Advent is a time of consumption. Advent calendars need to be filled and gifts bought for Christmas Eve, plus there are usually numerous visits to the Christmas market (if they take place at all due to the current situation). After all, it’s nice to make others happy and to be surprised with nice gifts yourself. However, it is also very difficult to pay attention to sustainability; gift wrapping alone creates a lot of waste every year. That’s why we’ve collected a few tips for you in this blog post that will help you get through the Christmas season without causing any additional environmental pollution.
Advent Calendar
Maybe you still have Advent calendar boxes or bags at home; then reuse them and fill them yourself! But make sure you use sustainable products. Or give the gift of time instead of stuff: an outing, a voucher for a delicious home-cooked dinner, or other business. Family and friends will appreciate Quality Time.
If you don’t want to fill the calendars yourself, you can also support sustainable businesses and buy a calendar from them. This way you can use your purchasing power directly to do good. If you’re not so keen on getting a little something from a calendar every day, there are also plenty of online offers. Many social media channels offer promotions and competitions every day in December, and of course, we have prepared an advent calendar on Instagram.
Gifts
Two tips from the Advent calendar section can be adopted here: Support sustainable businesses or give away joint actions! An afternoon with a coffee on you is much more likely to be remembered positively than the umpteenth eyeshadow palette.
Some people write a wish list every year. Even if this seems unromantic to you – just follow it. At least you can be sure that your gift will really be used.
Packaging
Maybe you’re one of those people who always open wrapping paper very carefully and then put it aside – then now is your time! Just use the paper again this year, by now no one should remember the patterns from last time anyway.
Sometimes it is also a good idea to wrap gifts in a box. You can buy them everywhere in different sizes and shapes and they can still be used to store odds and ends after Christmas – very useful!
Last but not least, wrapping paper can easily be replaced with other similar materials that you may still have at home. For example, maps or newspapers. Scarves, shawls, or other fabrics can also be used as part of the gift and as packaging at the same time. This would win you the title of Christmas Sustainability Master!
If you’re still looking for sustainable gift ideas, check out our Matashop. There you’ll find lots of vegan and sustainable gifts made from grass paper.