The average Brit is predicted to spend over £350 on Christmas presents this year (see www.qck.com). Altogether, we in Britain will be forking out at least £17 billion pounds. (Deloitte research).
On one hand, well done us for being such a generous nation!!
On the other hand, we need to think seriously about how we’re spending so much money. Is it possible to think and shop ethically, whilst still celebrating a great Christmas? Our top tips and links say a big yes:
Christmas Cards
Choose carefully! Buying direct from a charity means they get all the profit, whereas charity cards in shops donate just 3% of the price paid to the charity.
Make your own cards. It’s always lovely to receive something hand made. It’s also an opportunity to invest in recycled craft materials… or a great way to recycle old cards.
Gifts
For guaranteed fairly traded gifts must see companies are:
Tearcraft: http://www.tearcraft.org/cgi-bin/tcraft
Traidcraft: http://www.traidcraftshop.co.uk/
(If you want to know more, a thorough guide to which high street stores are ethical can be found at: http://www.ethical-company-organisation.org/
For ecologically sound pampering accessories (!), check out:
The natural collection: http://www.naturalcollection.com/
What about considering other gifts that will be good for our environment? Solar panels to charge ipods and phones are amongst a host of exciting ideas at: http://www.greenshop.co.uk
Alternative gifts
Several charities are now producing ‘alternative gifts’. CAFOD’s ‘who will get your goat this Christmas?’ gift selection offers a wide range of gifts that will be given on behalf of your loved one, to those who are really in need. Ranging from vegetable plots and school starter kits, to cows and teacher training courses! See http://worldgifts.cafod.org.uk/
Why not give a little time instead of something you’ve bought? Tried and tested gifts would be: a voucher for a makeover… a candle lit dinner for 2, cooked by yourself… or a voucher for a weeks worth of washing up! Or you could write a personalised poem for someone, and do a recital Christmas day!
Food
How about shopping organically? There are a host of companies who will deliver organic produce to your door! Two examples are: http://www.abel-cole.co.uk/ or http://www.organicdelivery.co.uk
Are your Christmas snacks fairly traded? As Divine Chocolate tells us: to love chocolate is human, to choose fair trade is divine. Divine chocolate can be sent to your door,
(see Ethical Superstore). Tearcraft and Traidcraft (see links above) will also send scrumptious snacks to you.
Be Content
We are called by our Catholic faith not to subscribe to the consumerism our culture is beset by, especially at this time of the year. In the book of Hebrews we read, “Put avarice out of your lives, and be content with whatever you have” (Hebrews 13:5), and in the words of Archbishop Oscar Romero, “Aspire not to have more but to be more.”
May God bless you with a Christmas that honours him, our world and the poor, and is truly joyful.
CASE is an official agency of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales. Whilst we endeavour to ensure that all the sites listed on this page neither contradict nor are in opposition to Catholic values and teaching, we distance ourselves from any that are not. Please notify us if, unwittingly, we are promoting any unsuitable material.
