo scrapbooks – I love this idea for gifting to people where you have so many pictures together on your phone that you rarely get to revisit. You can use online photo album makers to print it all together, or you can use a notebook and print off pictures for that person and stick them in, adding quotes, captions, stickers and relevant items to personalise it further. It doesn’t matter if your photos don’t fill the book, it leaves space for your recipient to add their own and for future adventures. Now your photos and memories can be enjoyed much more than just sitting in your phone gallery 📷
Plans – Homemade gifts don’t have to be something physical that you wrap for Christmas. You could make a token from card and household materials and write on it something you’d like to do for that person, for example, planning a picnic date or hosting a dinner party. Making your own ‘ticket’ for future plans gives you flexibility for when you choose the meet up, but shows the other person that you are committed to spending time together. Personal and low cost 🥳

These ideas are not exhaustive, but hopefully give you some ideas of low-cost and homemade gifts you can give this Christmas to be generous, share with others and enjoy making. Whether you bake, craft or create, enjoy the process and your loved ones will appreciate the results!

12 Days of Blogmas: Day 5 📦

On the fifth day of Blogmas, GingerLeafLiving gave to me………………………………….. Thoughtful gifting!

Welcome back for Day 5 friends! Now, we know it’s great to get a surprise at Christmas, or to find something so unexpectedly perfect for someone that you know they will adore it. But what about those tricky ones on the list, that you just never know what to buy for? Christmas can be an extremely wasteful time of year, and one of the problems can come from unwanted/ill-matched gifts, that are either then taking up space at home unused, or unfortunately adding to the demand for materials on the planet. But don’t be consumed with guilt just yet, this year and all that follows will be different. You just have to ask.

A lot of the time we don’t want to ask what someone wants for Christmas because it takes the surprise element out of gifting, but it is so much better for the recipient, the environment and you. If like me, you get to gifting events and suddenly can’t think of anything to ask for, keep a list all year of things you need or would really like. Then at birthdays and Christmas, you can share ideas from the list with friends and family when they ask. It’s always nice to get something you know you will use and that will make life easier, so assume it’s the same for others and ask them if there is anything they’d like. If they don’t give you a specific answer, it’s always good to go for consumables that will get used anyway, like food or toiletries 🍫

Another gift idea that gets unnecessary bad press is the gift voucher. Famed for being impersonal and a cop out for finding a ‘proper’ gift, gift cards get a bag rep at this time of year. But have you ever been disappointed to receive a gift voucher for a place you love? No! Whether it’s a restaurant, local spending card or for an attraction, gift cards are a great way of treating someone to enjoy their favourite things. No need for gift card guilt!

Finally, instead of physical gifts that may not get the use, gifting experiences can be a better way of being less wasteful by making more memories. Especially booking an experience for both yourself and the other person, you also gift them your time to spend together. It could be tickets to a favourite band, train tickets for a weekend away or classes to learn a skill they have always talked about. The experience doesn’t have to be a purchased one either, it could be a ticket of your own making to promise to spend a day hiking with them, or looking after the kids for a night. Something special where you can spend quality time together, which can last a lot longer than the time spent with an unwanted gift.

So there you have it, asking what people want, giving gift vouchers and sharing experiences are some of the best gifting options out there, and aren’t nearly as boring as they have been made out to be. This is your sign to message your friends and get them something you know they will cherish and use this Christmas 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦

Resource & reference: https://www.wwf.org.uk/top-tips-sustainable-christmas

12 Days of Blogmas: Day 4 ⭐

On the fourth day of Christmas, GingerLeafLiving gave to me…….. festive yet reusable decorations!

Welcome to the second week of blogmas! Now we are a week closer to the big day, you may have bought out the annual Christmas box ready to decorate your home and Christmas tree. With Christmas such a big shopping event now and almost infinite designs of decorations being sold everywhere you look, how can we have a Christmas that is stylish and so very festive without over-consuming? Today we explore the sustainability of decorations.

First up, one of the major pillars of the Christmas season is nostalgia and tradition. Using decorations that have been passed down through families or friends helps us keep loved ones close to us at this time of year. So it is not only more sustainable to reuse our decorations year on year, but important for us to establish and maintain traditions and keep memories alive for ourselves. I know my tree at home basically chronicles my entire life in Christmases, and while the maximalist approach to decorating might not be for everyone, whatever your style you can make use of the decorations you have so that your tree reflects who you are. We know the detrimental impact plastic has on the environment, so keep your tree and house free of any new plastic decorations and stay away from the single-use/cheap trend led decorations each year to prevent any excess waste. Whether you have an angel on the top of your tree that has been there longer than you can remember, or a homemade clay decoration from school, these decorations keep our stories alive to share with others year after year.

The Christmas wreath is another key decoration we can make less wasteful. If you have an artificial one, the best thing you can do is reuse it every year. If it’s looking a bit tired, you could add some embellishments of your own to adapt it to your own tastes. Alternatively, making a wreath from natural materials means the resources can naturally biodegrade after use. You can buy natural wreaths or you could try your hand at making your own. Check your garden for any fallen twigs/small branches you could tie together, then use any excess plant material available to you, like leaves and branches to add colour and texture to your wreath. Make sure to only use anything in excess within your own space, and leave plenty for wildlife. Once the foliage has been used, it can be returned to your garden and any resources used, like metal hoop frames, put away to be used next year. Have fun creating!

