Tips For Celebrating Green Holiday Seasons

Eco-Friendly Festivities: Your Guide to a Green Holiday Season

December 21, 2023

The holidays are a season of traditions, no matter what you choose to celebrate this December. Everybody has their own, either passed down from generations or brand new. For many, this means gathering with family and friends for warm meals and thoughtful presents. Sadly, though, we lose sight of going green for the sake of festive joy. We’re so focused on one another that we forget to show some love to Mother Earth, too. From wrapping paper to packaging, we add more and more to the landfills during this time of year. Fortunately, there are helpful alternatives for making sure we’re taking care of the planet while also having a fun time. If you’re looking for an eco-friendly spin on time-honored traditions, here are six tips for celebrating a green holiday season.

1. Reduce and reuse food waste

For starters, it’s time to put those leftovers to work. Why not make a shepherd’s pie or whip up a plate for one of your neighbors? You could also hop onto Google and find a recipe for reusing holiday meal leftovers. If you’re looking to reduce, however, you can always make less food than you normally would. Think realistically about how much you really need in order to feed everyone and work from there. There’s so much you can do with leftovers, on top of avoiding having any.

2. LED Lights

Did you know that LED lights can operate up to fifty thousand hours, compared to one thousand hours with regular incandescent bulbs? The cost up front for LED may be more, but the decrease in replacement costs over time more than makes up for it. On top of that, LED bulbs are great for saving energy. You can still decorate the house and make it sparkle while saving money and helping out the planet.

3. Upcycling Christmas Cards

A simple holiday staple can sometimes be just as guilty as anything else of producing waste. For those of you who are Pinterest-inclined, a fun way to make sure Christmas cards don’t end up in the landfill is upcycling. Upcycling recreates unused or unwanted items and makes them new again. Think arts and crafts but super green. You can make ornaments, garland, wreaths, and even shadow boxes.

4.Smarter wrapping paper

Do you still get the newspaper, use paper bags at the grocery store, or have extra gift bags lying around in the basement? Those would all be great wrapping paper alternatives, bringing a second life to quote-unquote trash. And using what you have doesn’t have to look bad, either. A stamp and some paint or a fancy bow can dress up any plain paper. It’s stated that 2.3 million pounds of wrapping paper end up in landfills, and the conditions of landfills means that wrapping paper will never be exposed to the proper conditions in order to biodegrade.

5. Thrifting

A good gift doesn’t have to come from Amazon or fall into the category of fast fashion. In fact, a good gift can be eco-conscious, too. As a promoter of slow fashion and eco-friendly buying options, we support any gift possibility that doesn’t involve needless waste. You never know what you’re going to find at a thrift shop. Books, clothes, ornaments, DVDs, trinkets. Plus, no excess packaging is involved, and reusing pre-loved items keeps them out of the landfills. We promise these gifts will be just as loved as anything store bought.

6. Buy from sustainable, eco friendly businesses

If you’re going to buy, why not buy from businesses with a mission for planet Earth? They often have more ethical business practices compared to other, more mainstream companies. They do things like donate to nonprofits and plant trees for every purchase made. You can go green and get great gifts for your friends and loved ones.

Linen Christmas Stocking