Bin there done that: Peter Truman in his natural habitat Deadlinepix SU18491
Each year there are more and more complaints about the over commercialism of Christmas. And yet spending during this festive season is set to rise again.
The guilt of all that waste generated from Christmas dinner and New Year's Eve parties could start to make it difficult to have a good time.
Unless, of course, you break free from the system. By following a few simple Freegan steps you can have a virtuous Christmas and New Year
Freegans believe in living life with minimal participation in the conventional economy, and using as few resources as possible. They try to reduce the amount of waste that goes to landfill by re-using everything they can - from discarded clothing to leftover food thrown out by supermarkets.
But trying to get a Christmas dinner for free could prove challenging. Having tried my hand at "dumpster diving" in my last Freegan feature in September, getting food from bins after supermarkets have discarded it, I know it is not easy.
For those who want to give finding food like a Freegan a go, the chances are slim of finding a plump turkey with all the trimmings, though some canapes for a New Year's Eve bash are possible.
My last visit to meet environmentalist and Kingston resident Des Kay, who won Kingston Guardian's Green Champion award for his green endeavours, revealed how many of the big supermarkets throw away items, such as cakes, biscuits and even wine.
advertisement
In fact, some early morning raids, about 4am I'm told is best, could provide all the drink needed for a New Year's party.
Des is having his dinner, with the full trimmings, provided for him but is hoping to pick up some Christmas nibbles in the aftermath.
"I'll be having some food generously donated' by supermarkets thrown away in their back yards. I do think that it's all a bit excessive and unnecessary - you ask kids what they want and they don't know as they have everything they need"
And Des' tip is to start planning now for next Christmas as it's a bumper time of year for people getting rid of all the stuff they just don't want.
"If you see something at a car boot sale or in the junk, pick it up because it could make a great present and when it comes to Christmas next year you won't have to spend anything."
A top tip from Des is to check out the website Freecycle for a range of present for nothing. Freecycle is an online group where items people no longer want are offered to other users, all for free. There are plenty of second hand fake Christmas trees on the site available for stockpiling for next year.
It is also worth a cursory look at Freecycle for those plotting a New Year's party. While alcohol is not allowed on the Freecycle website, other things to jazz up your party, such as disco balls and sound systems can be picked up, all for free.
Jon Marks, Kingston Freecycle co-ordinator, said: "We get some music systems and have had some small PA speakers too. Most of them are loud enough to have a good old knees up."
And this time of year is bumper for Freecycle, with a raft of unwanted gifts uploaded on to the site.
“I’ll be having some food ‘generously donated’ by supermarkets thrown away in their back yards. I do think that it’s all a bit excessive and unnecessary – you ask kids what they want and they don’t know as they have everything they need”
Des Kay
As Jon said: "I hear so often people say it's too good to throw away but I don't want it or can't keep it'."
Alternatively, you could make your own Christmas presents. The Guardian national newspaper recently released a supplement detailing how to make 25 different presents, using such things as coat-hangers, duct tape and magazine covers.
If you fancy giving the gift of creativity and making some presents, then there are plenty of craft books about and with a bit of practice you could be fashioning a doll's house, iPod sock or picture frame in minutes. You can also make decorations for a party or placemats for a dinner.
With Christmas sorted, attention soon turns to New Year's Eve and the headache of organising who you'll be with, where you'll go and what to do to celebrate another year passing. Going out on New Year's Eve is notorious for greasing the great capitalist wheel, with your local pub suddenly charging a fiver for entry only to experience a night almost identical to every other when it's free to get in.
So what can you do for free without feeling like you've contributed to a promoter's holiday in Barbados?
Fear not, for plenty of free things are happening across the capital for the savvy to enjoy. The Tube will again be running, free of charge, from 11.45pm on December 31 until 4.30am on January 1. There is also the free fireworks display on the South Bank which start at the first stroke of midnight from Big Ben and last 10 eye-popping minutes.
But if the weather outside if frightful, then getting yourself on to a VIP list for a private New Year's Eve bash would be delightful.
Steve Fleury from Oceana told me of some of his favourite attempted blags from people trying to get into the Kingston club.
"The most common is people claiming to be an agent of a celebrity or footballer, saying that they'll be six people coming down but on the night there's only five and the one missing is unsurprisingly the celebrity.
"Then there's people who claim they own the venue. One guy tried that just as I happened to be at the door with the son of the CEO. When the guy said his dad owned the club I turned around and said sorry but this guy's dad owns the club'."
"But there was one guy who tried to claim he owned a West End club and got found out. His friends teased him lots but he took it so well and was so funny that I let him and his friends in, and now he's here every month."
It seems there are many ways to break free from the money-making men of Christmas if you're willing to put in some hard work and think outside the box. While rummaging in bins for a turkey and some champagne for Christmas and New Year's is unappealing, much of the Freegan ideal seems most poignant over the festive period. Once the champagne has gone flat and Auld Lang Syne is a distant memory, perhaps we should all adopt a few Freegan traits.
Not only could we all cut waste, but we could save a few pennies too.
Why not discuss this story on our forum. Just click here
If you liked this article and would like to share it with others on the web who might be searching for good content we've made it easy for you to do it.
At the bottom of all articles, you'll see links to six sites. These sites - commonly called 'social bookmark' or 'social news' sites - have large communities of web users who share and rate interesting, useful and fun things on the web.
Clicking the links will automatically add the address of the story you are reading to one of these sites, letting you share it with others. Each site will ask you to register to share stories. Registration is free and once a member, you can store, recommend and search for stories that interest you.
Print
Email this
Comment
