from all of us at guui.co.uk we wish everyone a very Merry Christmas!!

P.S. please remember to recycle all those cards, gift wrappers. freeze leftovers so they don’t go to waste. exchange, donate to charity or sell on ebay the gifts you don’t want – do what you want, just don’t throw it out. and send home food and gifts to family using a reusable, fairtrade, organic carrier bag

If you think that just because it’s called paper, you can still be green by recycling it, think again. But, not to worry, we’ve found some great eco gift wrapping ideas for you.  

 via Martha Stewart 

Wrap bottles in newspaper 

 Simple gift wrapping 

 Try using kraft paper 

 Pretty newspaper ribbons 

 Recycle old music sheets 

I think that if you put a real effort in your wrapping and make it very pretty, nobody would dare tell you you’re cheap for not using store-bought wrapping paper.  

But if you have to, please make sure you buy FSC-certified or recycled paper.

Already wrapping up pressies for Christmas? I know, still a bit early. But we thought we give you this idea early as well before you start stocking up on gift wrappings and ribbons.

We thought this is really pretty. And green too!

We stole the image from Jessica Jones from her blog How about orange… (we hope she doesn’t mind!)

Have a look at her step by step guide on how to make the ribbons for the not too crafty amongst us.

From our homes to yours, everyone here at Guui are wishing you a very Merry (and green) Christmas and a Prosperous New Year!

I know that Christmas has always been a time for excesses. My Christmases growing up had always meant an abundance of food and jostling with the crowd to get last minute presents.

Honey roasted hams, cheese, and breads. My mom’s cakes making their way to almost every family get togethers for the holidays. Me getting stuffed almost every weekend on the run up to Christmas day. Families. Friends. People you only get to see once a year. Dressing up. Letting your hair down.

Enjoy the season, whatever Christmas means to you. But still, don’t forget, green is one of the Christmas colours.

But having a green Christmas should not mean depriving yourself. It just meant a little extra planning. We’ve jotted down a few more ideas to get you going:

• consider a potted tree. something Chistmas-y but you can plant in the garden afterwards.
• or get an organic one. or an FSC approved one. (i’ve run a quick search, but have found none – will update if i found anything). or simply choose one that’s grown as close to you as possible.
• choose LED lights.
• choose your gifts well. I’m never a believer of giving gifts just for the sake of it because I’ve grown to hate tats gathering dust in my loft. Give food, a bottle of wine, money, gift voucher, or just make sure it is something they’ll love. And simplify your life, give gifts only the nearest and dearest, instead of the whole building. One family tradition has been to exchange gifts (instead of buying for everyone), and sticking to 1 gift per family.
• i tend to wrap some gifts in brown paper and just add a pretty ribbon (hoping they’ll reuse it). sometimes, i needn’t wrap the gift at all.
• choose decors you can reuse over and over again, instead of something that will fall apart after one use.
• go on, splurge on food. but make sure that you store leftovers well and be creative with what you can cook with them the next few days, so you won’t grow tired of it. I am all for tradition, but really, if that plate of brussel sprouts never gets touched year after year, it’s time to give it a rest.
• turn the christmas lights off when you go to bed. it doesn’t need to be on all night, does it?
• give e-cards. recycled cards. charity cards. or make one yourself!
• save those gift wraps and bows.
• and when Christmas shopping, do bring one of our Guui organic, fairtrade, reusable cotton bags to the stores

Face it, credit crunch or not, friends and families are still expecting their Christmas pressies.

And as much as we would like to suggest that you donate to charities in their names, a lot of people would pull a strop if they have received a certificate instead of a shiny new thing.

So what do we suggest?

You know your friends and family best. Make sure that they get something that they would use and cherish. Not something that would gather dust or something to add to the pile (or worse find their way to the landfill). So plan well and avoid grabbing something on the way to the till.

No pets, please. Unless it is something that has been planned for and the receiver will be able to take care of.

If you have a choice, buy something ethical and/or made of organic materials. Say, when we try to choose a scarf (for a gift or for us), we choose ones made in the UK or made of organic materials (I really haven’t been lucky enough to find that satisfies both, so can someone point me where to find one?).

If you don’t know them enough, get them something edible. At least, you know it will  not gather dust. But do tell them if it will not keep for long if it’s all wrapped up and doesn’t look like a hamper (who likes something rotting under the Christmas tree?).

If you are sending Christmas cards, get recycled ones. And after Christmas, make sure you recycle all those you’ve received (and the wrappers too). Unless of course, you get all sentimental and keep them in a scrapbook or reuse them (bows and wrappers can be reused)!

Lastly, make sure they would be able to carry it all by placing them in one of our guui bags   

Happy shopping everyone!