Christmas not only brings cheer and joy, but often a mountain of paper and plastic that ends up in our bins. The single use of Christmas decorations and accessories can be costly, especially as they only last about a day, and the real downside is that they aren’t the kindest thing to the environment. Ditch the classic Christmas and have a green Christmas instead.
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A greener Christmas offers the opportunity to get in touch with your crafty side, and making your own decorations can be a fun task to do with family and friends. So what do green Christmas decorations and accessories consist of? Here are a bunch of essentials to help you get started:
To get:
- Satin ribbon or rope
- Ceramic and wooden ornaments
- Authentic pine cones and greenery
- Cardboard, newspaper or brown paper
- Ink stamps, non-toxic paint or paper tags
- Solar-powered fairy lights or candles
- Home baked goods

To avoid:
- Plastic ribbon or synthetic rope
- Plastic ornaments and tinsel
- Gift bags, stickers and confetti
- Fairy lights and fire crackers
- Wrapped sweet treats

Making your own decorations:
This is a great activity to do as a family, especially if you have little ones, as you can save these ornaments as the years go by and they will hold sentimental value.
- Hand paint ceramic ornaments
- Paint pine cones
- Make your own confetti by hole punching painted leaves
- Make your own origami Christmas decorations
- Grab brown wrapping paper and decorate it with ink stamps

More ideas:
- Skip the packets of sweeties and bake your own Christmas cookies
- Source zero-waste Christmas crackers
- Reuse old gift bags
- Buy an authentic Christmas tree

Gifting:
When it comes to gifting, going green can be easier than expected. You can also encourage your family and friends to reconsider their gifting choices with these ideas:
- We all love some luscious and delightful soaps and sprays. Look out for glass or soap products that are packaged with paper or unwrapped.
- Gifts that encourage conscious habits, such as reusable coffee cups or reusable straws, or net shopping bags for fruit and veggies.
- Wooden toys are better than plastic ones, or ask around for secondhand toys that aren’t being used.
- Gardening kits to complete at home.

Some more inspiration:



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Enjoy a vegan Christmas lunch at the Radisson RED V&A Waterfront
Picture: Pexel