The festive season isn’t known for its sustainability. This year, eschew throwaway decorations in favour of long-lasting, waste-free finds that you’ll use year after year
• The best homemade Christmas gift ideas
I met a woman one January who told me that every year she throws away her tree with all the decorations attached, and then just buys everything new the following year. Not only is this horrendous, environmentally speaking, but she’s missing out on the best bit, as far as I am concerned. For me, Christmas is all about nostalgia and sentimentality, and nothing speaks to that like taking the tatty little robin made of real feathers that belonged to my grandparents out of its storage box and nestling it into the branches of my tree.
My favourite day of the festive period isn’t actually Christmas Day, or even Christmas Eve. It’s the day that we get the decorations down from the loft. I’ll start sorting and unpacking from 1 December, sprucing up anything that needs some TLC – some of my stuff is older than me, after all. Although I do often treat myself to a couple of new, carefully chosen pieces, I love getting out all the bits and bobs I’ve been collecting over the years. It’s like being reunited with old friends.