Does Christmas fill you with money worries? Us too. The average household in the UK spends £800 more in December than in other months. 81 million gifts are unwanted, many go straight to a charity shop and one in ten end up in landfill. Do we really need, or even want, so many gifts? All this waste isn’t good for us OR the planet. This year we’re pledging to stop buying tat. Here’s how.

The best advice we can give is don’t panic buy! If you panic you’re likely to overspend on gifts that are generic and impersonal. Buymeonce founder, Tara Button outlines her plan to prevent the panic. Check out her 12-step plan but if you’re too late to follow her advice this year (you need to start planning in November!) we’ve got some eco-conscious and money-saving ideas for you here too.

This might be a tricky one by why not be brave and and agree not to buy presents AT ALL this year and spend real time with friends and family instead? Most people will be relieved, not disappointed, to be able to spend less cash and saving the planet is a perfect excuse. Giving a favour is a great way to save money and show affection to someone. You could promise to cook a great meal from scratch, help with some DIY or babysit. Moneysavingexpert makes some good suggestions, and also provides a ‘voucher’ that you can print out and customise.

If you don’t feel comfortable making a no-gift-obligation-pact, a thoughtful way you can give your time to someone is to make a gift by hand. There are lots of things to play with here – get creative! Make some festive cookies, knit a scarf, put together a scrapbook of memories. If you don’t feel confident with making something from scratch, try putting together a hamper containing locally sourced and organic products from independent businesses.

For those hard to buy for, an experience gift is a special way to give waste-free. In fact, it’s more of a memory they can treasure. Gift some concert or theatre tickets, or look into classes and courses: River Cottage offer a plant-based cookery day using ingredients grown in their very own kitchen garden. For the wine-lover in your life, English wine is on trend and Sedlescombe vineyard in Sussex is completely organic. Why not treat them to a tour and tasting voucher?

“Satish Kumar said that everything we own should be BUD – beautiful, useful and durable – everything we gift should be aswell”

Most simply of all, don’t be afraid to ask what they want for Christmas. It’s less risky than guessing and your gift is less likely to end up in landfill. Try to look in charity shops and antiques markets first. They’re great places to find unique, long-lasting presents.

If you think only new will do, support local independent makers or shop with Etsy who have made themselves the first online shopping brand to implement a carbon offset initiative. You could explore eco-conscious marketplaces like Wearth and Buymeonce, but bear in mind Satish Kumar’s excellent advice that everything we own should be BUD – beautiful, useful and durable – and so should everything we gift. When buying, think about who you’re buying for and what they value the most.

Chocolate is the most popular gift to buy for adults but production of palm oil is destroying rainforests, so only a few brands aren’t planet wreckers. We love Tony’s Chocolonely and you can buy in bulk straight from their website.

Christmas is a time to be lazy and reconnect with your friends and family so take the stress out of present giving and give them the gift of you instead.

Let's Ditch 'Tatmas'