A few weeks ago, I suddenly realised Christmas was coming! It’s weird to think I had been, fairly, unaware of the upcoming festive period! However, it's like I've learnt to create a filter in which I can, largely, ignore the commercialism and the culture which is trying to persuade me to part with my money. I rarely go to the bigger chain stores but if I visited in October or November I'd, pretty much, avert my eyes when passing the Christmas aisles. In fact all that sparkle practically hurt them! I realise I sound very "bah humbug" and I know by this point I am at risk of losing the lovers of Christmas amongst you. But, to me, focusing on Christmas so early is exhausting and stops me noticing the beauty of the changing of the seasons in the autumn months.

Now we've reached December, I'm more inclined to embrace the Christmas sparkle (with plastic-free glitter of course!). However, it's a relatively parred down embrace. I buy a lot less presents than I did. This is due to the overwhelming nature of having to buy for everyone but has the knock-on advantage of reducing carbon emissions (and, of course, saving me money!). Every new item made has a carbon footprint and although we often think in terms of transport or energy usage when we think of carbon, the carbon footprint of the stuff we buy is significant and contributing to climate change. This can be really hard as there is so much pressure and expectation at this time of year. I reduced the present buying for my own wellbeing, which I had to put before external expectations. Of course, you can talk about this with family or friends you are buying presents for. You might even find they feel the same and want to reduce their spending too. With my kids I've just slowly reduced the amount of presents I buy over the years and they honestly haven’t seemed to notice. Oh dear, I've become very Grinch-like! I often wonder how this has happened, I used to love Christmas! It's not, so much, that I don't like Christmas it's that I am now awake to the way Christmas has been allowed to manipulate us to think we have to do certain things and buy (lots of) stuff otherwise we are letting people down and not celebrating properly.

So, maybe I should focus on what I like! This definitely includes the smell of the Christmas tree, especially first thing in the morning when the day is still dark. We got our tree from Kings Garden Centre and enjoyed cake in the café and a browse around the shop before choosing our potted tree. I also enjoy the unpacking of the Christmas decorations, which is like a memory box. I've got some that belonged to my great grandma, others I hung on our tree as a child, some my children made when they were little and others that we have bought more recently, such as during a day out at the Donkey Sanctuary in Sidmouth. We keep them all and carefully pack them away each year to reuse the next. Our tree then becomes a display of memories throughout the Christmas period.

What else is to like? Well for me, it's walking when it's dark and the houses or town centre is lit up with twinkling lights. It's the joy and excitement of my children. It's drawing the curtains and watching Christmas movies together. It's those events that are on only at this time of year: the pantomime at the Pavilion (oh no it's not, oh yes it is!), Christmas markets and school performances.

I wish you a very Merry Christmas! Thank you for reading my column this year and I'll be back in 2024!

If you want support in lowering your carbon footprint of stuff you can see all the posts I've written about this throughout this year by joining my Changemaker membership on Patreon, the £5 tier. Try it for free! It'll save you money! www.patreon.com/rhubarbandrunnerbeans