Impact
A Sustainable Christmas Guide: Nestor’s Green Christmas
Looking to make your festivities more eco-friendly this Christmas? Dreaming of a conscience-free festive season? A sustainable Christmas, if you will. With only a couple of days to go, hardly any minutes to spare, and you’ve found that the chaos and stress of the last year have left you unprepared – no presents bought, no decorations hung – why not have yourself a sustainable Christmas?
Naturally, Christmas is considered the most wonderful time of the year, however, it is also the most wasteful. According to WRAP’s Love Food Hate Waste campaign, the UK throws out the equivalent of 74 million mince pies, five million Christmas puddings, and two million turkeys each year.
That’s why this year, we’re going green with a sustainable Christmas. From candles to zero-waste gin to ethically sourced home accessories and plastic-free gift sets, to finally getting into DIY – we’ve got your earth-conscious souls covered with tips, gifts from brands that care about the planet, and ways to help reduce your impact on the environment.
If nothing else, let’s feel good about a greener Christmas this year. Even little changes can help make a positive impact on the planet.
Sustainable Christmas Gift Options
Not On The High Street is an incredible source for creative, eco-friendly presents.
Perfect for a mother, grandmother, friend or treat for yourself, the Design Your Own Fragrance The Natural Collection, allows you to create your own unique perfume.
The collection contains six perfume blends and a beautiful glass bottle to hold your new captivating smell. Master Perfumer, Francois Robert, has specially sourced these using the finest high-grade perfumery materials.
Next up, the Build Your Own Greenhouse by Diy Cathy’s Dollhouse Kit is the perfect blend of creativity and imagination.
If you’re a DIY lover or find yourself having more patience and time than pre-covid days, we think you’ll love this product. It’s ideal for friends, families during the festive period.
Sustinable Christmas Candles
Moments of Whist Trio: Whist’s mini essential oil candles are hosted in decadent glass vessels, which give off indulgent and charming aromatherapy blends.
“Created with your wellbeing in mind”, each candle possesses its own wellbeing wish – one for calming and relaxing, one to help bring focus, and the other to uplift you. The fragrances include After The Rain, Halcyon Hour and Fallen Leaves.
What’s more, these vessels can be reused for anything you like, trinket jars, tea bags, jewellery – whatever the heart desires! It really is a fabulous present.
Jewellery Galore
If the person you’re buying for (like us) loves jewellery, or more specifically rings, then you’re in luck. We’ve recently discovered a shop that sells custom hand-made resin rings, called Ochoa.
In 2020, New Yorkers Jennifer Marcos and Wiet de Bruijn founded the wearable jewellery brand right from their home studio in New York City.
Check them out here: https://www.instagram.com/ochoa.store/
Zero-Waste Gin?
That’s right, you heard it! If you fancy a cocktail or two during the festivities, what better way to warm up than with a sustainable, premium hand bottle of crafted gin!
“Zero waste, zero single-use plastics, zero compromise on flavour” – Conscious Co. uses fresh surplus potatoes that would otherwise go to waste. Potatoes, you say? Apparently so! They happen to be a perfect match for sustainable gin.
Give it a try…
Alternatively, Bullards Coastal Gin offers subscriptions where you start with a glass bottle and an eco refill pouch of premium gin. Once filled, you can send the empty refill pouch back to the distillery to be recycled, before sending you a new one either monthly, bi-monthly, or quarterly, depending on which package you choose. To give you an idea of its delightfulness, it won The Gin Guide’s Sustainability award in 2020.
Gift an Experience
If you’re still lost as to what to buy your nearest and dearest, why not opt for an experience?
Whether you go for tickets to Our Planet Live In Concert with a full-on orchestra and on-screen narration by the legendary that is David Attenborough or adventure saved for more positive days in the coming year, it’s a lovely opportunity to bring people together.
Sustainable Christmas Wrapping Paper
This has forever been a task that many leave until Christmas Eve, or worse yet, Christmas morning! However, if you’re planning to use regular wrapping paper, it doesn’t come without its ugly side. According to a study, Brits will get through 108 million rolls of wrapping paper over the festive season.
The good news is that it’s possible to choose more eco-friendly, sustainable wrapping paper!
