I give you fun ways to organise an ethical Christmas this year, when you want to live something different. It’s easy to be overwhelmed and fall into the trap of more gifts, more plastic decorations, more ready-meals, more alcohol. How about doing something new this year?
What’s an Ethical Christmas?
Every year, I want to do something different, and every year, I end up turning to convenience in one way or another.
Don’t get me wrong, we all need to do what’s easy from time to time. Life happens, and we need to react quickly.
But with a bit of preparation and thinking ahead, we can all have some wins that will make everyone feel good about Christmas. From the way we gift and give back to the community, how we prepare what’s on the table and who’s around the table.
An ethical Christmas in my view is about spending that particular time in a way that is thoughtful of others, not harmful in any way. It’s basically people- and eco-friendly.
What to Gift and How to Wrap It
When it comes to my loved-ones, even if I know them really well, there comes always that topic of “what would they like, how can I make it special, how much money should I spend”. Anyone else?
I come from a large family and we decided a few years ago that among siblings, parents, aunts and uncles, cousins, etc. we would do a Secret Santa. One person gifts another one, and then they gift another one, etc. So you have one person to find a gift for, and you can do a nice present.
That makes the search for a lovely gift easier, and more budget-friendly – which I’m sure everyone will agree is always a good idea. Can you try this in your family? There are websites that help you organise where you enter the name of everyone and it does the repartition for you. It can work for groups of friends as well !
In the frenzy of Christmas shopping, I always find that buying more and more things doesn’t really work anymore. Why not try experiences that your giftee will enjoy and make memories for a long time to come?
How about something that pleases the giftee AND is reusable? Like a great olive oil, or a coffee subscription for a couple of months? There are tons of ideas online and I love to use local or small businesses. My favourite website in the UK is notonthehighstreet.com .
One thing that I always find shameful as well, is the amount of non-recyclable wrapping paper we use. So last year I warned everyone that I was wrapping gifts in tea towels and newpaper. Everyone jumped on the trend, and we didn’t have to waste so much non-recyclable paper in the end.
Volunteering for your Ethical Christmas
There is something special about volunteering where you give your time to a cause. Whether it’s at a soup kitchen, a charity that looks after children and families with low means, isolated people. Anything you do can make a difference in someone’s life, and it will be bigger for them than it was for you.
If you can research charities around you or local city boards, I’m sure you can find something meaningful that won’t cost you much, but that will make a huge difference. Go with a friend or a relative, buddy up with your neighbour and it will be easier to go out of your way together.
And if there is space around your table for one more, look around in your community. Some people don’t have families or friends to spend Christmas with. This can be a very joyful time, but excruciatingly painful to the ones who don’t have anyone to celebrate with.
To Be Continued …
There were quite a lot of topics to cover so to make this more digestible, I wrote the next part about food and inspiring gathering in another blog post. Stay tuned !
Let me know in the comments how you’re spending Christmas differently this year.
For early Christmas recipes, see The Vegan Eggnog Recipe, Festive Stuffed Butternut Squash Recipe, and Spiced Apple Pie Porridge.
