Have an ‘Eco’ Christmas!

By Thomas Shaw on the 16th November 2019

Christmas – the most wonderful time of the year! It’s easy for us to get ‘wrapped up’ in the magic at this time of year, but Christmas can have a detrimental effect on our environment. Those twinkling lights create a lovely image of festivity, but their impact on the environment is less than pretty. Not only do they increase your utility bills, but they also use higher levels of electricity, draining our planets natural resources, one twinkling bulb at a time. The amount of wrapping paper and Christmas cards used each year create mountainous levels of excess card and paper, exploiting our forests natural materials.

So, how can you have an ‘Eco’ Christmas, without being a Scrooge?

#1 – Festive Decorations

Are your decorations looking a bit old and shabby? The winter landscape is dominated with reds and greens, so get out there for some natural decorations rather than buying new ones. Sprigs of holly and fir, twigs and branches, mistletoe and pine cones make beautiful additions to your Christmas home.

#2 – Crockery and Cutlery

It’s that time of year when throw-away plates and plastic cups make an appearance. Proper plates, with real cutlery and glasses will not only make a classier get together, but you’ll dramatically reduce your plastic waste.

#3 – Give Plastic Free Gifts or Experiences

Don’t fill those stockings with plastic! What about re-usable coffee cups or water bottles? Why not gift an experience day or a concert ticket?

#4 – Gift Wrap

Give your Christmas presents that nostalgic feel with recycled brown parcel paper tied in twine or cloth ribbon, add some seasonal greenery. Use last year’s Christmas cards for tags. You will have beautifully wrapped gifts and be saving the environment. Shredded paper is a great alternative to polystyrene to protect breakables. Another option is to wrap presents in once loved fabric.

#5 – Plastic Free Christmas Dips

Avoid the standard four pack of plastic packed dips this year and make super quick dips completely plastic free.

Hummus. Blend chickpeas from a tin with garlic, tahini from a glass jar, olive oil, fresh lemon juice and salt. Add some cumin or paprika for some warming festive spice.

Sour cream. Mix soft cheese in foil with mayonnaise from a glass jar. You’ll be amazed how much this tastes like sour cream!

#6 – Make your own Christmas Crackers

Avoid shop bought crackers with cheap, tacky plastic gifts that will end up in landfill. Use the instructions below to make your own!

You will need –

• 
  
  • Toilet-roll tubes, or thin postal tubes cut to size
  • Attractive A4 paper (you can use newspaper, wrapping paper, comics, book pages, prints – whatever you have to hand and will look pretty)
  • Sticky tape
  • Cracker snaps (you’ll find them on Amazon and other online stores)
  • Scissors
  • Thin card, at least 20cm long
  • Decorative string or ribbon
  • Small but exciting things to put inside the crackers

1. Place a toilet-roll tube on the long edge of your paper, in the centre, and hold it in place with some sticky tape. Thread a cracker snap through the toilet roll and tape it down to one side of the paper.
2. Roll the tube across the paper, then secure with 3 bits of tape along the seam, in the centre and ends.
3. Cut two 20x5cm strips from the thin card. Curl each one into a circle and place one inside each end of the cracker, leaving roughly 2cm sticking out of the end. Hold the card in place with a little sticky tape.
4. At one end of the cracker, form the hand signal for “OK” around the gap between the toilet roll and the card. Gently squeeze and twist a little with your thumb and forefinger, while using your other hand to hold the card in shape. Keep squeezing until the cracker has a nicely defined neck to it. Tie a piece of string or ribbon around the neck of the cracker. Cut off any straggly bits or make a bow.
5. Pop a Christmas hat, a cooking tip or joke and a little surprise in the open end of the cracker (e.g. – candy canes, nutmeg graters and cookie cutters, but you can customise for your family). Seal the open end as before and ta-da! You have just made your own homemade Christmas crackers!

#7 – Don’t get caught short with your Modern Milkman Delivery

Remember to check your delivery days over Christmas to ensure that you have enough supplies over Christmas and the New Year and avoid the need for those shop bought plastic bottles. You can amend your order or create a ‘one-time order’ easily on the app, to accommodate for the holiday season and all those extra visitors. If you need any support with this then please contact us.

Christmas Deliveries – 

Scheduled Deliveries	Actual Deliveries
23rd December 2019	23rd December 2019
24th December 2019	24th December 2019
25th December 2019	23rd December 2019
26th December 2019	24th December 2019
27th December 2019	27th December 2019
28th December 2019	28th December 2019
30th December 2019	30th December 2019
31st December 2019	31st December 2019
1st January 2020	30th December 2019
2nd January 2020	31st December 2019

Normal deliveries resume from 3rd January 2020.

We wish you a very Merry ‘Eco’ Christmas and a Happy New Year.

From All at The Modern Milkman

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