Five ways to make it a zero-waste DIY Christmas
DO IT THE DINNER LADIES’ WAY
You may have spotted that we’ve been sharing ways in which we can all be a little less wasteful this Christmas. As much as we love having all of our family and friends over at Christmas, there is no hiding from the waste that inevitably comes with all of the festive gifting and hosting. Each year in the UK we throw away 270,000 tonnes of food at Christmas.
From our kitchens to yours, do look out for recipes and tips via our Instagram where we show you how you can waste as little of each ingredient as possible and use up every bit of your Christmas leftovers. Compost and recycle where you can.
For now, we’re turning our attention to your Christmas table… Natalie, who heads up all things creative at Dinner Ladies, has been laying some stunning festive tables for our clients this December. Here are her top five sustainable tips for how you can do it yourself at home:
FORAGED FESTIVE TABLESCAPE: Get out into your garden and local park foraging - acorns, conkers, holly and winter foliage make great decorations for your Christmas Day table, simply dotted between candles. Keep the shells from your Christmas nut selection, and any spare cinnamon sticks or star anise you have lying around can also be used. Holly leaves can be made into alternative place names - just use a gold or silver pen and tie to your napkin using brown string. We love to use linen napkins as they can be reused, and are also biodegradable. If you see a branch on your next walk that you like the look of, bring it home and prop it up near your table as an added festive decoration. You can hang paper decorations, drawings, cinnamon sticks and dehydrated oranges & blood oranges (slice thinly and bake in the oven if you don’t have a dehydrator at home).
DIY CHRISTMAS CRACKERS:
These can be made in the lead up to the big day and look so beautiful on your Christmas table. All you will need is some linen napkins (mismatched works just as well), leftover ribbon, toilet roll, handwritten jokes and some leftover chocolate (or if you have time a little homemade sweet treat).
SUSTAINABLE GIFT WRAPPING
If you would like to jazz up some brown Kraft paper, use leftover potatoes to make a print. You will just need something to carve out a design and some paint. Alternatively, fabric wrap your gifts with the Furoshiki wrapping technique!
Click on the image to watch our step-by-step guide
GIFT AN EXPERIENCE:
Thoughtful gifts always stand out and even better if they don’t require wrapping! For that special foodie in your life (and if you’d like to be treated too), our gift cards are just the ticket - entitling one or two of you to a seat at the table of our next supper club. Watch this space for more details…
MULLING WITH LEFTOVER SPICES:
We always love having a glass of something warm in hand while getting crafty - so why not whip up a quick mulled wine, cider or apple juice at home. Instead of heading to the shops, look through your cupboards for any leftover spices - cinnamon sticks, cloves, star anise - and add to your pan along with peeled strips of lemon or orange if you have citrus fruits to hand.
From all of the DL team, wishing you a very Merry Christmas and a sparkly festive season!
