CHRISTMAS

Advent of Gratitude. Across December why not observe Advent by thinking of 12 ways to give thanks; to those around you, to those in your community and to the natural world. You could write letters to family/friends/neighbours telling them how great they are, take on more chores at home, help someone in your community (hot meal, gardening, an errand), support local community initiatives with your time/money, donate needed items to charity e.g. a food bank or a Christmas Toy Drive, write a poem of thanks to the natural world (trees/clouds/bees/worms) for your bedroom, lend friends your favourite books/toys/games, tell local food producers/retailers or other companies you buy from why their work to look after people and planet is so important to you etc. Pop your commitments up somewhere to remind you. We have a Christmas tree made of pallet planks. Dead easy to make if you can access some wood. NB the ‘12 days of Advent’ actually fall between Christmas Day and the Epiphany but you can celebrate them on alternative days in the lead up to Christmas.

Homemade Christmas decorations. Groan! I know. It’s not for everyone. Although we all like a bit of extra decoration around the house, no? And it keeps the kids busy. These carol singers are a personal favourite because they make the best use of holey children’s socks that I’ve come across so far. So many online resources showing you how to make your own wreaths, Christmas crackers (with silly Did You Knows about the family that are far funnier than the standard cracker jokes and pop some chocs inside instead of pointless plastic), citrus garlands (below), twig star decorations… Just pick one? And you never need buy wrapping paper again - use scrap cloth Furoshiki-style (right), or your child’s drawings/old magazines… Then compost or recycle everything after Christmas. No storage required (except for the reusable cloth wraps).

Christmas jumpers… Your child can borrow one or they may have inherited one from an older child but there really is no good reason to buy a wholly synthetic brand new Christmas jumper that doesn’t get worn beyond the school Christmas Jumper Day. How about Christmasizing your child’s favourite jumper [see above]? All you need is a bit of red scrap fabric and some white trim (the top of a holey sock, or a cotton round if you use them). As long as it’s sewn on, not glued, you just unpick it after all the festive fun. More Christmasizing ideas here.

Twig stars. Really easy instructions for how to do this here.

Dog hair Christmas crafts. There might not be many takers for this one. We got talking to a poodle’s owner in the park, which sparked an idea to use its hair to make felt [see pic on left]. It worked! Wet felting is super child-friendly (no needles involved) and then you can dye it (we used tissue paper in boiling water) to make greetings cards, decorations, bags or toys. It's fully compostable, unlike the shop-bought synthetic stuff. We got hold of lots of poodle hair from a local dog grooming parlour (don’t worry – it’s washed before it’s cut) and it would have just been chucked out otherwise. If you make a felt toy, you can stuff it with the unfelted dog hair too. Instructions for how to wet felt starts here around 32 minutes. OR you can simply use it for snowy picture scenes, a Santa’s beard mask, a snowball bauble.

Thinking about others (I). With all the pre-Christmas excitement it’s easy for a child to forget, or be unable to imagine, that others may not be feeling quite as excited as they are; that Christmas is a difficult time of year for many people. Why not head to the shops and together choose some of your favourite non-perishable food items and then donate them to your nearest food bank. If your child receives pocket money, ask them to contribute something – even a very small amount. You can also go shopping for locally-made toys for a local Toy Drive or buy one for the Salvation Army’s Toy Appeal. Alternatively money can be donated for toys to be bought, via Cash for Kids. And think about tasking your child with sorting out any clothes, toys or games they have outgrown and give them responsibility for cleaning and organising them to donate to charity shops.

Normalising second-hand gifts. How many of you plan to give second-hand presents this Christmas [see above just how many second-hand websites there are!]? If they are for other people's children and grown ups, did you warn them first to check they'd be ok with that? My 7 and 4 year old have long been used to previously owned clothes, toys, games, etc and where items are brand new I am always careful to keep the packaging ahead of passing it on afterwards. When I remember to, I ask sellers on Ebay to write notes to my kids explaining how much fun they've had with the item and to look after it for the next person. Just to reinforce the whole guardianship-over-ownership thing. For other people's children and grown ups, I check with them first, and so far everyone has been on board with the idea – they agree with why it's important. Namely: a) it's so satisfying putting money back into people's wallets, especially at this time of year, b) you don't have to fret about whether workers were paid fair wages, how far it's been shipped, the pollution generated by the factory it was made in and c) it keeps stuff out of the bin. Win Win WIN.

Christmas Trees…. Do you buy a real tree with roots? See if your local council will find a place to plant it out in January. It won’t last long in a pot before it yearns to break free. And trees need tree friends too. It might be worth checking with the council first that they have the people power and space to organise this, before you buy a rooted tree. Alternatively, invest in a quality artificial tree that will last at least one generation. We loosely tied a Christmas ribbon around the top of our beloved tree so we can easily identify it, and plan to visit it to see how it's getting on. The children were keen to give it a cuddle (quite a few actually) before we left.

