Christmas is one of my favourite times of year, but as much as I love it, I don’t love the consumerist habits it encourages. It can be tempting to buy all kinds of shiny trinkets to celebrate the season, but how often do we ending up throwing these items straight in the trash as soon as Boxing Day rolls around? One way to minimise waste is to have a look in your local op shop for some of the items you might normally pick up at a discount store. You should be able to find all kinds of useful things, like:
Decorations
There are so many baubles, strings of tinsel and Santa ornaments at the op shops at this time of year it’s ridiculous. Take advantage of the mega cheap prices and snag a whole bag of festive goodness for only a few bucks!
Wrapping paper and cards
My family use printed fabric bags to wrap most of our presents, but if you prefer wrapping paper you’ll find heaps of old stock as well as cards and paper plates that have been palmed off to the op shops after last year’s Christmas sales.
Stocking stuffers
It’s tempting to buy cheap throw-away items as stocking stuffers, but you’d be surprised at the cute little items you can find at op shops. Candles, jewellery, kitchenware and ornaments are all good stocking stuffers you can find in abundance at any op shop.
Holiday games
One of my favourite parts of Christmas Day is playing board games with my family. Whether it’s a classic like Scrabble or an interesting jigsaw, you’ll find some fun games for all ages that will entertain you and your family over Christmas and the holiday period.
Books
Make sure you pick up a few books to read while you have some spare time over the Christmas break! Books also make great stocking stuffers – there are plenty of best sellers and niche/retro titles to serve a wide variety of interests.
Toys
Op shops are always overflowing with all kinds of cool toys to entertain the kids – whether it be barbies, building blocks, stuffed animals or matchbox cars.
Christmas t-shirts
One of the best things about Christmas is the opportunity to wear hideous Christmas attire a la Colin Firth in Bridget Jones’ Diary. And although it’s too hot for ugly sweaters, in Australia we have our own version known as tacky Christmas t-shirts. Make sure you keep a look out for older designs that fall on the right side of the kitsch/cool scale.
Do you have any other ideas for reducing waste this Christmas? Have you been checking out the op shops for Christmas bargains?
If you’re looking for more op shops in Canberra, check out our recently updated article on the best op shops in Canberra.
