EN | £ Tips for a less waste wonderland this winter
Get crafty and turn your waste into something wonderful
We like to think we are a crafty bunch here at TotsBots, making reusable nappies out of plastic bottles and all that, so with that in mind, we've had a go at pulling together our favourite eco-friendly crafty tips, courtesy of Pinterest, to help you have a waste less Christmas with your little cherubs.
Recycled Christmas cards wreath
One Billion Christmas cards are thrown away every year in the UK. Receiving post is one of life's joys, but there are better ways to show people you are thinking of them during the festive season and a recycled Christmas card wreath to last for years to come is one of them. You’ll need a bundle of old Christmas cards, scissors, a flower arranging oasis ring and sellotape. Full instructions here
Jigsaw snowflakes
Jigsaws are fantastic for developing young minds but they also have the capacity to drive parents nuts. Once you lose one piece, you are well on the way to losing your mind. Fanatically hunting under the bed, checking down the back of the sofa, promising yourself that you will deal with the random ever growing stacks of “must take that upstairs and put it away” lying all over the house… you get the picture. And then when you finally admit defeat and accept that the jigsaw will never be whole again, you drop it off at the recycling to discover a month later the missing piece of the jigsaw in the corner of the cutlery drawer.
Put an end to the joyless task of constantly clearing up after jigsaws and spread Christmas joy instead by making little jigsaw snow flakes. You’ll need some PVA, white card, hanging ribbon, poster paint and glitter (eco-friendly of course). Full instructions here
Button trees
Those of us lucky enough to have a Granny or Great-grandma from the make do and mend generation will remember the mesmerising allure of her button tin. Or maybe you have stumbled upon a box of them in the charity shop and wondered what could be done with all those little lost buttons. We think we have found the perfect solution; a Christmas craft you can do with the kids and create a sentimental gift that will last for years to come at the same time, button Christmas trees! Watch the YouTube demo here
Paper Garlands
An oldie but a goodie. Hands up if you remember sitting in class licking strips of coloured paper and making paper chain garlands for the school Christmas decorations? (Could be showing our age here!!). The days of licking glued paper are gone and ready-made garlands are more the norm, but you could recycle old magazines and make your own. This is such a simple task that the youngest of toddlers can join in, helping with the glueing, you might need to write off a few strips though! You’ll need scissors, PVA glue, brush for the glue, an old magazine or catalogue, a dollop of patience and space to hang them up to dry. The National Trust has a great YouTube demo here to show you how.
Odd sock calendar
Sorting out the odd socks, probably the most frustrating domestic chore in every household in the UK. Very similar to the jigsaw pieces turning up a month after you have put it out to the recycling, odd sock sorting is a thankless and never-ending feat. Bring a bit of festive cheer this year and toast your creative talents by making an advent calendar with odd baby or toddler socks. You’ll need socks, little wooden pegs, a hanging rope, coloured card to create the date tags, and little things to fill the socks. You can use it year after year and then when you find the missing partner sock in the cutlery drawer, you can reunite the pair and fill the space with the never-ending supply of replacements! Some very cute ideas here
We hope this blog inspires you to have a waste less Christmas. Always remember that little changes can have a significant impact. We started with a little idea 19 years ago making nappies out of old towels and our brand is now leading the way making reusable nappies out of plastic waste, who knows where those little odd socks might lead you.