Food waste reduction: cooking with scraps
20/07/2023
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Christmas with impact!
We know it’s been a weird year for everyone, but the Ailuna team would like to wish all of our readers a very Happy Christmas. We hope that you are able to rest, recuperate and enjoy some good food!
Here at Ailuna, we’ve been experimenting with some ways to have a more frugal and planet-friendly Christmas. We’d love to share some of the team’s inventive, original and green Christmas ideas. We call it “Christmas with impact”.
7 minutes to read
Handmade cork gifts
Gemma has been spending time making handmade cork earrings for her friends (in between creating some of Ailuna’s dares and working in her full-time job – she’s a busy lady!)
If you have some corks lying around and you want a last-minute Christmas craft project, this video tutorial is really helpful. Or if you’d rather not have the last-minute panic, save your corks from over Christmas and start making earrings for next year’s birthdays!
Hand-filled linen Christmas crackers
I’ve still not quite got around to it, but I’ll be making my own Christmas crackers this year using our linen table napkins and cut-up kitchen roll tubes. I love the fact that these crackers can be filled according to the taste and personality of each person at the table. They cut down on plastic waste and also double as our napkins for dinner. No more tiny magnifying glasses littering the floor on Christmas afternoon!
If you’d like to have a go at making these yourself (most materials can be found around the house and in your recycling box) then try this video for a step-by-step guide. Just use a piece of scrap fabric or a napkin rather than the wraps they describe as I’m pretty sure the last postage date will have passed by now.
From wedding to wrapping
Justina got married earlier this year, and when she was planning her friend gave her a huge wedding magazine.
A few months on, she’s tearing its pages out to wrap her Christmas gifts. She’s slightly concerned some friends might think it’s a subtle hint for them to get married next, but it’s worth it for the paper saving.
A tree from trimmings
Justina has also made her Christmas tree entirely from trimmings from a tree her friend has in her garden. I don’t know about you, but I think this actually looks better than my own actual tree!
More beautiful eco-trees
That’s not the only inventive tree we’ve got to show you. Anne, Louise and Gemma have made their own trees. Anne’s is the more traditional one, which she made last year but she’s added handmade needles made from wool to this year to add some colour. Louise lives in Denmark and Gemma in the UK but their beautiful hanging trees are matching!
A meat-free Christmas lunch
Helene and Lars will be enjoying this miso mushroom, squash and chestnut wellington as their Christmas centrepiece this year. I’m actually scrambling to get all the ingredients myself now because I want to copy them! If you want to give it a try too (not just for Christmas, it’s a perfect winter meal), here is the recipe.
Creative DIY decorations
Ruth has made these very creative shiny snowflakes from old CDs, and a compostable Christmas wreath, which is made from a base of the bushy part of asparagus plants that goes to waste!
Classic second-hand toys
Emmie’s three children’s gifts will all be second-hand this year. The one we’re all most excited about is this awesome Sylvanian Families campervan. Emmie has admitted she will probably be playing with it more than anyone else.
Your Christmas swaps
Is there anything you will be doing differently to save resources or money this year? Or maybe you have some long-standing sustainable Christmas traditions. Either way, we’d love to hear about them. Please share your ideas in the comments below or tag #ailunacommunity in your social media photos for a chance to be featured on our channels.
Merry Christmas, everyone!
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