For many of us Christmas is a time for increased spending and consumerism, using lots and lots of (wrapping) paper, and posting more mail than we probably do throughout the rest of the year.
So it's extra important during the festive season to make a special effort to reduce our impact on the environment with more recycling.
Have a think for a minute: after the children have exploded everything under the tree on Christmas morning, our living room is totally covered in wrapping paper - resist stuffing it into black sacks and popping it straight in the wheelie.
What will you do with old household items that Father Christmas generously replaces? Check out the Canterbury Council website for details of all their recycling schemes, and avoid the landfill.
New gadgets and gizmos might mean new batteries - make sure old batteries are disposed of properly through the Take Charge battery recycling scheme.
And when you're Christmas shopping, try to think ahead and reuse as many shopping bags as possible.
One thing I struggle to make concessions on however are Christmas cards - I hate e-cards especially for Christmas and birthdays; nothing beats the real thing. We do however make all of our own cards in our house - not only can we try to make them more environmentally sustainable, but it's more personal too.
And gives us the chance to be really silly with them - apologies to our family and friends.
Ben
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Ben Jackson is a freelance writer and photographer with The Little White Studio.
