Christmas Survival Guide
December 11, 2010
Christmas is traditionally the time for celebration and gift giving. Unfortunately it also means waste, waste, waste.
So how can you make sure that your bin is not overflowing with packaging and wrapping when the festivities are over?
1. Buy gifts that are needed.
Stop before you buy that cute looking snowman with the glitter base and festive musical song. It might be fun but only for one day of the year before it’s put away in the loft and forgotten about. Plus it’s probably made from plastic and shipped from overseas.
2. Food can be a great gift.
But again make sure that it is sustainable and package free. Hampers may look impressive but think about how much they’ll appreciate a handmade gift of homemade jams, chutneys or sweets. Get creative and use natural packaging like moss and reusable bowls or baskets that can be used to house plants.
3. Green gifts.
Holly bears the crown from Trees for Cities
Speaking of plants, why not give a gift that is not just for Christmas. Fruit trees, herbs and vegetables are thoughtful and most importantly green. You can also make someone else’s Christmas by donating a tree.
4. Charity starts at home.
If you really cannot think of a present for the person who has everything then why not be generous and give to charity. You can help make someone else’s life better. Have a look at Present Aid, NSPCC, Cancer Research or Trees for Cities for inspiration.
5. Eat only what you need.
Buy an organic Farmaround food bag
It’s very easy to get carried away with the Christmas food shop but remember that the shops are only closed for one day. Start planning now and ask friends and family if they are coming over. Buy enough food for a couple of days and shop locally for organic food and drink, farmers markets are great for Christmas food. Steer clear of unnecessary packing and think about what meals can be made with left over’s. Think soups and hearty stews or vegetables that can be mashed and all frozen for another day.
6. Compost and recycle
Send food waste to the bottom of the garden, and give some worms a Christmas treat. And make sure that any packaging you do get is reused or placed in your recycling bin. Find out what else can be recycled by checking out RecycleNow.
7. Recycle gifts.
Children get the most presents and end up with huge amounts of toys and games. Charity shops have great ranges of unwanted toys and most children will not know the difference. Or perhaps you’re still hanging on to some from your childhood? Pass them down to someone who will play with them and love them all over again.
8. Wrapping & Cards.
Buy a box of Santa Christmas greetings cards
Buy recycled paper and cards or get creative with old wrapping (we saw you carefully removing the sticky tape last year!) or try wrapping in homemade paper or using cloth (tea towels are great wrapped with string or ribbon). Get the kids painting disused cardboard boxes for a cute and personal touch. Get knitting and make stockings, hats or scarves that can be wrapped around several presents
9. Make them last!
If you do buy a present make sure it will last and be reused again and again. Think heirlooms and choose organic, Fairtrade, FSC or sustainable items that do not exploit others. Help make everyone’s Christmas a happy one.
Green Rewards
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21 Responses to “Christmas Survival Guide”
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Survival Guide to Spending Christmas With Your InLaws 101?
Help! I need all the tips I can get! This is going to be hell I just know it! But I HAVE to do it for soeley for my husbands sake. I wish I could say I was doing it with a smile, but then i’d be lying!
I know that the moment I walk in i’ll recieve dirty looks from everyone and everyone will start whispering under their breath. Hey! It’s not fun to sit in a house on a holiday where everyone’s giving you the silent treatment!
Oooohh man! lol…. Tips to get me through this?
I told my husband he’d have to take me for a cocktail before we go.
jdrummin
There reason for them not liking me is not because i’m a bad person or because i’ve done something…. its only because i’m black and my husband is white.
yes have a few……….
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I am not sure, just be yourself, then you aren’t being fake, and your husband can’t get mad at you for being yourself. I am sorry for you, I do not have to spend Christmas with my in-laws, because they are Jehovah’s witnesses.
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Yeah, a couple of drinks can take the edge off! and just be yourself, screw em if they don’t like you. You could always just blow up, then you’d never be expected to go back. Then next year would be better huh?!
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Oh I used to have 7 sisters-in-law so I know what you’re talking about! The best thing is to kill them with kindness! Smile…be polite, give tons of compliments, offer your help, spread love around you till they get nauseous…:)
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I’m wondering what they will be whispering about? Why would your presence elicit this response?
In my opinion..just be yourself and be friendly as possible.
