It's once again the most wonderful time of the year and soon the whole world will be celebrating Christmas and New Year's Eve with family and friends. And with the holidays just around the corner, the annual shopping madness has already begun and everyone is rushing through the stores to find the right gifts for their loved ones. However, incredibly large amounts of plastic waste are produced during the holidays. Homemade Christmas presents and Christmas decorations, for example, are not only cheap and time-saving, but also environmentally friendly. So how about you not only give your friends something nice this year, but also do something good for nature and celebrate a zero waste Christmas? Are you wondering how this would work? Then read on – in this article we have put together many useful tips for a plastic-free Christmas for you!
A pile of unwanted gifts and torn wrapping paper litter the apartment - does this scene sound familiar? On average, every single German produces around 39 kilograms of plastic waste per year, which is around 6 kilograms more than the EU average. To give you a better idea of how serious the situation has become, we have some numbers for you:
- In 2019, 4,368,000 tons of plastic packaging were produced in Germany, which is 85,000 tons more than in 2018.
- Every Christmas, up to 80 square kilometers of wrapping paper ends up in the trash.
- Approximately 125,000 tons of plastic packaging is thrown away.
- 4,200 tons of aluminum foil are also thrown away.
- Approximately 12 million Christmas trees are thrown away.
What exactly is Zero Waste Christmas?
At theZero waste movementIt's not just about recycling, but more about keeping your own production of waste as small as possible. And that is exactly the goal of a zero waste Christmas - to produce as little waste as possible when it comes to gifts, Christmas decorations and the preparation of Christmas dinner. The focus is on homemade gifts and decorations that are something very special and unique and always come from the heart. You can use anything you find outside in the great outdoors or in your own home. A great side effect of the plastic-free holidays is that you save money and time and can therefore spend a lot more time with family and friends.
Make your Advent wreath sustainably and environmentally friendly
Of course, a beautiful Advent wreath should not be missing at Christmas. Instead of buying a ready-made one from the store this year, why not try oneMake your own Advent wreath? It's a lot easier than you think and you can use just about anything to do it - the only rule is to avoid items made of plastic. A homemade Advent wreath radiates comfort and warmth and gives your home a unique character. Below you will find simple and quick instructions on how you can make a plastic-free Advent wreath yourself.
Materials required:
- A wooden bowl or large serving bowl
- 4 mason jars
- 4 large candles
- cord
- Nuts, pine cones, dried fruits and fresh twigs for decoration
And it's that easy:
- Place the candles in the mason jars and tie the string around them.
- Now decorate and decorate the bowl or bowl as you wish. It looks particularly nice and festive if you put a few pine branches in the string between the glasses. And your Advent wreath is ready in less than 10 minutes!
Ideas for sustainable Christmas decorations
Decorating your home together is a tradition in all families around the world. How about decorating your home with different elements from nature this year instead of using the usual plastic and synthetic decorative items? Maybe some dried flowers, beautiful birch branches or something similar? To do this, we recommend that you take a few walks through the forest or the park and collect everything you find on the ground.
- Chestnuts, pine cones, colorful autumn leaves, fir branches - all of this is perfect for beautiful Christmas decorations that are also biodegradable and don't cost any money.
- If that's not for you, you could simply ask your friends and acquaintances if they have some decorations that they don't want to use this year. Or go to the flea market and look for beautiful second-hand goods - you will be surprised at what great things you can find there!
- You can also decorate your natural decorations with anise stars, cinnamon sticks or dried orange and tangerine peels, which provide a wonderful scent.
- Candles add a beautiful, festive atmosphere to any room. For your zero waste Christmas you can try yoursMaking candles yourself, which are also ideal for a homemade Christmas present.
And what about the Christmas tree decorations?
What would a Christmas tree be without the shiny and magically decorated Christmas balls? Admittedly, they are nice, but unfortunately they are almost always made of plastic. And just like decorating your home, the decorative items for your Christmas tree are also right in front of your door.
- Dried fruits– No matter whether oranges, apples, lemons or other types of fruit, dried fruits simply smell wonderful. All you need is a string and you have your homemade ornaments for the Christmas tree.
- Garland made of popcorn and cranberriesis a great change from traditional glitter garlands and a classic among homemade Christmas decorations. Simply prepare the popcorn according to the package instructions and prepare fresh cranberries. Then take a thread and thread it into the needle. Then thread the popcorn and cranberries alternately, tie the string into a knot at the end and you're done!
- Pine cones and various branchesare also ideal for Christmas tree decorations.
- Or how about self-sewn or crocheted onesChristmas ornaments?
- Edible Christmas tree decorations –Homemade Christmas cookies are a must in every family and fit perfectly with the concept of a zero waste Christmas. The most beautiful thing? After the holidays, you can simply eat the treats together with the family!
- Only use what you already own from previous years.
The Christmas tree
A real Christmas tree simply smells wonderfully of Christmas and brings back great childhood memories for many of us. The number of Christmas trees sold and cut down in Germany increases from year to year - 29.8 million were sold in 2018. This year the number is 30.4 million and that's a whopping 600,000 more trees! Even though many municipalities have been collecting Christmas trees from houses and then delivering them to biomass power plants or zoos for several years, a large proportion of them are still simply thrown away. In addition, about 15% of Christmas trees are imported from abroad. So what alternatives are there for a Christmas tree for a zero waste Christmas?
