If you’re keen to reduce your Christmas CO2e, while increasing Christmas enjoyment, here’s a few key tips you might like to consider.

1. Give some thought to how much food you’ll actually eat! On average we spend £150 more on food at Christmas and it’s estimated 1/3 of this is wasted. Considering food accounts for 1/3 of our CO2e, reducing wasted Christmas grub really can have a huge impact.
2. The same sort of principle can apply to presents. The average adult spends £440 on presents, many of which won’t be liked, wanted or used. You’ve probably seen the adverts on telly this year with Jeff Goldblum giving acting lessons on how to look like you’re over the moon with a present, but you won’t need those if you’ve drawn up a wishlist! Loads are available online, like Amazon’s, for example. We know that buying presents isn’t easy, but making sure it is at least something that people will want will reduce waste. Bear in mind, everything has a carbon footprint, especially if it has to come halfway round the world to get here.
3. Ditch the Christmas cards. Paper has a massive footprint and so does delivery. The modern tradition of giving money to charity is one we’ve adopted, and personally we also appreciate it when friends and relatives do the same. Plus of course the charities benefit at a time when they probably need it the most.  If you really can’t bear not to send cards, then an e-card will save around 200g of CO2e, even if it still gets printed at the other end.
4. Wrapping paper! It’s pretty much the same principle as the cards, although perhaps not quite as wasteful. The good news is, it’s easy to recycle old paper, or find some other quirky stuff to do the job. You could also just buy gift bags, which are far easier to use again (especially if you don’t label them…). It’s really just a case of being creative, and a bit of extra effort is always appreciated!