As Christmas approaches, why not plan to focus on quality over quantity in your festivities to help reduce waste, lower stress levels, allow more time with your loved ones, and increase support for local businesses?
A wonderful article on this topic published last year isSustainable Christmas Gift Ideas for New Zealandersby Ethically Kate. An idea that Kate suggests which helps to reduce stress and avoid unwanted waste was doing a secret Santa rather than buying individual gifts for everyone in your extended group. Kate suggests usingDrawNames,a free secret Santa generator. This generator emails each participant keeping the results anonymous, you can access it via a web browser or their app. The generator includes the ability to set the budget, make pairing exclusions, and wish lists. You could add a ‘secondhand gift’ caveat to the Secret Santa too and help support a local charity, like Dove The top categories for gifting in Kate’s family at Christmas time include Experiences, Services, Consumables, Subscriptions, Physical Items, and Giving back. Does this differ from your families gifting categories?
Some other ways to change your Christmas habits could be to:
LearnFuroshiki,a Japanese fabric wrapping technique, a way to reduce wrapping waste without compromising on the aesthetic all while using fabric you already own in the form of tea towels, scarves, pillowcases or fabric scraps.
Donate to a local charity or volunteer your time.
Send an E-Card.
Plan out your food vs the number of people you are hosting to decrease leftover waste.
When you over-cater, look to freeze it for later rather than throwing it away.
Separate your waste, recycle and compost as much as possible.
If you end up with an unwanted gift look to re-gift, swap, sell, or donate.
A gift suggestion, if you are buying for someone who you think may be interested in learning more ways of incorporating ethical and more sustainable ways of living, is Ethically Kate’sbrand-new book “Better, Bolder, Different”. A book that encourages embracing sustainability in all facets of life and to help live life a little kinder.
However, if you think the person, you are gifting might like to indulge in some preloved product, Dove offers gift vouchers. Visit any of our Dove Hospice Shops and ask a member of staff for more details.
Merry Christmas and Happy Holiday Season from the Dove Team