Nestor’s favourites include the Doodle Factor’s “Trendy recyclable wrapping paper” and Cox & Cox’s “Rose Gold Splatter Wrapping Paper”! Check them out 🙂
For other options, be sure to check out these other recyclable wrapping papers.
Adopt And Befriend One of Earth’s Creatures
Adopt an animal for your loved one! Not only will you be protecting a precious habitat and the whole circle of life, but your giftee will love it too!
You can adopt elephants, penguins, rhinos, dolphins, snow leopards – animals you’ve probably never even thought of!
The WWF has an impressive programme, one which you can feel confident and safe with. Choose from their range of animals and share your wildlife passion with others around you! From just £3 a month.
Light up Your House With Earth-Friendly Decorations
In the lead up to Christmas Day this weekend, why not create your own decorations, assuming you haven’t already done so…
Get your DIY on! Here are things to keep you busy:
- Reusable DIY crackers – you even have the freedom to fill them with whatever you like! Even if that means putting in a gift on both sides so no one will be arguing for the present over dinner this year.
- Durable ornaments! Choose from cloth, metal, or wood rather than going for plastic. Sew your own decorations by using spare material from around the house. Plus you can treasure it for years ahead.
- Hang snowflakes from scrap paper or recycled newspaper.
- Choose earth-friendly lights: LED saves up to 90% on power costs. They last longer, are more energy-efficient, and better for the environment.
Top tip: if you’re going for regular Christmas lights, make sure they’re all on timers. This way, you never need to remember to turn them off. You can opt for outdoor solar-powered lights too, which don’t require a power source.
Now, Time For The Trees!
Many of you will have gotten in the festive mood long ago, but if you’re one of those that leaves things until the last minute and still need to get a tree in time – here are some tips for how to be earth-friendly. Since we like to get our hands dirty – this one is for the creative!
Make your own tree from materials that have been used. From “tree-cycles” in Sydney to recycled plastic bottles in Israel, check out how others have used their creativity by using up-cycled, recycled, reused eco-friendly Christmas trees as a sustainable alternative.
A great solution is to purchase a potted tree, which you can simply reuse each year! Plus some places even let you care for the tree during the festivities and return it to be replanted once the holidays are over.
Trees For Life
If you do rent a Christmas tree, you don’t have the worry about what to do with it afterwards. This means zero tree waste, plus during the rest of the year, rented trees can actually be replanted and looked after by the supplier, reusable for the following year, PLUS the trees can continue to remove Co2 from the atmosphere.
Plant a Tree & Book a Stay
Earlier this year, we partnered with ultimate friends of the forest, More Trees, to help our guests shrink their carbon footprint when they enjoy a lovely Nestor getaway. We’re helping our guests offset their travel emissions while they stay in one of our London properties. Every time anyone books direct with us, we’ll plant a tree in their name to sequester carbon on their behalf! By making a small change we can make a big impact.
Double whammy! This year, why not book a stay at one of our wonderful properties as a gift for a friend plus they’ll have a tree planted in their name! Book a stay today for a greener way to travel.
Nestor handpicks London rentals in the most sought-after neighbourhoods. Our properties can be found in prime, central, urban locations across London and beyond, each echoing the liveliness and soul of their neighbourhoods.
Located in the heart of London, our collection of properties are ready to welcome you, from luxury stays in Kensington at The Carlyle to unique hotel rooms in the boutique Warwick hotel in Victoria, to stylish Kensington studios at The Knaresborough.
With plenty of iconic landmarks on your doorstep, plus awesome transport links to all of London and beyond, you’re spoiled for choice!
And lastly, it’s no secret what a challenging couple of years it has been for all. There’s nothing more replenishing than a personal treatment to help you unwind and relax.
And with that in mind, why not choose Urban as your personal wellbeing haven?
Book yourself or a loved one a massage, physiotherapy, facials, nails, or lashes, delivered directly to your door. You can choose from over 50 curated treatments then choose your own qualified therapist who will be with you within an hour!
To book a service, use code NESTOR15 to get £15 off your first booking this Christmas.
That’s a wrap! We hope you enjoyed our sustainable Christmas guide and found our tips helpful!
Happy holidays from the Nestor team!
