Zero Waste Essentials for Christmas

Our guide to Christmas zero waste essentials

This Christmas make sure you're ready with these zero waste essentials. 

From decorations to gift wrapping, we've put together a guide of all the zero waste essentials we think you'll need to keep your festive period waste free. These are all simple swaps that make a big difference when cutting down on plastic. 

Around the home essentials

Christmas Crackers

A Christmas dinner wouldn't be complete without crackers but they usually bring a lot of waste with a plastic toy you immediately forget about, and packaging with glitter usually impossible to recycle. Reusable Christmas crackers are an essential zero waste item for your table. Add your own jokes and little treats and reuse them year after year.

Shop reusable Christmas crackers.

Decorations

We are big advocates of make your own decorations from dried lemons or oranges, or making your own paper chains. If you don't have the time, this paper star light is one of my favourite decoration to immediately turn on the Christmas magic. I hang mine in the window to bring some Christmas cheer to the neighbourhood.

Shop paper star lights.

Candles

Nothing says Christmas more than a winter candle. Both soothing and relaxing, our winter candles will really set the festive mood. Our Christmas scents this year are a festive Yule candle with mulled wine and stewed apples, and a slightly fruitier Christingle candle with cinnamon and cloves.

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Cookie Cutters

We love baking at Christmas and these cookie cutters will make that all the more fun. With 6 shapes of a snowman, gingerbread man, snowflake, reindeer, Christmas tree and candy cane, you can have lots of fun decorating (and then eating...) with your family this Xmas. 

Shop cookie cutters.

Gift wrapping essentials

Paper Tape

The easiest zero waste essential swap, paper tape is the ideal alternative to Sellotape. As it's recyclable there's no need to separate wrapping paper from tape, you can rest assured that the whole gift wrap will be recycled. Our top tip when wrapping gifts is to use brown paper or newspaper as many wrapping papers are lined with plastic or covered in plastic-based glitter.

Shop paper tape.

Twine

You can even swap out tape entirely with some crafty folding and cotton twine. There's no longer any use for plastic-based ribbon, by using twine you can make a parcel look just as beautiful without the waste. Our twine is made locally in Manchester and is really strong and durable.

Shop twine.

Fabric Gift Wrap

This is probably my favourite zero waste essential swap. By switching wrapping paper for fabric gift wrap, you are no longer only gifting the present itself but also the wrap it came in. We stock Sari gift wraps made from recycled Sari's, as well as reusable cotton bags for gifts of different sizes, including wine bottles, so there's something for everyone.

Shop fabric gift wrap.

Christmas Cards

Christmas time is the perfect time to support small businesses and independent creators. My favourite way of doing this is through cards. Our cards are not only all entirely plastic-free, and printed on recycled paper, but designed by illustrators and artists that you won't find on supermarket shelves. There's no better way to say 'Merry Christmas' than with a card.

Shop Christmas cards.

Conclusion

This Christmas make these essential zero waste switches and you'll already notice the impact. Each year keep building on the year before, by purchasing plastic-free gifts, and shopping from local green grocers or at zero waste markets. Before long, your entire festive period will be eco-friendly. 

Are there any Christmas zero waste essentials we've missed? Let us know in the comments.