Category: Christmas & Easter

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How to Have a Sustainable Christmas

Indulge in all things home-made

There is nothing more treasured that homemade gifts. Get your children together to make their own Christmas decorations, drawings and gift boxes. In our household, the home-made Christmas cards are a family tradition. We also indulge in home-made chocolates, biscuits and gift-boxes.

Wrap with love

Rubbish volumes increase by up to 30% during the festive season. But it’s easy to reduce waste volume by re-using old wrapping paper or opting for recycled newspaper, magazines, or even some drawings from your children.

Also consider the traditional Japanese method of fabric-wrapping. This is where you wrap gifts in fabric and tie it with string and then pass it on to the next person to re-use.

Give mindfully

Christmas is a time of abundance, so try to think carefully about the gifts that you buy, with an emphasis toward locally-sourced, quality goods. Most people tend to overspend during the final days of retail sales. But if you plan in advance, you can purchase gifts from local Australian companies, which will also benefit our local economy.

Make sustainable food choices

It’s easy to get carried away with the traditional turkey and ham at Christmas lunch. Just be aware that unless you are buying your food from local, free-range farms, it can carry a hefty carbon footprint. A cheaper, and more sustainable option would be to look for local produce that is in abundance during this time of year. A roast chook or pork belly is often cheaper and more sustainable than the traditional cuts, as they are less popular during the festive season. Also make sure that you make use of the leftovers and prepare your meal so that nothing is wasted.

Decorate with nature

Christmas tables are often decorated with an abundance of tinsel and colour. But this year, in a view to creating a sustainable table, consider sourcing your decorations with local found objects; some pinecones from a local park, leaves that your kids have collected from your back garden or an assortment of wild flowers that you can pick from your neighbourhood. This will not only add a touch of colour to your table, but it will reflect the beauty and identity of your local area.

 

Arabella Forge – Brand Ambassador & Household Expert

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5 Easy Craft Activities For Kids This Easter

1 – Real Deal Easter eggs

Easter eggs don’t have to be all about chocolate! Making your own eggs and decorating them yourself can be equally as fun. This is a great activity to do in the lead-up to the Easter long weekend. Set yourself up with a few basic craft supplies and a bundle of fresh eggs and your kids will love the experience of it.

Here’s what you will need:

  • 4-5 fresh eggs (keep in mind, you may lose a fewJ) 
  • Large sewing needle
  • Thin straw or plastic syringe
  • Craft supplies for decoration: paint, glue, sparkles etc
  • Note: if you are making a large quantity of home-made eggs, it might be worth investing in a professional egg-blower. This can be purchased for roughly $20.00 on ebay.com

Directions:

Start by piercing two holes – one at the top, the other at the bottom of the egg – using the large sewing needle. Dip the needle into the egg to break up the yolk, then place the straw through one end and blow out the contents. You can also use a syringe or a professional egg-blower to save time. Follow by adding water and rinsing out any remaining contents.

Next, decorate your eggs! Use a combination of paint, glue and sparkles to make any assortment of beautifully crafted home-made designs.

2- An Easter Nest

With all these beautiful eggs, you will need a place to store them. A nest is a great project for young kids – it can be collated from various objects you find in your backgarden or local park. Start by using a plain cardboard or plastic box (this can be an old cereal packet, a yoghurt container or even the flat top of an egg carton), then collect together some twigs, leaves, feathers and craft glue. Stick the twigs onto the box using glue, then add the feathers and leaves on top. This is a beautiful way to present home-made eggs as a gift.

3 – Stained-Glass windows in the spirit of Easter

Easter stories and traditions can be told through pictures as well as books. Try making your own stain-glass windows using cellophane and cardboard, the end result can be quite spectacular… even if you are using basic shapes and colours with younger children.  

 

What you will need:

  • Cardboard
  • Cellophane
  • Scissors
  • Glue
  • String

Directions:

Start by cutting out shapes in the cardboard – it can be any type of geometric pattern; eggs, bunnies, or even some basic squares and triangles. Stick the cellophane on the back of the cardboard using scissors and glue, then hang the cardboard from the top of a light-facing window.

 

4. An Easter-tree

Easter trees are a beautiful way to display your eggs and Easter cards from the holiday season. Collect some large branches from your back garden or local park and place them in a large and sturdy vase.

