A ‘traditional’ Christmas is a perfect storm of carbon consumption: excessive shopping, long distance travel, lots of meat eating, buckets of food waste, mountains of packaging waste, unwanted gifts that go straight to landfill, and energy-hungry fairy lights. All of this can add up to between 3% and 10% of your annual carbon emissions in a single day. Christmas puts a big strain on our carbon budgets, our wallets and our stress levels. So why not try a low-carbon, low-budget, low-stress Christmas? It might actually be more fun.

Christmas is a time of year for inward reflection and outward generosity. Merging as it does with the ancient celebration of oncoming winter and marking the darkest days of the year, we have the opportunity to think back on the year that has been, to learn lessons, to appreciate our successes and joys and to put the year, metaphorically and physically to bed.

It is also the time in which we often reunite dispersed and busy family and friends and enjoy — usually — each others company over good food and good times. And of course, it’s a time for giving.

Over the last year I have started finding a much-needed rhythm to my life. I feel this has been partially due to my Shamanic studies as well as my continued learning about permaculture design methodology and how it can help design all areas of a person's life. I have started surveying and assessing the way my house works for us as a family.