Make a difference this Christmas

It’s the most magical time of the year: acquiring a toppling pile of objects and hauling them back from your parents’ house in a battered shopper, fingers numb and straining. There’ll be one diamond in the rough, but the rest of the clutter will be squished into a cupboard and left there.

We’re conditioned to think that Christmas is all about stuff — but it doesn’t have to be. Increasingly, Londoners have been counteracting the consumerism of Christmas with ethical gifts that don’t contribute to the clutter. For some, this means gifting a donation to charity in someone’s name, or investing in a foreign or domestic project on their behalf. With Oxfam (Oxfam.org.uk), you can invest in a child’s education for £19, present a struggling community with a goat for £25, or donate mosquito nets for only £7.

Buy an Amnesty gift card (amnestyshop.org.uk): the shop includes books, clothing and accessories and profit goes towards the continuation of the charity’s work. Most of the gifts are organic, recycled, Fairtrade, educational, or eco-friendly. Gift cards are also available as e-vouchers. Animal lovers can sponsor a Kitty Kabin at Battersea Dogs and Cats Home: the package includes a bed for an abandoned cat and veterinary attention for just £5 a month.

Then there are projects such as Lend With Care, a microfinance website established by CARE International UK that supports entrepreneurs in developing countries. Potential lenders go onto the website (lendwithcare.org), where you can view the profiles set up by wannabe entrepreneurs. Select a project and then provide a loan in £15 increments to support it. When the loan is repaid you can withdraw the money or invest it in another project.

Part of the fun of Christmas is its predictability — clutter is as much a tradition as turkey. But do your bit to reduce it and you’ll be the angel on top of this year’s tree.