The perfect Christmas. More responsible.

When planning lunches and dinners, buying presents or the Christmas tree, there are choices we can make to live these festive days in a more responsible way towards the Planet. Like what? We suggest a few here.

The perfect gift

How often do you receive unwanted gifts that you will never use? We should not shop just because we feel culturally obliged to buy something for everyone we know if we feel it is not the right choice. Often the best thing we can give to others are moments of sharing, doing something cool, not buying. 

If we really feel we want to give something as a gift, be it an experience, a book, a visit to the museum or, why not, a tree. May they be useful and appropriate objects for those who receive them and support groups that help those who have less. May they be made well, respecting people and the planet, second-hand or with natural or recycled materials so as not to require new resources – least of all plastic.

The perfect recipe

The food we produce is the main cause of tropical deforestation. It is better not to waste some of this food because we don’t consider portion sizes in relation to our guests. All it takes is a little planning and realism about the quantities we really need.

A good challenge can be to choose a vegetarian menu – even to try a different dinner. The livestock industry alone generates almost 15% of all man-made greenhouse gas emissions and requires space and huge amounts of water and feed.

And when shopping, look for local and seasonal products to reduce the energy and pollution needed to bring in food from other parts of the globe or to grow it out of season.

The perfect decorations

We should avoid disposable decorations, even if Christmas only happens once a year. In fact, we can always reuse tablecloths, napkins and ornaments for other festivities or simply for those days when we fancy something a little more colourful. As for the lights, choose the ones that use less energy and turn them on at particular times of the day, there is no need for them to go on 24 hours a day.

Let’s now come to the Christmas tree. If you decide to buy a plastic tree, better to reuse it for at least 10 years, so as to compensate for the emissions generated by its production. If you opt for a real tree, be sure it comes from responsible management and that you have clear where it will stay after the holidays. Buying a potted tree is also a good solution because it can be reused every year. Or you can rent it and return it to be replanted and reused the following year.