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Preserved and dried flowers from Shida Preserved Flowers
Preserved and dried flowers from Shida Preserved Flowers
Have Yourself a Merry Little (low-waste) Christmas
I think it’s fair to say that we're all a little guilty of overindulging at this time of year... overeating, overspending, and cooking enough food to feed the entire street is more common than not. With 2020 being a strange year, I think we have all become a little more conscious of our imprint on the planet and increasingly mindful of others. Now, I’m not saying to put down the chocolate and abstain from treating loved ones, but as the festive season approaches, I wanted to take a minute and look at how I (and we) can reduce some of our waste created over the holidays, whilst still getting in the Christmas spirit!
Preserved and dried flowers from Shida Preserved Flowers
Preserved and dried flowers from Shida Preserved Flowers
Alternative ways to decorate...
Classic tinsel and plastic baubles will always remind me of Christmas as a child, but recent scrolling through social media will tell you that hand-made and reimagined décor is definitely the way to go. Just imagine spending a chilly afternoon snuggled up at home designing and creating your own decorations – bliss!
Preserved and dried flowers from Shida Preserved FlowersPreserved and dried flowers from Shida Preserved FlowersPreserved and dried flowers from Shida Preserved Flowers
Here’s a few ideas on where to start:
1
Paper decorations – get folding, cutting or gluing to achieve different shapes, sizes and styles. You can make use of recycled paper or scraps from magazines. I’m going to be trying some origami stars this year! If you’re looking to add in some colour, you could also try your hand at some homestyle block printing.
2
Natural decorations – Forage in your garden or on local walks to find branches, pine cones and dried grasses to include them in wreaths, mantels and banister displays!
3
Salt dough or air-drying clay – my mum still has a beautifully crafted salt-dough decoration made by me (aged four) that has survived house moves, clean-outs and still gets placed proudly on the tree every year. Look to create contemporary designs and paint in colours to match your theme!
4
Repurposing old decorations – instead of throwing away your unwanted items, update them with a lick of paint. Mixing acrylic paint with baking soda gives a great stoneware effect and you can repaint them in the years to come.
Preserved and dried flowers from Shida Preserved Flowers
Preserved and dried flowers from Shida Preserved Flowers

With a cosier, more homely Christmas on the cards, I’m excited to spend some time making gifts extra special this year. A few ways to be a little more sustainable on the gift-wrapping front is to swap plastic bows & ribbons, for natural ways to finish off presents. Think linen ribbons, fabric off-cuts and recycled twine. We’ve created some beautiful preserved & dried floral gift toppers for the gifting period, which can be re-used again and again or repurposed into mini bottle arrangements or table settings. In terms of wrapping, we encourage you to give a traditional Japanese practice called ‘Furoshiki’ a go! It involves wrapping your gifts with cloth or fabric to transport them. Repurposing this idea when gift wrapping is a wonderful way of reducing waste, as the fabric can then be reused by the giftee to send gifts to their friends, or even a festive scarf for your pooch!

Don’t dismiss second hand finds! Shopping around for second hand objects like frames, vases and furniture has a number of benefits, including donating to a charity and being able to restyle them to suit the person you’re gifting. Keeping and reusing old Christmas cards from past years is also a great way to make new from old – try this for gift tags, hand-made cards, and paper decorations.

My last tip for lowering waste this Christmas is food related. Personally, this is where I tend to fail most years. After recently moving into a new place, I'm actively making a choice to buy only what we need, avoid panic-buying large quantities of things and to use up everything in tasty leftover recipes! Think turkey and sprout stir-fry and leftover cheeseboard macaroni & cheese... yum.

There are hundreds of tutorials and ideas out there on this subject and we’ve been busy pinning some of our favourite ideas over on our Pinterest – take a look at our ‘Low-waste Christmas’ ideas board here.

Have a wonderful Christmas, Emily x

Words by Emily Carpenter

Photos by Hannah Dewar

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