I’m not sure if it’s just the algorithms I’ve built for myself, and the people I’m surrounded by, but it feels like the world is finally starting to pay more attention to consumption.

It’s long been bemoaned that Christmas has lost its “true meaning” – whatever that may mean to different people, yet every year there seems to be a mad rush to buy presents, to show off what you’ve bought (or received) on social media, and to buy deals that aren’t really deals in the lead-up to the “most wonderful time of the year”.

I stopped buying meaningless gifts a long time ago. I haven’t entirely stopped my consumption – you can’t exist without consuming. But there are more mindful ways to consumer.

Understanding the Culture of Overconsumption

It’s no secret that this period is a big one for shops and the economy, with the last Saturday before Christmas dubbed “Super Saturday” – the busiest in-store shopping day for trading.

Christmas is a notoriously stressful time of the year – last year, a YouGov poll found that 67% of people claiming to be stressed about gift-giving cited it was due to financial pressure and the possibility of going into debt to give gifts.

It doesn’t end with the financial burden of buying gifts. As much as 100,000 tonnes of plastic packaging will be thrown in the bin on Christmas Day; we waste around 7 million tonnes of food across the festive period despite eating 80% more food than we normally do through the rest of the year.

All of this consumption has incredible impact on our personal stress levels, our wallets, and the environment.

For a long time, I got involved with this consumption. I bought silly trinket gifts for people, I insisted on wrapping presents up and ensuring that I bought plenty of things for other people. And then I gradually lost interest in it. But there are a few ways that I’ve made Christmas a less stressful time for myself by being more mindful about my consumption.

I will add the caveat that I don’t have the pressure of buying presents for children – I can’t really relate to the pressures parents may feel.

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Practical Ways to Embrace Mindfulness This Christmas

I’m going to outline some tips for making your Christmas a little more mindful this year, specifically related to consumption:

• Buy practical gifts: I love gifts that are things I will use all the time but wouldn’t ordinarily buy for myself. One year, my boyfriend at the time bought me a Brita filter. I never would have splashed out on one, but I still use the same one (with the filters changed, obviously) almost five years later, and I’ll be using it for years to come.
• Think about packaging: We often see pre-packaged gift sets of body lotions, beauty products or chocolates. These often use more packaging than buying the items individually would. My dad realised a long time ago that it was cheaper to buy us bars of chocolate in a multipack and divide them up than it was to buy a selection box. Better value, and less waste? Perfect!
• Buy experiences: When I was living in Northern Ireland, I would often buy tickets for my family to go and see a show together for a Christmas present. It wasn’t something we could immediately use, but it was always a fun evening. This is less practical now that I live in England, but could be replaced with an individual experience instead.
• Think about materials: We can’t exist without consuming, but we can be more mindful about how we consume. Whilst simply existing can have a detrimental impact on the environment, we can minimise this impact. Think about the durability of what you’re buying, avoid buying gag gifts that will inevitable end up in the bin, perhaps centre on natural or recyclable materials. These little changes can make a big difference to the impact our gift choices will have.
• Consider what really matters to you: Think about what the festive season represents to you and what you want it to mean, and reflect this in your practices. If you want it to be about quality time, make that a priority over excessive gift-giving.
• Repurpose gifts: Although generally frowned upon, think about gifting things you don’t use, or upcycling them before gifting. If you’ve got an unopened candle set because you don’t like the fragrances, or bottles of alcohol you’re unlikely to consume, I don’t actually think there’s any shame in passing them on to someone else. This saves them from the temporary landfill status they currently exist in and saves you money. Just maybe don’t gift it back to the original giver!
• Think about handmade gifts: Sometimes it’s nice to receive gifts that have a little bit of extra thought behind them, especially if they’re handmade. Of course, if you’re buying a lot of materials and won’t use all of them, this too can end up wasteful, but have a look in your craft stashes and see what can be repurposed into a unique gift that comes from the heart! It doesn’t just have to be crafts, either. I’ve made truffles and biscuits as gifts before, and my brother loves to create hampers with homemade jams, breads, pastries, and cakes!
• Forget about the Joneses: Stop comparing yourself to other people; stop worrying about whether you bought or received as many presents as someone else, and worry more about how you’re embodying your values and what you want the festive period to mean.

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Reconciling Consumption with Mindful Values

As I’ve mentioned a few times in this post, it’s impossible to exist without consuming. That being said, we can all find ways to make our consumption more sustainable to minimise our impact upon the environment – and our wallets.

As a creative, I’m fully aware that my work caters to wants rather than needs, which makes it important to address the paradox of running a business while striving to reduce unnecessary consumption. While this post isn’t about promoting my shop, I feel it’s important to acknowledge the balance I try to maintain between creating meaningful items and minimising their environmental impact.

How will you be reducing the stress and strain of Christmas this year? I’d love to hear from any readers in the comments with their tips and tricks for staying mindful in the comments ❤