David Yeung, founder & CEO of Green Monday

Rather than pulling your hair out year after year trying to find the perfect gifts for your friends­—which can turn out to be wasteful if the items are things they don’t actually need or like or fit—why not make a donation to a charity or support an underprivileged group in the name of your friends?

That was one of the most thoughtful gifts I received years ago and I have adopted the practice as well.

See also: Chopard's Journey To Sustainable Luxury

Peggy Chan, founder of plant-based restaurant Grassroots Pantry

Make edible Christmas tree ornaments. Why buy shiny crystal balls and garlands to hang on your tree when you can adorn it with decorated gingerbread cookies? This is something we do at Grassroots Pantry yearly, and we invite kids in to come to decorate them and hang them together. It makes the entire restaurant smell of gingerbread.

Or share zero-waste tips through giving gifts of books, like Eat It Up! 150 Recipes to Use Every Bit and Enjoy Every Bite of the Food You Buy, by Sherri Brooks Vinton.

Tamsin Thornburrow, founder of Live Zero, Hong Kong’s first zero waste store

Don’t use wrapping paper, as it’s not recyclable. Use Japan’s Furoshiki technique, wrapping your gifts in a piece of cloth. And make a gift something useful rather than purchasing one, or give gifts of food.

See also: The Rise Of Sustainable Investments In Asia

Laurel Chor, founder, Hong Kong Explorers Initiative

Give experiences instead of things. Things break, get lost and end up in landfills—where they may stay for centuries—but memories last a lifetime. Give someone a class, or concert tickets, or vouchers to go skydiving. Give your time. There is nothing more precious than time with loved ones.

Promise a home-cooked meal, a scavenger hunt of your own design, or an evening with surprise activities.

Christina Dean, founder of eco-friendly NGO Redress

Put a twist on your shindig and make fashion more sociable by organising a clothing swap while catching up with friends, or give a session with a stylist to help inspire friends to let their unworn clothes out of the closet again.

See also: The Tatler Guide To Combating Climate Change