So it's that awful time of year when what was once a Christian celebration is now an opportunity for mass consuermism, a complete indulgence in everything capitalist, and waste beyond belief.

I'll acknowledge that some people can love other aspects of Christmas and the feeling of December and not be a complete nob head. I get it, the lights, the coseyness, the good times with family and friends, taking some time to relax and the indulgence in food. It's a special time of year, and I can understand if you want to do things, buy things and celebrate things. There are ways of being ethical and mindful about your consumerism and celebrations during this period though, in good spirit, I'm going to link some useful resources below.

1. Not on Amazon Facebook group There is a new group on Facebook (yes I know, the mother of all evils) called NOT ON AMAZON. The page is for small independent businesses to highlight what they do so that people can buy from the little people. Many businesses are very small, Etsy type vibes, super creative, one person bands. Obviously buy from independents if you can, help to ensure money doesn't go into the pockets of only a select few CEOs, try to support local artists, creators, makers and crafters. I've immensely enjoyyed scrolling through and seeing the sheer talent is phenomenal. It started 4 weeks ago by 3 creatives and has grown to 75 000 followers, and the admins can't quite keep up! If you want to help them keep the group going, they have a crowd funder campaign here. It's tapped into something pure, creative and grassroots, and though I don't want anyone to go click happy and buy everything under the sun, if you do need something, do the research. Take your time, consider what you really want, look through and try to find an independent that can provide what you need. Try not to get distracted by the bright impressive lights of all the wonderful creations. It's not easy - there are some great things, but remember to always, always ask yourself, is this really needed, or am I buying for the sake of buying.

2. Gift wrap alternatives Love Christmas but hate the waste? So does a lady called Charlotte, so much so, she has created an alternative sustainable solution to the ball ache that is gift wrap. Charlotte works from her dining room in the midlands for the small business Read, Wrap, Recycle and she's created The Northern Star, a festive edition of her quirly newspaper wrap made from recycled paper to offer a better solution for wrapping the gifts up that traditional hard to recycle wrapping paper.

3. Natural embellishments and decoration Okay yes, this could probably go under 2. as well but, I thought this deserved it's own thing for 2 reasons: 1. natural hand crafted things don't have to be used to wrap presents, but also as decor and 2. because Planted in the Woods made a beautiful story on how to make gorgeous, natural, sustainable embellishments to add to things (decor and presents) to make things look a bit fancy. You can see from the photos lovely examples of what can be done from drying fruit slices, and weaving twine with a pine cone. See the original Instagram post here. If you find yourself with a spare orange or apple, you can slice them up really thin, pat off the excess moisture gently with a tea towel and dry them out completely to make beautiful decorations to hang off the tree, or a wreath and that also double up as 'make the air smell nicer' things!

4. Website directories listing local businesses Lots of sites are popping up, effectively acting as online directories for independent retailers who do not have a website. With a month long lockdown starting on the 2nd November, this cut into a crucial time for lots of independent retailers to make their profit for the year... in the lead up to the Christmas period, many are typically spending more on gift items, but many small businesses rely on street foot fall and do not have a website. Many of these business owners certainly didn't have the time, funds, resources or skills to design and build an ecommerce, manage it and get to grips with managing online orders and organising deliveries in time for Christmas. Thank goodness then for the good people that have set up these websites to guide people away from supporting the likes of Amazon, and into the welcoming arms of local traders. Shop here not there was set up by Nat and Nic Alpi and focusses on Bristol based independents. Bookshop, like Hive supports local book sellers. Love record stores supports... you guessed it, independent record stores. Not on the West End has a specific focus on thr arts and theatre scene, supporting stage makers, costumer deisgners, wigs assistants, technicians, artists and many others involved in the industry. The page does not sell their products, but directs you to their Instagram pages, Etsy stores or personal websites, and does not take a cut of any sales or require a fee for being featured. You should also check out Totally Locally and Locally UK for more inspiring talent and grassroots campaigning information to support independent traders. 5. Don't forget the charities! Last but not least, if you are venturing out of your home and aren't planning on doing all your shopping online, then don't forget to pop into the charity shops. Often you can get unique, high quality presents at a fraction of the price when bought new.

Those are my 5 quick tips for some ethical christmassing. The main rule though? Just buy consciously, always. I'll be posting more festive things soon but if you want, check out my post on how to make a festive wreath out of all foraged natural materials found in a nearby park.