When it comes to handmade gifts the most important bit of advice is to not overload yourself with making handmade presents for everyone. Just pick one or two, otherwise come December you’ll resent what seemed a very clever idea in November. With that in mind here’s some ideas on what to make.
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It’s fair to say that the gingerbread boxes and mason jars pictured above are for the accomplished baker. If you’d like to give these a try you can find a step-by-step tutorial on the source website Recipe Tin Eats, just skip the cellophane wrapper, which is not recyclable, and wrap in compostable greaseproof paper instead.
Store bought mince meat is generally full of palm oil, which due to unsustainable farming methods contributes to rainforest deforestation and extinction of orangutans. Not very festive! So make your own. The link I’ve included here is for Vegan Mincement. I’m not vegetarian nevermind a vegan but I’m always looking to reduce my meat intake particularly when it won’t be missed in a dish, and personally I don’t believe mincement really needs suet (meat fat) in it to make it delicious. And if you want to be extra sustainable you can source organic package free ingredients from zero waste supplier Bring Your Own
I love these paper Christmas Tree Decorations from Sostrene Green and think they’d make a quirky gift for a houseproud friend.
Yarn Letters seems to be all the rage at the moment and you can pick up wooden or cardboard letters in most craft shops. Or if you’re feeling particularly frugal you could make your own from scrap cardboard. If you opt for this I’d suggest doubling up on the cardboard to make it rigid and using cotton, bamboo or natural wool and paper flowers will make your cute Christmas present compostable too!
I also love this flower decorated letter and as above using paper flowers would make this gift more sustainable, and nicer in my opinion, than plastic flowers.
These cute headphone holders are available to buy from a crafter in Russua on Etsy but I think they’d be super easy to make with some small pieces of leather or felt and a snap fastener.
For the green-fingered how about recycling an old wine box into a planter? Unfortunately in Ireland it’s not possible to buy plants grown without pesticides but you can make the gift more sustainable by choosing hardy perennials that will last year to year or annuals that self seed, like winter pansies. And if you can consider buying from The Green Kitchen Cafe and Garden Centre in Walkinstown, which supports and trains a number of people who have disabilities.
For more ideas check out our article on Christmas Crafts the Easy Way from last year or search Christmas at the bottom of this webpage to find all my articles on Christmas.
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living lightly in ireland 