Dreaming of a Green Christmas

It is Christmas Shopping day for me today.  I have concocted a plan to make the whole process easy and fun.  And it's this...

My sister has a gift - she can make any present look ten times more inviting and special - by the way she wraps it.  So yesterday, I made a deal with her.  Today, I shop, tomorrow she wraps.

I've decided that this year's gifts will be foody or arty and they will all be locally made.  I'll be buying no wrapping paper, and I'll be choosing gifts that don't come in fancy excess packaging, because I have my sister to transform whatever I buy.

In the summer, I had a big sort out of Harry Potter's bedroom (the cupboard under the stairs - in case anyone reading this needs an explanation).  I sorted out all the bits of Christmas paper from years gone by, the collection of ribbons and bows, and tissue paper, so they are all neat and tidy and ready for my sister to get creative. We have spiced apple cake and nice coffee to help and we may even get out the Christmas music!

Christmas is so often a time of excess and waste - mountains of food, mountains of packaging.  But after a year of making a conscious effort to go Zero Waste, I'm not going to let Christmas change that.

My green Christmas shopping list for 2013:

• Support local small businesses as much as possible

• Avoid anything that has excess packaging
• Avoid anything that is not reusable / recyclable once no longer required or if it breaks
• Use last year's gift bags, or get creative with wrapping (thanks, Anna, for Tip 99 in my book!) 

 http://viewBook.at/101Ways 

Christmas Shopping in the Bag

So, the book is finished and available on Kindle.  The paperback is on its way to the printers, but is out of my hands at the moment.  That can only mean one thing...

Yes, I have to accept that it is nearly Christmas!

And that means ... Christmas shopping, planning the social calendar with family and friends, buying Christmas cards, deciding what to eat... and opening the door to Harry Potter's bedroom to find all the stuff I stashed from last Christmas.

Some people (like my lovely sister) have amazing abilities with tissue paper and curling ribbon, but I'm not one of them. So having arrived home from my shopping trip to Bath Christmas Market, where I managed to find lovely local foodie Christmas presents for all the family (hope they aren't reading this blog), I then wondered how I was going to manage to wrap up these goodies.  I can't deny the smug grin that crossed my face when I got down my pile of accumulated gift bags that gets stashed at the top of the cupboard under the stairs (Harry Potter's bedroom) each year.  I have more than enough bags in all shapes and sizes to sort out this year's Christmas wrap.

If you didn't do it last year, don't miss out this year.  Grab those discarded gift bags, ribbons, bows etc and you will save yourself time and money next year, as well as doing your little bit towards a greener Christmas. If, like me,  you did store away a stash of stuff from last Christmas, join me in allowing that smug smile to lighten up the Christmas countdown. There are advantages to being 'green'!