Amanda Jones is one of Ideal Home's new Open House contributors, sharing her thoughts on sustainable living and decorating a home in way that is good for the environment. See the rest of her articles here.
I love Christmas, it’s my absolute favourite time of the year. It definitively brings out my inner child, I truly believe in Christmas magic. My favourite seasonal book is A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, all comes right in the end, doesn’t it? Good will to all men, etc. etc.
What I absolutely HATE about Christmas, however, is the overconsumption that takes place, and how much waste we produce. Even those of us who consider ourselves to be ecologically aware, can still fall off the ‘ecological wagon’ come 1 December. How many times do you say to yourself, “well it IS Christmas”? I’m not just talking about the physical waste we produce, whether that goes to landfill or recycling, but the waste of our money, time and energy. One of the most wasteful activities, is mindless gift buying.
A few years ago, Martin Lewis ‘The Money Saving Expert’ wrote that the best present you could give someone is to give them the permission not to buy you a gift, and this had a profound effect on me. Your financially overstretched, time poor, stressed-out aunt/friend/neighbour, will thank you for it.
These might be difficult conversations to have, and possibly too late to have this year (unless you and your collective group are all Christmas Eve present buyers, then have those conversations today!), but consider this; could you reduce the amount of people you buy for? Do you buy for neighbours, friends you hardly ever see, your second cousin once removed, who you last saw in 2010? Maybe it’s time to stop.
If this is something the resonates with you, write a list of everyone you buy gifts for, and really hone down on those you could potentially stop buying for. You might feel a bit uncomfortable at first, but if keep focused on the massive amount of overconsumption at this time of year, you won’t feel so bad. Collectively we are becoming more aware of this, and especially over the last few years, the cost-of-living crisis has made people also revise their own spending habits and prioritise their spending.
After you’ve had the ‘let’s not give gifts this year’ conversations, you might now have less presents to think about, source, buy, wrap and distribute. That will have saved you a considerable amount of money, headspace (stress) and time. Collectively you’ve reduced the demand to produce new stuff (using up precious natural resources and reducing waste) and opted out of the mindless commercialism which is rampant at this time of year. A win, win for you, your family/friends and the planet.
Now you’re buying less, and you have more time to think about who you ARE buying for, these gifts can be more considered and intentional. No more grabbing the shower gel gift pack off the shelf at the supermarket (that they might not even like), because you haven’t got the headspace to think clearly or the time to go gift shopping. Ask those you are buying for specifically what they would like, and if they (or you) like surprises, get them to give you a little list, but agree you only buy one of the items.
Now you’ve slowed down your purchasing, you can be more intentional with your gift giving. Consider only buying from small businesses, or individual artisans. Buy locally if you can. Buy from that independent bookshop, rather than a big online giant. Any money you do spend, can you avoid giving it to a big corporation? If like me you are mindful of the accumulation of more stuff, why not give experiences as gifts rather than something physical.
There are plenty of ways we can show our appreciation of those we love, how much we value good neighbours and considerate friends. We really don’t need that to be a wrapped gift on 25 December. Having read this, do you still think I’m a Scrooge, or do you think buy reducing the amount of gifts you give, you too could practice more intentional gift giving?
