How to make the perfect flatmates Christmas
Whether you’re staying at your share house for Christmas or you’re heading to your family home for the break, it’s always nice to bring a little Christmas cheer and celebrate with your flatmates.
Looking back at 2019, we’ve had a wild year: Trump was impeached, NSW and QLD suffered from horrible bushfires and Game of Thrones came to an end. But for us, Greta Thunberg and her movement had a massive impact on our lives. So in honour of her, we are helping you to make your Christmas a low waste one. Plastic, crappy Secret Santa gifts are out and plants, organic chocolate, tomato seeds and beeswax wraps are in.
Now if you live in a share house, you’re probably a little skint this time of year. We get it, the aircon bill goes up, you’ve got hundreds of Christmas presents to buy, not to mention the constant catch ups and the copious amounts of wine to be drunk, it all adds up. But you’re in luck, as we’ve compiled a little list on how you and your flatmates can make the perfect Christmas in your share house (whilst keeping the costs and the carbon footprint low).
Christmas dinner, share house style
Get in early for this one. Yes, you all live together but this time of year is busy and the days and nights quickly fill up. Being in Australia, there’s no need to copy Christmas traditions from afar and go with the turkey (which let’s be honest, none of us can afford anyway). Why not go with a BBQ or create your own flatmates Christmas tradition of making dumplings or rice paper rolls together? You could even try a vegetarian Christmas roast. If your flatmates total number is on the small side, get every flatmate to bring a plus one (their significant other or bestie).
Secret Santa
If you’re already part of four Secret Santas, you might not want to create another one for your household. On the flip side, it’s a great opportunity to buy some things for the house that might be needed. Check our blog on Secret Santa here.
DIY decorations
We’re currently on a war on waste at Flatmates and we are crusading our community to avoid buying crappy plastic Christmas decorations new from the shop. As an alternative – buy the same crappy plastic decorations from Salvos! They’re so much cheaper and you will feel so good knowing that you haven’t contributed to more unnecessary waste. Plus your donation will help those organisations make Christmas lunch for those in need.
You could give your creativity skills a whirl and try to make Christmas decorations with what you have around the house. Our resident Disco Diane was transformed into Angel Gaybriel with a set of wings (left over from Halloween). Sleigh queen!
Christmas tree oh Christmas tree why art thou so expensive
Gone are the days of the traditional Christmas tree. Why spend $60 + on something that will only last a month (yes, the smell is amazing, we know). Try making a tree out of the plants you have around the house. You can build them up on boxes to add dimension and shape and then decorate with your Vinnies’ baubles. You could also try making a Christmas tree out of the Christmas cards you’ve received. Arrange the cards on the wall in a pyramid shape, blue tacking each card down. Don’t forget one card at the bottom for the tree stand! You can even take the easy way out and decorate your shelf as the tree. The main rule is – do not buy a plastic tree. That will get you no points. Find more creative tree ideas here.
Not so Home Alone
Get off your Netflix in your dark room by yourself and hook that HDMI cable up in the lounge room. Grab your flatties, munch on some of your delicious treats mentioned above and watch your fave Christmas movies together one night. If you can’t be bothered baking, Aldi have an amazing array of traditional Christmas treats, straight from Europe. Marzipan cookies anyone?
Even if you’re a grinch or don’t celebrate Christmas, getting together with your flatmates to celebrate the year that was is always a great thing to do. We hope all of our Flatmates have an amazing and safe holiday period.
