Celebrate a green Christmas :

1) Making your own decorations eco-friendly is great fun,especially for the children.You can achieve effective results with a few simple items such as coloured paper,biscuits,oranges,old magazines and ribbons.

2) Try to cut donw on excess waste by buying cards made from sustainable or recycled paper.Buy recycled wrapping paper and do away with sticky tape.Securing the parcels with ribbon or string looks great and can also be re-used.Avoid the waste altogether by getting imaginative.Old magazines,newspapers or brown paper can make stylish wrapping.

3) Choose a living Christmas tree.This can be planted in your garden and used year after year.Also, try to refrain from excessive decorations,especailly plastic ones.Turn off the lights after you go to bed and while you're out.

4) Christmas is the ideal time to buy fresh products and the food will taste much better as well. Minimise your food waste by not buying excessive amounts. Simply confirming how man people are eating will prevent you from preparing too much.Avoid throwing out any leftovers,the majority of dishes can be kept for several days if refrigerated.

5) If you must by decorations,get sturdy ones that can be used year after year,not the flimsy type which will need to be thrown out in the new year.

6) Once the holiday season is over,don't bin your received cards,recycle them or keep them for next year.