Eco Comment – Be Prepared

It’s official. The run up to Christmas officially starts this weekend. Last week was Stir up Sunday or the final Sunday of the church year. For those of you who, like me, did not get around to making either your Christmas cake or Christmas pudding, you’ve still got time to do them. I think the latest date that I’ve made my cake was Christmas Eve! That was quite a manic year. Every year I do my best to be prepared but there’s something about seeing Christmas in the shops in November that has a negative effect on me.

I imagine that those of you who are buying Advent calendars for small people will already have done so, but if you haven’t, please try to buy ones with Fairtrade Chocolate inside them. I did see on a social media post that one parent had been unable to find an appropriate character type calendar for their child and had bought a commercially produced calendar, carefully opened it from the bottom and removed the cheap chocolate and replaced it with homemade lactose free chocolate which, when set, would still be in the commercial character shape and enable the child to be like other children. The things parents do for their children!

We have an embroidered train with numbered rings under the carriages from which we hang homemade biscuits or small bags of chocolate items.

However you mark the passing of the days, please give thought to the environmental issues. From LED lights to recycled wrapping paper there are many ways that you can lessen your ecological impact and help both society and the environment.

The ‘giving’ Advent calendar is one such where you put some food or toiletry items into a box which is then given to one of the charities or food pantries in the local area. The thing to remember with this is that it’s best to donate a couple of weeks before Christmas to enable the charities etc to be prepared and know what stocks they have to give out.

Persuading children or grandchildren to  look through their toys and give them back to Father Christmas is another way that enables those who might be in need to give their children a present that they might not be able to afford. This again needs to be done in advance.

Handmade creations are a lovely way to get into the spirit of preparation. There are so many ideas out there from foodstuffs to planted bulbs.  I was the recipient last year of a small homemade citronella candle in a tin from one of my nieces. She was so proud of her achievement and I thought it a useful gift. If you don’t want to actually do the cooking you can put the weighed out ingredients into a decorated container and include the cooking instructions for a do it yourself gift. Chocolate brownies might be a favourite?

Buying from local shops and artisans is always a good idea. Although some of the craft fairs have gone, there are many local crafts people who sell either through shops or online.

Finally, you might be thinking of getting a tree. Whether it’s a real tree with or without roots or an artificial one, think about the environmental impact of your choice.

Some more ‘green’ ideas will follow in the next few weeks.

Susan Morgan
Eco Group