Organic turkeys are eco friendly and taste better too

2. Invest in a real tree
Though plastic Christmas trees are meant to be “for life” they often get tatty and are thrown away after a couple of uses, whereas real trees can be composted or planted in your garden after and re-used for next year. Real trees look a lot nicer and add a festive smell to your home too. To recycle your tree visit www.pinesandneedles.com.

3. Don’t overbuy food
People tend to get carried away at Christmas and overfill the supermarket trolley. To avoid throwing away uneaten food, work out how much you will actually need for your Christmas party or lunch and stick to it.

4. Use eco decorations and crackers
Artificial Christmas decorations and crackers won’t biodegrade and giant plastic Santas and reindeer aren’t the most attractive of decorations either. There’s a great selection of eco decorations and crackers in stores this year, or be even more environmentally-friendly and make your own natural decorations using pine cones, berries and evergreen branches. (Right, £50 for a box of six, Selfridges)

5. Save electricity
Use eco-friendly LED lighting or low voltage Christmas lights and turn the lights off when you are not home – 15 per cent of household electricity is wasted by leaving appliances on standby. (Below, low voltage lights, £10, Tesco)

6. Give an eco gift
Green gifts don’t have to mean bizarre things made from cardboard and old bottles, they can be anything from organic perfumes and make-up to organic clothing and even an eco iPad cover. Visit www.nigelsecostore.com and http://www.love-eco.co.uk

7. Drink organic
Organic wines, beers and spirits are kinder to the environment as no pesticides are used in their production. They’ll give you less of a hangover too, as they have no added chemicals or nasties, and many organic wines contain more health-promoting antioxidants too. (Right, Yalum Organic Shiraz, £6.99, Waitrose)

8. Eat organic
Over 10 million turkeys are eaten every Christmas. If you are having turkey this year, make sure it’s organic or free-range. All supermarkets are stocking organic and free-range turkeys this year, as well as organic accompaniments. Free-range turkeys are free to roam around, and are fed a natural diet free from growth promoting chemicals, meaning they taste far better than a standard turkey. (Above, free-range turkey, £6.39 per kilo, Marks & Spencer)

9. Recycle unwanted presents
Every year we all receive a present we don’t really want. Instead of leaving it in a cupboard to go dusty, donate it to your local charity shop or hospital.

10. Reuse your wrapping paper
An estimated 83 square kilometres of wrapping paper are binned every year, so ensure you recycle yours, or if you open your presents carefully enough, save it for next year.