Plastic Free Christmas: Ideas

Four weeks today, it is Christmas day. Do I feel under prepared? Not really, I usually put off Christmas for as long as I can - I think I did all my shopping on the 23rd one year. It's a side effect of working in customer service. We've been pushing Christmas drinks since October so I have been very much doing my best to ignore it.

But four weeks is close enough for me. I have a Christmas playlist on from Spotify and am having a good old think about what I do over December which is festive and not damaging to the planet. I could rant for a few hundred words about the amount of plastic packaging and carrier bags I still see (seriously?! They cost 5p and totes are totes better. See what I did there?) Instead I am just going to focus on my festive cheer. 

🎄 ADVENT CALENDAR

I have my homemade, fabric advent calendar made and ready to be filled. I am going to pop to Lidl later to see if I can find some fun chocolates to put in numbers 1 to 23. I was originally thinking a little gift in number 24, but I had a better idea the other day. My partner and I like adventures, and he is not massively fussed about presents. So if I got us an adventure for 24, I feel like that would be better for us. I could easily fill it with some stocking filler tat but we don't need that. An adventure is something we'd enjoy together and a gift he'd actually like.

He sort of knows this, as I half told him about struggling to find something good in Shropshire! But I will persevere, even if it takes until the 23rd to find one! If anyone has any suggestions, let me know!

🎄 THE TREE

 I have always preferred real trees to their plastic alternative. While growing up we always had a big, real tree in the living room decked with lights and baubles. I'm sure my mum hated hoovering the needles for weeks on end, but it was all part of the Christmas feeling for us: going to the farm, picking the tree, putting it up, and decorating.

We don't have massive amounts of space, and while I lived alone I had a 1ft fake tree which lived on my kitchen table. I used to work Christmas Day, I felt no need for anything grand. Last year, we got a small, real tree from Homebase - little £13 thing, in a pot with its roots. It was perfect for us. It didn't take up massive amounts of space, fit all the nice decorations on it, and still had plenty of room underneath for all the presents.

As it still had its roots, we decided to replant it with a view to use it again this year. And it would have been viable until about three weeks ago when the bottom half went brown! Shy of a Christmas miracle, it may be the case we get another small one. I will re-pot it again, and maybe one of them will be good enough for next year!

Our poor plant pot garden is not faring well in this cold!

 🎄 DECORATIONS

Much like with Hallowe'en, my main tactic is going to be to not buy more. We have loads. My few from my tiny tree, and then loads from my partner's childhood. He had never decorated his house before I moved in, so it was a genuine surprise to see so many! Over the years, I would like to replace them with wooden or bamboo or whatever decorations but I am in no great hurry.

I would like to add a few earthy additions, like I did with the leaves at Hallowe'en. I'm feeling holly. I just need to figure out where I can get some from. Homebase? My mum's garden?

Accidental, artsy photo of our decs last year.

🎄 BAKING 

It's my new favourite thing at the moment - making my own goodies. I mean, I have always enjoyed baking but I have a renewed love for it. I am definitely going to do a gingerbread house, as I missed out on doing one for Hallowe'en. I might practise with some lunchbox gingerbread first!

My aim is to bake something every week, so there should be plenty of festive things cooking in my kitchen. I shall try to document with a #mermaidkitchen on Instagram. Keep an eye out, and any suggestions are welcome! Carole sent me a few recipes which I shall be trying out soon.

Apple and Strawberry turnovers

🎄 GIFTS

I am keen to make my gifts this year. It's something I've not done before, that I can remember, aside from the odd cake. I will probably end up buying a couple things, but only if the inspiration strikes and it is a true genius moment. Also, the things I am making will need to go in something. But I can't really go into too much detail without giving away what my gifts are!

As for the wrapping, I won't be buying brown paper. I don't need it, I am still using the same paper I bought five-odd years ago. If and when I do need to get more paper I will look out for ones which are recyclable. As nice as the brown paper can look, one must really be good at wrapping gifts. Which I am not. I usually get the hang of it by the last gift, so one looks good and the rest look awful! It is also very expensive for something which is exactly the same as the cheap ones (recylability aside).  Failing that, New Year's bonfire to burn the unrecyclable stuff? (I might just do a New Years bonfire anyway, sounds nice!)

Under the tree, wrapped oh so nicely. (Ish.)

🎄 CHRISTMAS DINNER

Nope, no ideas. I did not cook last year. I set the table! We'll cross that bridge a little closer to the day.

🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄

What are you doing to reduce your plastic this Christmas? Let me know, share your ideas! Let me know if anything I'm doing has inspired.