How to have a sustainable Christmas this year

Rent your Christmas tree from London Christmas Tree Rental

Amazing news, Londoners: you can rent your tree this year from London Christmas Tree Rental (prices range from £38.95 for a 3ft tree to £68.95 for a 6ft tree).

Here's how it works: you get your tree delivered any time from 1 to 14 December (or collect from one of the hub points), water it daily and the tree is then picked up after the holidays and returned to a farm, where it's cared for throughout the year in a special irrigation pot. The trees are Norway Spruces.

You can also check out Rental Christmas Trees and Love a Christmas Tree (outside London).

Save your old stuff from going to landfill with the YoungPlanet app

One for the parents out there attempting some pre-Christmas clearouts: YoungPlanet is the app to download.

The cashless sharing app lets parents request or donate a range of kids' items, from bikes to toys to clothes, which are then snapped up by other parents looking for those pieces, so the items don't end up in landfill (and can make another family very happy).

YoungPlanet has recently expanded nationwide, and we love that there is a community benefit: in these isolated times, you may meet some new families and make some new friendships.

Make your own wreath

We eagerly look forward to seeing the festive wreaths that will be hanging on doors around London as soon as December rolls around. Why not use this November lockdown period to experiment with some DIY wreath-making? You'll end up with a gorgeous wreath to treasure from one Christmas to the next, and we can't think of a better way to spend a Saturday.

Try Not on the High Street for a fantastic selection of DIY wreaths, where you can choose from paper, pom pom, felt, dried flower, luxury Christmas pine and others.

Photo: Georgia de Lotz/Unsplash

Choose alternative Christmas cards

While digital Christmas cards are your best bet for green success (especially if you use Ecosia as your search engine when deciding on where to send them from), there is a certain pleasure in writing and receiving a physical Christmas card that cannot be denied, especially during a pandemic.

So how about Plantable Cards as a fun alternative, which are studded with seeds the recipient can plant? The card is also fully biodegradable.

Photo: Kira Auf Der Heide/Unsplash

Christmas crackers with a twist

Christmas crackers are such a fun part of the Christmas festivities… but with the glitter and the tiny plastic gifts, they're also a very environmentally irritating one.

We've got a solution: fill your own Christmas crackers. You choose what you put in, so you can fill them with little goodies your friends and family will appreciate. Plus, many of these Etsy finds are recyclable, too…

Photo: Annie Spratt/Unsplash

Make a reverse advent calendar

One way to make your Christmas greener is to put the emphasis on giving rather than receiving. We started making reverse advent calendars for the first time last year, and this year, it feels even more relevant to give back to those in our communities who need a little extra help. Typically, these calendars are filled with a range of canned foods, toiletries, loo roll and more, and need to be completed by early December and dropped off at your local food bank to be distributed in time for Christmas.

Photo: Calle Macarone/Unsplash

Try reusable wrap

It's true that ditching gifts in favour of experiences is one way to up your sustainability quotient at Christmas. Reusable wrap is another: from Japanese furoshiki textile wrap to 100% recyclable options, there are lots of stylish ways to wrap your gifts responsibly.

Shop green

We were excited to see that Selfridges, which opened its Christmas shop 75 days ahead of the big event, has really ramped up its sustainability commitments, with its 'greenest-Christmas ever' and lots of focus on recycled, upcycled and recyclable products, from eco Christmas crackers to cards that can be recycled, as well as an emphasis on sustainable and personalised gifts to treasure.

The other way to go green? Think about experience gifts over stuff, as well as second-hand presents, which are looking to be big for Christmas this year.

Photo: DiEtte Henderson/Unsplash

Add a natural touch to table settings

Making our Christmas table as gorgeous as possible is supremely satisfying, and adding some natural elements to your Christmas decor – on the table and around the house – is a lovely way to include nature in your festive celebrations (and to include the kids).

Also, if you're willing to ditch some meat on the big day for plant-based alternatives, it's never been easier. Even Tesco's launched a Vegan Christmas Dinner for Two.

Photo: Debby Hudson/Unsplash