Mindful and Merry

‘Tis the season to celebrate! Which usually means making memories, exchanging gifts, throwing parties – and a whole lot of wastage that comes with it.

We all know the holidays are a great time to see loved ones and cherish the time we have before going back to work and school, but if you’re hosting then you know it can also mean overloaded bins, excessive use of wrapping paper or disposable items, and electricity bills through the roof. If you’re looking to be a little more sustainable this year, and avoid some of the dreaded clean up, we’ve put together a little list of helpful tips that that’ll make the holiday season easier, while going easier on the environment as well.

1. Leftover recipes

One of the biggest wastes across the holiday season is the food that gets thrown out. You’ll find with a quick google search, there are hundreds of delicious recipes that only require throwing together the holiday leftovers in five minutes.

2. Recyclable/non-plastic wrapping paper

Many wrapping paper options in stores take years to break down in landfill, only to be ripped off a gift in seconds. Reach for more biodegradable options without plastic sealing, and try to keep some of the wrapping paper that comes on your own gifts for you to re-use later.

3. Less lights, more hand-made decorations

Power gets expensive during summer in Australia. Rather than donning the house in LED lights, why not opt for old-school decorations? Weave a home-made wreath out of some natives, craft some baubles out of paper mâché with loved ones. Make some memories while keeping that power bill nice and low.

4. Non-physical gifts

Online gifts like E-gift cards and travel vouchers are all the rage these days. Reduce the wastage by sending someone a link to their present this year.

5. Single gifts

If you practice gift-giving, you know it can be financially stressful. Reduce the pressure on your guests by hosting a game that assigns one gift recipient to each person. You can even set a price limit to encourage creativity, and make for a hilarious reveal time that sets a great mood for the rest of the day.

Above all else, remind yourself this year that presence is a present, helping out relieves pressure off the host, and it’s a time for joy, not stress.

City of Salisbury wishes all of our residents an excellent and safe holiday season, we’ll see you next year!