Buying Green at Christmas

Here are ten hints as to how you might make this Christmas more green – and economical.

1. Buy things that are made locally.
   Send a message to those business who import cheap goods made for virtually nothing that you want to support your local community.
2. Buy goods that have quality – and durability.
   So many of the toys we buy our kids at Christmas are here for a season and then gone. Or they’re made in such a way that breakability is almost inbuilt. Think about some of the toys that you treasured as a child and which lasted. Can you find things like this for your children?
3. Think Secondhand.
   There are dozens of shops in most cities which trade in good secondhand items. Concerned that your family will think you’re a cheapskate? Get over it. Explain why you’ve bought secondhand. When they see that the item has plenty of life left in it – and doesn’t look worn out – they’ll understand where you’re coming from.
4. Think Fair Trade.
   There are now an increasing number of Fair Trade shops where you can buy goods made in the Third World. Sure, they’ll sometimes be a bit more expensive than the cheap imports, but you’ll know that the people who made them have received a fair price for their work.
5. Offer to spend some of your Time as a present.
   Make out a gift certificate that says you’ll baby sit a few times for a relative who doesn’t get out often, or you’ll make time available to someone in your family you tend to be stingy in your time with.
6. Give a present that brings the family together: a shared experience at the Zoo, or at a Dolphin Pool.
   A game that everyone in the family can play, not just the adults.
7. Many of the major charities, like World Vision, Oxfam and Tear Fund, offer you the chance to pay for an item that will be of value to a Third World community: buy a goat, or a cow, pay for an ambulance cart, or even contribute towards a well.
8. Make your own gifts.
   One of my daughters did this a couple of years running, making picture frames with family photos, or gifts of clothing. The possibilities are endless in this area, if you allow yourself time to get on with it.
9. Think about buying less.
   Our family has cut back on the absurdity of everyone buying for everyone else.
   Now, one member of the family buys for one other member (the names are chosen out of a hat) and there’s a limit to how much anyone spends. And this year, we’ve extended this idea to the grandchildren, with each couple in the family buying for one grandchild. It might seem as if there will be less on Christmas morning, but the satisfaction of knowing you haven’t broken the bank to pay for far more than anyone needs will be considerable.
10. Be really adventurous and invite people to your Christmas who are alone, or financially stretched.
    This may seem to change the ‘family’ focus of the event, but it will actually bring an entirely different attitude to the way everyone feels about Christmas.