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Christmas waste


Julia

Julia is a journalist at TheSite.org and is charge of putting all your angry rants up for the world to see. She's been bursting at the seams to have a moan herself, so brace yourself.

Julia insists that she loves Christmas, but can't help but feel guilty about the waste of food, paper and the excess amounts of queuing and spending.

We are just days away from Christmas and it's my time to be ba-humbug about the main thing that drives me crazy this time of year. It's the waste. The waste of paper you wrap your presents in; the waste of electricity from keeping your Christmas lights on all day; and the waste of turkey that you can't finish because when you woke up you immediately stuffed your face with chocolates from your selection box. It's endless.

Don't get me wrong, I love Christmas, but I feel guilty. It's all a bit too much. When did giving a gift to a loved one become giving two or three, just so you look incredibly generous? Is it bribery so they will buy you an equally extravagant present? What got me thinking about this was after a trip to Bruges one very cold, long weekend at the end of November. I bought a reasonably priced gift for my sister (15 Euros to be exact) and the assistant asked me if I'd like it gift wrapped. "Yes please!" And there it was five-minutes later, all wrapped up and looking great. Surely that was enough on its own? But no, I went and bought another 'little' present, a further 20 Euros, just to make sure it was a fair present and looked generous enough.

It's the time you waste wading through the shops trying to buy presents. If you're not stuck behind 'bumblers', who walk at a snail's pace when you're on a mission to get to the shops before they shut, you're doing some online shopping and getting re-directed from one page to another. Then before you know it you're on a price comparison website and you end up trawling through them all for the best deal - and there are hundreds of them. Then you chicken out of ordering the present after all because you're not convinced it will turn up in time for Christmas, or whether it's a reputable company in the first place, and have to start all over again.

Why has Christmas become so excessive? There are people starving in the world and we are spending hundreds of pounds on just one person. The thing is that I'm guilty of it all, and although I know things aren't going to change overnight, it still makes me mad that we feel we have to go along with the crowd. This year was the first year I considered buying an ethical Christmas present for a friend or relative, but I wimped out because I worried that no one would appreciate my efforts to help the world's less fortunate when all they really want is a DVD or bottle of plonk, rather than a goat. Maybe ethical gifts should be something I put on my list to receive, rather than the other way round - note to self.

"If you're not stuck behind 'bumblers', who walk at a snail's pace when you're on a mission to get to the shops before they shut, you're doing some online shopping and getting re-directed from one page to another."

I deliberately don't buy real Christmas trees as I think they should remain outside thriving in the fresh air, instead of being plonked in the dining room with a ton of tacky decorations pulling down its branches. I don't buy ribbons and bows, some simple wrapping paper will do, and I don't do Christmas cards. Yes that is rather mean, but now I'm over the age of 10 it's really not about how many friends I have, it's all about quality. Plus I am a 'new-age Jew' (i.e. I eat pork, go out on Fridays, but occasionally recite the Hebrew I learnt as a child to impress friends after I've had a few), so really I shouldn't be buying them anyway.

The majority of us will consume far more calories over the festive break and could find ourselves putting on several pounds. Tell me why? Are you more hungry than usual? Is there any need to pig out? Oh, of course, it's fun and that's what holidays are about. That's fair enough, but I'm going to do my best not to come back to work with an extra tyre round my midriff as it's not much fun trying to work it off, is it?

Then there are the family arguments - apparently we're far more likely to squabble with our relatives at this time of the year. It's all about too much booze and rich food, therefore reducing your ability to be tactful (again it's a waste - you're only going to chuck it all up later anyway or have some serious bloating). So thank the Lord I've done my shopping, haven't eaten all my advent calendar chocolates in one go (after last year - oops) and have planned just the right amount of time with the family. It's now time to relax with some mulled wine and a mince pie (some things are definitely not wasted).

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