How to entertain more sustainably over the festive season

The holidays are a fantastic time of year but it’s very easy to get carried away and blow the budget. Whether it’s overspending on decorations, buying too much food, or getting a bit carried away with your gifting, it’s easy for excess to become the reason for the season without even noticing. To keep your home, bank balance, and mind clutter-free this summer, we’ve got a few tips to help reduce your environmental impact during Christmas and New Years.

1. Check your supplies before you buy

Before you hit the shops to stock up on food, supplies, and decorations, do a thorough check around the house for things you’ve already got. It might sound silly, but it’s easy to forget those bits and pieces that only come out for special events or once in a blue moon.

Decluttering is a great way to remind yourself of those items you don’t use regularly. Digging through the kitchen cupboards you might find serving trays or the extra roasting dish you’ll need to cook a large meal.

If you need extra seats, older furniture can be cleaned and tidied up and brought out to do the job for your event. You can also lean on your friends and family to borrow items you don’t have. The festive season is all about sharing and togetherness, so why not pool resources where you can?

A great example here is having someone contribute cutlery. It might require a bit of planning so they don’t get mixed up, but it’s always better to use proper cutlery than to stock up on plastic options that you’ll throw away after one use.

For those items you do have to buy, we recommend making a list and sticking to it. You’re bound to spot bits and pieces at the shops you didn’t think to put on your list, but ask yourself this: Will I use this item again in the next 12 months? If the answer’s no, it might be best to leave it on the shelf.

2. Plan your menu ahead of time

It’s common knowledge that food wastage skyrockets over the Christmas period. If you’re used to cooking for a handful of people and now you have to serve 20, it can be a little bit difficult to figure out how much of everything to buy, especially as many of us are known to indulge a bit more heavily at this time of year.

It might be better to go for the smaller end of what you think you’ll need - remember, not everyone will eat equal portions of every part of the meal. It’s great to have leftovers, but if there’s too much you may not be able to finish it all before it spoils. If you find yourself with piles of leftovers, give some to your guests to take away with them.

The traditional Christmas dinner is always a winner, but remember, it’s not the only winner. You can’t go wrong with a classic Kiwi barbecue, and going this route means less prep time and more time enjoying the day.

Summer in Aotearoa is a great time for fresh fruit and vegetables. Support your local growers where you can and choose fruit to bring your desserts to life. From summer berries to melons, peaches and nectarines, there’s plenty of fantastic morsels to go in a fruit salad or to top the trusty pavlova. Fresh veges go great with a roast, on the BBQ or in a side salad.

To grow your own produce for Christmas and beyond, check out the Gardening guides here.

3. Go for meaningful, practical gifts

Christmas gifting can get out of hand. We spend a lot of money on things that our loved ones don’t necessarily need and these items end up sitting around, cluttering up the house, or winding up in a landfill in a few years. Spoiling your loved ones is a great feeling, but more often than not, the holidays are about spending time together and enjoying each other’s company. Now we’re not saying throw out the idea of gifting all together, but maybe it’s time to have a rethink. How about something like…

• A gift that a whole family can enjoy such as a new BBQ, an outdoor seat or setting, or a board game.
• Making a donation to charity on your loved one’s behalf, whether it’s monetary donation or buying something for a donation box like the ones we have in our stores for Kindness Collective.
• Restricting presents to those that you home-bake, hand-make, or upcycle yourself.
• Giving a gift that keeps on giving like a berry plant, a fruit tree, a compost kit or a terrarium.
• Chatting with your loved ones and trying out this: Each person buys themselves an item that they need, and at your Christmas gathering, you can have a show and tell.

All of that being said, we’re not trying to tell you gift giving is bad. But some gifts will have a larger environmental impact than others. Check out our Sustainable Gifting Guide for ideas on things that might benefit the recipient and the planet. You also might want to consider skipping the wrapping paper this year. While unwrapping gifts is super fun for the young ones, it might not be necessary for the grown ups.

