Plastic Free Christmas: Advent Calendar

The Hallowe'en decorations are down, the remaining goodies drastically reduced in supermarkets, and the festivities are a fond memory. Now, I am a massive fan of Hallowe'en, if you hadn't guessed already, and usually at this time of year I am aggressively pretending Christmas does not exisit. It starts in December, Novemeber 25th at the earliest. Honestly, I think it stems from working in retail and food service where Christmas starts in August. That's when the stuff goes on the shelves (seriously, Santa plushies on August Bank Holiday). That's when the Christmas menus are released. Christmas takes some planning, so people start early. Last year, we planned our Christmas day on December 23rd and it was wonderful - but there were only four of us to feed. 

But this is my first Christmas trying to be plastic free and it is going to be hard. So I am going to have to be one of those grown ups I keep hearing so much about and actually try to plan Christmas. Well, maybe only a little bit. While I want to make as many of my gifts this year as possible, I have one project for November. And its deadline is December 1st, so it takes precedent. Sure, I may be shooting myself in the foot here as December does vanish in the blink of an eye; but there is only so much I can put on my plate. Life already fills so much of it! (Who decided being a grown up was a good idea?)

My project! A little inspired by The Curious Creations of Christine McConnell (of all things) and the random thought of I haven't had an advent calendar for a while... I have decided to make an advent calendar for my partner and me. Just one, I am not that brave. Or that good at sewing! Never the less, it seems like an achievable project - mostly squares, nothing intricate. I used to have a plastic free advent calendar which I think a family member made, so I'm using that as a frame of reference. It can't be that hard, right?

Well... maybe.

My sewing track record is not fantastic! My mum challenged me to do one of those "sew your own bear" kits. Somehow I managed to miss an entire section from its lower back and half the stuffing fell out. And most of the plastic fell off my plastic pollution costume! But I will not get better if I do not keep trying. I am ok at sewing on buttons and sewing up holes in gloves; time to expand my skill set.

I do, thankfully, have a safety net. My mum is a dab hand at sewing. She made my sisters and me Christmas stockings which are still going strong nearly 20 years later. And she has agreed to help me with my project. So far, she has corrected my spelling of "calendar"; so it is clear I need her assistance!

The basic plan, complete with correct spelling!

MATERIALS

I am aiming to re-use and upcycle all the materials in the calendar. I have already bagged a suitable sized cardboard box from work for structural integrity. I went in with the idea of sorting out my wardrobe and turning unwanted clothes into the pockets. During Halloweek (you know, that widely accepted practise of celebrating Hallowe'en all week by dressing goth-y), I went to put on an old favourite skirt of mine to find that the elastic had perished. Sad times. But now, it can be immortalised as part of my advent calendar! It is red and would make the perfect background. Silver linings and all that. And now that I have de-plasticed and recycled my Hallowe'en costume, the cardigan I effectively ruined for it can now be chopped into numbers.

Fingers crossed I will not need to buy any materials for this project!

Old clothes finding new life as a calendar.

EQUIPMENT

Most of this is going to be hand sewn. I can keep my entire sewing supplies in a Star Wars pencil case. I will probably borrow my mum's sewing machine (slash, definitely use it with her supervising me at all times) for the bigger areas. But the pockets and decorative bits will certainly be done by hand. I must get some tips on tying the knot at the end. That is my downfall.

I'm sure during the actual construction I will adapt my approach to suit problems which will arise, meaning that I will use the equipment needed. Hopefully I won't have to use the sewing machine too much, thanks to a weirdly graphic textiles health and safety worksheet I have some anxiety using them. But then again, I am a "grown up", maybe I should just get over myself.

Also, I'm not sure mum has a sewing machine. She may have bought one from Lidl or I may have completely made that up. I don't know!

Christmas 2011

STUFFING

I will, of course, be filling the pockets with chocolate. It was a desire for daily chocolate which started this whole thing, after all. Of course, I will be trying to find ones which recylable packaging and not individually wrapped in plastic. Chocolate coins come to mind, if the foil is recyclable. I used to fill the one I used as a teen with these delicious praline chocolates which came in paper-like wrapping from Lidl. I have no idea if Lidl still stock them, ten years on, and it was only paper-like. It could well be one of those pesky hidden plastics. 

An alternative would be to make 23 days worth of treats for my partner and me, then wrap them in paper myself. But that seems like a lot of work in an already busy time of year. So if I can buy them, I probably will. 

Wait, only 23 days? Can you not count?

Yes I can! Did you spot the giant pocket for day 24? I want to put little presents in it. A Christmas Eve gift to spread the festivities and joys. I like to give.

Melting snowman cookies

Of course, I will be doing other plastic-free projects over the next couple months. Baking, gift making; most of which I will be blogging about. (Obviously cannot blog about the gifts until after Christmas - my recipients read my blog!) I want to do a gingerbread house this year and Carole has passed on her cutters to me; but there are others I'd like to do. Like these melting snowman cookies I made with a college friend! I found this picture looking back through my Christmas albums on Facebook - I'd completely forgotten about them! But they were simple and fun. If I can find a vegan marshmallow, maybe it is one to do with my favourite shark experts!

Anyway, whatever projects I do over the next couple months I will be instagramming. Keep an eye out for any with the #plasticfreexmas tag or #xmasproject or #mermaidxmas. And share with me any ideas or projects you're doing!