I'm Dreaming of a Green Christmas

I wish I could say that I was mindful of the environment when I was younger, but I wasn’t. I honestly didn’t even think about it. However, as I’ve gotten older, I’ve started to think about it a lot and have tried to make some changes. I’ve noticed that the older I’ve gotten, the more minimalistic I have become and the more aware I have become of my impact on this earth. It hasn’t been easy and I’m far from perfect, but I still try to do my part. If you want to do your part too, three of the easiest ways are the one’s we’ve been hearing about for years: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. Below are some ways to put these into action this holiday season.

1. Reduce

I don’t know why, but reducing one’s waste always seems daunting. Maybe it’s the word itself…it seems a bit harsh. Or maybe it’s overwhelming and we don’t know where to start? Either way, reducing one’s waste isn’t really that hard. For instance, this holiday season, instead of buying for everyone in your family, start the tradition of doing a Secret Santa gift exchange. Draw one name and buy only for that person. This way will cut back on holiday waste, save you money, and help you stay stress free. Another way to cut back is to use what you already have lying around your house. For example, if you are a scrap-booker, use leftover scrap-booking paper to cut out tags for gifts, or if you sew, use any leftover cloth for wrapping paper. Gift cards are another easy way to cut back on waste. Though they might make it seem like you didn’t really try, gift cards are actually a nice way to make sure the person you’re buying for will get something they like, and it’s a green alternative at the same time.

However, if you want to do something a little different and are looking to get someone a unique gift that’s also environmentally friendly, consider edible gifts this year. Whether it be cookies, fudge, fruit, etc. edible gifts are a great way to go green. They might be a bit more expensive, but you could also make them yourself, which, in my book, counts as a handmade gift and gets extra points. By buying or making edible gifts, the waste output will be almost non-existent because it doesn’t require any wrapping and the gift itself will be eaten. Lastly, another way to be more mindful of your impact on the earth is to switch to LED Christmas lights. LED Christmas lights are about 75% more energy efficient than their incandescent counterparts, plus they’re safer! Since they don’t emit as much heat, you’re less likely to get burned by them. It’s a win-win.

2. Reuse

Reusing is a practice that my family has no problem enacting, but the holidays are a bit harder. With the holidays being celebrated so strongly, it can be hard not to get sucked into buying new wrapping paper, gift bags, and tissue paper to show off your holiday spirit, so if you do inevitably buy some, don’t fret, you still have options to be green. For example, buy wrapping paper made from recycled materials, and after the presents are opened, collect the gift bags and tissue paper and keep them for the next holiday season. This way, you’re not wasting anything, but you’ll also be saving money. It might seem embarrassing at first, because you don’t want to come across as “cheap,” but if you can put your ego aside, the planet and your wallet will thank you! Another way you can go green is to reuse your wrapping paper. Instead of throwing it out because it’s torn, take that wrapping paper and cut it up and make confetti for the new year or cut around the tears and reuse it on smaller gifts for the next year. It might be tedious, but our planet is worth it.

However, if that really isn’t your style, another option is to reuse your Christmas tree and decorations. Again, I know it’s hard, but try to reuse the one’s from the year before. Just because your tree doesn’t look as good as it did the year before or the lights aren’t working doesn’t mean that you need a brand new one. And trust me, you don’t need yet another buffalo check pillow or another piece of red truck decor. Your decorations from last Christmas are good enough. Shopping at secondhand stores is another great way to help the environment. When shopping for gifts, a lot of people think that they have to buy brand new and from a brand name company, but a lot of secondhand places have stuff that’s practically brand new. They have clothes, toys, décor, books etc. all at reasonable prices and this way you’ll also get the satisfaction of knowing that you didn’t contribute to more resources being used unnecessarily.

3. Recycle

In my opinion, recycling is the easiest of the three to put into action, but recycling around the holidays can be a bit harder to navigate. For example, not all wrapping paper can be recycled. Some types of wrapping paper have glitter and plastics throughout, making them non-recyclable, so be careful because recycling things that shouldn’t be recycled can actually do a lot of harm. Recycling gift cards is also tricky and more than likely you’ll need to find a company that accepts old ones and sends them in to be recycled. However, the classics are still recyclable, and if you want to make it easy on yourself, put a trash bag for recycling in the room where you open gifts, that way everyone can easily get involved and it’s less for you to clean up.

Another way you can recycle is by regifting. Any gifts you receive that you already have or don’t want or need, consider regifting them. It might seem taboo, but regifting is frugal and a great way to be ecofriendly at the same time. Another great way to recycle this holiday season is to simply purchase recycled goods. Whether it be wrapping paper or holiday cards, check to see if your purchases are made out of recycled goods before buying them. Lastly, a big thing to consider recycling this holiday season is real Christmas trees. This might seem like a hard one, but there are places that will collect your tree and take it to be recycled. If you’re not a fan of that, you could always chop it up and use it as firewood or do some crafting. You could even use the needles to make potpourri. Whatever you do, just make sure they are fulfilling their life purpose by being recycled.

The holidays are hard, especially this year, but that doesn’t mean that our planet should suffer. The greatest gift you could ever give is the gift of a long-lasting life for this world and us by extension. If we all would just look outside of ourselves and see the big picture, not just this season, but every season, we could accomplish amazing things for our planet.