Give yourself a Christmas gift. Not one you wrap up for yourself under the tree; that would be BIZARRE. But do you treat yourself to something in the lead up to Christmas, when you get swept up in all the excitement; spend money on something that makes you feel good? Well, may I suggest a twinning project. There are a couple of options. You can ‘twin your garden’ with Send a Cow and your donation provides three years’ worth of training in sustainable organic farming. They also do small ‘Stocking fillers’, where you can gift things like tools, animals and seeds. You can ‘twin your bin’ with Bin Twinning, which funds rubbish collections in countries with non-existent or inadequate waste infrastructure, thereby preventing disease, creating jobs and keeping waste out of the environment. You can also ‘twin your toilet’, your ‘tap’ and your ‘fridge’ with Toilet Twinning, where funds are spent providing safe access to toilets and drinking water, and basic food staples respectively. You’re helping safeguard and improve people’s lives AND the environment. Once you’ve gotten past Christmas, you and your child can create a fun sign for your bin/toilet/fridge/garden gate as a daily visual reminder of the connection you have with people you’ll never meet.

5 Good Christmas food choices:
1. If you're eating meat and dairy over Christmas consider just TWO things: 1) animal welfare and 2) soy-free feed (soy production is a major driver of deforestation - see pic). Local butchers/cheesemongers are much more likely to give you reliable information about this.  
2. The one question to ask the brand or retailer you buy your Christmas pudding and mince pies from is whether the palm oil they use is RSPO-certified (uncertified palm oil is a major driver of deforestation). Even if they don't reply, or give you a woolly answer, they will log your concern. It really matters that you ask. 
3. Buy locally-grown, seasonal vegetables that haven’t been produced in heated greenhouses or shipped/air-freighted from afar, and you'll be supporting local farmers too. Where possible, choose organic - better for you & your family; better for nature. 
4. Try a new vegetarian or vegan dish over Christmas - lentil bake with sprouts, chestnuts and cranberries is a winner for the novices amongst us. Great ideas here but plenty online elsewhere. 
5. Start clearing out your freezer so that you have plenty of space to freeze leftovers you can't get down your beak over Christmas. 

Where to buy great, worthwhile presents: 1. Check out this wonderfully varied list pulled together by Positive News. 2. Buy Me Once website (high quality items that last - some have lifetime guarantees; they do vouchers too, 3. Traidcraft (lots of lovely things), 4. The Ethical Superstore (everything!), 5. Oxfam's Online Shop, 6. Conservation charities (not just nature-themed presents) - The Wildlife Trusts, RSPB and WWF, Surfers Against Sewage, WWT, Orangutan SOS and MCS.

Top tips when buying: 1. See if the company is 'B Corps' certified, the most comprehensive responsible business certification out there, 2. Avoid personalised items that can't be passed on, 3. Chocolate - buy fair trade and RSPO-certified palm oil, 4. Toys - read reviews before buying, 5. Clothes - use Good On You see how ethical your favourite brand/retailer is, 6. Books - if buying brand new, you can support independent booksellers online with Hive.

The gift of time. How about spending December focusing on what fun ‘gift of time’ presents your child would like from their favourite people in 2021. Fewer presents mean less waste, less clutter and better memories, I say. After they have chosen a few specific physical presents they would like for the Big Unwrap, write some fun activities down on Christmas card cut-outs, hang them up and share copies with friends and family. The 'gift of time' is a gift that goes both ways - for grown-ups and children alike. Cheesy eh? But too true. Young children in particular are the focus of so many physical gifts that are often of limited interest, are outgrown very quickly, many of which aren’t wanted. Here are 40+ free 'gift of time' activity ideas for kids to get you started. If you really want to give something physical, you could put the ‘time’ into a low-waste homemade present instead - a poem, foraged craft ‘kit’, collage cut-outs, origami decorations, a whittled toy. See ‘How we play’ for more ideas.

Upcycled Christmas ornaments. I raided my 'Tree of Tat' stash of plastic toys that I can’t bear to throw out, but which are of absolutely no interest to the children. With a lick of gold paint and a ‘screw eye’ picture hook + some gold string, they scrubbed up quite nicely for the Christmas Tree (at least in the children’s eyes). Pictured is a 'hatching' angel toy that spent weeks growing in water but was then of very little interest once fully formed, a colourful plastic egg that had something pointless in it, and a broken penguin wind-up cracker toy.

Wrapping paper. No need to buy it. Best not to buy it. Anything that doesn't stay scrunched up, when you scrunch it, can't be recycled. Which sadly takes the joy out of all the glittery, shiny stuff. But the good news is that you now know what to do with all those drawings and paintings your child generates - approximately 2,000 of them by the age of 12, according to research. And if they're slathered in paint or have bits stuck on them, they can't be recycled anyway. Alternatively, an ingenious method for keeping men's shirts in play (and you never need worry about buying paper again) is the Japanese tradition of cloth wrapping - furoshiki (super simple instructions here). If you’ve binned all your children’s drawings and have no men’s shirts to cut up, check out Re-wrapped, which makes beautiful recycled wrapping paper. You can make tags out of old Christmas cards and use string or old ribbon instead of sellotape. Kids drawings also make good Christmas crackers [see below] - SO easy.

