We’ve been trying to reduce plastic (and waste in general) for the past few years so I thought I’d share some of the things we’ve learnt along the way as it can be especially hard to avoid plastic at Christmas.
1. Stockings
My children are still quite young and the lure of plastic toys like Lego and sylvanian families is strong. We always chat to them about the toys they want being plastic but they inevitably put them on their lists so we’ve found that we have to compromise – they can have the one big Lego set or princess doll but we try to keep the rest of their presents plastic free. I used to be guilty of buying lots of pointless tat to fill up their stockings but now I’m being much more practical and stocking fillers include lots of things they need like socks, pants and slippers, a book or two (I often find good books in charity shops), jam jars filled with sweets, bars of chocolate (Primark had some palm oil free bars wrapped in foil and paper!), drawing pads, puzzle books and pencils, card games and this year I’ve got them both some bubble bars from Lush. Last year they both wanted puzzles which was a nice easy plastic free win.
2. Presents
Every year I always think that I’ll make lots of nice homemade treats and never get round to it. This year I’m making a more concerted effort and have saved jars for making my own chutney and sweets. Since the jars are now cluttering up my kitchen I’m going to be forced into using them! I love hunting in the charity shops too and often find quirky and interesting old books. A couple of years ago we adopted a penguin and snow leopard for our children (through the WWF) and they’ve loved finding out about ‘their’ animals via the updates they get throughout the year. I also used to adopt a donkey from the local donkey sanctuary for my aunt.
3. Crackers
Last year I bought a kit to make my own crackers and filled them with foil wrapped chocolates, however, the card did have foil on it so it couldn’t be recycled so this year I found some little crackers in Oxfam which are made from sustainable sources and just have the paper hat, joke and snap inside. Happily it seems the big retailers are slowly taking on board the plastic free message and I’ve heard that Sainsbury’s and Primark are selling plastic free crackers.
4. Decorations
I love the traditions that surround Christmas so I’m more than happy to use the same decorations year after year. We’ve bought baubles back from special trips and holidays and I love remembering when and where we got everything. Avoiding plastic is relatively easy as there are lots of decorations made from wood, fabric and glass (I have a bit of a thing about vintage glass baubles) and lots of things can be picked up in charity shops. Our tinsel is beginning to look a little worse for wear and I’ve already told the children we won’t be getting any more (ditto to things covered in glitter) so I might try making garlands with old beads or popcorn. I’ve also seen a company that make tinsel out of paper, and of course you could always have ago at making old-fashioned paper chains from strips of paper.
Holly boughs and greenery look lovely and festive and going on a foraging trip is a good way to blow away the cobwebs. I’ve got a rather ancient plastic-y faux fir wreath that has definitely seen better days but instead of throwing it away it makes a great base for adding holly, ivy, rosemary and any other bits and pieces I can find.
5. Food
This year one of the big changes we’ve made is baking all our own bread, biscuits and cake and keeping up with the supply can sometimes be a bit of challenge! It’s definitely made me more determined not to waste anything – if I’ve spent the time and energy making something from scratch then it’s really disheartening to see it left to go stale and get thrown out. It’s also made me realise that we probably don’t need quite as much food as we think we do so I’m going to be cutting back a little bit this year as well as trying to be a bit more thoughtful about where our food comes from and what it contains.
The benefits of eating less meat have been talked about in the media quite a lot over the past year and as a vegetarian one of the questions I’m always being asked is what do you eat for Christmas dinner? I’ve been veggie since a child and for years (I won’t say how many!) I’ve been having Delia’s Glamorgan Sausage Rolls which are absolutely delicious – they taste great hot or cold which makes them perfect for having with leftovers on Boxing Day. So if you fancy giving them a try here’s the recipe:
Pastry:
6oz/175g butter
8oz/225g plain flour
Pinch salt
Beaten egg to glaze
Filling:
10oz/275g fresh breadcrumbs
8oz/225g mature cheddar, grated
1 large onion, grated
3 tbsps thick double cream
1 level tbsp fresh chopped herbs
1 1/2 level tsps mustard powder
Pinch cayenne pepper
Salt and pepper
Pastry:
Grate butter (try freezing it for half an hour)into the sifted flour and salt. Mix butter into flour using a knife and then add enough cold water to form a dough. Wrap dough and chill for 30 mins.
Filling:
Place all ingredients in a bowl and mix thoroughly.
Roll out pastry on a floured surface to form an oblong (as thin as possible). Cut oblong onto 3 strips and divide the filling into 3, making 3 long rolls the same length as the strips of pastry.
Place one roll onto one strip of pastry. Brush beaten egg along one edge, then fold pastry over and seal. Turn whole thing over so the sealed edge is underneath. Cut rolls into diamonds, snip tops and brush with egg.
Bake for 20-25 minutes in a preheated oven, 220C/425F
Eco Family Life 