- Buy a Christmas tree in a pot –Small potted Christmas trees look just as beautiful and give the room a festive atmosphere. After the holidays are over, you can do something good for nature and plant the tree outdoors again. Do you have your own garden? All the better – then you can plant it there and simply reuse it next year.
- Rent a Christmas tree –Many large cities such as Berlin, Hamburg, Munich, Frankfurt am Main, etc. have been offering the opportunity to rent a Christmas tree for the holidays for a few years now. They will be brought to you alive and picked up again after New Year's Eve. They are then replanted so that they can be used again next year.
- Or why not make your own Christmas tree? –Are you feeling creative? Whether made from fir twigs and branches, old pallets or an old ladder - there are an incredible number of ways to make your own Christmas tree.
Suitable gifts for zero waste Christmas
Suitable gifts for Zero Waste Christmas include things from your own home, from the flea market or even homemade gifts. Non-material things, such as a voucher for various joint activities, are also an excellent idea. The basic rule is basically – buy as few new things as possible.
- Giving away time instead of stuff –Christmas is all about spending quality time with family and friends. The feeling of being surrounded by loved ones cannot be compared to any gift you have bought. There are an incredible number of opportunities to really pamper the recipient - go to a concert or cinema together, visit a nice restaurant or go on a trip. Or why not do something useful like mowing the lawn, babysitting or taking a cooking class together - absolutely anything is possible!
- Edible gifts –Homemade Christmas gifts from the kitchen are another excellent way to show your loved ones how much you love them. To do this, fill reusable containers or jars with delicious Christmas cookies,homemade chocolates, candied nuts or homemade eggnog. You can then decorate and decorate the glasses as you wish.
- Make your own Christmas presents –Homemade giftsare always something very special. Soaps, lip balm, candles or bath bombs can be made very easily and quickly.
- Keep giving away old things –Everyone has things at home that they rarely or never use. Does your best friend think your old sweater that's been lying around in your closet for years is really nice? So why not just give this away as a gift? Not only items of clothing are suitable for this, but also everything else from the household - small kitchen appliances that only collect dust or even old furniture and decorations that are of course in good condition.
- Buy something from the second hand store –Christmas presents don't always have to be brand new and super expensive. Shopping in a second hand store and reusing old things is perfect for a zero waste Christmas. Whether it's antique furniture, vintage jewelry, stylish clothing, refurbished electronics or just something you found in a charity shop - if you're lucky, you might discover real treasures!
- Gift exchange exchange –At least one of the gifts we get at Christmas is something we don't like or need. An exchange is a fun and fun way to spend some time with your friends. Everyone has to bring a gift that they don't want. After that, all things are placed somewhere and each person can choose something. This continues until everyone has a gift.
Wrap Christmas presents sustainably
Without a doubt, opening presents is always a lot of fun. But what happens to the paper afterwards? Most of the time it ends up in the trash. If every family in Germany wrapped just 3 gifts with reusable materials, that would save enough paper to cover around 30,000 football fields. You can also very easily make yoursPack Christmas presents in a fun way, without producing additional waste.
- Waste paper from newspapers and magazines, old maps, greaseproof paper, recyclable paper or cloth bags.
- For larger gifts you could for exampleold bed linenuse.
- baking paperhas a neutral color and is very easy to fold. You can decorate and paint it individually.
- Shoe boxeshave the perfect shape and are ideal for wrapping your gifts in.
- Furushikiis a Japanese art in which various materials are transformed into beautiful packaging. These can be old scarves, bandanas, bed linen, handkerchiefs or even shirts. There are many online tutorials that show exactly how to do this step by step.
Zero Waste Christmas – Prepare Christmas dinner accordingly
Sitting around the table with the family on Christmas Eve, eating delicious dishes and chatting – just sounds great! You want everything to be perfect and for all guests to go home satisfied and full, and usually a lot more is cooked than can be eaten. But have you ever thought about how much food is thrown away afterwards? According to recent studies, Germans spend around 30% more money on Christmas dinner than in the rest of the months and the food thrown away is enough to prepare another 2 million portions! Do something good for the environment and follow our tips to avoid food waste this Christmas.
- Make a list –First think about what you want to cook and for how many people and then make a list of the foods you need. Be realistic – it makes no sense to prepare 6 portions of one dish if, for example, there are only four of you.
- Freeze leftover food –A lot more food can be frozen than most people realize. Cheese, cooked meat, fried vegetables, various dips and cakes and cookies - all of this can be frozen in portions and will last for at least 1-2 months. What you cannot freeze, such as leaf salads, can be consumed safely within 48 hours.
- Only buy from local retailers.
- Avoid individually packaged foods –A whole bag for an avocado or for 2-3 sausages - that really doesn't have to be the case. Individually packaged food generally costs more and creates unnecessary waste. More and more supermarkets have sustainably packaged food in their range or offer customers the opportunity to pack their purchases in containers they bring with them.
- Donate the food or give it to the neighbors –Don't throw away food and instead help someone in need or make your neighbors happy - perfect for a happy zero waste Christmas.
