I just wanted to point out something which might be obvious to a lot of people but also not quite so obvious to many people.
When buying for xmas are you aware of the environmental issues involved?
Do you like to have a real Tree for instance?
Do you know there are certain organisations that sell sustainable xmas Trees? And that you can get your Tree picked up by the local council after xmas to have it re-cycled?!
Or how about buying a Tree that is still growing. Pine Trees are relatively easy to grow, just pop it outside in a big enough container after crimbo and you will have a reusable real Tree year after year.
We send 1.7 billion Christmas cards each year. That's the equivalent of 200,000 Trees and use a further 50,000 Trees worth of wrapping paper. Altogether, it all mounts up to create around 3 million tonnes of rubbish over the festive season. Try and cut down the amount of rubbish by sending virtual christmas cards, wrapping presents in recycled or reused paper. Sticky tape doesn't degrade so use string, ribbon or wool instead. Stockings or gift bags are also environmentally practical as they can easily be reused.
I have a friend who wraps their gifts up in newspaper, the first time they gave me a gift wrapped in newspaper they apologised about it! I told them it was the most thoughtful thing ever and nothing to apologise about.
How many times have you recieved a gift that you just chucked in the back of the wardrobe and let sit there for years and years?
Take it to the charity shop instead. One man's trash is another man's treasure
And why not make your own gifts! It needn't be time consuming though of course if you have time they can be as elaborate as you want.
Recipes in jars are a great idea and so personal. I will post some recipes for this purpose in the Witch Craft section.
How about giving Plants as gifts? Everyone loves these. I allways sow extra Seeds in the spring and summer solely for this purpose. Cuttings can be easily propagated as well. Christmas Cacti and African Violets are especially great for this as they are so easy to do. You could even paint the pots they're in yourself.
Or why not bake a gift? Xmas cake, xmas puddings, mince pies, yule log they allways go down well and certainly won't get chucked in the back of the wardrobe!
Sweets are a nice gift to make as well. Toffee, fudge ( drooool!) marzipan fruits, truffles...they won't last long trust me, and you could decorate a little box to put them in too.
Make your xmas decorations. Salt dough is a wonderful thing and so very versatile, you can make almost anything with it and if you give it a good coat of varnish will last years and years. get some Pine Cones and decorate them, with a glue gun attach a piece of string or ribbon and voila! Pretty, unique natural decorations. The same can be said of gluing small pieces of sticks together to make stars ( though I know they're pentagrams ) And how about baking some cookies to hang on the Tree. The ideas are endless and I hope you will add your own ideas for a greener xmas.
I'm not trying to be a party pooper, I just wanted to try and make people stop and think about the unnecessary waste that goes on at this special time of year and the damage it can do to our precious Earth at a time when we should be taking care of her, when She's sleeping.