Cheap or free Christmas presents that don’t cost the earth either!

Many of us are feeling the pinch this Christmas so we wanted to share our team’s favourite ideas for cheap or free Christmas presents. Many of these gifts are just as thoughtful as expensive treats, and (as always) we haven’t forgotten Mother Earth either. After all, sustainability isn’t just for life… it’s for Christmas too!

16 ideas for eco-friendly Christmas presents that don’t cost (much) money

1. A jar of homemade treats

You can upcycle old glass jars and fill them up with homemade treats, like granola, biscuits, fudge or cacao nibs. If you’ve got time and energy, you can decorate the jar too!

2. Celebrate your memories together

Print out your favourite pictures with your loved ones and get them framed. You can usually pick up pre-loved picture frames from most charity shops.

3. Bring back the mixtape!

Who doesn’t love a mixtape? Curate a playlist with songs that are meaningful to your relationship. Or make your mixtape super special and pick a theme.

Here are some ideas for your mixtape themes:

• theme songs around a place or city you both lived in
• pick songs about a particular mood (relaxed, happy, inspired, etc)
• make a funny mixtape with in-jokes and comedy songs
• build your mixtape around the special songs that remind of important times in your relationship
• music aficionados will appreciate a mixtape filled with songs you think they don’t know, but would love

If you’re feeling super creative, you can create a physical CD with personalised cover art. Top tip: find old magazines and make collages from them, sometimes you can find vintage magazines in charity shops.

4. Share your special recipes

Are you known to be a bit of a whizz in the kitchen? Why not share your favourite recipes with your loved ones? You can use a free recipe template from Canva, create your own recipe cards or just buy a notebook and fill it with your best loved recipes. This one is guaranteed to make any foodie happy!

5. Give your time

A few hours of your time can be such a treat to your friend! New parents will definitely appreciate an offer of babysitting. It costs you nothing and saves them a small fortune. You could also offer to wash someone’s car, clean their windows or cook them a meal. Most of us are short on “me time” and offering to do a chore for them will be cherished.

Could you befriend an elderly person with a charity like Age UK? So many elderly people face loneliness, especially over the festive season. Just half an hour of your time could feel life-changing to those spending Christmas alone.

And don’t forget the time spent together with loved ones… ‘Quality time’ is one of the five main love languages and is super important to many of us. Rather than doing presents, book a day to spend with a friend, partner or family member, it could be as simple as a walk together and a good chat.

6. Make your own Christmas ornaments

Why not get crafty and create your own beautiful Christmas decorations? This beautiful Christmas tree was made by our Dispatch Assistant, Liis.

What you’ll need:

• Felt/fabric
• A paper shape of the ornament
• Scissors & pencil or pen for tracing the shape
• Needle & thread
• Glue
• Ribbon for hanging
• Stuffing – can be from an old soft toy stuffing, or dry beans/grains, your choice!
• Decorative ribbons, gems, stickers etc.
• Essential oil (optional, if you wish to make it fragranced)

Instructions:

1. Trace 2 identical shapes onto your fabric, and cut them out (tip – you can fold the fabric into 2 layers and cut both at the same time)
2. Optional step – if you wish to add embroidery on your ornament or want to sew on buttons, do this before sewing the sides together. You can also add your glued decorations now if you wish, but I prefer doing it in the end. Just make sure you leave space for sewing
3. Sew the shapes together (right sides out) using thread and needle, and leave an opening at the top for filling it with stuffing
4. Fill the ornament with the stuffing of your choice. At this point, you can add some essential oils or dried lavender to your stuffing
5. Take your hanging ribbon and glue/sew the ends on the inside of your ornament
6. Sew the top shut
7. Decorate your ornament by glueing gemstones/ribbons/letters on it, and you’re done!

7. Decorate candles

Decorating plain white candles make a lovely Christmas present. The internet is full of ideas for this, but one of our favourites is using dried flowers.

What you’ll need:

• Dried flowers and herbs
• Candle
• Scissors
• Tweezers
• Spoon

Instructions:

1. 1. Heat up the spoon
   2. Use tweezers to fix the flowers, herbs and leaves onto the candle
   3. Glue them onto the candle with the heated spoon by pressing on the flower edge
   4. Cut the excess flower and leaves off with scissors and leave to dry

8. Everybody loves a plant

If your home has plants, why not get some plant babies to gift to friends and family? They make a lasting gift and you only pay for the pot. And guess what, there are tons of ways to upcycle old jars, pots and mugs into beautiful planters. You can find more DIY planter inspiration here.

