Live Simply December Theme - No Waste Christmas Events – Wed 8th Dec Taize Evening 7.15pm in Church
Help the Poor Give to Dinnington Food bank food collection in church or make a donation on line. Give to the Street People Charity Give to the CAFOD Climate Appeal Give to the Foodbank Christmas Appeal; they are collecting boxes of chocolates, biscuits and toiletries. Ask children to select one of their toys or games (in good condition)that they no longer play with, help them to and wrap it up and give it to the Foodbank Christmas Appeal. They can be dropped off at School on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday or at the Salvation Army on Thursday or Saturday morning between 9 and 11am
Help the Environment Thurs 16th Dec Help the Conservation Volunteers to plant a hedge on the Pit Tip. Reduce Waste goods Buy less Buy Second Hand clothes, toys etc Use Recyclable Wrapping Paper for Christmas Presents Think carefully about the Christmas Presents you give. Consider giving second hand toys for Christmas and donate what you save to charity and spread the Live Simply idea by explaining what you have done Reduce Waste food Approximately one third of food is wasted consumption every year .The average UK family throws away £470 of food a year and so we need to reduce our food waste especially at Christmas. Make a meal plan for the week Only buy what food you can use eg. Buy a size of turkey suitable for the number of guests. Slice up any leftover meat and freeze it for another dinner. Use any other leftovers in another recipe Use the freezer for leftovers Make soup with vegetables left in the fridge at the end of the week. Use unexpected parts of vegetables eg stalks, outside leaves of cabbage, broccoli in soups and casseroles Save on cooking, fuel and time by making double quantities and freezing half for another meal Understand the difference between sell by and use by dates Use the sniff test, if food doesn’t look bad or smell bad it can probably be eaten, just cook it for a bit longer. Buy Wonky Veg – Vegetables that don’t comply with the standard supermarket look but are just as good to eat and cheaper. Available in most big supermarkets. Christmas Presents It’s a shocking fact that 30% of Christmas presents are never used after Christmas Day and 70% are never used after the following March. 20% of unwanted gifts are never returned to the shop or re-gifted and 10% are just thrown away, many more are put in a cupboard and never seen again. If you don’t know what presents to give Ask for ideas There is nothing more precious than your time. Consider inviting your friend or family member to spend some time with you. You could take them on an outing, for a meal, for a cup of tea and a cake. You could do something inexpensive and donate what you have saved to charity Buy them a CAFOD World Gift, they have masses of options starting at £4.00 https://worldgifts.cafod.org.uk/ The 5 Gift Rule for Christmas We must think carefully about what to give at Christmas, consider the 5 gift rule, designed for children but it can be applied to adults too. 1. Something they Want Eg the big present that they asked for 2. Something they Need Eg, Equipment for a hobby or sport, new bag, lunch box, drinks cup 3. Something to wear 4. Something to read 5. Something to do Eg Board Game, tickets, or an outing - swimming, cinema, family experience etc