Christmas is just around the corner and for a lot of people this means taking part in a secret Santa, whether it’s with your house, flatmates or at work. Every year secret Santa can cause a lot of waste. It can be difficult to know what to buy people and unfortunately up to 2.5 million secret Santa gifts will end up being thrown away this year. We’ve put together some tips to help with you have a more sustainable secret Santa this year.

• Buy locally or from small businesses
• Give a gift card- these can often be emailed so there's no waste and they can buy something they know they'll use
• Shop for sustainable gifts or on sustainable websites such as Reyousable
• All pay to do an experience instead, so there's no excess waste or risk of buying something that won't be used
• Use sustainable wrapping- you could wrap it in something that can be reused like fabric or a scarf, or use wrapping paper that can be recycled
• If you do receive something you don’t love this year donate it or give it away instead of just throwing it away.

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Eco Gift Ideas:

Sustainable beauty products such as this Scrubbee face scrub.

Reusable beeswax food wraps, these are a great small change to help be more sustainable every day.

Portable and reusable straws, perfect for those who aren't a fan of using paper straws

A reusable water bottle such as this one from Chilly's- they also do containers for your food, so perfect for lunches!

Homemade goodies, whether this is cakes or a craft this a great way to be sustainable and give personal gift.