1. Stay home and celebrate
Seriously, I ‘ve always suspected that NYE is the night for people who don’t go out any other night of year.

As green planet suggests

if you stay home and host your own ring-in-the-new shindig, you’ll save transportation emissions—and, of course, money. You’ll also be able to better control the environmental impact of your night, from sending out email invitations to preventing the food and paper waste that comes from bars and restaurants.

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II was excited to see this living wreath on Design Sponge this week. It looks pretty easy according to the tutorial but I’m going to amend a current wreath I have rather than buy any materials. I’m making one of these tonight. It’s a great way to reuse garden cuttings from the last few days and looks great!

I’m loving these DIY centrepieces using fruit and veg. They are  definitely recyclable as they can be eaten on boxing day!

from Craftzine

I received an email recently about the Buy Nothing Christmas campaign.

Buy Nothing Christmas is a national initiative started by Canadian Mennonites who offer a prophetic “no” to the patterns of over-consumption of middle-class North Americans. They are inviting Christians (and others) all over Canada to join a movement to de-commercialize Christmas and re-design a Christian lifestyle that is richer in meaning, smaller in impact upon the earth, and greater in giving to people less-privileged.

There is a alternative campaign put into action by Ad Busters which encourages consumers to use Christmas to reflect on their consumer habits instead of expanding them.

I should say first up that as a small business owner, I have a vested interest in people buying my wares, particularly this time of year! I’ll discuss this more in a minute. That said, Christmas (or any occasion) can be festive and celebratory without buying presents.

Ideas for no spend gift giving:

Organise a day trip:

I still think the most long for gifts for many of us are time and company. I would rather spend a fun day with loved ones rather than get ‘more stuff’.  Have a picnic, go swimming, see a film or exhibition, whatever you enjoy.

Help a Friend Out:

Help paint the house, plant seedlings in a friend’s garden, help them cook for a dinner party. We always appreciate car trips to places we might need to go as we don’t drive.

Recipes:

Most of us have favourite recipes that we are often asked to share. It’s  fun gift, especially if you show someone how to prepare the dish. Alternatively you might like to buy a handmade help cookbook (effectively a donation), with all proceeds going to the Salvation Army towards Victorian bushfire victims.

Make something:

Biscuits, jam, home brew, soap, cushions, clothing…the choices are endless. I much prefer baking to going to the department stores at christmas time!

If you simply feel you must buy something, consider buying locally produced, handmade products which use recycled materials and support local small businesses. Much better than something made in China that they don’t really want.

People are incredibly sentimental about gift giving and card sending at Christmas. Even as they grow older, many people are miffed, disturbed or shocked by the idea of buying people gifts. Many are even worse about Christmas cards

Do you send Christmas cards? Do you give gifts? For whom? Why?

Some thoughts on Christmas cards

Why use them?

We tend not to bother at all. Greeting cards and gift tags are abundant in almost every household over the festive season.

pic via here

They represent an investment in energy, water and raw materials – so choosing wisely can minimise their environmental impact

We generally send Christmas cards to let people know we are thinking of them in the ‘holiday’ seasons. What’s wrong with a thoughtful phone call? Or failing that, an SMS? Since the advent of SMS I’ve been getting at least 15 SMS messages from friends all around the world on Christmas Day, not to mention all the ones complaining about their family members.

For a more personal touch we tend to make web cam videos with a brief greeting which we send to friends and family overseas. Not those kind of videos! Just us saying Merry Christmas and whatever else we can think of. Much easier than attempting neat handwriting after a year of typing!

If you must buy some, look for those made from recycled materials. You can often find ones made locally where the proceeds of their sales go to various charities. Visit Planet Ark for info about recycling in the festive season.

You can also buy or make some re-use Christmas card labels so you can re-use this year’s cards next Christmas. You could add a couple with any card you send so that they in turn can be reused again.

In regard to gift tags to stick onto presents I find it’s easiest to just make my own. These were made from some left over paint chips.

Ways to reduce gift giving

By arrangement everyone puts all the names into a hat and only has to give one gift each, kris krindle style.

Offer people a homemade meal in the new year rather than a gift.

Make a donation to charity on the person’s behalf. Especially if they are someone who has everything anyway.

Organise a swap party at your workplace of previous unwanted gifts you’ve recieved that you haven’t had the opportunity to throw away.

Over the next few weeks we’ll be featuring a range of easy tutorials for gifts you can make for friends and family. We’ll also be looking at why you should be locally, buy ethically and buy handmade.

Over the next few weeks, here at Green Renters we will be taking a look at:

Handmade and homemade gift  giving

Shopping locally and Ethically

Eco friendly Christmas decorations

Christmas wrapping the green way

Dealing with non ‘green’ relatives

Preserving your plants whilst you are away…

Also we will be having a very special giveaway next week!

Stay tuned for more details!