Spider plants are particularly easy to propagate. Simply pick a spider baby with tiny roots and plant it in a small pot. Make sure the pot has drainage holes in the bottom. You can leave the baby spiderette attached to the parent until it takes root. Most succulents and cacti are also quick and easy to propagate.

9. Mooncup® – a gift that keeps on giving

While not a free gift idea, the Mooncup is truly a gift that keeps on giving and saves you money for many years to come!

If you’re a Mooncup user yourself, you may well have begun spreading the Mooncup love to a few friends and family members already (we love you!). If you know someone who might be ready to make the switch, why not gift them a Mooncup and wish them a happy festive period?!

10. Re-gift something!

You are more than likely to have something in your house that one of your friends or family would like but is of no use to you. There is no shame in re-gifting. Gift an unwanted present to someone who might love it, there’s no use having it sit collecting dust and feeling unloved.

11. “When you’re feeling blue” kit

We all have tough days. Why not create a little mood-lifting kit for a friend to help them feel better. Your kit could be ten cards or envelopes with things to help them get through a tough day. You can include a list of reasons why you love them, uplifting quotes, and sweet memories of times you’ve spent together. Making loved ones feel special is the best gift of all.

12. Make your own limoncello

Now this one is a much cherished Christmas recipe at Mooncup HQ. It’s delish and makes a lovely present too.

What you’ll need:

• Zest and juice of 8 unwaxed lemons
• 800 grams of granulated sugar
• 650ml water
• 1 litre of vodka

Instructions:

1. Place the lemon zest in a large pan with the sugar and water. Heat until the sugar dissolves. Then increase the heat slightly and simmer for 15 minutes.
2. Take the pan off the heat, and add the lemon juice and vodka. Cover and leave to infuse for a week.
3. Use a sieve lined with muslin or kitchen paper to strain the liquid into a large jug.
4. Decant into sterilised bottles, seal tightly and add a pretty label of your own.

 13. Make your own pinecone decorations

There is something so Christmassy about pinecones! Collect pinecones on your winter woodland walks. Spray-paint them with your favourite festive colours. You can just glue a string on the top of the cone to make it a tree decoration, or just gift a basket of beautiful pinecones.

 14. DIY beauty products

Skip the beauty counters this Christmas and make your own! It’s a win-win for your purse, the planet and the gift recipient! We love this DIY deodorant putty by #RealMooncupUser and sustainable living blogger Emilie Woodger-Smith.

What you’ll need:

• A resealable jar or tub
• 3 tbsp of bicarbonate of soda (if you have sensitive skin you can swap this out for a fine clay/arrowroot powder)
• 3 tbsp of cornflour
• 2 tbsp of coconut oil
• 10 drops of essential oil of your choice (I use 5 drops of tea tree and 5 drops of lavender)
• 1 ½ tsp light oil (sweet almond/sunflower/rapeseed)

Instructions:

1. Measure out the coconut oil into a bowl and microwave for 1 ½ minutes (at 30-second intervals) until the mixture has completely melted.
2. Measure out your cornflour, bicarbonate of soda & light oil into the bowl and mix until smooth.
3. Once combined, add in your essential oils and mix again.
4. Leave the mixture to set in the bowl in the fridge for 10 minutes or so.
5. Once set, mix up the deodorant into a creamy consistency using a fork. Pop the mixture into a clean container and you’re ready to use!

You can find more of Emily’s DIY beauty recipes from her blog.

15. Get knitting!

Knitting isn’t as scary as you think, and can be a lovely therapeutic activity for you too! Just pick up a ball of yarn and find simple knitting instructions for mittens, socks or the easiest of them all – a scarf. Cosy, warm and festive – they’ll love it!

16. Upcycle old material and make hand warmers

Why not upcycle an old pair of socks or a tatty jumper (with less tatty sleeves!) for a super easy pair of fingerless hand warmers? They are sure to come of use this winter and in years to come.

Mooncup really is the gift that keeps on giving and now comes with a 100% money-back guarantee. Find out more and buy yours here.

?Wishing you a happy festive period!?

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