Making magical Christmas memories
Christmas is a time for family and friends. Mabel Hardman suggests an alternative idea to gift-giving.
Christmas is, truly, the most wonderful time of the year: the ornate decorations, the heavenly roast dinners and the all-round festive cheer. But there is one thing we are forgetting, that most would argue is their favourite part of Christmas: gifts.
We spend, as a country, each year, 25 billion pounds on material gifts for friends and loved ones. That is an average of £476 per adult spent every Christmas! If you saved that money for only two Christmases, you could buy a brand new iPhone 13 Pro.
Now, think… When was the last time you played that game you so desperately wanted, or read that new book that was just released? The point is, we buy these gifts that eventually will just end up in landfill with the rest of the world's unwanted toys.
There are a few ways that we can spend our Christmas budget more wisely. For example, this year, instead of buying each other lots of gifts, my family and I are buying just a few small gifts for each other. Then, we are going to spend two days down in Brighton: we’ll stay in a hotel, go to markets and do festive activities like ice skating. We are doing this because we have realised that, without potentially harming our planet or wasting money on unnecessary items, we can have lots more fun and festivity through having a Christmas experience of some sort. Plus, you get to make long lasting memories too!
Another activity you can do to spend less and make Christmas memorable is by making gifts for your family or you could even craft together. You could buy some craft supplies (if you don’t have them already) and spend a whole day as a family making homemade Christmas decorations, like paper chains and painted tree decorations. This way, you have a fun time together with your family and you get beautiful decorations to put up all over your house.
Mabel Hardman, Y7
Christmas is, truly, the most wonderful time of the year: the ornate decorations, the heavenly roast dinners and the all-round festive cheer. But there is one thing we are forgetting, that most would argue is their favourite part of Christmas: gifts.
We spend, as a country, each year, 25 billion pounds on material gifts for friends and loved ones. That is an average of £476 per adult spent every Christmas! If you saved that money for only two Christmases, you could buy a brand new iPhone 13 Pro.
Now, think… When was the last time you played that game you so desperately wanted, or read that new book that was just released? The point is, we buy these gifts that eventually will just end up in landfill with the rest of the world's unwanted toys.
There are a few ways that we can spend our Christmas budget more wisely. For example, this year, instead of buying each other lots of gifts, my family and I are buying just a few small gifts for each other. Then, we are going to spend two days down in Brighton: we’ll stay in a hotel, go to markets and do festive activities like ice skating. We are doing this because we have realised that, without potentially harming our planet or wasting money on unnecessary items, we can have lots more fun and festivity through having a Christmas experience of some sort. Plus, you get to make long lasting memories too!
Another activity you can do to spend less and make Christmas memorable is by making gifts for your family or you could even craft together. You could buy some craft supplies (if you don’t have them already) and spend a whole day as a family making homemade Christmas decorations, like paper chains and painted tree decorations. This way, you have a fun time together with your family and you get beautiful decorations to put up all over your house.
Mabel Hardman, Y7