Have yourself a green little Christmas
- Chelsea Cameron-Fikis
- Dec 15, 2017
- 6 min read
The voices of Bing Crosby and Nat King Cole chant from shopping mall speakers; wreaths and colourful lights embellish doorsteps throughout the neighbourhood; Christmas themed movies flood TV stations, and holiday-flavoured drinks fill cafés everywhere - these are all telltale signs that the holiday season has finally arrived. Some people eat, breathe and sleep for this time of year, while others loathe it more than the Grinch himself. I think I fall somewhere in the middle: I enjoy it, but get frustrated with how excessive and stressful it can be. Over the past few years I've tried to find ways to spend less money, reduce waste, lessen holiday stress, and enjoy more quality time with friends and family. While this list is certainly not exhaustive, here are a few tips and tricks to make your Christmas-time rituals more sustainable and green. Do you have any other sustainability tips? Let me know in the comments! I'd love to hear them.
1. Green your Holiday Wrap
Instead of going out to buy ink-saturated wrapping paper, (which some jurisdictions deem recyclable and others do not), use resources that you already have sitting around your house. Eco-friendly wrapping paper helps to save money, save resources, and reduce waste. -Try up-cycling items like old newspapers, brown paper bags, old packaging paper, old cloth bags or clothing, old tins, glass jars, or wooden boxes into DIY wrapping projects. -My go-tos are old newspapers and old gift bags (from years previous). With a little bit of TLC, (added ribbon, stamps, paint, tissue paper), you can make your holiday wrapping look thoughtful and festive, without all the waste. Other tips:
save bows, gift bags, ribbons and tissue paper to be used for the following year;
save old Christmas cards and turn them into gift tags the following year;
if you use fabric wrap, request that your gift receivers return the fabric to you after, or encourage them to try using fabric wrapping next year;
if you must buy, go for recycled wrapping paper, or brown wrapping paper.
2. Green your Holiday Gifts
Buying holiday gifts can be stressful, but there are lots of easy ways you can make gift-giving less daunting and lighter on your wallet. -First, if you're the creative type you can try creating homemade gifts like homemade soaps, bath salts, cookies, paintings, jewellery, woodworking and so on. -Second, buy less. Try pulling names out of a hat so that you're only buying for one member in the family (versus five for example), or try creating a simple shopping list with one special gift per person. Go for quality of items over quantity of items. -Next, buy package-free. Focus on buying perishable, homemade, or experience-type gifts that don't come with a lot of heavy packaging (especially non recyclable packaging). -And finally, buy local. When you buy gifts that are from your own neighbourhood you help to save on fuel from shipping transportation, you support your local economy, and you get an item with a more unique story behind it.
Other tips:
make a coupon book for family members (i.e. for homemade dinners together, movie nights out, breakfast dates on the weekend, etc.);
have your family forfeit gifts altogether one year, and instead collectively donate to a charity, or volunteer together at a food bank;
host a locally themed gift-giving year where everything purchased must be from local vendors in your city.
3. Green your Holiday Tree Most people assume artificial Christmas trees are the more sustainable/green route, but surprisingly this isn't the case (unless you have the same artificial tree basically forever). Don't believe me? Check out almost every article on the internet, including this one from Huffington Post and this one from Earth911.com. Basically the gist is this: artificial trees are made of polyvinyl chloride, or PVC, a non-recyclable plastic, meaning they're toxic to make and toxic to dispose of (not recyclable or biodegradable). Also a large majority of artificial holiday trees are imported from China, increasing their carbon footprint. Real trees on the other hand are grown specifically to fulfill their holiday purpose, they come from tree farms that actually help to provide habitat for wildlife, and they can be composted and recycled in the end.
Don't like either option? Fine. Get creative and make a tree out of your giant book collection, build a wooden one and paint it green, or consider a living potted-tree where you bring the tree into your home for approximately 10 days, then replant it after Christmas.
Other tips:
go out with family and friends to plant some new trees on your own. If you don't have the resources to do this, head over to www.onetreeplanted.org and they'll do it for you;
instead of bringing a tree indoors this year, go outdoors into the woods and decorate a tree for the birds and wildlife with homemade pinecone feeders.
4. Green your Holiday Shopping
Between the countless plastic bags that we accumulate and toss in the trash, to the plastic and cardboard packaging that wraps the products we buy, to the gas we use going back and forth to all the stores, shopping can generate a lot of waste; but, you can make your holiday shopping a bit more eco-friendly with a little bit of preparation. Get your backpack or travel bag ready and bring some key items with you to shop. -1. Your own reusable shopping bags. You already do it when you grocery shop don't you? Holiday shopping is no different. -2. A reusable thermos and/or water bottle. It's inevitable that you'll buy a caffeinated drink or a water bottle during your shopping excursion, so why not avoid single-use cups and bottles and have your own drinkware ready to go? -3. A detailed, specific shopping list to prevent you from blindly browsing, and having to make multiple shopping trips.
Other tips:
carpool with friends to the mall, or avoid driving altogether and take public transportation;
try to avoid buying items that come in non-recyclable packaging.
5. Green your Holiday Meals There are so many ways you can make your holiday meals green this December, but the most obvious one is to ditch disposable anything. This means plates, utensils, napkins, straws, and even toothpicks if you want to be 100% no waste. If you're hosting a holiday party, opt for festive fabric napkins, use your good china and wine glasses, and just use the darn dishwasher to wash all the dishes and utensils. Another important way you can make an impact is through the food you serve. When you're out shopping for groceries, favour the locally grown and seasonal foods. In addition, you can reduce your carbon footprint by reducing or eliminating your meat and dairy consumption. Try a meat-free holiday dinner - it's super easy and delicious! (Nut loaf anyone?)
Other tips:
plan for leftovers so you don't waste any food/let things go bad by mistake;
if you're planning on serving meat, keep in mind that red meat is the most carbon intensive;
boycott factory farmed meats - opt for locally raised meats instead!
6. Green your Holiday Decorations
Instead of buying more plastic baubles this year, why not spruce up your tree and bedeck your home with some homemade decorations? Cinnamon stick tree ornaments, popcorn garland, dried fruit decorations, stars made from cardboard and toothpicks, wine bottle snowmen - after a simple Pinterest search the options are endless! Plan a crafty afternoon with friends and make your own holiday decor. Also, if you're decorating with lights, try switching to the LED variety, because they can use 75% less energy than regular holiday lights. Oh and don't forget to turn your lights off before you go to bed!
Other tips:
take the old holiday decorations you don't like and have a decoration-swap holiday party with friends and family;
have a nature-themed Christmas tree and only use biodegradable decorations that can be composted with the tree;
donate old holiday decorations instead of tossing them in the garbage.
7. Green your Holiday Experience
My last tip is perhaps the most obvious one of them all: relish in the quality time you share with family and friends, and not in the quantity of money you spend or gifts you receive. While the holiday season can certainly feel like one stressful whirlwind of parties, potlucks and shopping trips, we sometimes forget to slow down and soak in the reasons that really make this time of year great: sharing smiles and memories. So get outdoors to connect with nature; pool some friends together to volunteer; have a baking night with your Mom or Grandma; go skating with your niece or nephew; and start new traditions or events that bring people together.
Other tips:
Set a clear holiday budget and stick to it - again, remember that this time of year should be more about spending time than spending money;
Check out this A-Z list of tips from The Guardian for even more sustainable Christmas ideas.
Comments