We don’t need a Ghost to showing us what the future will look like if we keep ignoring the problem: the hurricanes, raising sea level, the Great Pacific garbage patch, dry spells and wild fires, the future we are heading to is already clear. I sometimes think it’s even too late and people still denying climate change just because ‘it snowed’ makes me believe we deserve extinction.

What does it have to do with the holiday season? This is obviously a rhetorical question… Xmas is the peak of a year of consumerism. Yes, it’s family time, birth of Jesus for believers, a new year coming and many other things, but it’s also buy buy buy.

Buy presents for family, friends, coworkers, random secret Santas.

Buy decorations, wrapping paper, cards.

Buy food, chocolates, cakes.

Mostly neatly wrapped in plastic. Mostly being thrown into the bin in January.

Starting from right after Halloween, sometimes even before, supermarkets and shops start filling with… stuff… even more stuff as usual. And gifts for dads, gifts for mom, for friends, for her, them, and him, for the cat, the dog and the rabbit. Don’t take me wrong, gifting something can be very rewarding, but most of that shit is going to go into a bin or to clutter people’s houses. And while it’s nice to give (and receive) a nice present, something you’d like, something you’d use, ripping the wrapping paper and finding inside some of those totally useless knickknacks that overflow from shop shelves, it’s… well… thank you very much! I’m totally gonna… use… this… piece… of… useless… PLASTIC. As I wrote in another post, clutter takes a toll on people’s mind.

There’s a push to buy presents for everyone and the less you know them, the harder it is. But it’s socially unacceptable to receive something and not give something back, so every shop around will have now sprouted a shelf or two of stocking fillers, strategically located near the tills, and other small presents perfect for Secret Santas.

You know what? Reducing waste is way more important than saving the appearances. And there are ways to still give presents that have less impact on the environment.

You don’t have time to think about alternatives? Of course, it takes more time than picking some random crap, but if we don’t change our ways of consuming we won’t have much time left AT ALL.

You don’t think they’ll be interested in any zero waste item? Then it might be an opportunity to change someone’s way.

You don’t want to make a bad impression by giving something homemade? Ah yeah, sure, countries near the coasts will gladly have their land eaten by the rising sea level so you can keep your face for people you don’t give a s*&^ any other time of the year.

I don’t want to advocate for no presents or only handmade and/or zero waste presents, but for a more aware gift buying. So, here’s some ideas I’d like to give/receive:

• Homemade cookies or cakes. Or cookie ingredients  in a jar. Anything that can be put in a jar can be gifted.
• Chocolate: true, often the traditional Xmas chocolates are not very zero waste with all the packaging, but there are plenty of choices and this is something almost universally appreciated.
• Quick crafts: here’s the list can be endless.
  • Bookmarks: hand-drawn, painted, with beads, ribbons. They can be easily done with things found around home. Here’s some Harry Potter’s ones.
  • Various cases and pouches: Just google and go into the rabbit hole of free tutorials, but make sure it’s something they’ll use. An example… Do they often spill water in their bag because they don’t close their reusable bottle properly? Then a waterproof one to place in the bag. Is their journal wrecked by been thrown around? A cover with pen holder. 
  • Decorations: It’s Xmas, so why not? Even I decorated a plant for the festivities (sort of…)
• A letter, a collage of selfies taken together, a memento of a shared moment.
• A voucher for a shop they love: almost every shop right now has the option from coffee shops to restaurants to bookshops.
• Tickets for cinema or theatre. Or a treat they wouldn’t do otherwise such a massage or a floating session – just make sure it’s something that won’t make them feeling uncomfortable. I hate massages for example 😀
• Bring them out for dinner or cake.
• A nice bottle of wine or craft beers.
• Locally produced soaps or Lush products: a more sustainable alternative to the usual bath product gift sets.
• A zero waste introduction package: a reusable shopping bag filled with a reusable cup, steel bottle and cutlery, bamboo toothbrush, organic chocolate and a recipe book.

The list is endless.

Nonetheless, the wasting Christmas spirit is not limited to presents: the holiday season is about overindulging on food. Food is great. I’m Italian. We don’t love food, we are obsessed with food. Overeating is our thing. But food waste I’ve always hated.

The cheap prices, multi-buy offers, shelves always filled have changed how we see food: we buy a lot, we throw a lot, anyway, we can buy more. And this gets even worse around holidays of which eating is a big part. But I won’t go into another rant and instead I’ll just leave this article from The Guardian here:

Why 2m kilos of Christmas cheese will end up in the bin

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So, that’s it. This is the last of my posts about Christmas (the other two: The Ghost of Xmas Past and The Ghost of Xmas Present). If you reached this point, I probably hadn’t annoyed you enough to give up on my rants, but I hope I gave you some inspiration to try being more aware during this holiday season.

Now it’s time to go and help my mom with the Christmas’ Eve dinner while (gently) reprimand  her on all the plastic items she should give up.

Merry Christmas and see you on the next post!