Use some brightly-coloured wool or thick string or twine to join together the branches and keep it firmly grounded in the vase.

From the tree you can hang your eggs, cards and any other decorations that you have collected over the Easter holidays.

5. An Easter treasure hunt

One of the best ways to create excitement over the Easter long weekend is a traditional Easter hunt. But instead of chocolate and treats, try to focus on old-fashioned clues, tips, maps and some tiny, non-edible treats. Use your Easter-tree as a starting point, then layer clues around the house. The kids will love the problem-solving nature of the hunt, and it can be a talking point for weeks to come. 

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How to Make Your Own Christmas Crackers!

What you will need:

  • Thin postal tubes cut to size, or thick, heavy (card-weight) paper that can be rolled into tubing. You will need 40cm in length for each cracker.
  • Decorative paper –you can use recycled wrapping paper, magazines, newspapers or comic books. You will need a square piece – 40cm x 40cm for each cracker.
  • Scissors
  • Sticky tape
  • Cracker snaps – these are available at Spotlight, eBay and Amazon.com
  • Small toys, lollies or home-made treats that can be put inside crackers
  • Ribbons or thick pieces of string + salt
  • Tissue paper hats (optional)

1 – Measure out the thin postal tubes to 40cm long. If you are using card paper, roll them out, and secure firmly with sticky tape. Cut the tubes into three sections – 1 x 20cm and 2 x 10cm.

2 – In the 20cm section place your gifts, a paper hat and the central section of the cracker snaps. Secure the cracker snap with a small piece of sticky tape.

3- Place the three sections of tubing on the wrapping paper and separate each section by 1cm. Roll the tubing along the paper and secure with sticky tape. Pinch and twist the gap between each section of tubing, and then tie with a piece of string or decorative ribbon. That’s it! You are now ready for the Christmas celebrations!

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5 Ways to Waste Less & Save Money – Christmas

While this season it might be considered the ‘silly season’, Australians are predicted to spend up to $10 billion on food during December and January, with up to 35% going to waste. Read More Here…

Much of this food ends up in landfill, where it will decompose over time. But during this process, it releases a potent greenhouse gas known as methane. Methane is 21 times more potent than carbon dioxide and has major implications for global warming and climate change.

The good news is that there are many, basic things that we can do to reduce food waste during the festive season. Here are some tips:

TIP# 1 – Plan ahead.

People tend to over-cater for events during the festive season. They often buy food in a mad rush and take extra measures to ensure that there is an abundance of food available for everyone.

Instead, try making a list, calculate portion sizes and plan ahead for the use of leftovers. By making a list and following a basic plan, there will be less excess food purchased, and minimal food waste.

TIP# 2 – Store food correctly.

Food will last much longer if it is properly stored. Make sure your fridge is set between 3-4 degrees and invest in some good quality storage containers. You can label food items clearly with masking tape and a pen so you know how long it will last. 

TIP# 3 – Celebrate leftovers.

Our parents and grandparents knew how to make good food stretch further and last longer; they transformed it into delicious leftover dishes. At Christmas time, it’s really easy to do this.

Leftover tips:

Plan ahead by considering how you will use food to make leftover dishes.
Use the celebration days following Christmas to use up your leftover Christmas meals.

Leftover dishes:

Use your turkey carcass and leftover meat to make stock and soup. 

Use leftover ham and turkey meat for sandwiches, curries or stir-fries.
Leftover vegetables go brilliantly well in omelettes, sandwiches and cold-roast salads.
Christmas pudding is delicious layered with cream, yoghurt and fruit in a Boxing Day trifle.

TIP#4 – Reduce food packaging.

Rubbish volumes spike by up to 30% over Christmas. Choose items with less packaging and try wrapping your Christmas presents in re-useable material such as fabric. You can also re-use and recycle old paper wrapping if you store it correctly, or use butcher’s paper and get your kids to do some drawings on it. 

TIP#5 – Make 2015 the year of the compost bin.

For every person that gets a compost bin and stops throwing food waste in the trash, it reduces the burden on landfill by 1 tonne, per person, per year. A simple compost bin, worm farm, bokashi bucket or any other food waste recycling system (chickens are my mother’s favourite) will significantly reduce your yearly waste output.

Ask at your local council for any composting systems that they might sell. They often offer incentives for people to start recycling their food waste.