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Green Christmas

After all the fun and wonder of Christmas morning is over, there is usually a mountain of shredded wrapping paper and packaging to dispose of. If you’ve ever thought about ways to reduce this aftermath, we’re going to look at some options for making your holidays more eco-friendly.

Going Green

This book by Anna Getty shows how to celebrate an environmentally friendly Christmas. As an organic living expert, environmental advocate, writer, television personality, chef and, most importantly, as a mother, Anna brings her favorite organic holiday recipes and practical craft ideas. She shares wonderful ideas on how to minimize the environmental harm caused by necessary travel, choosing a tree in an eco-friendly way and recycling after the holidays.

I‘m Dreaming of a Green Christmas

Crafting

Whether it’s to create holiday decorations or even homemade gift items, craft projects are a great way to celebrate Christmas in an environmentally gentle way. Here are some places to look for green craft supplies.

Nature

Sometimes the best arts and crafts supplies can exist right in your backyard. Take a walk with the kids and look for some craft supplies in your backyard or at the local park. Pine cones, acorns, leaves, and berries are all very season friendly and can make great projects. Create your own centerpieces or design a nature-themed wreath to place at the front door.

Recycled Materials

Before you throw away some of the things in your home, check to see if they can be turned into a great arts and craft project. Clear jars, egg cartons, cardboard, old magazines, and even empty shoe boxes can make great canvases for creating the perfect holiday crafts. Be sure to clean them up thoroughly and store them for later use.

Gifts

To reduce negative effects on the environment, it’s important that you plan out and optimize your Christmas shopping. With this in mind, you will have a specific idea of what you’re planning to buy in order to limit your impact on the environment.

• Be More Fuel Efficient – When you plan your Christmas shopping fuel efficiently, you can optimize your outing or even carpool with others in order to share the Christmas cheer in an environmentally friendly way.
• Bring Your Reusable Totes – Remember to grab your reusable bags when you go Christmas shopping to reduce waste. Plastic bags are a huge problem in landfills and in the oceans. Bringing your own large reusable totes also reduces the number of bags hanging awkwardly from your arms as you shop.
• Walk or Ride a Bike – If you can shop without a vehicle, definitely do it. Walking or riding a bike to go shopping will help you buy less since you’ll have to carry it home. If you do need to drive somewhere, park at a central location and walk to all of the shops. It’ll be healthier because you are moving more as you make trips back to put the presents in your car.
• Make a List and Check it Twice – When you go Christmas, shopping be prepared with a plan and a list. If you know exactly what you want before you even go inside, it will cut down on impulse purchases and prevent extra last-minute trips.
• Buy Items That Can Be Repaired – Planned obsolescence is a huge problem. So many of the things we buy, from computers to phones and even furniture are designed to be thrown away. Try to buy items that can be repaired rather than casually discarded and replaced.
• Buy Items That Are Recyclable – Consider whether the materials your gift is made of and packaged in are able to be recycled. Compare how long you think you’ll use it with how long it’ll stick around in a landfill. Is it really worth it?
• Buy Items That Are Compostable – The skin and seeds from a fruit basket or other consumable gifts will easily rot and not contaminate the ground. When you buy presents that can at least turn back into dirt, you won’t be compounding the permanent landfill problem.
• Consider Seasonal Shopping – When you shop seasonally you reduce waste and don’t participate in the consumption of fuel for transporting out-of-season produce. To give gifts that include offseason produce, consider canning as a way to bring a bit of Spring or Summer delight to the Christmas season.

Planning your Christmas shopping will help you buy things thoughtfully, instead of on the spur of the moment. When you take shopping and buying Christmas presents seriously, it’ll make a huge difference in your environmental impact and your wallet.

Decorations

Decorating for Christmas is such fun because the season is so festive. It’s fun to bring the outside in when spending time with family and friends. Think of the beautifully decorative food of this time of year. Letting the food set the mood is a good place to start.

• Use Your Food to Decorate – Christmas is all about love and joy, but it’s also about food. So, why not use the food as your primary inspiration for decorating? Visually stunning and sumptuous dishes are the hallmark of the holiday season. Bowls of Christmas cookies and other holiday treats can be placed around the house to bring an edible bit of decor to any holiday get-together.
• Core Theme – Get some apples and core them. Set each one on a decorative plate or saucer, put a little candle inside and light them to create beautiful natural decorations. After the party, you can simply eat your decorations or cut them into small pieces and put them in the yard for birds and squirrels to enjoy.
• Go Natural – Since Thanksgiving is the gateway to the holiday season, use pumpkins, leaves, branches, and pinecones to make delightful holiday decorations. Everything you find outside for your decorations is eco-friendly and fully compostable, disposable, and biodegradable.
• Bring the Outdoors In – Thanksgiving also provides lovely outdoor vegetation, plants, flowers, leaves, pinecones and more that you can use for Advent decorating. It’ll be fun to do it too. Looking at everything in your yard in a new way is interesting.
• Start a Cozy Fire – If you have a fireplace, Christmastime is an excellent time to use it. Set it up beautifully with some seasonal greenery and pinecones. When you light a fire in your fireplace, the ambiance will enhance the décor and mood.
• Use Ecologically Friendly Dinnerware and Serving Pieces – Using glass dishes is ideal since glass is recyclable should anything unfortunate happen. Disposable bamboo or other plant-based products can also look great as holiday décor while being compostable when you’re done with them.
• Repurpose – You probably already have things that will work if you change them up a bit. Look on Pinterest for some inspiration. You can turn any clear glass vase into a Christmas decoration by filling it with seasonal greenery, pinecones and dried or candied fruits. Christmastime is also rife with colorful candies and other sweet treats that can be put in jars, vases or decorative bowls to add a colorful pop to your party.

It’s not that hard to be environmentally friendly with your décor any time of the year if you make it a priority. Just think of what you are buying before you buy it to ensure you are selecting green items.

More Green Ideas

As you can see, it’s possible to have a clean, green Christmas without all of the usual waste, clutter and excess. All it takes is a little effort and an eye toward preserving the planet for generations to come.