Our tips for an eco-friendly Christmas

Temps de lecture : 3 minutes

Between gift wrapping that’s thrown away as soon as it’s unwrapped, consumer frenzy and food waste, Christmas doesn’t necessarily rhyme with ecology.

And yet, there are plenty of alternatives for organizing more environmentally-friendly parties. That’s why, if you too want to do things differently this year, but don’t know where to start, we’ve put together a little guide with practical tips.

But there’s no question of putting pressure on ourselves and wanting to do everything perfectly and be 100% eco-friendly. We do the best we can, with what we have 🙂

Step 1: Find eco-friendly gifts

• Offer experiences:

A subscription to an activity of their choice:

– Sports classes: fitness, boxing, yoga, pilates, dance

– Wild foraging courses

– Creative workshop: pottery, painting

– Paillettes Vertes eco-conscious workshop 😉

– Or a workshop with a craftsman at Matière Brute or Histoire de Faire

… A day or weekend together in the mountains, for example

… A ticket for a concert, a show or a film at the cinema

• DIY creations, homemade treats (cookies, granola, jam, syrup), home decorations (vases, candles, etc.).
• From beautiful boxes for the holidays, ready-made or custom-made to suit your tastes, with eco-friendly, handcrafted and local items.

Some cool concepts:

• A gift voucher from Wine & Ride: electric bike tour + tasting of local products in the Lavaux vineyards
• Chocolate subscription at Chalet Chocolat in Crissier – each month you receive a selection of chocolates to taste, duration to be chosen by you
• Children’s book subscriptionEvery month, your child receives a book adapted to his or her age. The selection is truly magnificent.
• A gift voucher for a toy library

A selection of boutiques:

– Les Gens – designer boutique in Lausanne

– The concept-store de la Chouquette in Lausanne

– Lutry Nature – in the Bourg de Lutry and also online

– Le Sleek pop-up Le Sleek – in Lausanne, a magnificent selection of second-hand clothes open until December 20, 2022

– Ecoturtle’s Christmas pop-up in Geneva, with lots of local designers, including Paillettes vertes 😉

Online:

– Toupetis second-hand online store for children (clothes + toys like new, high quality)

Step 2: Pack them in zero-waste mode

Instead of buying kitschy packaging that ends up in the garbage can as soon as it’s unwrapped, there are plenty offun, personalized alternatives, like..:

• The furoshiki fabrics
• Reuse your tote bags, canvas bags – you’ve probably got too many too!
• Reuse old gift wrap
• Newsprint with pretty decorations and colors
• Cut-up old clothes, shirts, pillowcases, scarves
• Pretty jars, cardboard boxes or a wicker basket from the cellar or found second-hand
• Torn pages from old books

And if you want to add a touch of nature, hang a small branch of fir or pine, dried oranges, pives, rosehips or holly from your string.

Step 3: Prepare the party and the meal

We won’t teach you anything, but if you want to cook in an eco-responsible way, the more local, organic and plant-based the better. Find out which farms, markets, bulk grocery stores and specialty shops you can buy from.

Here are a few ideas to liven up your menu:

For the aperitif:

• Vol-au-vent with morels
• Curried squash soup
• Aperitif platter – beet hummus, crudités, homemade sauces, nuts, olives

The main course:

• Tagliatelle with mushrooms
• Vegetarian hunt – Spätzlis, mushroom fricassee, baked pear with cranberry or raspberry jam coulis, red cabbage, pickles and onions.
• Vegetarian lasagne
• Butternut squash stuffed with mushrooms and served with rice
• Risotto with mushrooms
• Make a Canadian meal, and everyone participates!

And desserts:

• Carrot cake
• Apple crumble
• Chocolate fondue with fruit

The little extra: plan the right amount of food to avoid wastage, and otherwise distribute leftovers to guests in tupperware.

Last step: relax, be present and enjoy this moment with your family 🙂

And for next year: keep gift wrapping and decorations in a special Christmas crate!

The entire Paillettes vertes team thanks you for your support in 2022 and wishes you a wonderful holiday season.