Meaningful holidays

Summer break is here and Christmas is just around the corner!

I usually get lost in the Christmas craze and get sucked into all the consuming that happens around this time. We all deserve and need some merriment but I do notice that after the holidays, there is just a significant amount of waste that is produced. It's not just the pile of Christmas gifts, it's also a large amount of uneaten food. 

I started a list of eco-friendly gift ideas which you can read here, but here are a few of the other steps I'll be trying to do this year. I'm hoping to be a more conscious consumer and in that way also allow myself a more meaningful and enjoyable Christmas shared with friends and family. 

• Rent a Christmas tree. There are a few Adelaide Christmas tree farms which you can visit. Although it entails chopping a tree down, a new tree is planted in its place. This is a friendlier alternative to a plastic tree. Having said that, most synthetic Christmas trees stay in the family for years which is again, better than purchasing a plastic tree and only using it one of two times.
• Wooden and not a plastic tree, or use a potted plant. Last year, I bought a 200mm dwarf conifer as a Christmas tree and this year I got an even bigger tree. Some suggestions for a potted Christmas tree that would suit an Australian Christmas include Lillypillies and a potted Olive tree.
• Gifts. Instead of putting gifts you don't really want or can't use into the bin, consider donating them. Same with some unwanted items in a Christmas hamper given to you. If they are pantry products and you don't want them, you could consider donating them to Foodbank.

What other things can I start doing that would lessen waste this Christmas? Maybe considering what Christmas wrapping I'm using and the decorations I hang on the tree?

Christmas can't be bought from a store. Maybe Christmas means a little bit more.Dr. Seuss