Save money, reduce waste and help to protect our planet
The festive season is fast approaching! Hanukkah, the Jewish Festival of Lights, begins at sunset on Friday 4 December 2026 and runs for eight nights until Saturday 12 December. Christmas follows later in the month, with Christmas Eve on 24 December, Christmas Day on 25 December and Boxing Day on 26 December.
For many families, especially moms who so often hold everything together, the festivities mean weeks of shopping, wrapping, cooking and hosting. It can feel exhausting just thinking about it!
But with a little planning, you can make the season calmer, cheaper and kinder to the planet — while showing children that even small changes can make a big difference.
Ten Ways to Enjoy a Greener Festive Season
1. Plan ahead and shop smarter
It's always a good idea to start preparations in October or early November. Try making a list of the people you are buying for, the gatherings you are hosting and how much you want to spend.
Last-minute shopping can mean impulse buys, unwanted gifts and rushed deliveries in oversized boxes filled with plastic. Plan ahead, combine online orders where practical and shop locally on foot when you can. You could save money, reduce packaging and cut unnecessary journeys.
2. Say no to single-use plastic
Festive parties can generate mountains of disposable plastic, from bottled water and plastic cups to straws, cutlery and party bags filled with little toys that are quickly forgotten.
Plastic can persist in the environment for decades or centuries, gradually breaking into tiny particles called microplastics. These can enter rivers and seas, where marine animals may mistake them for food.
- Give children reusable water bottles, perhaps personalised with their names.
- Serve tap water in jugs and use real glasses, cups and cutlery.
- Skip straws or choose reusable alternatives.
- Replace plastic party-bag trinkets with a small book, seeds or a healthy treat.
- Keep reusable shopping bags by the front door or in the car.
- Choose gifts with minimal packaging and avoid toys sealed in hard-to-recycle plastic.
3. Give less, but give better
Children do not necessarily remember how many presents they've received. Often, they remember the gift that inspired them or the experience they shared with someone special. One special gift can spark their imagination.
Consider a theatre trip, a day at the seaside or an afternoon baking together. If you buy presents, choose things that last: books, wooden toys and good-quality games that can be shared between siblings and passed down to cousins.
Second-hand treasures and gift swaps are also wonderful ways to give something a new life rather than buy something new. Do you have something tucked away in a drawer that could easily be re-purposed. That's a great way to stay green!
4. Wrap presents the greener way
Much shiny wrapping paper cannot be recycled because it contains plastic coatings, foil or glitter. Plain brown paper is often a better choice, but check your local recycling guidance.
Decorate it with children's drawings or potato prints, or use old maps, newspaper and reusable fabric wraps. Finish with string or ribbon that can be saved for next year.
For Hanukkah, small fabric pouches can be reused for nightly gifts year after year. Save gift bags and suitable wrapping materials, too.
5. Go easy on glitter
Glitter may look magical, but conventional plastic glitter contributes to microplastic pollution. Choose cards and decorations without it, reuse what you already own and create sparkle with shiny ornaments and candlelight instead.
6. Light up mindfully
Both Christmas and Hanukkah celebrate light, making this a lovely opportunity to combine tradition with thoughtful choices.
LED fairy lights use considerably less electricity than traditional incandescent bulbs. Maybe use a timer and switch lights off when you go to bed or leave home.
You could also consider beeswax or soy candles as alternatives to paraffin wax. Hanukkah oil lamps can be a meaningful option for families who use them as part of their tradition. Always supervise burning candles and lamps carefully.
7. Eat well and waste less
Festive food is one of life's great pleasures, but too much food can end up in the bin. Throwing good away wastes the resources used to grow, produce and transport food, while decomposing food in landfill can generate methane, a powerful greenhouse gas.
Plan menus around what you will realistically eat, write a shopping list and freeze suitable leftovers promptly.
Latkes and doughnuts for Hanukkah, Christmas dinner, then next day's Boxing Day' bubble and squeak' (leftover turkey, cabbage, potatoes and onion fried) can all be part of a delicious, less wasteful celebration. Buy seasonal and locally produced food where practical, and have fun by involving children in the kitchen. It is quality time together and a chance to teach them where food comes from.
8. Decorate with nature
One of the loveliest and most affordable ways to decorate is to bring a part of the outdoors inside your home.
Pine cones, fallen branches, dried orange slices and cinnamon sticks can create beautiful, fragrant displays without buying more plastic decorations. Save glass jars for candle holders or vases, and cut up old greeting cards to make gift tags.
A family walk to collect suitable natural materials can become a festive tradition in itself. Gather responsibly, avoid damaging living plants and leave berries for the birds that depend on them through winter.
Children can make paper chains, salt-dough stars and popcorn garlands. These simple activities cost little, encourage creativity and create memories that last far longer than disposable decorations.
9. Choose your Christmas tree wisely
If you buy a real tree, look for one grown locally and responsibly. A potted tree with roots may be replanted if it is suitable for that purpose and cared for properly.
If you already own an artificial tree, keep using it for as many years as possible rather than replacing it to follow changing trends.
After Christmas, use your council's tree recycling scheme if available. Many real trees are chipped and reused in parks and landscaping.
10. Make kindness part of the celebrations
Christmas and Hanukkah both offer opportunities to celebrate generosity, hope and community.
Encourage children to donate a toy they no longer use, help an elderly neighbour, make cards for someone who might be lonely or join a local environmental activity.
These small acts teach children that kindness is not just about presents. It is about caring for one another and the world we share.
A Gift with a Message: Salty Joe and the Sea Mysteries
Looking for a festive gift that sparks imagination, encourages kindness and introduces children to the importance of protecting our oceans?
Then we have the perfect suggestion!
Aboard the ship of the Pirates of Eight, Salty Joe and his crew embark on a series of sea mysteries filled with humour, friendship and teamwork. Along the way, young readers discover that the greatest treasure is not gold or jewels, but looking after one another and protecting the oceans we all share.
With whimsical characters, including Squawkybeak the parrot and the ancient pirate Salty Joe, the story aims to entertain, while encouraging children to think about kindness, cooperation and the natural world.
“I wanted to write a fun pirate adventure that would inspire children to be kind to each other and kind to the planet through care of our oceans,” says Angele July.
At a time when plastic pollution and the health of our oceans are increasingly important concerns, the book offers families a way to introduce environmental awareness through storytelling.
If you buy the book through Amazon, the author will send a mystery children's gift from across the pond. Simply buy the book, post a review, confirm this action to the author and send the author an email to claim your free gift on angele@simplysecure.co.uk. Available to the first ten people to claim the gift, and the gift will be sent in January/February 2027.
Give a Gift That Keeps on Giving
You do not have to change everything to make a difference. Buying less, wasting less, reusing more and choosing meaningful gifts can make Christmas and Hanukkah more affordable, less stressful and kinder to the Earth.
This year, give children something that lasts: happy memories, a love of reading and the understanding that even small acts of kindness can help change the world.
And when you wrap those presents, why not choose brown paper and reusable ribbon?
Guest post courtesy of Angele July.
.jpg)
.png)
.jpg)
.jpg)