Enjoy a Stress-free and Green Christmas

It is that time of year again when shopping for just about everything gets more complicated. More choices are on offer, everywhere you go. Twinkling lights, glossy packaging and all of the skilful lures shriek at us in a concerted bid to get us to part with more money
than we can afford to spend.
It is so easy to spend too much especially when we use cards instead of hard cash. We are coerced into buying much more than is necessary or even desirable for the children, for the in-laws, for the neighbours, for our partners, for our friends and our work colleagues. Then we splurge even more as we worry about what to put on the menu and whether we have bought enough to feed the expected hordes. In short we all end up buying far too much in an orgy of spending whilst all the while trying to suppress the niggling worry of where on earth the money is going to come from to pay for it all…..
It is a sad fact that those of us with the smallest amount of disposable income are more likely to feel that we have to push the boat out and overextend ourselves simply to keep face. Whereas we all know that the best seasonal celebrations aren’t the kind you buy in the shops, but the kind you create yourself and share in the company of family and good friends. For every hyped gizmo and over-priced seasonal treat there is a lower cost and ordinarily far better alternative that you can afford. You honestly can dispense with the spending frenzy and the greed that it fuels, and be realistic about what you can and cannot afford to do. There is no shame in this at all, in fact these days we have the opportunity to take real pride in rejecting all that is false, over-packaged and overpriced, and to set about creating our own special celebrations and traditions.
Before you commit yourself to a full year or more of hefty credit card repayments, stop and think it all through rationally. Mortgage rates have gone up. Utility bills have risen. Petrol is costing us more. Day to day living costs are rising and so are the taxes we pay. We are also now more conscious than ever of the need to consider the environment and to cut profl igate waste out of our lives. The latter point alone means you can say no to wrapping paper and shop bought cards or products which are such rubbish in themselves that they need multiple layers of expensive packaging or they’d never sell to anyone.

Step One:
Get your relatives and/or friends together now and plan your own very different and much more special green Christmas. If you make joint decisions now on price limits for presents or whether to simply buy for the children rather than the adults, no one need lose face or feel awkward about not being able to afford to keep up. Write the names of each family member on a separate slip of paper – the name you draw is the person you will buy a present for to a pre-agreed price limit. Everyone receives a present and a low limit on the amount that can be spent will usually mean that much more thought will go into the choosing ….

Step Two:
If you club together wherever possible and gather in one place for the festivities you can expect to halve the cost as well as the workload. Each adult can bring an advance prepared dish or two, as well as extra crockery and glasses that will be needed. The more of you gathered together the more opportunity there is too for family games and home-made entertainment as well as old fashioned activities like singing, charades, or story telling. Don’t forget either to extend invitations whenever you can to anyone who will otherwise be alone or has less to enjoy than your group will have. Christmas can be an incredibly lonely time.

Step Three:
Draw up a budget and stick to it. If you have agreed that no one may spend more than £5 on a gift then don’t cause everyone embarrassment by turning up with something more expensive. There is, though, nothing wrong with recycling previous years’ unwanted gifts or a book or CD from your own collection that you know the intended recipient will treasure. A framed photograph of the children, a hand knitted hat or scarf, some home made sweets or biscuits or a fruit or food basket you have assembled yourself to reflect the recipients taste are all lovely gifts and need not cost the earth. Your children may opt to give a younger cousin a toy or game they have outgrown or even a game they have made themselves. With help, my seven year old made her Grannie some shortbread last year … and my older son had made some seriously hot home pickled onions for his granddad in the Autumn so they’d be perfect by Christmas. The cost can be counted in pence not pounds and the value so much greater because of the effort that was made to come up with presents that they knew my partner’s parents would really appreciate.

Step Four:
Think long and hard before spending any money on greetings cards or decorations. Can you or your children make your own from materials that are recycled or can you send email greetings ? Or why not write real old fashioned letters to distant friends and relatives and enclose recent family photos instead ? Or simply make Christmas Eve or Christmas Day telephone calls to the people that you cannot get to see. When it comes to decorations holly looks a treat as do snips from conifers. There is really no need for all that gaudy plastic nonsense. And if you buy a real tree get one with a root ball and keep it well watered so you can plant it out after Christmas.

Step Five:
Instead of wasting money buying and posting presents to distant friends and relatives that will likely not be appreciated or used by the recipient, do think about sending store vouchers instead. Or for an elderly relative organise a home delivery of some seasonal foodstuffs to arrive a full week before Christmas (so they know what they will not need to buy themselves) or, if you can, get in touch with someone nearby who can take your relative out shopping to buy exactly what they need. Better still, arrange to collect them and have them stay with you for Christmas or be sure to visit as soon as you can afterwards.

Step Six:
Relax and enjoy the precious time you can spend with family and friends. Wrap up warm and head out for family walks, catch the Boxing Day Morris Dancers, or organise games like a treasure hunt for everyone. Keep the TV and the PC switched firmly off and don’t fuss over silly details. If lunch or dinner ends up a bit late, does it really matter in the great scheme of things ? Of course not. And be sure to round up volunteers for the dishing up and the washing up, and for keeping the children amused.

Step Seven:
When everyone has had their fill and the guests have made their way home, sit back and enjoy a few precious moments to yourself before slipping off to bed and reflecting on a lovely day.