It's so easy to be wasteful over the festive season. From catering for 12 people when there are only six of you for Christmas dinner, to leaving unnecessary lights on and running water when you really don't need to, we're all guilt of a little bit of wastefulness over the season.
Here's how you can have a genuinely eco-friendly Christmas and ensure that those resources you use aren't spent in vein.
Christmas cards
Instead of sending the original holiday cards, made of paper, send e-cards instead.
If you're determined to send out real Christmas cards, make sure you buy cards printed on recycled paper.
If you've got time, recycle old Christmas cards by using the lovely picture on the front and sticking it to recycled paper for that personal and homemade touch.
Shopping
Plan your shopping trips carefully to ensure that you don't have to go backwards and forwards to the shops.
Don't overcater. Get a rough idea of whose coming to dinner and cater for that many people plus two. That should do it and it should ensure that you'll have one or two leftovers for those who get peckish later on.
Take your own carry bags and avoid asking for plastic bags where you can.
Decline unnecessary receipts print outs if you don't need them for gifts. Especially if you bank online and can see what you've purchased that way.
The tree
In South Africa most people go for the artificial tree as you can use it over a long period of time, yet a real, indigenous tree could also be used and replanted after the festive season.
A twist in the traditional tree. Get hold of a gorgeous indigenous tree such as an acacia, a white stinkwood or a delicate leopard tree for an homegrown South African take on Christmas.
Avoid buying more of those plastic Christmas tree ornaments. Use your old ornaments from last year and focus on natural material ornaments instead.
Make edible ornaments by baking Christmas cookies, punching holes in them when they're still dough and then stringing ribbon and hanging them on the tree. It will look gorgeous, not to mention delicious.
Gifts
Don't wrap big gifts, using reams and reams of wrapping paper. Instead, get the kids to do a bit of a treasure hunt to find their larger gifts.
Try to recycle gift wrap for next year — waste not, want not!
Buy fewer gifts for everyone and look for products that clearly state their allegiance to organisations that look after the environment.
You could also agree to buy one meaningful gift for each person instead of tons of stuff that they might not necessarily use. Get everyone to write down a list of things they'd really like and then you can all pitch in to buy them that gift.
Agree to donate to each other's chosen charity as a gift to each other. There's nothing like making a difference in other people's lives as the perfect Christmas gift to yourself.
Food
Make sure you shop for local ingredients as much as you possibly can. You can get great local foods at markets. Alternatively, always check the packaging to see whether or not the product is local.
Reduce your meat intake. It's a tough one over Christmas, but look for alternatives to those meaty snacks and go for tapas. Check out our range of tapas and dips here.
Recycle all those glass and plastic bottles. Put two bins just outside your kitchen door, or in view of your guests and mark them 'glass' and 'plastic'. Then encourage everyone to get rid of these two waste products here. You can take these along to your local rubbish dump where there should be tips for the various materials. Alternatively, visit this page to find out where you can recycle.
This is the perfect time to start your compost heap or your worm farm as there will be plenty of biodegradable waste to get it started.
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