Christmas is traditionally a time for giving, receiving and celebrating but it can also be a time when a lot of waste is created.  

Decorations

xmas tree: A real tree is nicer. Photo: Marcelo Terraza.In the UK, we go through, on average, around 6 million Christmas trees, the majority of which will end up on the curb come the New Year, creating an estimated 9,000 tonnes of rubbish. There are alternatives, some just a phone call away.

• Artificial trees may be made of plastic, but if you use them for life then it’s preferable to throwing out a living tree every year.
• If you do go with the 'real' tree, make sure it is from a sustainable source, without a large carbon footprint attached from an overseas journey to your living room. View a list of reliable retailers.
• Buy a live tree from charities and plant it in your garden, ready for use again the following year. Some forestry schemes can also do this for you, if there's no room at the inn.
• Renting a Christmas tree for a month is becoming increasingly popular south of the border, so keep an eye out for a service starting in your area – or even think about doing it yourself!
• And last, any living tree can be shredded and added to the compost, or placed in the waste recycling bins for council collection, if you really can't make it to a local recycling centre.

And once the tree is up:

• Make your own Christmas tree decorations from last year's out-of-date cards. Read some great ideas about how to do this.
• What better excuse to break those pesky New Year's Resolutions than dutifully eating the shortbread or marzipan angels you covered your tree with. Well they won't keep till next year...
• If there's not enough time for crafts, check out www.traidcraftshop.co.uk or www.sharedearth.co.uk for some beautiful, ethically sourced decorations. 

Cards

There's a fairly hefty psychological incentive to send Christmas cards every year, so if you feel you can't refrain, here's how to make the whole process less tough for the environment:

• Reduce the number of paper cards sent by using electronic versions. Even better, do it through a charity website, and you could help to support their work.
• Create your own unique epistles using previous years’ cards.
• Try to buy recycled and unbleached cards if at all possible; most charity retail outlets should carry a good selection.
• Post holidays, you can recycle old cards at Community Recycling Centres, or take them to Tesco, WHSmith or TK Max stores during the month of January, where they will be recycled with all proceeds donated to the Woodland Trust.

Gifts

The biggie: whether we like it or not, Christmas is the season of giving, but there are ways to take part that won't cost you – or the earth – the earth.

• Ease the pressure on your wallet and the environment by making a gift of your time, rather than your money: offer personalised vouchers for meals, a massage, gardening- the sky's the limit.
• Even better, create your own handmade presents. Think about your talents – can you paint a portrait, offer a selection of plant cuttings, or make a pot of their favourite jam?
• Make it count by purchasing a charitable gift on behalf of a loved one: www.gifts4good.co.uk has gifts that support our work.
• There's now a huge range of recycled gifts out there, a few of the best can be found at: www.remarkable.co.uk, www.used2bee.co.uk or www.recycledproducts.org.uk – and this is simply the tip of the iceberg. Any simple internet search throws up hundreds of options for ethical, fair-trade and environmentally friendly presents, so there's no excuse.
• Rather than buying an object, consider gifting an experience as a present. What do your friends and family enjoy doing? You could buy them theatre or concert tickets, a day out, horseriding,  a weekend away - the sky's the limit!
• Also, when buying electrical goods there are two good rules of thumb: recycle the old ones (www.recyclenow.com) and invest in rechargeable batteries. For every 500 charges, you're ensuring there are 499 less batteries on the rubbish heap.
• Take the opportunity of the influx of new items into your home to re-assess what you already possess and see what you can pass on to a new home, through charity shops or furniture and clothing initiatives.
• 83km squared of Christmas wrapping paper is used every year in this country: help keep it out of the rubbish dumps by keeping and re-using the following year, or utilising colourful spreads in newspapers or magazines to clothe your gifts.