Deck the Halls with Eco-Friendly Joy: A Guide to a Sustainable Christmas Celebration
'Tis the season of joy, celebration, and the spirit of giving! Amidst the festive cheer, there is a great environmental cost that comes with large scale celebrations. This Christmas, The Nature Foundation wants to help you celebrate sustainably and ensure the magic of the season doesn’t come at the cost of our precious planet.
The statistics are shocking, with 227,000 miles of wrapping paper, over nine million turkeys, 114,000 tonnes of plastic and around six million trees used each Christmas season.
Zero Waste Memoirs
Give the Gift of Something Green
According to the EcoCenter, only a tiny fraction of waste from Christmas gifts is recycled. The rest, around 5.5 million tons of holiday waste including packing material, unwanted gifts, and other items journey on to their forever homes: landfills. This season, give the gift of an experience or something sustainable!
Gifting an experience rather than a physical gift can be much more meaningful to someone and is more environmentally friendly. Gifts like concert and movie tickets, a special outing or event, restaurant reservations or gift cards, painting, pottery, and cooking classes are great options. If you do resort to buying a physical gift, do your research on buying a sustainably made gift.
Sustainable Gifts for Her: https://www.sustainablerookie.com/gifts/sustainable-gifts-for-her
Sustainable Gifts for Him: https://www.sustainablerookie.com/gifts/sustainable-gifts-for-him
Sustainable Gifts for Kids: https://selfsufficientkids.com/eco-friendly-gifts-for-kids/
Sustainable Gifts for Anyone: https://www.eco-stylist.com/the-ethical-christmas-gift-guide-15-unisex-gift-ideas/
Wrapping gifts also generates an enormous amount of waste. For wrapping your gifts this year, use leftover giftwrap or bags from last year, paper shopping bags and newspapers, or mason jars and resuable containers. For those heartfelt Christmas cards you include in each present, make a homemade card with paper, markers, and pens you already have at home!
The Guardian
Ditch the Wasteful Decor
There are so many options for Christmas clothing, decorations, and gifts at secondhand and thrift stores. Not only does buying secondhand items reduce the number of natural resources being used, it also reduces the amount of energy used and pollution that's being emitted.
This includes pesticides, burning fuel in the trucks that haul the items, toxic chemicals and carbon emissions.
There are various environmentally-friendly options you can use for decorating your house. Consider foraging for evergreen foliage, twigs, branches, berries, seed heads, colours, and textures to make your home into a winter wonderland. Here are some examples of what to look for:
Conifer foliage and branches: pine, cypress, fir
Evergreen foliage: ivy, holly, mistletoe, eucalyptus
Twigs, branches and stems: dogwood, oak, birch, willow, hazel, olive
Seed heads: old man's beard
Herbs, especially rosemary, bay and sage
Seeds, berries and cones: hawthorn, rosehip, spindle, holly, ivy, pine cones, chestnuts, crab apples
You can also easily make dried citrus ornaments and garland to hang around your home. Use a dehydrator or your oven to turn oranges and other citrus fruits into colorful and fragant decor. Find step-by-step instructions here: https://www.hgtv.com/lifestyle/holidays/how-to-dry-oranges-for-christmas-decor
In terms of Christmas trees and lights, it’s best to ditch the traditional decorating methods. Positive.News found that “Outdoor Christmas lights create so much light pollution that Nasa can see them from space, so it can be beneficial keeping festive illuminations inside. Decorative lights cost the UK £3.75m a day to run over the festive period, so opt for solar-powered LED tree lights. Turn them off at night.”
Make an effort to rent a tree, and if that's not possible, consider purchasing a potted spruce to cultivate in your garden for annual reuse. Alternatively, opt for an FSC-certified tree to guarantee it originates from a responsibly managed forest, and be sure to recycle it appropriately. Many local councils recycle trees by transforming them into chippings, significantly lowering their carbon footprint by up to 80% compared to landfill disposal.
In contrast, plastic trees, destined for landfills, carry twice the carbon footprint of a real tree. If you already own a plastic tree, continue using it, but be mindful of its environmental impact.
Pebble
Trim the Tree and Food Waste this Christmas
According to the WWF, poultry is in the top 10 most wasted foods in the UK and 100,000 tons of it end up in the trash every year. The livestock industry generates 14.53% of all man-made greenhouse gas emissions because it requires huge amounts of space, water, and feed.
This holiday season, opt for a plant-based holiday spread. We found this great article of recipes for you to try out: https://www.forksoverknives.com/vegan-holiday-recipes/
Reduce your food waste to address the primary driver of tropical deforestation, which is food production. Plan your meals thoughtfully, estimating the amount of food you actually need, and make an effort to save and eat leftovers. Opt for environmentally friendly alternatives like Tupperware, foil, and wax cloth covers instead of clingfilm to maintain the freshness of your leftovers. Lastly, encourage guests to bring containers for leftovers. Everyone can enjoy not cooking the next day and save the environment at the same time!
foodunfolded
In embracing a sustainable Christmas, we've uncovered numerous ways to weave eco-conscious choices into our festive traditions. From mindful gift-giving to reducing food waste, each small action collectively contributes to a brighter, greener future. As we celebrate the season of joy and togetherness, let's carry these sustainable practices forward, recognizing that the spirit of Christmas extends not only to our loved ones but also to the planet we call home. May this holiday season mark the beginning of a tradition where our celebrations are not only merry but also mindful of the world we share. Here's to a truly sustainable and joyous Christmas for all!