Climate Action Oxfordshire
Visit a local eco Christmas fair, reduce waste and hire your party clothes and accessories. Read on for ideas to make this year’s festive season a sustainable one.
Visit an eco Christmas fair
A Christmas fair can get us in the festive spirit with mulled drinks, roasted nuts and the chance to buy unique presents for loved ones. How about visiting an eco fair this year and supporting some of our districts' fantastic sustainable businesses?
Oxford Green Fair
Date: Sunday 1 December, 10:30am – 4:00pm
Venue: Oxford Town Hall, St Aldate’s, Oxford, OX1 1BX
Browse festive and ethical stalls, listen to live music, enjoy the cafe and meet local community and charity organisations. Family friendly and everyone is welcome. A £2 donation will be collected on the door. More information here.
Earth Trust’s Christmas market
Date: Saturday 7 December, 10:00am – 4:00pm
Venue: Fison Barn, Earth Trust Centre, Little Wittenham, Abingdon, OX14 4QZ
Enjoy the cosy Fison Barn adorned with twinkling lights and festive décor and get into the festive mood with mulled wine, warm mince pies and by toasting a marshmallow or two on the firepit in the courtyard. Find the perfect eco-friendly gifts from a selection of makers, designers and crafters. Free entry and parking. More information here.
Reduce wrapping paper waste
Christmas morning can quickly cast you adrift on a sea of guilt-inducing wrapping paper waste, particularly if you have children. Most wrapping paper – that doesn’t contain foil or glitter - can go into your recycling bin to be collected at the kerbside after Christmas, but the following ideas are even better for the environment and can save you money too.
Use recycled materials
We all generally throw out lots of materials that could be used as wrapping paper – magazines, children’s pictures, colourful bags and, of course, old wrapping paper can all be great for wrapping. You can also use old fabric to wrap gifts, or even use a fabric which could be part of the gift (or reused again) like a scarf.
Customise your own wrapping paper
Plain brown paper roll is recyclable and doesn’t contain any hidden plastics. It looks good on its own, but it can be fun and easy to decorate. Here are a few ideas:
Tie dried orange slices, cinnamon rolls, pinecones, berries and other bits of green foliage to your package using string
Use stamps (you could even make your own potato stamps!) to decorate the paper
Make or buy some Christmassy templates/stencils or use a technique like paint splattering to make the paper extra festive
Eco wrapping accessories
The pictures on old Christmas cards make great gift tags – simply cut them out and use a hole punch to make a hole in them to tie string to.
Plastic sticky tape isn’t recyclable and, before you put your wrapping paper in the recycle bin, it ideally needs to be removed and put in the waste bin. The best alternative to plastic tape is gummed paper tape. You can find lots of patterned eco tapes too, but check they are made of paper and don’t contain added plastics.
Throwing a (more eco) party
If you’re having people round over Christmas and considering buying new things for your gathering, you may be able to borrow what you need from the Library of Things. Hire charges are usually for between 2-7 days. These are some of the things available for hire:
Disco light / glitter ball
Candy floss maker
Party kit
Air mattress
Drinking glasses
Chocolate fountain
Chocolate cocktail drinks maker
Fairy lights
Gazebo
Ice bucket
Portable DJ speaker
Table clothes
Water boiler urn
Library of Things locations
Bicester
Bicester Green lends out lots of items, including some party items such as glasses and items that may also be useful over the party season such as a highchair.
Kidlington
Oxford Party Library is run by Cherwell Collective. Visit their Facebook page to see what they have available to share for free.
Oxford
SHARE Oxford has a wide range of items available for parties, entertaining, and much more.
Wantage
Sustainable Wantage run a Library of Things from their town centre hub, The Mix. They have a large array of items to borrow, including some party kit.
Witney
Witney Eco Party Packs has a range of party kits available for residents in Witney and surrounding towns and village.
Make sustainable fashion choices
Hire your party clothes
Buying a Christmas party outfit that gets worn once can be a thing of the past now that hiring clothes is gaining in popularity. One of the great things about hiring a Christmas party outfit is that you can go for something sparkling and eye-catching without having to worry about how much wear you’ll get out of it after the festive period. There are lots of online outlets that rent party and special occasion clothes. Possible options include John Lewis(womenswear and menswear), Baukjen, Hurr (rent, lend, and buy), and One Hit Wonders.
Buy your Christmas jumper second-hand
Novelty jumpers are an easy impulse purchase at Christmas time, but why not save some money and be more sustainable too by buying one second-hand. You’ll find all the usual buying sites like Vinted, Depop, Facebook Marketplace, and eBay have lots available in the run-up to Christmas.
Another way to make your Christmas jumper more sustainable is to make your own. Take an old plain jumper and decorate it with baubles or create your own design out of buttons or similar. Pinterest has some brilliant ideas.
The problem with sequins and glitter
Christmas is the season of sequins and glitter, but both are damaging to the environment. They are generally made of plastic with a reflective metallic coating and, once disposed of, can remain in the environment for centuries, possibly fragmenting into smaller pieces over time and polluting waterways.
The charity Oxfam surveyed 2,000 British women in 2019 and 40% said they would buy a sequined piece of clothing for the festive season. However, only a quarter were sure they would wear it again.
Christmas can still be bright and cheerful without the microplastics, so whether you’re buying clothing, cards or wrapping paper, try to steer clear of sequins and glitter for a really eco Christmas.
