Each month I attempt a different challenge with a green theme. This month I'm planning ahead (by my usual standards) for a greener Christmas. I'll also be casting aside my humbug tendencies, avoiding temptation to 'just not bother much', and trying to find creative ways to make Christmas lovely too. 'Bah Humbug' doesn't really cut it with kids around! Alright, I know we're only a few days from the end of the month, but I promise I've been plotting this for a little while, if not quite finding time to write about it!
Last week Little M had her first taste of Christmas toy adverts. I was flicking through channels to put a bit of CBeebies on for her while she was housebound with a stinking cold, when she spotted some Peppa Pig on a different channel. In my sleep deprived state with weakened resolve and slight brain fog I thought 'why not, can't do any harm just this once'. She has seen toy adverts once or twice on TV before, and asked me to turn them off, so I was feeling pretty relaxed (well, actually a little bit smug). Well, we won't be doing that again! Little M now officially likes adverts. She said so. She sat there through two or three advert breaks (back-to-back Peppa Pig!) commenting with her most serious voice "I need that"..."And that"..."And I need one of those". She even wanted the toy dog that sh*ts just so you can play at cleaning it up (although I have to say she did temper her enthusiasm a little for this one, declaring "I could have one of those" - even at three she has the sense to know no one really wants this!).
Ridiculous toys and middle-class snobbery aside, I still think of this incident as a truly depressing glimpse the world my little ones are growing up in. It wasn't so much the toys that I found depressing (I'm not such a scrooge that I think toys are bad), rather the image of a very small child, transfixed by the TV, experiencing desires for things she barely understands. Several days later those few minutes of TV are still affecting her. She's been telling (a slightly bemused) Martin about the dodgy dog toy - it appears she was more interested than I'd originally thought - and chattering about how her dolly doesn't have a car.
I am now more determined than usual not to get sucked into the commercial, consumption overload that seems represent a 'normal' Christmas. My efforts to tread-lightly on the planet at Christmas vary from year to year. It depends a lot on how busy I am and how last minute things get. Shopping for presents is a classic example. I always try to avoid a big trip into the West End, but often get sucked in when the big day starts creeping closer and my plans to make pressies for people or buy lovely, local treats haven't quite come to fruition. So I'm planning (a little) ahead this year.
A spot of green Christmas shopping (and making) is obviously on the agenda. I'm also hoping to introduce a few new Christmas traditions. Little M pretty much got the gist of Christmas last year. This year she's three and even more aware of what's going on. It seems like a good time to kick-off a few family traditions that I hope will stick with us, and make Christmas special for lots of reasons as the girls grow up. Not just for the toys and chocolate. We're not religious and so we celebrate Christmas as a tradition rather than a religious festival. I think that makes it even more important to be a bit creative, and find joy in other things that make Christmas a lovely and meaninful time of year. Hopefully, by getting in there early, we'll set the tone for future Christmases before the girls become completely engulfed by peer pressure for the latest craze!
My first idea for a new family tradition is our 'Sharing is Caring at Christmas' box (suggestions for a catchier name welcome please!). Little M is really lovely with her sister most of the time, and has turned a blind eye to the gradual handing over of some of her old baby toys. But, like most kids, she has some pretty strong 'mine-mine-mine' tendencies. I'm all for kids treasuring their own things, and I couldn't imagine a Christmas without individual presents. But sharing is good too, and Christmas is a great time to remember that. I'm going to give the girls presents to share each year. And to make them feel a bit more exciting, rather than second best, they'll come in their own shiny box. It's not my finest crafting moment (above) but I think it will do the job for the next few years to make the shared presents feel special. If I'm organised they'll get some hand-made bunting for their bedroom (which they'll be sharing soon - as soon as we can calm little L's sleeping habits down a bit), if I'm not, perhaps some bath toys. And perhaps a music CD.
My other idea is to get the kids involved in a bit of regifting. I'm going to ask little M to choose some of her own toys to give to her sister and her two cousins. I'm not going to force her to give away her favourite toy, just gently encourage her to think about what other people might like. We'll help little L do the same. The girls will also help us choose presents for other people. I'm sure lots of people do this. I'm plotting a bit of carefully orchestrated present choosing for a few key people. And I hope to find the time to make things too - little M got involved in making lovely biscuits and sweets from this brilliant supplement on Nordic baking last year (definitely a tradition I could adopt!). She loved handing them out to relatives.
These ideas are mostly gift related - I'd like to have some other Christmas traditions to share too. My brain cogs are turning now and I suspect I'll have other ideas over the next few weeks. They'll ideally be things to do in the run up to Christmas as we're mostly away with family for large parts of Christmas week. I'd better get my skates on if I'm going to think of something interesting for advent that doesn't involve buying 24 gifts for each of the girls every year! That's definitely not happening, no matter how green the gifts are.
I know some people have probably finished their Christmas shopping. I have only just started but I think I'm doing OK. So far I've written out my list of who I buy presents for, and I'm not doing too bad in terms of inspiration (I'll be sharing some of my inspiration in another post soon, without spoiling the surprise for anyone hopefully). I've made a start on one or two home-made gifts - there's a fighting chance I'll get them finished in time. I started my Christmas shopping at the weekend with a couple of bargain games for little M on ebay. I've got some fancy parcel tape (one is even recycled, recyclable, and made in England) - we might even avoid buying wrapping paper at a motorway service station this year. It's all feeling quite organised...for me.
And next week, when hopefully little L will be feeling a bit better (she's the current owner of the stinking cold), I'll start trying to find a baby-sitter so that Martin and I can go to at least one Christmas party together!
I just need to decide what to do about a tree. We often procrastinate about this until it get's too close to Christmas to bother with one, especially as we usually spend a lot of the festive season with relatives. That's not really on. And won't get past little M this year. We need to get a tree early enough to enjoy it, or think of some other lovely (eco-friendly) ways to make the flat feel properly Christmassy. I feel some glitter fun coming on! I love these tiny trees that will grow up with your family. I'm pretty sure the combination of my dinstinctly un-green fingers and our tiny, shady yard would spell doom for one, so sadly I don't think it's for us.
Have you checked out Extra Ethical Christmas yet? They've got some great tips for an ethical Christmas and prizes from some of the UK's leading ethical brands to be won throughout December.
I know it's a cliche, but I think the best bit about Christmas is seeing friends and family - particularly as ours are strewn far and wide. What are your favourite Christmas traditions for making the season special?
Your sharing box is a lovely idea. It's so hard to resist the pressure to get yet more 'stuff' isn't it? We don't do ads, which definitely helps I think. We also spend time before Xmas sorting out old toys and books that we can donate to charity shops to try and give the children an awareness of the fact that there are other children less fortunate than them. I think the Rotary Club also do a box scheme where you can fill a box with toys/home-made gifts for children in other countries who may not otherwise get anything for Christmas.
I think, as with so many things, that much of the magic comes from the repetitition and ritual, rather than with the stuff itself: the arrival of the advent calendar; the Kate Rusby Xmas carols CD; decorating the tree, rather than the tree itself; getting ready on Xmas Eve; knowing what we eat on Xmas Eve and Xmas day etc etc.
Posted by: breakfast lady | Nov 29, 2012 at 09:49 AM
I think it's a great idea to have a bit of a sort out of toys before Christmas to donate to charity. Might make a start on that this weekend and at the same time try to find various items that having been missing for a while amongst our clutter!
You're right about repetition and ritual - it's important to make time for little things that all form part of Christmas. We used to have a Jim Reeves Christmas album when I was growing up - it always felt like Christmas as soon as this came out:-)
Posted by: Fiona | Nov 29, 2012 at 02:52 PM