Darebin Celebrates!

If you’re celebrating Christmas, there are lots of cheap, sustainable options when picking out at Christmas tree this year:

• Reuse or buy second-hand: use the tree hidden in your garage or buy a second-hand tree.
• Live native trees: Look for Albany Woolly Bush or Wollemi Pine at local nurseries. You can keep these trees in large pots to be used year after year, or you can plant them in your back yard after the festive season.
• Traditional cut trees: Darebin residents who receive a Council kerbside rubbish collection are entitled to one free Christmas tree collection each year. Christmas tree bookings are limited and start mid-December. Call Customer Service on 03 8470 8888 to book now.
• Spruce up your favourite pot plant: by draping over some lights and hanging a few decorations.

Give the gift of less waste Before you go out and buy that roll of wrapping paper with cute penguins wearing Santa hats, take stock of what you have at home.

We use more than 150,000km of wrapping paper during the festive season and most of that ends up in our bins. Here are our tips for reducing your wrapping waste this festive season:

• Wrap your gifts with wrapping paper that you have left over from previous years.
• Get creative- use your Who Gives a Crap loo roll wrappers (the new designs are particularly bright, colourful and festive).
• Put that newspaper to good use, when you aren't using it to line your kitchen caddies use it to wrap your presents.
• The brown packing paper mesh not only looks cool but will help protect your gifts.
• Probably the most common suggestion when you search sustainable packaging on Pinterest is the stream of pictures of Furoshiki wrapping. If it looks daunting check out 1 Million Women's handy guide to wrapping with fabric.
• Instead of using stickers and ribbons to decorate your gifts try dabbling in dried citrus fruits or sprigs of fresh rosemary or Eucalyptus. Not only do they look good, they smell even better!
• If you do opt for conventional wrapping this year, remember to carefully remove the tape so you can use it next year. Just remember that glittery and cellophane wrapping paper can't be recycled and will need to go into your general waste bin.

Did you know that the average Victorian household throws out approximately $2,200 worth of edible food every year, and this can increase during the festive season! Here are our top tips for to help you save money and reduce food waste this holiday season.

1. Count your party guests and plan what everyone will bring
2. Shop smart, write a shopping list and stick to it!
3. Check the shelf life of the food you are buying and the space you have for keeping it fresh
4. Ask your guests to bring containers and take leftovers home
5. Share leftovers with friends and neighbours if you know you’ll be going away
6. Learn a new leftover recipe, it might just become a favourite!
7. Make the most of your leftovers
8. Combine foods that need to be eaten
9. Create a use it up shelf in the fridge
10. Freeze leftovers so they last longer
11. Make extra serves to keep for later
12. Store food in sealed and labelled containers

Find out more at on our Avoiding food waste page.

Pickles are a delicious and easy to make homemade gift that reduces food waste. You can use up those old veggies at the bottom of your fridge or your abundant garden harvest. Plus, you can use up those jars cluttering up your kitchen cupboards.
This quick pick recipe is easy to make, and you can swap out different vinegars, herbs and spices that you have in your kitchen.

1. Slice veggies and pack into clean jars – almost any vegetable can be pickled and the shape you choose is up to you (carrots, cucumbers, radishes, zucchini, onions can work great!)
2. Mix 1 cup water, 1 cup vinegar, 1 tbsp sugar, 1 tbsp salt – you can use any basic vinegar in your cupboard – white, apple cider, white wine or rice vinegar. If you can even combine these to use up what you’ve got. 
3. Add spices if you have them – dill, coriander or mustard seeds can add a delicious punch to cucumbers.
4. Pour over veggies in clean jars.
5. Refrigerate for at least 24 hrs  

In line with our sustainability goals, we have decided to reduce some plastic decorations as part of this year’s festive season program. Instead, we will be focusing on providing opportunities for our community to connect and celebrate together. 

To ensure the safety of our community and staff, protect our gum trees, and support our sustainability goals, we will be installing a 3.6 metre Christmas Tree at Preston Town Hall this year, instead of our traditional 6 metre tree.

Additionally, smaller Christmas trees will be placed in multiple key activity centres throughout Darebin to spread festive cheer.

Our 6 metre Christmas Tree is currently in storage. An arborist was engaged to assess if it could be installed at Preston Town Hall this year, with advice given that it would be too close to gumtree limbs.  Placing it closer to the footpath away from the gums risked installation machinery damaging the concrete. We will look into feasibility of having it on display for future Christmases. 

In line with our sustainability goals, we have decided to remove plastic, single use bin wraps from the festive season program. Funds historically spent on the bin wraps will be redirected to a program of community activities and opportunities to connect and celebrate in Darebin. 

Traditional Christmas displays and decorations maintain a strong presence in Darebin’s key activity centres and selected shopping strips, delivered by Darebin’s four Trader’s Associations (Preston, Northcote, Fairfield & Reservoir) with each receiving an additional $5k contribution from Council as per previous years.

We absolutely do! Darebin is a uniquely diverse and vibrant community, and while we celebrate Christmas, we also embrace and honour the many ways our residents come together at this time of year.

We’re so fortunate to be part of a community that reflects so many different traditions and backgrounds – let’s celebrate all the richness and joy they bring!

From creative community activations to festive shopfront artwork, dazzling reindeers, to joyous performances, there are so many ways to celebrate and connect in Darebin.

Find out more on this page and on our socials.

Each year, Darebin Council acknowledges through messages and activities, over 75 significant days and events that hold meaning for our community. These acknowledgments are intended to honour and increase awareness of our community’s values and commitments, respectfully recognising these important dates.

We’re so lucky to be part of a community filled with diverse traditions and backgrounds – let’s embrace the beauty and joy each one brings. 

For many years, Darebin’s annual Carols were celebrated as a family Christmas concert held at All Nations Park in Northcote.

During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the Carols event pivoted into Illuminate Darebin where Council buildings and sites were lit up with artistic light installations, complemented by an online Community Mixed Tape featuring different community choirs showcasing end of year festive songs.

In December 2021 we introduced a new annual concert series across various Darebin sites titled Our Songs: A celebration of Peace, Love and Joy which will run again in 2024 for the community to enjoy.  

This focus on Peace, Love and Joy is inspired by the idea of our local community coming together in the spirit of reconciliation and harmony at the neighbourhood level.

Visit our Business maps page and Clothing page for information on local businesses and op shops. 

Check out the end of year celebration tips on this page for handy tips and tricks for being more sustainable this festive season. 

Check out the Christmas trees and alternatives article on this page for everything you need to know about choosing, and disposing of your Christmas tree. 

The Reindeer have been moved to Northcote Town hall this year, to the Civic space on High Street Northcote. This decision was made as we would like to share the Reindeers across the City. 

The Reindeers are a permanent asset of Darebin City Council, a local business created these art pieces over 5 years ago.