Christmas is about excess and extravagance – the glittering decorations, mountain of gifts at the bottom of the dusty, plastic tree and numerous dishes of traditional Christmas fare are all part of what makes Christmas so divine and decadent.

Christmas is also made special by the fact that we actually stop to spend time with one another, wrapping gifts, cooking up a storm and taking a moment to appreciate our relationships. You might think that becoming more aware of the environment means skimping on what makes Christmas special. But going green this Christmas can only make the festive season that much more memorable.

Get the kids involved while you’re at it and teach them to be less wasteful and more considerate of the environment. This is a perfect way to make a difference during what is considered a time of giving.

Real or fake tree?

To reduce your impact on the environment this year, consider what type of Christmas tree you’ll be putting up. Though a fake tree is convenient and easy, it’s also made of substances that are harmful to the environment and therefore has a heavy carbon footprint.

Rather, consider going to your local garden nursery to buy a tree or bush that you can plant in your garden after the festive season. Using an indigenous plant as your Christmas tree and planting it afterwards is a really great idea that will mean doing your bit for the continuation of our local flora.

If you must have the branch of a real pine tree, make sure you get hold of an ‘organically grown’ one and when you’re finished, dispose of it properly by taking it to your local waste management area.

Christmas tree décor

Popcorn tinsel, twig stars and marshmallow angels are a great way to decorate the tree and they’re a lot more eco-friendly than tinsel and mass-produced plastic baubles. Be creative and recycle bottle tops or press flowers from the garden and string them up for a beautiful effect.

Gifts

Gifts that are handcrafted are always that much more special and unique, and you’ll be surprised at the choice and ingenuity of handcrafted products. An electric guitar made out of jerry cans or a beautiful wooden biltong slicer are some examples of finely handcrafted products. Do your Christmas shopping at the flea market this year to reduce your consumption of mass-produced products.

Give the gift of time to your friends and family. Make up vouchers that your loved ones can use that will involve time spent with you. ‘A picnic at the park’ or ‘a day out shopping’ or even an offer to babysit so parents can have some time to do their own thing are all ways of showing your appreciation of those you love.

Edible gifts – a bag of beautifully decorated cookies or yummy brandy snaps festively wrapped are fantastic gifts that will please the sweet-toothed.

Coloured lights are a big part of what makes Christmas so festive and by using LED lights – which use significantly less electricity, yet last at least 100 times longer than a normal bulb – you can reduce your impact on the environment. In fact, if we were to change all of our home lighting to LED, we’d save a lot of electricity. LED festive lighting should be readily available at your nearest convenience store.

It’s a wrap

Recycle old Christmas cards by cutting up the fronts and adding these to recycled paper backs to give them a new lease on life.

Wrapping paper – try novel ideas like old newspaper and brown paper with a home-made decoration attached…

Lastly… recycle.

All the packaging that you’ll be opening this festive season will go to good use if it’s recycled. Set up your recycle bins now and encourage the whole family to get used to the idea ahead of the big feast. Remember: glass, plastic, cans and paper are all recyclable.

There is so much that you can do that will ensure that your home is environmentally-friendly for the holidays. Be part of the change that needs to happen to ensure that we preserve our earth for many, many festive seasons more.

Source: iafrica.com

Arniston Bay Brand News

Arniston Bay believes in sustainable practices to protect our environment. This is reflected by initiatives like wine pouches (Astrapouch) and the Arniston Bay Tides Range which is being bottled in lighter weight glass (nearly 100g less in weight than the previous bottle).