Green Holidays

With holidays just around the corner, many of us are thinking about decorations, gifts, and hearty feasts. Although this is the most carefree time of the year, we should still be mindful of the environment.

Here are 10 ways to have sustainable holidays:

Sustainable décor

1. Invest in good quality decorations

Each year most of our spending is based on the new decoration, but hear this one out. If we invest in good and durable decor, not only will we save money, but since these last longer, less waste will travel to landfills.

2. Decorate with LEDs

These lights are the best way to conserve electricity since they only use about 4 watts per strand, while the normal ones use over 25 watts.

3. Make sustainable decorations

Holidays are all about spending time with your loved ones, and what better way than working together to make cute little decorations for your house and especially your tree.

Sustainable gifting

4. DIY gifting

Instead of buying your family and friends expensive gifts, it is always better to give them things made with love with them in your mind. These gifts are cherished more, and recycling stuff is already available at home.

5. Plant-able gift wraps

Each year we waste a lot of wrapping paper, but what if we switch to plant-able paper. Imagine, after opening your gifts, you can plant your wrapping papers which grow into beautiful flowers.

6. Sustainable gift wraps.

Most of the wrapping papers have glitter and are made of plastic which is difficult to recycle. Get creative! Use any pieces lying around your house, like old newspapers or maps. These give a more aesthetic look to your gifts.

7. Gift experience

We have to admit some of the gifts we receive are wasted because these are things that we do not need or already have. But gifting experiences like a ticket to a game, comedy show, play, concert, or a fun day trip. This way, you give something to the recipient to look forward to and make some core memories.

Sustainable feast

8. Local holiday feast

This year don’t buy your groceries from the supermarket; instead, try hitting up your local farmer’s market and organic stores. Not only will your food taste good because of the fresh ingredients, but it will also help boost your local economy.

9. No plastic!

When buying groceries, we bring more plastic than food at home. The better and more mindful way to shop is to use tote bags. These are a one-time investment and can carry a lot of stuff.

10. Reuse and recycle

Use silverware instead of plastic utensils and use cloth napkins. Save and reuse leftovers and compost all the waste.