The holiday season is a time for joy, connecting, and giving, but it’s also an opportunity to celebrate giving back to the planet. By making sustainable choices, we can reduce our environmental footprint while still enjoying holiday festivities.
Here are some easy tips you can incorporate into your festive traditions to have a green holiday season:
1. Reduce excess of wrapping paper
Wrapping presents is a great way to get in the festive mood. However, did you know that more than half a million tonnes of waste is generated every year in Canada from gift-wrapping and shopping bags alone?
There are plenty of sustainable ways to wrap your gifts and make them just as beautiful without using excess paper, such as repurposing household items.
Old newspapers, magazines, paper bags, fabric scraps, shoe boxes, mason jars, reusable bags, etc. are all great options that you can get creative with to provide a personal touch to your holiday gifts!
If you’re not into DIY projects but you still want to be eco-friendly, there are plenty of sustainable wrapping paper and gift decorating materials available for purchase.
2. Host an eco-friendly feast
Gather around the table and enjoy a meal that’s good for the planet and for your loved ones this holiday season by utilizing these suggestions:
- Buy local ingredients: Consider buying local vegetables and seasonal ingredients to incorporate into your meal.
- Reduce food waste: Try to save as much food as possible by getting creative with your leftovers and giving extra food to guests.
- Avoid single use dishware and cutlery: Although paper plates and plastic cutlery make clean up quick, using your own cutlery is much better for the environment.
- Make delicious plant-based dishes
- Compost excess food scraps
3. Reduce energy use
Lights are a great way to make your space more festive, yet they can use a lot of energy.
Consider putting your festive lights on a timer that automatically turns them on and off to your preference. Save the planet and your wallet!
Another way to be more eco-friendly is to make the switch over to LED holiday lights. LED lights have an estimated energy efficiency of 80-90%, compared to traditional incandescent bulbs which operate at 20% efficiency. Not only are LED lights more efficient, but they are also very durable in rough weather conditions such as blizzards.
4. Rethink your approach to gift-giving
By re-thinking gift-giving, we can make our holidays more sustainable, meaningful, and aligned with our values.
- Create handmade gifts: repurpose or upcycle items to create a beautiful one-of-a-kind gift. Embrace the power of DIY!
- Support local artisans and small businesses: instead of purchasing a mass-produced item from a large retailer, buy gifts from local or small sustainable businesses. These items often come with a unique story that can make your gift even more meaningful.
- Organize a gift exchange: gift exchanges such as Secret Santa are a good way to reduce the number of gifts within a group. Exchanges encourage you to put more effort into one gift, rather than purchase multiple gifts for numerous people.
- Quality over quantity: gift gifts that will last for a long time and have lots of use, rather than multiple disposable items.
- Give experiences instead of material items: give the gift of a fun experience you and your loved one can share together.
5. Reuse and repurpose old decorations
Instead of buying new trendy decorations each year, stick to re-using the festive decorations you already own.
By re-using your decorations from prior years, you can create a sense of tradition with your loved ones. Each year, you may associate certain decorations with family memories and stories.
If some of your decorations look a little worse for wear, you can repurpose them to bring a fresh look to your space. Reusing decorations opens plenty of opportunities for creative projects.
The Giving Machine: Southcentre Mall in Calgary, Alberta
For all of our Calgary readers, the Giving Machine has returned to Southcentre mall this year. Instead of snacks and candy, this unique vending machine offers gift and donation option to help support families in need both locally and globally during the holiday season. The Giving Machine has raised more than $32 million for charities since 2017.
Check out this video to learn more: https://globalnews.ca/video/10907410/giving-machine-returns-to-southcentre-mall-in-calgary-2/
As we celebrate the holiday season, let’s embrace the opportunity to make choices that benefit both our loved ones and the planet. Spread the joy of giving by giving back to Earth!
Happy Holidays from ECO Canada!
