10/12/2025
I thought this Guardian article on Christmas waste reduction was useful, but annoying that it included so many links to buying things, when most of those solutions can be created at home from reused items - seems odd to write an article on reducing consumption and then advertising for new 'stuff'!
So I wrote my own! Here are some tips and ideas for you to enjoy a 'Waste Less Christmas' 🎄🎅🎁
Open conversations
Agree with friends and family to reduce gifting, swap handmade presents only, or do a family-wide gift-free Christmas. Create a shared notes list where people can request only things they actually need or ideas for non-material gifts (a cooked meal, childcare, repairs, teaching a skill). I adore just getting wine, cheese or chocolate (and I'd say most other people do too!).
Invest in reusable crackers (DIY version)
Make crackers from toilet-roll tubes, fabric scraps, or brown paper saved from parcels.
Fill them with:
- jokes or riddles you write yourself
- tiny handmade items (origami, tiny drawings, small baked biscuits)
- seed packets you fold from paper and fill with seeds you saved
Tie with ribbon or string.
Try zero-waste wrapping
Use furoshiki-style wrapping with:
- old scarves
- tea towels
- pieces of fabric cut from worn-out clothes
- cloth napkins
- pillowcases
For wrapping if you don't want to try the above:
- reuse brown packing paper
- decorate paper/newspaper with stamps or kids drawings
- toilet paper wrapping (we all know the brand I mean!😉)
- have a good look what's already in your home and use up the existing packaging before buying more
- charity shops usually have a great selection of festive boxes, bags, ribbons, bows and cards at this time of the year
Relish your leftovers …
Plan your cooking so you use what you already have.
Turn leftovers into:
- bubble-and-squeak
- soups (freeze portions)
- curries or stir-fries
- pies topped with leftover mash
- frittata or pasta dishes
- boxing day sandwiches
- freeze vegetable scraps to make homemade stock.
Choose linen for tableware and napkins
Instead of buying linen:
- repurpose old sheets or pillowcases into napkins or tablecloths
- look in charity shops for fabric or ask on a freebies if anyone has any that can be repurposed
Hem edges with a quick running stitch, or leave raw if the fabric doesn’t fray much.
Buy things you genuinely love yourself (DIY gifting alternative)
Switch the idea to give things you love making.
For example:
- homemade jams, chutneys, or biscuits
- a printed photo you already have + handwritten letter
- a knitted square or scarf using leftover yarn
- a playlist or memory booklet
- a favourite recipe written on a card
Anything handmade is high-value, low-waste.
Set a charity shop challenge (DIY/zero-buy version)
Instead of buying second-hand, make a reuse challenge:
- re-gift something you already have but don’t use
- fix, mend or upcycle one item as a gift
- exchange items among friends in a “swap shop” evening
- turn fabric scraps into lavender sachets or tote bags
Make a festive tabletop game
Create games from household objects:
- Scavenger hunt with clues written on scraps of paper
- Pass-the-story: each person adds a sentence
- Good old charades (or alternatively 'Who Am I') is an easy game you don't need anything for, other than a pen and paper!
- Just use board games or jigsaw puzzles you already have (or can buy cheaply in a charity shop or get free on freebies sites)
Shop small (DIY alternative: make things at home)
Instead of buying, make instead:
- biscuits or truffles packaged in reused jars
- handmade soaps from scrap ends melted together
- simple stitched items (coasters, pouches, bookmarks)
- pressed-leaf ornaments
- a small potted plant propagated from one you already have
Choose consumables
Create consumables from scratch:
- homemade granola
- spice mixes
- candles made from leftover wax
- bath salts using salt + herbs/citrus peel
- soup jars with layered dried ingredients
All made with basics you probably already own.
Source decorations secondhand (DIY alternative: reuse & repurpose)
Decorations you can make yourself:
- cut stars from cardboard boxes
- dry orange slices in the oven
- string popcorn or cranberries
- fold old sheet music or book pages into ornaments
- make bunting from fabric scraps
- salt-dough ornaments (flour + salt + water)
- paint pine cones you collected on a walk
- wrap fairy lights around a branch in a vase
- paper snowflakes from scrap paper
Think ahead to next year
Save:
- ribbons, string, tissue paper
- old cards (cut into next year’s gift tags)
- gift bags
- scraps of wrapping
- fabric pieces
Store everything in a single “Christmas reuse box” so it’s all ready for next year.
Link to original article here: https://www.theguardian.com/thefilter/2025/dec/08/how-to-cut-christmas-waste?CMP=fb_gu&utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Facebook&fbclid=IwY2xjawOmIolleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETFGV1Q1SXNDelA3aW5DRjRmc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHjtyd9IQ7TWcCLsfRmak86oCs6XFnjjGYYleeNfZgOqiTh-0Pb0HG7VcusgE_aem_jfIItre3DUHn38afHMcc1g =1765206763
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