Halloween is done, Bonfire night is over, so it’s definitely OK to be full-on with your planning for Christmas now, right?

I realise the well-organised amongst you will be hyper-ventilating at this point and gasping “what? you’re only getting round to Christmas now? I’ve been on the case for weeks/months (delete as appropriate)”. But whether this blog is too early or shockingly late, I hope it’ll give you some ideas for ways to make your Christmas celebrations a little kinder to the planet, whilst still being 100% festive in every way.

The eagle-eyed amongst you will notice this is titled ‘Eco-friendly Christmas tips, part 1’, which is because there are more invaluable ideas coming your way in another blog in the first week of December - they will all relate to Christmas food and meals, and the aftermath of the festivities.

Each tip comes with one or two website suggestions, but of course there are lots of other options should you wish to do a bit more research/rummaging yourself.

Rent your Christmas tree

Renting a Christmas tree is less bonkers than it sounds

Renting a tree sounds more than a little bonkers I grant you, but really it’s a way of getting a tree - that’s been responsibly grown - not just delivered and collected, but then replanted and cared for, so not only doesn’t it end up in landfill, it goes on to have a longer life, provide a habitat for wildlife and play its part in keeping the planet healthy by removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. And if that doesn’t make you feel all warm inside, I’m not sure we can still be friends.

Christmas on the Hill and Love A Christmas Tree are a couple of examples of websites where you can rent trees. Check on-line for services in your area (rent from somewhere local to keep down the carbon footprint of having it dropped off and picked up).

Make your home twinkly with LED lights

LED lights, like these from Lights For Fun, save energy and money

LED lights use approximately 75 per cent less energy and can last up to 25 times longer than non-LED ones, so you’ll be saving both energy AND money. It’s a staggering statistic that if every UK household swapped a string of incandescent lights for LED, we could save more than £11 million and 29,000 tonnes of CO2, just over the 12 days of Christmas.

And even though the weather can be pretty gloomy, try switching to solar powered lights outside. There should be enough brightness to keep them going over the Christmas period.

Lights For Fun have a great selection of LED and solar outdoor lights

And whilst we’re on the subject of decorations

Choose your decorations with care

Beautiful decorations can be precious for the planet too. These are from Nkuku

I can’t imagine there are many of us who don’t have decorations - for our trees and our homes - that don’t come out year after year. But if you are adding to your collection, think about buying brass, glass, fabric or wood ones, rather than plastic. They’ll last even better and feel even more precious.

There are some gorgeous eco-friendly, handmade ones to choose from at Nkuku and some quirky fun ones at One World Shop

Send thoughtful Christmas cards

So many eco-friendly advantages to these cute cards from Boobalou

By which I mean thoughtful to the planet, not just to the person you’re sending them to. Apparently a quarter of us no longer send cards at all, but if, like me, you’re one of the other three-quarters of the population who loves to send, and receive, cards (call me old fashioned), it’s not hard to find ones that have the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) mark which guarantees the paper has been produced sustainably and ethically. The Woodland Trust shop is a great place to pick up a pack, the proceeds from which also support Britain's woodlands.

Plantable cards are growing in popularity, too (pun entirely intended!). Wildflower Papers has a great range of seed packet cards that the recipient can sow in the spring.

Buying recycled Christmas cards is another option. 10 trees are planted for each pack from Boobalou and they also come with 10 seed sticks.

And you can recycle the ones you receive, by either putting any that don’t have glitter on them in your recycling bin, or, better still, cutting them up to make gift tags for next year.

Buy eco-friendly gifts…

Ethical and eco-friendly doesn’t have to mean dull. How gorgeous are these cushions from the Ethical Superstore?

If the idea of giving presents that are planet-friendly makes your heart shrivel a little, there are lots of fabulous, indulgent options that are anything but earnest and earthy. Have a look at the Ethical Superstore as a starting point.

And if you’re hesitating about giving yet more stuff, there are so many options for presents that are pack a feel-good punch without packing out someone’s home. There are lots of suggestions in this blog

…and be clever about how you wrap them

See how lovely presents wrapped in brown paper and string can look

Each Christmas we Brits bin the equivalent of 108 million rolls of wrapping paper, and get through 40 million rolls of sticky tape? So anything we can do to cut back on those shocking numbers has to be worth it. And the good news is there’s loads you can do and none of it has to impact on how beautiful you can make your carefully chosen presents look.

There’s the brown paper and string route - see above - a simple idea that can be dressed up and decorated in any number of attractive ways using things that are reusable and/or bio-degradable.

Alternatively you could use recycled wrapping paper - there are masses to choose from, but here’s a selection from Etsy to get you started - and eco-friendly sticky tape. Here’s a delightful Chirstmas-themed one from Ecovibe.

Or you could join the growing trend for wrapping presents in fabric, the Japanese term for which is Furoshiki (you’re welcome). There’s an excellent video on the Country Living website that shows you how.

Here’s another couple of ideas: How about using pages from your recipient’s favourite magazine or newspaper for an unusual and personalised gift wrap? Or you could put all those smart store bags you can’t bring yourself to throw away to put your gifts in (I’ve done this one many times).

Get a reusable advent calendar

A reusable advent calendar, like this one by Emily Dawe, will last for years

Instead of thinking of your annual advent calendar as a once-a-year purchase, consider it another of the one-off things you buy for Christmas.

I’m beginning to sound like a broken record when I say there are lots to choose from. These two are a couple of lovely examples to inspire you.

This quirky collection of beautifully designed boxes by craft expert Emily Dawe - you fold them up and then fill them with whatever you want - make up a Christmas village of boxes that can be used year after year if they’re carefully stored.

Having a personalised advent calendar, like this one from Not on the High Street, makes it even more of a special keepsake.

If you’ve enjoyed these eco-tips, and you’re not already a subscriber to the These Are The Heydays newsletter, scroll down to the bottom of this blog, pop your details in the boxes (your information is never shared with anyone) and you’ll get exclusive and brilliant environmentally friendly ideas and tips (there’s a bonus Christmas one in this week’s newsletter), along with delicious easy-to-make recipes, not-to-be-missed TV, film, book and podcast recommendations, plus a little something to make you smile and think, delivered direct to your in-box every week.