Be helpful every chance you get in the kitchen and dining room. (that’s a big one and goes a long ways)
Compliment clothing and hair..etc.
Bottom line..if there is some issue between you and the in laws..you really should try and resolve it in the future. NOT during Christmas of course.
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surprise everyone and be very warm and friendly and HAVE a smile on your face. (pretend you are somewhere else or your in a darned movie… whatever you have to do.) Take a shot before you leave to go over. (not more than one, just a beer or enough to loosen you up and use breath mints… dont go smelling like you just left the corner bar.)
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A drink or two won’t hurt, but don’t get too plastered as you’ll end up doing/saying something that you’ll regret later. The other piece of advice I can give on this . . . . . be yourself. Don’t tip-toe around and cater to the needs/wants of the in-laws while you are there. That’s EXACTLY what they want/expect you to do. Try to be as normal as possible and if they don’t like that . . . . . tough, that’s what your spouse does, so they can just deal with it. Trust me, from many years of trying to put on a show . . . . it doesn’t work. If I act as normal as possible and not worry about what they think, say or do, then I enjoy myself and who cares what they think anyways?
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Hugs. What’s their problem & whats the reason their giving you a hard time? Unfortunately there are two sides to every issue.
Come out and ask them what’s the problem. I know its Christmas but no one deserves to be treated like that. Have your dh see if he can get them to be more hospitable toward you if not ….take your stinky gifts and go home…(do they buy you stinky gifts or are they good ones?) Get yourself 1 drink you don’t want to go over board. and try to make polite conversation. Good luck..remember its the holiday. If worse comes to worse…fake a stomach and leave…hee hee.
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Survival tip number one when in-laws come…
#1-set out some bear traps on sidewalk and hope it stops them there.
#2-tell them you have the flu.
#3-Talk so much about nothing and anything (none Stop)that that cant figure out what the hell is going on and they will leave..
#4-Play there little childish game and hope it ends soon
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if you always do what you’ve always done, you will always get what you always got………….so do something different, go bouncing in and give them a kiss holding a sprig of mistletoe, get dressed up as santa, or all in green and put some fairy lights around you…..they really can’t sit stone faced then!
take some photo albums and pass them around, go and move seats to talk and ask if you can refill their drinks.
Hey I know what you are saying I HATED in law visits for the same reason…..one good thing about the divorce!…..and yes I have done these things and yes things were very different and i was treated far better.
The other one i did was make mince pies sooooooooooooo laced with brandy they were all very tipsy.
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Human behaviourist
Dont let it get under your skin. Not sure the type of person you are but for me, it becomes comical. I would butt into conversations that they have deliberately left me out of and add my two cents with a smile. Once they continue as if I am not in the room, I would start talking to my husband and make sure to kiss him everytime they do something that annoyed me.
I would continue doing this and simply talk to my husband while I am there. If they are talking to him then I will definitely get in the conversation and after he has responded, I would add in a comment or two about what he said and look at him and smile.
Be as pleasant as you can and make sure to kiss your hubby on the cheek or mouth everytime you are annoyed. At the end of the night, add up the kisses and know that is how many times you had to deal internally with their crap.
You know what, usually this works really well. Someone eventually starts to say something to you because you are just too pleasant to care about their small shananigans…never ever allow them to see you are upset. It is all about your husband, their children, their pets and definitely BE apart of the conversation. If what they say is snide, remember your remark is pleasant.
Their goal is to make you feel uncomfortable and have something to talk about however, with your pleasant attitude and responses, there is nothing to say but good things. LOL….whew I wish I could be a fly on your wall!!!
Before you know it, you are laughing all the way home and looking forward to the next time!! They start to dread it and are forced to either change or modify when you are around.
Best of luck and have fun!!!
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Cocktails are always needed in situations like this…Oddly enough Im dealing with the exact same situation only its my OWN family…My only advice is to put your very best foot forward. You have NO control over what they do but you want to feel Good about yourself once its all over!!!
For me, its keeping a smile on my face no matter how hurt I am! I suck up the hurt and act as though I have no cares about why they need to attack me. Chat with the people who are most friendly, sick close to your man and smile.
