Embracing Kindness: Simple Tips for a Sustainable Festive Season and Beyond

We go on about living simply and a more considered lifestyle in our day to day lives, with it following through to how we run our homestead and our everyday values. At Evans & Moose we try and strike a balance, so we are self sufficient without shunning modern society, we manage to blend the two making for a more sustainable business and way of living. They're values we lean back on when things can feel overwhelming or like they're moving at a pace you just can't maintain, Christmas and the festive period can be one of those times. In this blog post you'll find a few simple ways to live kindly for both yourself and the world around us over the festive period and beyond.

The festive season often brings joy, warmth, and celebration. Yet, it can also lead to waste, excess, and stress on the environment. Living kindly and sustainably during this time is not only possible but rewarding. Small changes in how we celebrate can create a positive impact that lasts well beyond the season.

• Choose Thoughtful Gifts

  
  

  This year we've made the majority of our gifts, from Sloe Gin to Cranberry & White Chocolate Cookies, the forge has also been creating hand made items too. Don't get us wrong, we've enjoyed browsing shops too, searching out artisans and supporting fairs and markets. It's about striking a happy medium, we can't possibly expect people to not shop at large chain stores, we do it ourselves, but it's how we off set this and limit it to avoid the over consumption that causes issues to both the environment and let's be honest, us. I don't know about you, but my mental state after an afternoon baking or browsing market stalls, talking to artisans truly passionate about what they do, is ten times better than when I've battled for a car parking space and been jostled in a queue... leaving the shop having forgotten what I was meant to buy in the first place because the family of ten stood around the sprouts where having a barny.

  
  

• Take Time For You

Festive burnout is real, feeling like you go from one thing to the next to the next till we're Auld Land Syne'ing', wishing you'd gone to sleep at 9pm anyway. There is so much emphasis on giving over the festive period (which is lovely, don't get us wrong) but it can easily mean you forget about yourself. Make sure each day, you sit down for half an hour or as long as you can give yourself, with a brew, book, enjoying some yoga, a magazine, anything analogue, to give your brain that chance to slow slightly. You'll then be ready to absorb so much more of what's going on around you, maybe your brain will have slowed and relaxed enough to notice the new twinkly fairy lights they've put up, or the new Festive jumper someone has worn to work bringing a smile to your face.

Treat yourself to something indulgent like a hot chocolate just for the sake of it!

• Avoid Over Consumption

We don't mean don't eat to much (if you're lucky enough to be able to enjoy a festive meal or drink, eating till you're stuffed is part of the appeal... it is for us anyway, I tend to resemble a roast potato after Christmas Dinner), we mean avoid buying too much in the first place. Use leftovers, buy loose veg not plastic wrapped, and enjoy scouting a few different place to get your ingredients from. Don't fall into the trap of purchasing everything from one shop for ease, maybe there are a few things that only Tesco has, but try a traditional green grocery or farm shop for veg, a butcher for meat. You'll be surprised how cost effective this can be, instead of impulse buying around a supermarket, you'll end up buying just what you need, having supported local businesses too.

• Mindful Decorations

Again, we have a beautiful mix of decorations. Each year, I buy one special new decoration that means something to us. This year was a gorgeous metal bauble in the shape of a small octagonal house, reminding me of many summers spent in a beautiful summer house at my Grandparents, and there's nothing wrong with purchasing this, it was considered, meaningful and well made. But then the rest of our new decorations are all natural, foraged from our fields and hedgerows, tying in beautifully with living seasonally. Bringing evergreens into your home is such a stunning tradition, reminding us that even in the cold, dark months, life continues, renewal is promised and the hope of the new year is precious. Whether you're lucky enough to have an abundance of evergreen or a simple small stem of pine, it really doesn't matter. Engaging in the mindful act of creating something beautiful with your hands that will adorn somewhere in your home for the next few weeks is a great way to reset. The scent of working with evergreens also helps de stress, give it a go! You could also have a look at living Christmas Trees. Some Christmas Tree Farms sell rooted trees which you return after Christmas, they are then replanted and you can return next year and have the same tree again. It's a great sustainable way of celebrating.

Wreaths don't have to just be outside, hand them on inside doors or mirrors too!

• Cultivate Kindness

Kindness to others is easy to see, not necessarily easy for some people to do, but obvious to the eye, what we sometimes have more trouble with is being kind to ourselves. The festive period can really highlight this. Don't feel down on yourself if your just not feeling Christmassy! It can be a lot to contend with, forced joy, family pressures or the reminder of lack of family, financial pressures, etc. Honestly, don't panic about it, we've spent so many years being told that if you don't feel Christmassy you're the Grinch or Bah Humbug, so as a society it's not the done thing to not be in the festive mood from the end of November onwards. Take the season as it comes, embrace the dark December nights, take it as time to rest and reset over the festivities, you might even find giving yourself this grace allows you space to enjoy the odd carol or glass of eggnog, or your stomach won't roll when someone says Merry Christmas. It sounds cliché but kindness is the best gift we can give others and ourselves. The other things you could try is exploring other seasonal celebrations, maybe Christmas itself doesn't resonate but the values of Yule sit better with you... on that note ` Happy Solstice! Realising there is no right or wrong way to feel at this time of year is one of the kindest things you can do.

• New Year... Same You

Make sure your kindness extends beyond the Festive period. Kindness to yourself, the environment and others is, as they say, for life not just for Christmas. Again, the drive to become a whole new person from the 1st of January can tunnel people so much so that they pile on the pressure and their mental health suffers or their output to the world around them becomes much less considered. How about we embrace 'New Year, Healthy Habits' or 'New Year, More Kindness'.

Embracing considered, simple living, flowing with the seasons creates a much more sustainable lifestyle, one which can enhance or help us cope with the festive season. We hope the above has helped and given you a few ways to celebrate the season with kindness.

P.S. We've got something very exciting coming in the new year. The launch of a very exciting club and community for anyone wanting to bring considered, seasonal, simple living into their lives! Stay tuned!