Rid of Christmas

Jenny Marshall. Include things like pizza bases and wraps, that will make the most of leftovers, in your Christmas food shopping.

‘‘If you don’t have as many leftovers as expected, you can pull a wrap out of the freezer and still pull together a meal. If you’ve got so much that you don’t need the extras, they can stay in the freezer.’’

She advises not leaving food on the table for longer than two hours so it can be eaten later.

‘‘We need to change New Zealand’s pot luck culture. We always invite people to bring plates, but not to take them, or guests simply take home what they’ve brought.

‘‘But, if you brought a huge salad and have to take it home, you’ll get sick of it before you eat through it.’’

Encourage your guests to take home a bit of everything, says Marshall.

‘‘People are always keen because we always think other people’s food tastes nicer.’’

Dig out all your takeaway and ice cream containers (it doesn’t matter if they don’t come back), stuff them full of leftovers and give them to friends and family as they head home.

Anything left after that can go in the compost – yours or a neighbour’s, or your local community vege gardens’, if there is one.

Check your local council website, or the Common Unity Project Aotearoa website, for information about one near you, to see if they accept food scraps.

Meat, bones and dairy are not compostable. Try not to mix these scraps in with others if you’re going to chuck it on the heap. Newspaper is good for collecting scraps in, as it can go straight on the heap with the leftovers. chopped down in its youth, can return to nature as wood chips and mulch or compost, thanks to initiatives, like Wellington City Council’s Capital Compost.

Having an ethical Christmas isn’t just about waste, it’s also about how we behave and the ways we connect with our families.

Psychologist Karen Nimmo says the best way to ensure you don’t wake up on Boxing Day with an emotional hangover is to minimise the likelihood of a family tiff in the first place.

But if it’s too late, and your most enduring memory of Christmas Day is calling Aunty Jean a silly old duffer over the turkey stuffing, then you have some work to do.

‘‘It’s hard to repair conflict when emotions are running high, so give it time. But don’t avoid it altogether. Avoidance is a coping strategy, not a pathway to resolution,’’ says Nimmo.

‘‘Visualise the outcome. How do you want the relationship to look in the future? How do you want the other person to feel? Then, let that lead your actions.’’ Say sorry, and do it properly. ‘‘Saying, ‘I’m sorry you felt that way’, isn’t an apology – it’s shifting the blame back to the other person.’’

Boxing Day is also the best time to start curbing your wastemaking talent by skipping the sales.

‘‘You’re not going to save money, you’re going to spend money,’’ says eco blogger Hall.

Even if you go in for a specific bargain, you’ll probably walk out with five other things as well.

One good test: If the things you bought last Boxing Day are no longer in your life, you probably didn’t need them.

Instead, kick back and indulge your inner couch potato.

The family stress is over, you can spend time relaxing, reading, watching TV and tucking into some of those leftovers.

‘‘You’ll get far more joy out of that than what you will from getting a good bargain on a bed.’’