29 Ways to Have a Super Sustainable Christmas

From the delicious festive snacks, tasty tipples and endless glittering parties to gathering around the table for some seriously fun Christmas activities with your nearest and dearest, there’s a lot to love about the most wonderful time of the year. If you’re a keen eco warrior who’s passionate about the planet, though, it can be hard to really embrace the festive season and stick to your sustainability goals at the same time – after all, how can you reduce your environmental footprint when you’re knee deep in glitter and gift lists?

You can relax, though, because help is at hand! With all the Christmas present buying, snack eating and tinsel tying, it might not seem like the most eco-friendly time of the year, but there are several ways you can make the festive season a little bit greener with a few simple changes and a little bit of creativity. We’ve rounded up 29 easy ways to have a super sustainable Christmas with a few of our fun craft classes and creative sessions – you bring the enthusiasm, and we’ll do the rest! 

29 easy, sustainable Christmas ideas

1. Print your own wrapping paper

Lots of wrapping paper can't be recycled because of glitter, foil or plastic coatings. Print your own designs onto recycled kraft paper with a homemade lino stamp instead.

2. Explore fabric gift wrap

The Japanese art of furoshiki uses a square of fabric to wrap gifts, and the wrap becomes part of the present. Old scarves, tea towels and fabric offcuts all work.

3. Print your own Christmas cards

Handmade cards feel more personal than shop-bought ones. A lino block will print dozens, so you can make a whole set in an afternoon.

4. Do the scrunch test

If wrapping paper springs back when you scrunch it, it probably contains plastic and can't be recycled. If it stays scrunched, it can usually go in the recycling.

5. Turn last year's cards into gift tags

Cut out the best bits of old Christmas cards, punch a hole and add string. They make free, ready-made gift tags.

6. Give an experience instead of stuff

A class creates a memory rather than clutter. You could book a dessert class for a budding baker or a kokedama workshop for a plant lover.

7. Make edible gifts

Homemade biscuits, truffles and chutneys come with no packaging waste, and they're always eaten.

8. Buy from local makers

Small, independent makers usually use fewer materials and shorter supply chains. Your money also stays in the community.

9. Shop secondhand and vintage

Charity shops, vintage markets and resale apps are full of one-off gifts, from books to homeware.

10. Send a gift card instead of guessing

If you're not sure what someone wants, a gift card means nothing ends up unwanted or unused.

11. Give a living plant

A houseplant, a moss ball or a terrarium keeps going long after a bunch of cut flowers has wilted.

12. Make tree decorations to keep

Swap plastic baubles for ceramic, fabric or pressed flower decorations you'll bring out every year.

13. Make your own table decorations

A homemade centrepiece made from candles, greenery and dried fruit looks better than shop-bought plastic, and it can go in the compost afterwards.

14. Decorate with nature

Gather pine cones, holly, ivy, driftwood and fallen branches on a winter walk, and only take what's on the ground or plentiful.

15. Make a natural wreath

A wreath made from willow, dried flowers or fabric scraps can be stored and reused, or composted at the end of the season.

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16. Knit or crochet your decorations

Little knitted stars and crocheted baubles in organic cotton or leftover yarn will last for decades.

17. Try papercraft

Origami stars and quilled snowflakes are cheap to make, use paper you already have and can be recycled at the end.

18. Choose your tree wisely

A potted tree you replant, a rented tree or a locally grown cut tree that you recycle afterwards are all greener than a new artificial tree.

19. Switch to LED lights on a timer

LED fairy lights use far less energy than older bulbs, and a timer means they're never left on all night.

20. Plan your Christmas food shop

Make a meal plan and a list so you buy only what you need. Freeze leftovers or turn them into Boxing Day bubble and squeak.

21. Buy local and seasonal

Sprouts, parsnips, red cabbage and British-reared meat or veg travel fewer miles to your table.

22. Make your own crackers

Homemade crackers mean you choose what goes inside, with no plastic toys. Try a handwritten joke and a chocolate.

23. Use real plates and cloth napkins

Skip paper plates and plastic cups. If you're short on crockery, borrow some from friends or family.

24. Make candles in reclaimed jars

Old jam jars, teacups and enamelware make lovely candle holders. Choose soy wax, which is plant-based and biodegradable.

25. Mend before you replace

That chipped serving dish can be fixed with kintsugi, the Japanese art of repairing ceramics, and it'll look better than ever.

26. Regift and donate thoughtfully

Pass on gifts you won't use to someone who will, or donate them to a local charity shop in the new year.

27. Travel greener

Take the train, car share or plan routes to combine visits, so you're not driving back and forth across the country.

28. Wrap with reusable gift bags

Fabric gift bags can go round the family year after year.

29. Recycle properly after Christmas

Check your council's rules for cards, wrapping paper and real trees. Many councils run tree collection or drop-off points in January.

Sustainable Christmas workshops worth booking

Want to make it a super sustainable Christmas from the start? These workshops teach you to make, mend and reuse, and most of them double as a festive day out.

• Lino cutting and printing workshop: Christmas gnome, Quinton, Birmingham (£18pp). You'll carve a stamp you can reuse every year for wrapping paper, gift tags and cards.
• Christmas card lino cut workshop, Bollington, Cheshire (£50pp). You'll print a set of 10 Christmas cards with envelopes, so there's no need to buy a box.
• Rag and ribbon wreath workshop, Deptford, London (£35pp). This wreath is made from fabric and ribbon, and you can bring your own scraps.
• Make a fabric Christmas star workshop, Abbeyhill, Edinburgh (£30pp). You'll make a no-sew star that turns fabric offcuts into a tree decoration.
• Willow winter wreath, garland and crown making workshop, Lesnes Abbey Woods, near Abbey Wood (£40pp). You'll weave locally sourced natural materials outdoors by a woodland fire.
• Christmas wreath felting class, Dunham Massey, Greater Manchester (£45pp). You'll make a wool felt wreath you can store and use every year.
• Porcelain Christmas decorations workshop, Dunham Massey, Greater Manchester (£40pp). You'll use vintage lace to press patterns into porcelain decorations that will last for years.
• Pressed flower Christmas decoration workshop, Easton, Bristol (£39pp). You'll seal wildflowers into stained glass decorations instead of buying plastic baubles.
• Reclaimed vessels soy candle making workshop, Jewellery Quarter, Birmingham (£58pp). You'll pour soy wax candles into reclaimed vessels and enamelware.
• Kintsugi pottery class for beginners, Chapel Street, Salford (£66pp). You'll learn to repair broken ceramics rather than throw them away.

Which sustainable workshop is right for you?

Make this Christmas greener, one swap at a time

You don't need to tackle all 29 ideas at once. Pick a few that suit you, like printing your own wrapping paper, foraging for decorations or swapping a gift for an experience, and you're well on your way to a super sustainable Christmas. Book one of the workshops above, or send a ClassBento gift card. It's emailed instantly with no packaging at all, and it's valid for three years.