Christmas is almost here and I think we can all agree that a little break is welcomed. With that well deserved rest we probably are all dreaming of a white Christmas. Along with that I am personally dreaming of a litter free Christmas. Sounds good, ay?
Christmas is a season of joy and giving out gifts. Gifts are wrapped in beautiful papers topped with bows made out of plastic (usually) and of course each gift has a name tag. The amount of litter that comes out of gifts is infernal. I remember from my childhood that that many litter bins in the neighborhood were full of wrapping papers after Christmas Eve. That wasn’t the case at our house.
Already more than twenty years ago my mother had a wish to all of us opening presents. She asked us to be careful with the paper, bows and name tags. She asked us to take a moment and appreciate the beautiful design on the paper, and when opening the gift, make sure if possible that the paper could be used again. Name tags were always saved, as they could certainly be used again, unless someone changes their name. Bows were of course saved, they could be used again on gifts or when decorating something else.
I don’t know if it was that my mother is a designer herself and she wants to appreciate others work all the way. Maybe it was that we weren’t that well off and she wanted to save money. But personally I think it was that she just hated to see the amount of waste that the season of opening gifts brought upon us. With a little effort most of the gift wrapping articles can be re-used and after that recycled if not possible to use again. And what still brings me spurt of warmth in my heart is that even after 17 years since my grandfather death I still receive a gift from him each year, thanks to reusing old name tags. That may be the gift which I receive yearly.
Why not try this at your house this year? #litterfreexmas