Christmas crackers. You just need a loo roll for the middle, an A4-sized drawing, and a sharp knife to lightly perforate two lines either side of the loo roll, running down the width of the paper. Tie both ends with a ribbon or string. The best part of homemade crackers is that you control what goes inside - your own jokes, a treasure hunt clue, some 'did you know?'s about the family, a toy that is actually wanted (lego piece for example) and/or some high quality chocolate (or redistribute treats from the kids’ Halloween stash).

Christmas card bunting. Surprisingly nice to look at. If you haven’t kept your cards from last year, someone else will have. Ask around!

Thinking about others (II). I don't know a child who doesn't eat crisps. Talk to them about the ultimate use for their empty packets - to waterproof sleeping bags for those living on the street. And in the winter months, that is more important than ever. All you need to do is cut them open and your child can be in charge of washing and drying them. Set them aside until you have a nice pile and send them off to your nearest Crisp Packet Project in the New Year when you're less busy and they will iron them into bivvy sacks. Find your nearest group here (check they still need them else send them to the Crisp Packet Project HQ) and see how to cut and wash your crisp packets here.

Challenging toy tat. Does your child want a specific toy or game for Christmas? Ask them if one of their friends has it and if so, ask their parents if it’s all it’s cracked up to be. If you’re not sure it’s going to hold their attention for long or is expensive for what it is, why not ask to borrow it for a pre-agreed length of time from your child’s friend instead of buying it. Otherwise make sure you read product reviews first, and if you buy it and it’s underwhelming, poorly made or in any way disappointing, make sure you write your own review to warn others (and send me a picture of it!). More info about handling ‘Toy Tat’ here.

Thinking about others. When you and your family start rummaging in your cupboards for festive outfits for upcoming Christmas parties at work, with friends or at your child's school, why don't you all look out something lovely that you don’t wear enough anymore? Then think about supporting the amazing Give Your Best charity, which gifts rather than donates clothes/shoes/accessories to refugees and asylum-seekers. I love this jacket but it has always been just a little bit too big for me. You take a pic of your item, send it over to them, and if it is chosen by someone then you send it to them with a personal note - something about yourself perhaps.

Homemade pressies for kids. If you can enlist your own child to help, so much the better, so that if they receive something homemade they will understand exactly how much time has gone into its creation and better understand its underlying value. It also teaches creativity and resourcefulness. Ideas: anything edible, clothes peg worry dolls - send as a 'kit' or make it yourself [pictured], 'craft kits' (natural and waste materials in a jar or in a paper bag if sending), a plant cutting (e.g. our aloe plant has produced a baby) or something grown from seed, animal cut-outs that pack flat, a decorated stick, rainbow crayons, DIY Vet's or Dr's kit, 'what's under the cloth' memory game/ skit in a bag (choose some under-played with small toys and pop them in a cloth bag), homemade play dough, some decorative origami, something decoupaged or whittled... For more ideas, and how to do all of the above, see here.

Combining doing good with craft. If your child likes craft introduce them to 'craftivism', which puts craft activities in the service of trying to influence others. Macmillan Cancer Support are currently running a free craftivism campaign (sign up here to be sent a kit in January and if you want to take the plunge and turn it into a Christmas gift, the fabulous Craftivist Collective have several 'kits' that your crafty child will love. You're combining doing something good with some creative fun. Bingo.

Magazine subscriptions: the Christmas gift that keeps on giving across the New Year. For grown ups, I'd recommend a Positive News subscription - it will lift your spirits and afford you a much-needed positive mindset. Lots of free content on their website for you to browse-before-you-buy. For the kids there’s plenty of choice: animals, conservation and geography are the dominant themes in Kids Eco Club (6+), National Geographic Kids (7-11) or RSPCA's Action Animals (5+). Okido is great on science and creativity (3-7) as is Brilliant Brainz (6-12). For science, history and general knowledge, Aquila is a beautifully-illustrated monthly mag for 7+. For a broader spectrum still, The Week Junior is great for 7+. You could share the subscriptions with someone else at your child's school to halve the cost. None of these magazines have any plastic tat in either.

Do a family quiz and keep the focus on people not things this Christmas. Here are some of my family’s quiz questions:
Q. Who recently had a conversation with a man crawling on the road with a tree strapped to his back?
Q. Who always faces the wrong way when they do a wild wee and shows their bottom to passers-by?
Q. Who once got stuck inside a duvet cover trying to put it on a duvet? [this was an adult]
Q. Whose mother went through the neighbour's rubbish to rescue perfectly good discarded toys? [surprisingly, this wasn't me]
Q. Who owns and wears an item of clothing a walker once left hanging on their front door handle?
Q. Who's quite precious about their fancy shampoo bar and won't let others wash their never-you-minds with it?
Q. Who was once so kind to a waiter that he asked to come and live with them?
Q. Who is such a tidy soul that when they were 2, they used to tidy up other children's toys, while they were still playing with them?
All true. I’m going to have a ‘Favourites’ category and a ‘Most Likely To’ category too. I am unBELIEVably excited about the family Christmas quiz.