In a consumer-laden, letterbox-stuffed-full-of-circulars, eat more, buy now, easy credit seasonal atmosphere I want you to get a message of startling clarity when it comes to Christmas: it’s time to invent new rituals. 

Who cares if in Christmas past you ran yourself ragged buying presents, glazing the ham and decorating the house with tinsel and flashing lights?   Lets change the way we do things at Christmas, for our sanity and for the planet. 

Among my ideas for greening your Christmas:  

·        Buy a Xmas tree from a company who will pick it up and mulch it when finished

·        Only put on the Chrissie lights at night and switch them off before bed

·        Or, rather than a tree, arrange old tree branches and twigs, paint them, hang decorations from them – including names of loved ones who won’t be with you

·        Instead of a pine tree, why not get a shrub that has a good shape and reuse it every year instead?  One that can survive three weeks inside

·        Don’t buy non-paper gift wrap – and keep paper or gift bags to reuse in coming years

·        Alternatively, use coloured pages from those magazines you no longer read.

·        Forget the ribbon, make something natural to wrap your presents – flax or coloured cotton strips from the bargain bin at the fabric shop

·        Email or blog your Christmas cards

·        If you get cards, recycle them at the local kindie in the new year for art

·        Use your own shopping bags for shopping – not only at the supermarket (can we PLEASE stop using plastic bags!) but also at all shops, just keep your receipt handy

·        Watch the product packaging on your presents – it all goes to landfill, or if its cardboard, make sure you recycle it

·        Keep Christmas food delicious but simple and elegant – buy what you need with a few luxurious items rather than going for the whole overindulgent mess that normally happens – and your new years resolution to lose weight will be easier!

·        Keep an eye on food waste.  If you’re throwing things out it means you need to buy less

·        Buy local produce where possible, farmers markets are great as well as organic shops

·        Go for carbon neutral wines – and really enjoy the taste in moderation!

·        Use real dishes, not plastic or Styrofoam.  Washing dishes can be a bonding experience when the whole gang do it together! 

Perhaps the most obvious way to Green your Christmas is to do what we all crave when we are on holiday.  Go for a walk in nature and see it with new eyes.  As the world heats up, where flood, droughts and ever increasing human population impacts on our world, this is the time to reconnect with nature and commit to its safekeeping for the future. 

We need to think about and become more aligned with our real values, rather than allowing those who benefit financially from Christmas to subtly direct our actions.  Some retailers have taken Greening Christmas to heart and offer real choices for consumers that don’t negatively impact on the planet (much or not at all). Others haven’t got the significance yet that consumer awareness is now so high, people are using their wallets and credit cards in an ethical way – many preferring to buy from businesses that have similar values to then. 

I believe Christmas is a time of appreciation – for the people who love me, for my health, nature and the wildlife I love so much.   Don’t be seduced into the idea that you need to prove you love people with an expensive gift or two.   Love has nothing to do with money.

Some of my `green’ Christmas gift ideas include 

·        Cook something delicious – with chocolate!

·        Offer to build something or work in someone’s garden – especially for those who don’t have the time or health for such work

·        Plan an outing for a friend or relative – a picnic, a meal, a visit to the beach or park

·        Spend time, not money – create a fun game from existing games (but change the rules!) or as a group create a new set of games where adults and children can laugh and play together.  After all, adults are really just kids in big skins!

·        Recycle old gifts “that you have never used”

·        Buy gifts for developing countries through Oxfam with “Oxfam Unwrapped”

·        Go for vouchers – online magazine subscriptions, experience gifts, tickets to the Zoo or Adopt An Animal for conservation, tickets to shows or sports events, book vouchers

·        Buy NZ products, reduce the carbon footprint on transport

·        If you do want to buy overseas products, why not support the Fair Trade programme?

·        Do secret Santa gifts – only buy one gift for a nominated person rather than everyone

·        Buy plants for the garden, particularly those that will feed the birds

·        Find a special or antique book in a second hand book shop and write a note that explains why you have chosen this gift for them

·        Write a poem, paint a picture, take a photo, sculpt something or sing a song for someone

·        Send anonymous gifts to people who may not have family around them at Xmas

·        Volunteer for Christmas lunches or dinners at places where people provide cheer 

And what do I want for Christmas?  Well, aside from the whole world working together to counteract the issues we will face in the future from global warming, peak oil to insufficient food production and limited fresh water for all – its moments rather than gifts that make me feel loved. 

Today, with the pressure and distraction inherent in modern life, we often miss opportunities to tell people that we love, admire or appreciate them. Christmas is the time to make those authentic connections with the special people in our lives … to share our humanity.    Love is not about money, it’s simply about the heart.   Wishing you a carbon neutral Christmas!