Christmas without the consumerism means remembering what Christmas is about: the birth of Jesus Christ. It’s about letting go of plastic gifts, walking in the snow, eating comfort food and watching old films. See how to keep pets safe at Christmas and reusable Christmas crackers.
A Simple Green Christmas
- Calm Christmas is a little book on how to enjoy a calmer Christmas. This delightful guide to a stress-free holiday season is designed to take you from shopping sprees and broken New Year resolutions to mindfulness, self-care and festive cheer. Remember what the season is really all about – walks in the snow, time with family, thoughtful gift-giving and meaningful observations.
- Instead of plastic-wrapped supermarket cards (many fund animal- testing charities), buy from local charities. Or buy recycled cards from Rose & Daff.
- See tree-friendly ways to wrap gifts (tree-free, recycled, fabric gift wrap). Never ‘donate string/ribbon’ to birds’ nests, it can harm (just pop in the compost, or bin if not biodegradable).
- Choose zero-waste gifts (free from pet-toxic silica gel).
- You can rent real trees now, instead of buying them. Check the light (faulty ones are a a major cause of house fires. See how to keep pets at Christmas (pine needles, tinsel, dangerous plants, snow globes).
- Keep This Cracker makes nice plastic-free paper baubles. Likely safer around pets and young children, too.
- Turn off the TV and enjoy music from Putumayo (world music Christmas CDs) or vintage classics from Past Perfect.
- Be kind to turkeys & try a plant-based celebration. Find recipes in Vegan Christmas Feasts (by a Masterchef finalist).
- Reindeers in shopping malls are usually terrified by bright lights and noise. They need special diets and travel long distances (a bit like circus animals). Report events to Freedom for Animals.
- Treat your child to a Moo Free Advent Calendar. Made with rice milk, it tastes just the same (keep chocolate away from pets).
Crayve’s Vegan Christmas Cake is handmade in small batches in London, a mix of fruits and nuts and spices, decorated with oranges and almonds. Crayve’s Vegan Christmas Pudding is slowly steamed and serves 4.
These hand-printed recycled Christmas cards are printed with water-based inks, and blank for you to add your own message. Choose from 3 beautiful designs (in various packs):
- Holly in Hand
- Fir Tree in Hand
- Mistletoe in Hand
You can just buy a card if wished and have it sent straight to the recipient (this saves two delivery van trips). Just include your message in the order box.
About the Maker
Bouclé is a sustainable design company, created by two design graduates, who developed a passion for eco design during their time at university. They specialise in eco-soy-wax candles, handmade in East London & Brighton that use vegan ingredients and recycled packaging. See the post on biodegradable soy wax candles for safety tips.
How to keep pets safe at Christmas is something that’s important to do, just follow a few common-sense tips. Often there are lots of people at Christmas and lots of clutter (tree needles, discarded gift wrap, lots of food and alcohol). So give pets somewhere quiet to retreat to if it gets too noisy, and be aware of items to keep out of harm’s way. Also see tips for Christmas without the consumerism and reusable Christmas crackers.
Christmas Foods Not Safe for Pets
- Many ‘human foods’ are not safe for pets, and most of them tend to be around at Christmas. So keep fatty meats out of harm’s way (although dogs and cats eat meat, fatty meats can harm). Also keep them away from leftover bones, which can choke and smell tempting. Don’t give fatty leftovers to birds either (the fat in meat or butter in sandwiches can clog feathers, affecting waterproofing and insulation). Just bin (don’t pour fat down the sink).
- Avoid chocolate, alcohol and dried fruit (mince pies, Christmas pudding & cake) near pets. Also avoid alliums (onion/garlic/leek family), grapes and nuts (esp. macadamia nuts). See this book to keep your dog safe.
Christmas Plants to Keep Away
- Keep Christmas lights, plastic/glass decorations and tinsel (tempting to cats) away. Avoid chocolate gifts in trees. For real trees (you can rent them) choose non-drop needles to avoid stomach punctures. Avoid cocoa/pine/rubber mulch (and fresh compost) near pets.
- Many Christmas plants like holly, mistletoe, poinsettia and ivy are toxic to pets (as are many houseplants including lily and sago palm).
More Christmas Dangers to Pets
- Avoid snow globes, these contain antifreeze (lethal, even in tiny amounts). If you do use them, keep them safely out of reach.
- Keep This Cracker makes nice plastic-free paper baubles. Likely safer around pets and young children, too.