There are also lots of more natural-based decorations you can make for your home that you can compost or recycle after use. This year I want to try making dried orange decorations, that you can use to make garlands, tree decorations or even gift tags (here’s an example of the drying method 🍊). Other activities to try include making paper garlands or homemade decorations with wool felt or fabric scraps, to lean into more of a ‘hygge’ festive season.

UPDATE! Here are the results of my attempt at making a dried orange garland ⬇️ Needs a bit of practice but love how it looks (and how it scented the house!)

On a related note, lighting is often very important at Christmas with all the dark nights and for creating ambiance. But remember to only have lights on while you are there to use them, and don’t leave lights on all day/night. For Christmas tree lights, it is advisable to choose more energy efficient LEDs and use plug in lights, while for battery powered lights, try and choose rechargeable batteries where possible. This way we can still enjoy the beauty of the season without the ugliness of the waste that comes afterwards.

So while you’re decking the halls this year, set yourself the challenge to only decorate with what you have or make natural decorations to dress up your home. While the twinkle of tinsel and plastic can be alluring, a home filled with personal memories, handmade pieces and foraged items will definitely create the cosy Christmas feel we are all after. Bake those oranges, tie up the cinnamon sticks, bring out the family star for the top of the tree, it’s time to decorate waste-less style! 🌟

Resource & reference: https://www.wwf.org.uk/top-tips-sustainable-christmas

12 Days of Blogmas: Day 3 🎁

On the third day of Christmas, GingerLeafLiving gave to me…….. Eco-friendly wrapping!

Happy Friday! Ok, so some of you might have a few gifts ready to wrap now. We all love ripping the wrapping paper off a gift on Christmas day, but what is the best way to minimise the waste produced by this packaging? This blog explores some of the possible answers…

The most sustainable option for your gift wrap this year is something that is reusable, like using pieces of fabric. These can be knotted to secure the fabric or stuck in place. Then your recipient can use the fabric themselves for their own use or wrapping next year – you might even get it back containing your own gift! Fabric wrapping can be a great way to use up smaller pieces of fabric you have at home and can be presented in a really stylish and festive way.

Alternatively, if you don’t have excess fabric lengths and would prefer to use paper gift wrap, being mindful of how much you use and its recyclability is essential. There are so many beautiful patterns out there, but before you buy check that the paper can be fully recycled after use and doesn’t contain other materials, such as plastic glitters, that would mean it couldn’t be processed. Even better if you can buy the roll of wrapping paper ‘naked’ without a plastic coating 🙌

To make recycling even easier for your friends and loved ones, try using paper tape this Christmas so the whole of the gift wrap can be recycled (see a range of paper tapes here!). Again, there are so many festive patterns to choose from on that these tapes are sure to make your presents shine, and you can get others for wrapping the rest of the year too 😉

Finally, if you get a gift that has been wrapped with plastic tape, take the time while you watch your favourite festive film to cut/tear off any of the wrapping containing plastic tape and bin, so you can recycle the rest of the paper. The less that ends up in your general waste bin this Christmas, the better!

Whether you are a gift wrap connoisseur, or more of a stick-and-hope-for-the-best kind of gifter, wrapping gifts is an essential part of the season and using these tips will help reduce your single-use waste this season. Beautifully wrapped gifts needn’t cost the Earth, so get out your fabrics, hand decorate plain papers with festive illustrations or use recycled and recyclable paper gift wrapping to gift with care this year and every Christmas after 🌍

12 Days of Blogmas: Day 2 🛍️

On the second day of Christmas, GingerLeafLiving gave to me………………………………… Supporting small businesses!

We’re back for day 2! If you are just starting your gift shopping, or have a few more to go, small businesses are the way to go. Here’s why going small is good for you, people and community.

How many times in sustainability do we talk about systems, or huge corporations or big businesses? These macro-scale institutions have a huge social and environmental impact because the size they operate on is so vast and beyond our natural systems. We are left detached from natural resources, manufacturing processes, the people that make these products and how they make their way to us, and take cheap prices for granted. But supporting small is much more personal – when you pay for a product from a small business, that person gets the money. There’s no line of processes in the middle getting a cut, it’s a direct transaction. That person then spends money in their local area, on football sessions for their child, or eating in the local café, keeping the money within the community. This is a simplified explanation but the bottom line is this: where you spend your money is the type of world you support.

There is pretty much a small business for everything, and especially at Christmas, it makes the shopping much more fun. Finding something personalised you know someone in your life will love is such a wonderful feeling, and the essence of gift giving. You could find makers at craft or Christmas markets near you, or spend a day exploring independent shops in your area. Or use online websites and selling sites that host a range of creators and small businesses. You could find a unique piece of jewellery, a local handicraft, hand illustrated cards or a personalised gift for someone specific. The options really are endless, and even better, you are more likely to be supporting businesses that operate on a much less carbon intensive scale. You can pay money that goes towards a third private jet for a billionaire, or that goes towards a child’s dance lesson. That is the kind of choice we as consumers face.

So get checking your list twice, and see if you find find any gems from independent makers to fill any gift gaps you have. I’m sure your recipient will feel so happy that you picked something unique that remined you of them. Support small this Christmas! 🛍️