The stereotypical Christmas morning involves frosty white snow, warm families and children getting up at the crack of dawn to rip open stockings full of glittering wrapping paper, sugary treats and plastic toys that will probably be discarded by lunchtime.
But as we seek to reimagine a more environmentally friendly Christmas, what might we do when dawn breaks on the 25th to ensure we generate less junk and more joy?
Play swap. Ilana Taub, co-founder of environmental consultancy Bolder and the Snact fruit snacks with compostable packaging, suggests a swap session with family and friends. “We all own so many things we don’t use, so how about a Secret Santa with meaningful or useful things we own,” she suggests. “It will hopefully get people thinking about whether they need all the stuff they already have.” Pre-loved Christmas gifts from your local charity shop are ideal things to swap – with the added benefit of having raised a bit of money for good causes.
Sing in the season. Carols are a staple part of Christmas when you’re at school, but many of us fall out of practice as we get older. This is as shame as, even if you can’t carry a tune, the melodies and harmonies for classics such as Silent Night and Once in Royal David’s City are relatively easy to pick up again. Rehearse enough ahead of Christmas and you can – with the help of a keyboard, guitar, recorder or even a piano app – be serenading your family in four-part harmony. Failing that, consider a singalong to the pop classics, such as Little Drummer Boy, Mary’s Boy Child and White Christmas, with the help of YouTube. Singing together as a family is a good way of bonding – and making everyone feel less self-conscious about their vocal abilities.
Prepare some poems. Take a leaf from the Dutch tradition of celebrating Saint Nicholas by writing other members of the family a fun, poetic tribute. Gently tease them for their foibles, praise them in word play for recent achievements, and read the poems aloud on Christmas morning to give everyone some light relief. OK, this is easier in Dutch, which has fewer words, and a lot of rhyming endings, but there are plenty of seasonal favourites to take inspiration from, such as AA Milne’s King John’s Christmas.
Take a brisk walk. Instead of trying to walk after lunch – when, let’s be honest, you probably won’t get far – use the morning to enjoy the lack of crowds and cars on the road. Wrap up warm, don your home-knitted beanie and take some time in the outdoors – preferably up a picturesque snow-covered hill, with dogs, children and/or grandparents.
Push the red envelope. One way of reducing wastefulness when gifting is to take inspiration from the Chinese new year tradition of giving children money in a red envelope so that they can save up and buy something they really want. Economists point out that this makes for much more efficient resource allocation than traditional festive-gifting. Giving cash rather than badly-judged gifts can also encourage kids to work out the cost of their presents and help them appreciate the value of money.
Decorate the tree. Instead of opening brand new gifts under the tree, why not save Christmas morning as a festive time to decorate your tree? There are two options when it comes to the tree itself: one is plastic, as long as it’s going to last at least a few decades. Government waste reduction body Wrap states that “artificial trees need to be used for up to nine years in order to have a lesser impact than natural alternatives”. Alternatively, a real tree that can be put in your garden, either in its pot or planted into the soil, can give you joy all year round – and even make an appearance next Christmas. You could even use Christmas morning to bake the ultimate environmentally friendly decorations: tree biscuits. They just go soft if you make them in advance, anyway.
Give the gift of your time. What could be more in the spirit of Christmas than to volunteer? Charities and good causes offer Christmas meals for those without family to go to – and many of these people welcome help getting there. You could do a shift at a shelter, help cook or prepare for a Christmas party, or even hold your own community event. (Of course, this kind of giving doesn’t just apply on Christmas morning – charity shops are often desperate for extra pairs of hands in the run-up to the big day!)
Wrapping it all up. If you do decide to exchange gifts (after ensuring they’re environmentally friendly and ethically sourced), bear in mind that glittery wrapping paper and plastic bows can’t be recycled. Studies show that each British household uses four rolls of paper wrap for stocking presents and gifts, and Wrap reckons the amount of wrapping paper thrown away at Christmas in the UK alone would stretch to the moon. Dr Aiduan Borrion, associate professor of University College London’s Circular Economy Lab, recommends choosing packaging with care. “A lot of wrapping paper has plastics or glitter on it, and isn’t suitable for recycling,” she says. “Look at an alternative way of wrapping presents using recyclable papers or box baskets, which you can then use for different occasions. Newspaper is also a very common way of wrapping gifts, and you can also look at using reusable fabric.”
Plenty of stores and charity shops sell eco-aware paper nowadays, and Oxfam’s high street shops sell a range of recycled and craft-based options that are responsibly sourced.
For inspiration on gifts that don’t hurt the planet and the people in it, visit the Oxfam Christmas gift guide