- Don’t buy pets those ‘Christmas stockings’. Most are full of junk food that cause tum upsets. Just treat pets to a little extra food or normal treats, and take dogs on a nice safe winter walk instead.
- See tree-friendly ways to wrap gifts to find brands that are free from plastic, gold foil & glitter (the post also links to biodegradable paper tape). Zero-waste gifts won’t come wrapped with toxic silica gel.
- Avoid scented candles near pets (many creatures including cats, birds, ferrets & reptiles can’t break down essential oils). If used, choose biodegradable candles (keep away from pets, the post includes candle safety info), and also avoid pot-pourri & cigarettes.
- Switch to reusable Christmas crackers, to cut down on plastic waste. Conventional brands are mostly sent from China, packed with plastic (the wrapping, party hats with foil and plastic toys). Each year, so many are discarded the week after Christmas, that some councils want them banned as it fills up their landfills. And as plastic does not biodegrade, the waste gives off methane gas. Also see Christmas without the consumerism and how to keep pets safe at Christmas.Why not give up disposables, and use reusable crackers instead, made by artisans? Most are made by wrapping fabric around a cardboard tube. And there’s no gunpowder, so pets and babies are happy. Just pull the cracker, and say ‘Bang! yourself. Most come empty to fill with zero waste gifts like vouchers (don’t fill with choking hazards like crayons near pets or children, and don’t ‘donate ribbon to garden creatures – it can choke and harm – just compost if biodegradable).
- Kate Sproston’s Woodland Crackers use natural linen (with satin thread embroidery) to wrap around cardboard tubes. After use, unroll and use as place-makers for the Christmas table. Her Scandi reusable Crackers (above) are in natural linen or ivory cotton.
- 2 Green Monkeys offers crackers fabric crackers in pretty bright colours. Choose from several colours, or buy the mixed set.
- Keep This Cracker contain ribbon yarn made from recycled plastic bottles. Sold flat-packed, just pop into shape, fill with gifts, then pop (they don’t tear) using the ecosnap® . To reuse, feed a fresh ‘snap’ in the slots at both ends.
- Annie Morris offers luxury handmade cotton Christmas crackers, tied with satin ribbons. The set includes 6 crackers, sent in Kraft boxes.
These colourful reusable Christmas crackers are a nice alternative to conventional crackers that are made from plastic waste, glitter and include plastic toys and gunpowder (which scares pets and young children). Sold in various colours, they include a durable cardboard core that you fill with your own zero waste gifts. Just ‘pull the cracker’ to unroll the napkin, ready for Christmas dinner. You can also make them more meaningful by including a personal message.
The crackers are personalised with an embroidered name or message. After use, just wash the napkin, refill the cardboard tube, roll it up and tie, and off you go again. You can also buy a DIY kit to make your own crackers in five pastel colours.
About the Maker
- 2 Green Monkeys is a small company that creates beautiful reusable Christmas crackers from natural materials. Everything is handmade in England.Keep This Cracker is a reusable cardboard cracker invented by a packaging designer that comes with an ecosnap®, and pulls open without tearing. The patented construction allows you to reuse it by simply replacing the snap and feeding a fresh one through the slots at each end. No glue or fuss, they can be easily assembled and filled with your own choice of gifts. The crackers are flat-packed in packs of 6 and arrive in a card wallet sealed with paper tape. Printed locally with water inks and can be flat-packed, and the ribbons use yarns from used plastic bottles.
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- Green Monkeys Reusable Christmas Crackers are sold in sets in a cardboard box in many colours. No gunpowder, just fill with your favourite gifts and reuse the napkin.
- Curlicue Gift Wrap is made in pretty colours and designs, printed in a waterless nontoxic process on recycled paper. Recycled matching gift cards sold.
Zero Waste Christmas is the new to celebrate Jesus’ birthday! This collection of crafty ideas for a sustainable Christmas are ideal to help the planet and save some money, and also move away from the consumerism of Christmas, which is not what the celebration is supposed to be about.
By crafting your own zero waste Christmas, you create memories, rather than more trash to throw away. You can’t buy those online. Upcycling and reuse gurus Emma and Christine show you how to sew, crochet, upcycle and reuse, and you don’t need many skills either. There are four chapters:
- Hot
- Frosty
- Skandi
- Retro
Choose from 24 projects including:
- Zero waste gift wrap
- No-waste tree decorations
- Coffee cup baubles
- Cake tin wreath
- Handmade advent calendar