Your Guide To A More Sustainable Christmas

12 SUSTAINABLE THINGS TO DO THIS CHRISTMAS

1. Make your own sustainable Christmas decorations! You can use fruit like dried orange slice ornaments or make wreaths using materials like pinecones, ivy and holly which can be recycled.

Etsy is a great place to look for more unique decorations or use a wreath making kit 2. Wrap gifts using recycled paper 3. Buy eco-friendly (and sustainable)

Christmas crackers 4. Go meat free for your Christmas feast by opting for a plant-based dinner 5. Cut food waste by making shopping lists beforehand and transform leftover food by creating new meals 6. For any leftover food that might go to waste, donate it to your local food bank or soup kitchen 7. Try choosing organic and free-range options to help support small scale farming 8. Use LED lights on your Christmas tree to use less energy 9. Instead of buying an advent calendar, make your own using wood or fabric – and then add your own little gifts 10. Gifts are meant to be thoughtful, so why not make something homemade (Crimbo biscuits anyone?) or buy fairtrade or ethical gifts 11. Decide to go plastic free when it comes to buying gifts 12. Buy a potted tree to use year-round and not just at Christmas time or look into renting a Christmas tree instead

For photography entrepreneurs: The Phox

Planner is a stunning 90-day success and productivity planner – the brainchild of local photographers, Kate and Jo. Even if you’re not a photographer, you’ll want one! It costs just £20 from phoxplanner.com For flower fans: Nothing makes a house look more like home than gorgeous blooms that brighten a room. Both Time For Flowers (timeforflowerskent.co.uk) and Precious Flowers (preciousflowers.co.uk) can advise on what to buy and they deliver across the borough. For the business owner: If you’re a local

business you’ll understand how important it is to be on social media. Helen Manchip from BR6Life and The Social Surgery has launched ‘365 days of social media prompts’ – a pack of cards for just £22 that will give you a plethora of ideas on what to post – you’ll wonder how you managed without it! See thesocialsurgery.co.uk/shop For sleeping beauties: We all know how important it is to get decent sleep, but it’s not just the mattress that has to work hard to support sleeping beauties – your pillow is also crucial for support. The Bed Post has a huge range – from gel and contour options to back pillows and everything in between. See the-bedpost.co.uk For fitness fans: Pay for a friend or family member to get fit! Flin’s Fitness runs a huge range of classes – both in person and online to suit all tastes (flinsfitness.co.uk) or try Sam Dance Fit if they prefer putting on their dancing shoes (samdancefit.co.uk) For foodies! We’ve got some great restaurants in the borough, so why not treat a loved one to something a bit different. Make them a token to take them out for a bite to eat. Try Xenia Japanese Restaurant and Bar (xenialoungebar.com) or The Bank Turkish Restaurant which features live music (thebankrestaurant.com)

pull-out-and-keep 1 For the hard worker…Offer a 2

For the neat & tidy fan… Clean Living International’s range of multi-award winning, refillable cleaning products meet the growing demand for eco-conscious and low waste products for the conscientious consumer. Their bestselling caddy contains seven aluminium spray bottles and concentrate sachets for all the products in the range, as well as a pack of the Dry Carpet Cleaner, a carpet gift of relaxation to your hard-working loved ones with a choice of Newton Wood’s organic Epsom Salt crystals and bath and body oils – and collect locally in Bromley! See newtonwood.co.uk brush and three premium microfibre cloths for £43.99.

For local residents: Gift a

yearly postal subscription to friends, family or neighbours. From what’s going on locally, to community heroes and some fab lifestyle features (if we do say so ourselves), a postal subscription will set you back just £24.

For travel fans: Now that

things are (almost) back to normal post-Covid, a mini getaway could be just what your nearest and dearest need – from a staycation to a spa weekend, there’s nothing that Jude at Aspire Travel can’t sort out. Email her at Jude@

For self-improvers: If

friends or family have been talking about developing their skillset or trying a new hobby, you can’t go wrong with LSEC’s courses. Some are in person and some are online – and some are even fully funded! Check them out at lsec.ac.uk

For the eco-warrier: Climeworks removes carbon dioxide directly from the air and then safely stores it. What’s clever about this is that it removes historic CO2 and this air-captured carbon dioxide is removed for good! With gifts starting from just £22.50, you can permanently remove carbon dioxide from the air in the name of your favourite conservationist this Christmas. See climeworks.com/gift

For kids (or retro lovers)…Netflix and Fever’s new

immersive experience, Stranger Things: The Experience is on now at Troubadour Brent Cross Studios at Brent Cross Town in north west London. Fans of the show are thrown into a world of supernatural mystery, enduring friendships and 80s nostalgia in an atmospheric celebration of the Stranger Things universe. See strangerthingsexperience.com for tickets which start from £39.

some activewear from new sustainable British activewear client, Universal Performance, where all the company’s activewear is made of at least 95% recycled materials. They are also crafted with anti-bacterial technology Polygiene, which means their garments stay fresh for longer and need washing less, resulting in less time in the washing machine and saving the planet's water.

For the gardener…How about a new ecofriendly doormat from Town and Country? The new range is all made with sustainability in mind. For example, the backing of this fully recycled doormat is made from recycled tyres, while the pile is made using recycled bottles. It can be used inside or out and costs £19.99.

