| If Christmas really is the season of peace and | | | | buy presents which don't harm the environment. |
| goodwill why not start planning now to make it a | | | | Buying the adoption rights to an animal can prove to |
| truly ethical occasion for yourself and your loved | | | | be a great gift and what better time of the year can |
| ones? | | | | it be for adopting a reindeer? |
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| Charitable gestures in this season of giving are so | | | | For just £32 a year you can adopt a Cairngorm |
| easy to make at a cost which would even have | | | | Mountain reindeer and receive photos, souvenirs and |
| Scrooge smiling with approval. | | | | newsletters. The money will be well-spent on food |
| | | | | and welfare (in the form of medicine and vets' fees) |
| Just what does the way you wish someone a happy | | | | for these magnificent creatures. |
| Christmas say about you? Old traditions die hard and | | | | |
| it seems that writing a few scrawled clichés on a | | | | Polar bears can be adopted even more cheaply. For |
| Hallmark greetings card is still the favoured method | | | | as little as £3 per month the World Wildlife Fund will |
| of most Brits. | | | | let you adopt one of these Arctic animals. |
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| The Royal Mail delivers as many as 150 million cards | | | | It doesn't take much imagination to decorate your |
| per day in the pre-Christmas run up but it is a | | | | house without ruining the planet. Plastic trees are not |
| sobering thought that these cards can take up to 30 | | | | environmentally-friendly so you could always grow |
| years to decompose. | | | | your own holly tree instead of supporting the trade in |
| | | | | holly branches. Put seeds, a compost pellet and a |
| So why not send an ecard (an email wishing | | | | terracotta pot on your Christmas list and watch your |
| someone well) instead? You can actually make them | | | | green credentials grow! |
| more personal than a shop-bought card by pasting in | | | | |
| a scene from a famous Christmas film (what about | | | | If it's too late to do this in time for the big day, you |
| Jimmy Stewart's It's A Wonderful Life?) and using | | | | can always contact Oxfam and make a donation so |
| PhotoShop to superimpose a speech bubble with | | | | that a tree can be planted in a developing country. |
| your greeting. | | | | |
| | | | | No decent Christmas is complete without the chance |
| Charity Christmas cards are a fine alternative if this | | | | to gorge yourself on food before slumping in front of |
| idea doesn't appeal. | | | | the Queen's speech with a paper crown on your |
| | | | | head. Buying your choice of dinner locally, perhaps at |
| Cards that you receive can be recycled by | | | | farmers' markets, is a sure-fire way of ticking the |
| organisations such as the Woodland Trust. | | | | right green boxes. |
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| A compost bin can be a good Yuletide investment | | | | With time off work, Christmas is a time to reflect on |
| which will help you recycle much of the waste that | | | | those less fortunate than themselves. You can |
| the festivities generate. | | | | always bring some seasonal cheer by buying an |
| | | | | Everyclick eVoucher to give to someone to donate |
| If you're dreaming of a green Christmas it is best to | | | | to their favourite charity before the year is out. |