Going for an Eco Christmas this year
Going for an Eco Christmas this year? We help you find the best gifts (including a few photography themed ones!) for kids that don't cost the earth…
So the pressure is mounting, there are just 5 weeks till the big day and you have
presents to buy
food to make
decorations to put up
matching Christmas jumpers to order
family photos to take…
… the list goes on. And all whilst wrestling with a heavyweight strength toddler and fending off a bossy 4 year old who only wants to slash everything up - including the heavyweight -with a newly acquired wooden sword. Yup, life in a nutshell. And then you realise that on top of the to do list as long as your arm you wanted to try and buy more sustainably this Christmas with less plastic and less waste.... #myheadisexploding. Well worry not because I have this covered. So put the kettle on, make a cuppa, and read through these great ideas to nab yourselves some gifts for the kids that don't cost the earth but do help it.
Head to Not on the High-street and grab a lovely little kit for the kids to make a super hero mask, model aeroplane, magic wand or even a pirate catapult! (the last one is mainly if you don't own any delicate photo frames or are morally at peace with banishing them to the garden for 100% of the holidays). These kits come in a recyclable envelope and are mainly made from wooden pegs and lolly pop sticks. Plus along with all that they are a total steal at around £2.65 each. Lovely for the planet, your eco conscience and your wallet. Super duper. Find the link here: https://www.notonthehighstreet.com/cottontwist/product/make-a-model-aeroplane
Why not give the kids the gift of a treasured memory this year and print one of your fab photographs onto a wooden block? Great because not only do they love seeing photos of their faces printed on stuff, any stuff, wood also makes a virtually tantrum proof keepsake. Okay, granted, the things it might get thrown at may fair badly but, there will be no smashing glass or cracked plastic here. www.woodpic.co.uk have some really reasonably priced options with a 15cm x 15cm single photo printed on wood and including a stand for only £12.
The National trust shop sells a range of lovely sustainable gifts for kids including a fun little toy camera made from rubber wood. It has a clickable button that changes the image you see through the camera kaleidoscope lens. Totally fun for role playing and a sturdy little toy that allows those mini budding photographers to practice without risk of a cracked lens to your own camera. Available for around £13.
Looking for colourful vehicles but reluctant to buy more plastic toys? Well if you're local to Ely pop into City Cycle Centre, and if not have a browse at Ethical superstore and be wowed by their range of recycled plastic toys from Green Toys. All their toys come in environmentally friendly packaging ( no annoying cable ties to try and unfasten on Christmas morning! ) and are made from recycled plastic collected near to where they are manufactured. For little tots they sell a lovely multi coloured shape sorter at around £15 as well as a range of boats, lorries, and other vehicles for under or around the £20 mark.
http://www.citycyclecentre.com/
https://www.ethicalsuperstore.com/products/green-toys/
I don't know about you but my house can never be too full of books. I mean I'm clearly in denial but you're with me, right? So head to your local charity shop (Oxfam, Ely do a good range of books) or Topping and Co Bookshop on the Ely High street, or even The Book People for your online shopping fix. Kids mostly can't resist a new book, with flaps or without, pop up or textured, massive and colourful or even with puzzle pieces, there's nothing like it to keep them entertained over Christmas. Usborne do a great range of 'Look Inside' books crammed with colourful pictures and flaps to peek under. And they say they are committed to sustainable and ethical printing and publishing to boot.
Looking for a soft toy for a little one? Well have a peek at Babipur online, where they have a range of toys made from organic materials that are ethically traded. Prices start as low as £14 showing it is possible to get something cute and cuddly that doesn't cost the earth and provides fair working conditions to those who made it. It's also worth having a rummage in the local sewing shops as there are often homemade items up for grabs that also tick the cute and cuddly boxes.
So once more into the fray ( the jingley, glitter-covered kind) and with the power of a list like this one you can go forth and conquer that wild and unruly brute that is Christmas present shopping for the kids. Too over dramatic? I take your point, I am prone to getting a little carried away, but hopefully now you can tick some more 'to do's' off that list and feel a warm glow of satisfaction knowing that you're caring for the planet too.
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