4. Make the most of your garden

It’s the middle of summer - outdoor living is an absolute no brainer, and we probably don’t even have to mention it. But, moving your celebration outdoors, particularly in the evening, is a great way to reduce your energy spend. Using fewer lights and taking advantage of the late setting sun might not reduce your environmental impact by a lot, but every bit helps.

If your outdoor living space does become the key location for your Christmas celebration, you could also skip the old fashioned Christmas tree and decorate a potted or planted tree instead. It’s a little bit cute, and a little bit different, and you’ll save a tree. If you do go for a cut tree, they can be composted or disposed of in environmentally sound ways. Check in with your local council to find out what to do with it once the silly season is over.

Entertaining sustainably over the Christmas period is not only beneficial for your home and bank balance but also for the environment. Minimising unnecessary excess and waste ultimately leads to a more sustainable and fulfilling holiday season.

Sustainable Christmas Gift Guide

With holidays, friends, family and food, Christmas is an amazing time of year. But, it’s also a particularly wasteful time of year. If you and your loved ones are sustainably minded, we have a couple of ideas for gifting that’ll please your recipient without the environmental impact.

Go for green goods

Green goods are always a great idea. A bit of potted colour is a great way to add a splash of character to an outdoor living space. A nice indoor plant can liven up a lounge or bedroom. A fruit tree or a nice shrub can add visual interest to a garden (not to mention the prospect of fresh fruit). There are options to suit every taste, budget, and level of garden know-how. You can also pair it with a nice pot to personalise the gift a bit more for your loved one.

Shop all garden plants

A travel mug or thermos

A good travel mug goes a long way, often literally. Reusable cups and vessels are a fantastic way to skip the single-use options, while still enjoying the convenience of a hot (or cold) drink on hand for a long commute or a big day out in nature. Takeaway coffee cups can’t be recycled in New Zealand, but they can be avoided. By reducing their reliance on single use cups, your person of choice will be keeping heaps of waste out of landfills.

An act of service

This one is great for parents and older relatives. Instead of a gift they may not need, an act of service is a great, carbon neutral gift idea. Gift them a voucher for a few hours of help in the garden or around the house, you can even use our voucher template. Whether it’s pulling up weeds from the back lawn, tidying and organising the garage, or tackling a DIY project, your recipient probably has a bunch of jobs on the to-do list that would be easier with two people.

Make your own gift, Easy As

Our Easy As Guides show you how to tackle a huge number of awesome DIY projects. From bench seats to fire pits, there’s plenty of gift appropriate projects among them, with opportunities to upcycle and use common materials. Eliminating the manufacturing, packaging and logistics involved in a traditional gift, making your own is a more sustainable way to spoil your loved one. There’s also a huge range of fantastic Easy As Kids projects if you’re helping a little one make a gift.

Make a donation on their behalf

It’s all well and good for us to talk about gift giving, but the truth is, Christmas is a bit of a luxury. Many people will be doing it tough this year, and maybe the best gift you can give your loved one is to make a donation in their name to someone in need. You could opt for your local City Mission or Women’s Refuge, or a children’s charity. This year, Mitre 10 is proud to support the Kindness Collective Joy Store. Bring a new toy down to a participating store and drop it in the collection area to bring a little bit of joy to a young person in your area.

A Mitre 10 E-Gift Card

No plastic card, no gift wrap, just the good stuff. Buy online and send it straight to their inbox. They can use it on our website or in-store, whichever is preferred. They get to choose what they want, and you can buy a gift card that suits your budget. The Mitre 10 e-gift card is also a gift that can be purchased last minute, so it’s a good one to have in your back pocket just in case.

Shop E-Gift Cards

Hopefully one of the options above helps you tick someone off your gifting list, or at the very least, points you in the right direction. When it comes to living more sustainably, even small changes add up over time.