For music enthusiasts…Those who

were fans of TV’s Name That Tune with Tom O’Connor will appreciate ‘Spot The Intro’ from Cheatwell Games. It’s an addictive audio quiz game in which teams compete to recognise songs from ten second clips. Featuring hits from the last six decades and designed to be played in two or more teams, the quiz game is available from Amazon from £21.50.

For theatre buffs…You don’t need to head to London to experience some great shows - on our doorstep is The Churchill Theatre! And right now they’ve got some great shows, with plenty coming up! Oh and this year’s panto? Jack & The Beanstalk starring Strictly’s Anton Du Beke. See churchilltheatre.co.uk

For the love of your life…They will really

appreciate a bespoke piece of jewellery! Nick Foreman is an expert craftsman who has spent over 30 years perfecting his skills. He offers competitive prices for all types of jewellery services ... and if he’s good enough for the Royal Family (he designed and created Camilla’s ‘stick insect’ brooch), he’s good enough for local residents! See nickforemanjewellery.co.uk or call him on 07753-611769.

Christmas Tree: An artificial Christmas tree needs to be used for approximately 10 years for its environmental impact to be lower than a real tree. Better still, have you considered purchasing a potted tree and then you can plant it outside after the festive season? This enables you to do your bit for the environment and reuse the tree again next year. It could last a lifetime! Christmas Eve Box: Invest in a reusable Christmas Eve box that can be used for many years to come, perhaps even becoming a family heirloom! You could get creative and make your own reusable box and items to fill it with, you could even make your pet one too. Gifts: Buy a gift with a difference this year. It could be something like a reusable coffee cup, reusable makeup remover wipes or a solid shampoo bar. This will encourage a positive behaviour change which will lead to a more sustainable lifestyle. You could even gift a membership to a charity or wildlife trust, helping to support vital environmental work. Wrapping: Use recyclable wrapping paper where possible. If it’s got foil or glitter on it then it can’t be recycled and could contain plastic. Or how about getting creative and using potato stamps to decorate parcel paper and adding a sprig of holly for that Christmas feel? Cards & Decorations: If possible, buy cards printed on FSC-certified, recycled card. Even better go for the personal touch and make your own from recycled card. With decorations, avoid using single use decorations and opt to make your own. You could use natural resources like pinecones, which you can decorate or make your own natural star using twigs for the top of your tree. A great eco-friendly Christmas decoration for years to come. A homemade decoration that could be given as a gift or can be used as a festive decoration for years to come. Christmas Dinner: When it comes to cooking Christmas dinner and other festive treats, there are some simple yet important ways we can protect the environment. Try and buy as many items as possible from local suppliers, such as your meat, fruit and veg. Dairy products are 1 of the most harmful items poured down the kitchen sink to the environment. It requires a large amount of oxygen to break down, meaning less oxygen in the water for wildlife. This is why pouring milk down the drain is a criminal offence for businesses. Do not be tempted to tip your leftover dessert custard, creams and yoghurts down the sink. Instead, be conscious of overbuying dairy products. If you do have dairy leftovers recycle it in your food waste bin. Most councils recycling food waste will accept dairy products as part of their collections and this tends to go to facilities that can generate energy from waste so the throw away produce is going to good use. Christmas Wreath: Wreaths are a beautiful Christmas decoration, but some are more eco-friendly than others. Avoid wreaths adorned with plastic accessories and glittery decorations. Not only are these made using non sustainable materials, but they can be harmful for birds and wildlife if hung outside. Go for a real, fresh wreath made using seasonal, natural foliage and adornments. Even better, make your own out of either fabric that will last year after year or natural resources from your own garden such as leaves and pinecones. Christmas Crackers: Unfortunately,

most Christmas crackers are often laden with glitter, making them unrecyclable. They are also filled with plastic toys and gifts that are thrown away once the last mouthful of Christmas dinner has been eaten. Why not make unique Christmas crackers without the environmental cost. Use FSC-certified, recycled paper and check it can be recycled after use. Use recyclable paper ties to tie them. Each cracker could contain a recyclable paper hat and joke and either a wooden Christmas tree decoration or a chocolate in a compostable wrapper. You could reuse a shoe box or something similar to put them in. If not, there are Christmas crackers available to purchase that use FSC-certified, recycled paper and the items inside are sustainable too. Christmas walk: Instead of a Christmas drive or just dropping down in front of the TV why not go out for a Christmas walk? Being in a green space has been shown to be good for your physical and mental health. What has become even more apparent especially during the pandemic is the enormous benefit people get from seeking solace in nature. We can look after ourselves by getting outdoors more, but we need to look after nature too. Make sure you follow the Countryside Code which tells you how to get out and enjoy green spaces while respecting wildlife and other people. Glitz and glam: Did you know that cosmetic and sanitary wipes contribute to 93 per cent of sewer blockages in the United Kingdom? Even when they do not contain plastic, the majority of these wipes do not break down due to the non-woven material they are made of. This prevents them from breaking apart when cleaning surfaces or removing make-up. Once flushed down the toilet, wipes can get caught in piping, accumulate and congeal with fatbergs. They also litter beaches and even create large, messy mounds along the banks of riverbeds. If you use make-up remover wipes after Christmas festivities, remember to never flush your wipes! These small changes make a lot less waste to ensure that this Christmas does not cost the earth!