The merriest time of the year is around the corner. Holidays are coming, and it’s time to show our friends and family how much we care, but this year we’re adding Planet Earth to our gift list in hopes of celebrating a very sustainable Christmas.
Some Christmas traditions are not the most environmentally friendly, and since tradition is just peer pressure from dead people, it’s time to consider forming new traditions – better ones.
Going over the top with excessive shopping, packaging, and plastic decorations is getting old.
If you’re thinking about celebrating the holidays in a green and sustainable way, we have a few ideas that you might like to incorporate into your new Holiday habits.
Small changes add up and implementing just a few of these can have a huge impact over time. Of course, you don’t have to give up all your favorite rituals – even the fact that you’re considering how to live more sustainably is already helpful to the environment.
Here’s our guide to 12 ways to make your Christmas more sustainable this Holiday…
1. Buy less
There’s societal pressure around gift-giving. We’ve all been advertised into thinking that the only way to express love is to buy as many gifts as possible, but deep down we all know it’s not true. You know that your family is getting you five presents and you feel obliged into getting them a lot of useless stuff to return the favour. That tradition only results in pollution, cluttered homes, and empty wallets. Talk to your friends and family about buying less this year.
2. Shop sustainably and local
This year when you go Christmas shopping, try to be mindful of where you shop. When we get presents locally and choose small businesses, we are supporting people, families, and communities instead of corporations. Support your local artisan shops.
If you feel like getting your gifts online, there are now many online stores that are mindful of shipping and packaging, sell fair-trade items, or even support charities and causes. Check out our European and North American lists of 15 places to shop for Christmas gifts sustainably.
3. Minimise lighting
We don’t just pay for our lighting when it’s time to cover the electricity expenses. Saving on electricity is also a way to spare our natural resources, so let’s stay reasonable about decorations.
Try using LED mini lights for outdoor decorations and turn them off when you go to sleep. It’s worth checking out if maybe solar-powered lighting is right for you. With the decreased utility bill, you can treat your family to a nice dinner.
4. Use less wrapping paper
Did you know that 70 percent of recycled paper actually comes from cardboard, not used paper? Wrapping paper is hard to recycle and just in the USA, half of the total amount of used paper is actually used to wrap Christmas gifts.
Consider using alternatives to wrapping paper, or omit it entirely. People are usually just glad to get a present and no one really cares about the wrapping.
5. Consider new ways of wrapping presents
There are other ways to decorate presents that don’t include any tape or wrapping paper.
Did you ever consider using a mason jar and some ribbon and a hemp tie? How about butcher paper? By far the coolest idea we saw on Pinterest when it comes to zero waste Christmas gift wrapping is using used toilet paper rolls to create a gift box!
6. Be cool with re-gifting
There’s a social stigma surrounding re-gifting, but really it shouldn’t be this way. We should all strive to live our life clutter-free and keeping a bunch of presents you know you’ll never use is just wasteful.
Instead, donate the things you don’t need to local communities or those you know will actually use the items you don’t like.
7. Use a live tree
8 million Christmas Trees end up in landfills, meanwhile the materials used to produce plastic trees are really difficult for waste management. This year, consider getting a live tree – one that you won’t forget to re-pot once the season is over – or simply decorate an existing tree in your garden.
If you’re committed to getting a plastic tree choose one that is made of one material so that it can be recycled later, and instead of PVC, if possible, choose a polyethylene. It’s still a petrochemical, but is slightly safer.
8. …Or simply rent one
Check if there are tree-rental services near you.
Yes, now you can even rent a tree. Basically, you use the tree during the holiday season, water it, and return it. If you’re in London, check out London Christmas Tree Rental.
9. Play secret Santa
It’s impossible to avoid being wasteful if, in a huge group of people, everyone is getting gifts for everyone. Instead, play Secret Santa.
It’s no longer hard to organise, although putting everyone’s name in the hat and then drawing the name of one person can be a fun family tradition. Now, there are apps and websites that simplify the process – you just type in the names of participants.
By playing Secret Santa you avoid the chaos of choosing the right gift for everyone in a huge family or friend group, and you also get to enjoy one, but significant gift instead of too many useless gadgets.
10. Use sustainable ornaments
The rule of thumb is – if you can reuse it, it’s ok. But still, when shopping for ornaments it’s best to avoid plastic. Wooden or ceramic ornaments will last longer – try buying them from small, artisan businesses. Or, you can make them yourself with your friends and family. To make your decorations extra environmentally friendly, use recycled materials like plastic bottles. Making them yourself doesn’t have to be hard or time-consuming.
IDEA: use old lightbulbs to create a perfect glass Christmas tree ornament. Fill them with dried flowers and hang them – and you have yourself a fancy-looking, cheap, eco-friendly ornament! Alternatively, you can paint the lightbulb to look like a snowman or reindeer.
11. Control food waste
2 million turkeys, 5 million Christmas puddings, and 74 million mince pies are thrown out while still safe for consumption during the holiday season. That results in 270,000 tons of food waste in total, enough to feed so many people in need.
This Christmas don’t overdo it with the feast and don’t forget to refrigerate/freeze the leftovers for later, or share with your neighbors. Head on to Pinterest to check out recipes that use leftovers from the Christmas menu to create completely new meals!
12. Send plantable Christmas cards
You are probably well aware that Christmas cards produce a lot of waste each year and that sending them also carries a carbon footprint. But, there are people in your life that simply expect a card and get upset if they don’t receive one. So, how do we make both Grandma and the Earth happy? Get a plantable Christmas card that not only won’t result in waste and clutter but can help cover the Earth in beautiful wildflowers.
They’re produced from post-consumer waste and embedded with seeds that sprout and grow when planted. You can also get plantable wrapping paper!
Here are some places you can shop for plantable Christmas cards and wrapping paper:
If you can think of any sustainable Holidays tips we’ve missed, drop your suggestion in the Comments.
