Nowadays veggie doesn’t have to mean predictable omelettes, cheese salads or risottos. Here are some alternative festive food tips to help you shop and cook for an Earth-friendly feast. Why not try cutting down meat this Christmas – at least for some days of the festive break? According to the Soil Association, "food is the single most important, everyday way for people to reduce their own environmental impact". In the absence of workplace Secret Santa, why not set one up in your neighbourhood? There's a nifty online tool called "Draw Names" that helps you organise the game – just agree between yourselves on a price limit and a day for swapping/ leaving gifts on the doorstep. There's nothing quite like kindness from a stranger to lift spirits. Remember to follow government guidelines on social distancing and travel. Or check out the Woodland Trust for information on where to go for a frosty forest walk. The Ramblers website is a great resource if you're looking for local walking groups or routes. With the stress and uncertainty of the pandemic, it's more important than ever to get outside for some fresh air and change of scenery. Re-use cardboard from a delivery box to create a firm backing for your design, decorate with whatever you've got in the house and put a smile on the faces of passersby. Share links to Christmas lyrics with the group and decide a playlist.Įngage in a bit of healthy competition with other craft-lovers on your road or block of flats by making your own Christmas window greeting.Drop a note through people's doors or use the neighbourhood WhatsApp group (if it exists) to gauge appetite and set a date.It's a great way of getting people in the festive mood and including those who usually suffer from loneliness at this time of year. So why not rally your neighbours and organise a socially-distanced singalong? Each household can stand at their window, doorstep or balcony (with a tipple of their choice) and organisers can provide backing tracks on their phone or mini speaker, if available. Music is a massive part of Christmas, but this year we're going to have to get inventive to ensure we're rockin' around the Christmas tree safely. Or else rotted down and recycled as compost. The trees are shredded, then used as mulch on plants in parks, or on woodland paths (for a lovely instant pine-forest smell). Or you can usually take them to your nearest municipal tip/recycling centre. Most councils have allocated locations where people can leave their tree after Christmas (take the decorations off first). Just like the rented tree, if you want one that's certified as organic and pesticide-free, get one that's approved by the Soil Association.įar more Christmas trees get recycled now than even 10 years ago. If you want to be reassured that your tree has been grown sustainably, not in a way that's environmentally damaging, look for the FSC-certification logo. If you do want to get a fake one, for whatever reason, try Freegle, Freecycle, eBay or Gumtree for a pre-loved one. But look into more environmentally-sound options when it eventually comes to replacing it. If you've got a fake tree already, keep using it – make it last as long as possible. They will need some looking after, and you'll need a big pot, so read these expert tips on caring for Christmas trees in pots.Īlternatively, get a large perennial indoor plant – like a yucca, palm or ficus – and just decorate it at Christmas time. Holly, apple, pear, bay and Japanese maple trees can all be bought in containers (though for best growth, ground planting is preferable). Using or buying a tree with roots lets you grow it outside and use it again next year, reducing its environmental impact and costing you less. Just make sure it's grown sustainably by looking for either the FSC or Soil Association logo. And the tree can carry on growing after it's returned. They'll often even deliver and collect the tree to save you the hassle. More and more places, such as garden centres and plant nurseries, now offer a Christmas-tree hire service over the festive season. So let's look at the options in more detail. And it's yet more synthetic waste to be disposed of in the future. But they take enormous amounts of energy to manufacture. It's true that fake plastic trees last for years – and nowadays they can look very realistic.
That's a lot of intensive production, and potentially a lot of waste.
Up to 8 million Christmas trees are bought every December in the UK alone. The contents of the 2020 Christmas Bee Saver Kit, including ID guide, seeds, wrapping paper, etc.
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