Remind yourself that ITS NEARLY OVER – just survive the moment and whatever you do…DO NOT REACT with anger or bitterness. I find that this diffuses their emotional upsets as surely they don’t intend to hurt you. (HA! right…I know)
I also suggest not getting to crazy with the liquid numbing ( cocktails) Ive decided not to drink this holiday because If I get tipped…I could really take Christmas down the toilet with my own dirty looks and hateful thoughts…Be careful, you are stuck with them for life.
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Well I understand totally. I have been married 23 years and STILL I feel I’m from the "wrong side of the tracks"… I call them the "outlaws"… every other year we do the "in laws" and the "outlaws"… I just smile and am SILENT. I am just pleasant and don’t say anything but smile and I call "stupid" talk…like "oh that’s a pretty dress you have on"..or talk about the weather…or "such a lovely house you have… I love all the food you made. Anything NICE about your husband would be a good thing… (stupid but just be nice) they can’t possiblly keep up the attitude twoards you if you only have good and positive things to say. If they say something IN FRONT of you, just say, "I’m sorry you feel that way"…HAAA!! Good luck! I do get it.. It’s part of life that we just have to deal with when being married…(and my father-in-law is a pastor!)
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SMILE, WALK WITH YOUR HEAD HELD HIGH, BE CORDIAL AND IF THEY THROW DIRTY, SNIDE COMMENTS YOUR WAY GIVE THEM A DOUBLE DOSE OF IT BACK WITH A SMILE!
GOOD LUCK!
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just be your self…first of all, you are married to your husband not your in laws. Your husband married you bc he loves u for you and not more..there is no need for you to suck up to anyone. Be polite and warm, wish them a happy holidays and put your best foot forward and keep it moving. If you kill people with your kindness, there is nothing for them to say.. and if they do, thats their problem not yours.. and remember to enjoy yourself…
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Have a few before you go if it settles you but don’t get drunk. That’ll just give them more to gossip about. Be yourself, be polite and friendly and NEVER let them know they’re getting to you. Rise above it.
I use to teach preschool and I always tended to look at my (former) in-laws as the special needs kids I worked with.
And if all else fails, just flat out ask them ‘what the hell is the matter with you people’. And get things rolling and then just stand back and let them have it.
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************
My ex in-laws treated me the same.
So at the beginning of the day, a tension headache would start, which required about 5 aspirin to relieve.
Then the drive there, even my car’s "check engine" light would appear.
That’s how bad the karma was being around these people.
Then when leaving their home, the check engine light would turn off.
But I would get the usual; door slammed closed in my face, the old "Oh, I didn’t see you there" apology, the icy stares and sighs of disgust from them, I would take out a book and just read it the whole time I was there.
My ex would get mad at me, stating I should have been in the kitchen socializing.
But hell, when the mother is telling her son all of the available women in the neighborhood, and how he made a mistake of marrying me, WHY would I want to be involved with that?
Unfortunately, his family put a wedge so far between us that we divorced.
So if I were you, I’d just tell the husband he can go visit his family by himself, and you won’t have to endure a crappy holiday with people that don’t like you.
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This is YOUR time for some fun. Don’t feel bad because they are rude and jerks. This gives you the opportunity to be really obnoxious. Pass loud gas, belch, give people sex toy presents, use the F word in every sentence. If his family is that rude, and he doesn’t tell them to behave and respect you, then do all this and more. He he gets mad at you, tell him they are bringing this out in you, and tell him how you really feel. The holidays are a happy time.
Play into their racism, reinforce thier ignorance, twist it upon themselves. Make up stories: like you were looking into the geneology of the family and someones great-great-grandmother was a street prostitute and there great-great-great-grandfather was poor white trash.
Why go spend it with A-holes? I have gotten the same or like treatment from relatives before and I find the holidays can be just as fun with friends "who" actually like you than with jerks.
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Keep in the back of your mind that their bigoted ignorance is not a reflection on you or anything you have done, it is solely them. You will not raise your children in the same way and your are doing this for your husband who will make it up to you tenfold when you get home!
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Tell your husband to stand up to his family. He needs to tell them HE has seen the bad way they treat you and if it happens again there will be no more visits-ever! Make sure he doesn’t mention your complaints other wise they will just think you are a b**** and he is following your orders.
You should continue to be kind to them. Bring a nice gift, smile and say thank you for the invite.
Your husband is the only one who can put an end to this. Good luck!
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