About to play Santa but struggling on how to make sure that your choices are environmental friendly during the festive season? Here are some of our tips for a more sustainable Christmas.

by Nejla Matam-Finn

We understand.

All year long, you have watched yourself to make the best environmentally friendly decisions when it comes to everything you do. Then, Christmas comes and you either can’t take it anymore or, especially for those with little ones, that you simply can’t be deprived from the joys of Christmas.

So, fret not because we have some options for you. Here are 5 tips that you can simply implement to make sure that you still get a lavish Christmas while staying mindful of the environment impact.

1.Spread the love list

We all been in situations, on Christmas say, when we open gifts and we are simply surprised by either the choice that was made for us or the fact that we get inundated with things that we clearly don’t need.

In the spirit of Christmas, some of our loved ones and, I am sure it happens to you as well, go overboard to make sure that there are lots of things under the tree as well as some in the stockings. The result? Not only will we be cluttering our home for years; some of these ‘thoughtful’ presents simply end up in the bin.

This is when spreading and sharing your love list comes in handy. You need some discipline but it is doable. And, trust me, all the Santas (and secret Santas) around you will be happy to have a list to follow.

In our family, with a little one in tow, we often ask each member to share their wish list with one another. Then, we pick only a few pieces from it and let the others know our picks. We also make sure that everyone is on board and will follow the rules.

This is probably the hardest part, especially with the grandparents who often want to spoil the kids rotten during the holiday season. At times, you might feel that you are being harsh, but in this situation, you have to remember that you are the one who is going to spend the rest of the year taking care of all those little things that somehow creeped into your house the day of Christmas.

I know this because I have spent a good part of 2019 gathering all those little gifts and making sure I either re-home them properly, or discard them properly.

Trust me, it’s tough and time consuming to do so.

2. Secret Santa dilemma solved

In our family, as much as i believe in yours, Christmas is a very important celebration. I still remember the first Christmas I spent with my in-laws. It was simply magical, and I kept wondering that the day we have little ones, it will be so special to watch their eyes on Christmas morning!

So, we focus on Christmas day itself. But I know that some of you don’t follow this tradition but you do lots of dinner and year end catch up and with it comes the secret Santa tradition or you do both.

So here is a tip: No matter what budget you have, why not purchase something or make something that is edible? Or how about buying a plant? What I mean is instead of just getting something for the sake of having something, you could splurge on amazing chocolates, such as the one offered by Hello Chocolate. Not only are they delicious but they come in gorgeous packaging - which means no wrapping necessary.

Another option i can think of to offer is getting an air purifying plant? Other than chocolates, this is definitely one of our favourite gifts as it keeps on giving all year long.

However, in order to not over complicate the life of the recipient, here are three plants we recommend as they are super easy to take care of - that plus the fact that they look great in your home while cleaning the air.

Our recommended choices are a Pothos, Spider plant, or Snake plant aka Mother in law tongue.

We guarantee bonus points on being the Secret Santa of choice..

3.Pre-loved doesn’t mean NO LOVE

As much as you can, check if some of the gifts on that love list can be purchased on secondhand platforms (like ours on THE FIFTH COLLECTION). Yes, we know the whole stigma surrounding "‘secondhand’ but you will be in for a big surprise to know that many items are effectively BRAND NEW. The only difference is that you are purchasing them from an individual or secondhand platforms instead of a boutique.

This way of shopping guarantees you are saving natural resources while being kind on your bank account. Plus, all this is done without diminishing the joy of the recipient. Trust me on this one, behind the scenes we have seen many gift receivers reaching out to us saying how they could not be happier with their gifts and that they even felt that it was even more special as they know that there was part of hunting down that gift for them.

So yes pre-loved doesn’t mean NO LOVE!

4. Furoshiki everything

Tell me that this is not a common scene: You stay up till super late to make sure that all the gifts you have purchased are properly wrapped (for some, you have even coordinated the paper to the recipients) and purchase lots of little cards, stickers etc to make opening your gift a special moment.

Fast forward to the next day, and in 20 minutes tops, all your hard work ends up in a crumpled pile in the living room before finally end up in the bin. Yes, no matter how you view it, it is quite heartbreaking. You’ll be happy to know that there’s a better way to do this. How? Choose green wrapping paper, or re-use wrappers from previous years (we know you save them!).

Or how about going the Japanese way of Furoshiki? Essentially, the art or Furoshiki is an age-old tradition of wrapping cloths around things you want to transport (like gifts!). I stated doing this 2 years ago, and have been using all the materials year after year. Now, not only does it make my life easier because, let’s face it, I was never good at all the wrapping shenanigans. And, except for cloth and knowing how to make a simple knot, wrapping has never been easier or greener.

If you have little ones that still believe in Santa, I told mine that Santa is super busy and that us as parent needed to help him to make sure he has time to take care of all the kids.

For how to wrap Furushiki check the hashtag on Instagram (#Furoshiki) or simply head to YouTube for a how-to video.

And, finally, yes, THE FIFTH COLLECTION also offers greener solutions for your gifts. Our classic boxes can be used over and over again. Plus, how great will these boxes look under a tree for that famous picture?

5. The Christmas tree debate

And, now, the big question - Should you go for a real or fake tree?

I have done extensive research on the topic, and let’s say that the jury is still out on this one. But here are a few things you should take into consideration when making your choice.

The greener tree you can purchase is, of course, the real ones that are grown and bought locally and recycled. Which means that your choice will depend on where you are based?

In our case, since we live in Singapore, we made the decision 14 years ago to purchase a fake tree after our first real tree fiasco - the tree started shedding pines like there was no tomorrow after a few days with us and let say that by Christmas, our tree looked exhausted.

Studies have shown that it takes at least 10 years before your fake tree is considered “a sustainable” option. So, you have to take into account that you need to have space to store the tree all year long, and be ready to move with your tree (we took ours when we moved overseas). And when the time comes to ‘retire’ the tree, you need to dispose it properly.

My in-laws are based in Europe, so it is much easier for them to go “the real tree route” - not only are they grown locally but the tree will end up being used in the chimney to warm the house. For us based in the tropics, we have to take into account the carbon footprint of the tree being shipped here every year, so yes not an easy decision but at least you can make an informed decision on this.

However, here is how you can make your centrepiece greener. If lights on a tree is a must, then pick LED ones and, when it comes to the decorations, we recommend you build a collection that will last a lifetime.

As with everything, don’t hesitate to look into secondhand trinkets.

Personally, this is how I went about it years ago when it became our turn to build our own memories.

Firstly, we decided what the colour schemes we wanted our tree to be to make sure we don’t purchase trinkets that will end up never getting used. For the past few years, we have purchased some “old school” ornaments from various Christmas markets and we were also lucky enough to inherit some from my in-laws - some that my husband has seen on the family tree as kid.

This strategy meant that we have not purchase any ornaments in years. We simply unpack the ones we have and then sit back to watch our little one getting excited rediscovering them year after year.

Easy, yes?

Do you have any other tips on how you make your holidays greener without losing an ounce of what Christmas is all about? Leave a comment we will be happy to spread those tips.