Sustainable Ways to Prepare for the Holiday Season
By Cora Gold
As your friends and family gather to celebrate winter festivities, take thoughtful initiatives to help reduce negative environmental impacts. Your holiday experiences can be merry and bright even when you adopt green habits. Help protect the environment by promoting DIY gifts, reusable hacks, and more.
1. Choose Household Items for Decorations and Wrapping
From empty soda cans to outdated baby bottles, recyclable items can be easily used to create holiday decor. On average, many Americans incur debt each year during the holiday season. Consider using reusable household items as sustainable decorations to make your year-end festivities more cost-effective and environmentally conscious.
Along with mindful decorating, it’s time to get creative with wrapping. Repurposing jars can be a great way to share home-cooked snacks with neighbors. For larger items, newspaper offers a vintage look while helping the environment. From cloth to postcards, nature-friendly solutions can be unique.
2. Reduce Energy Use
Hanging lights on a Christmas tree or on rooftops can create a much-desired winter glow. However, one of the most harmful and least cost-effective aspects of the winter holiday season is energy usage.
Fortunately, light-emitting diode (LED) lights don’t sacrifice aesthetic value and produce less heat, making them a more environmentally friendly choice. With automatic timers, you can set up and use this decor more efficiently, especially since they save around 80% on electricity. Plus, you’ll buy fewer replacements, as LEDs last from 10,000-50,000 hours compared to the average 2,000 for incandescent bulbs.
3. Reducing Internet Usage for a Greener Holiday
Nothing quite captures the holiday season like movie night. With so many digital viewing platforms available, your favorite classics are just a simple click away. Even so, the amount of time you stream at high-quality levels may prove harmful to the environment.
There are ways to promote eco-conscious streaming without making your night “tech-free.” Watching lower-quality videos reduces emissions every month. Additionally, seasonal festivities are known to bring people together, so consider inviting loved ones over for movie nights to minimize the number of screens in use.
4. Travel and Gather Sustainably
With holiday sales, dinners, and family celebrations, travel is a necessity during the merry season. However, it is vital to understand your carbon footprint and the environmental impact of travel. Passenger vehicles emit numerous harmful greenhouse gas emissions for every mile driven.
Take the time to consider how to offset travel emissions thoughtfully. Planning to carpool or use public transportation can help you enjoy each aspect of the winter season, even when opting for a more sustainable option.
5. Mindful Experiences
Shopping for loved ones doesn’t mean you need to buy mass-produced gifts to show your appreciation. Quality time is one of the best ways to create cherished memories with friends and family. A great way to spread holiday cheer is to make holiday cards together from recyclable materials.
Seek out materials with a lower carbon footprint before finalizing a purchase. The places or companies where you shop can also have a lasting impact on the environment. As you approach your gift list, explore local stores where you can pick up your gifts in-store to be more eco-friendly. In the meantime, watch for businesses that make false claims about sustainability through greenwashing.
Small Changes, Big Impact
Making more Earth-conscious decisions can have a positive, long-lasting effect. Promoting more eco-friendly options can help you make the most of the holiday season without harming the environment. From simple replacements to purchasing recyclable materials, planning helps create a sustainable holiday.
About the author: Cora Gold is a sustainability writer who aims to live a healthy, low-waste lifestyle. Read more from Cora in Revivalist magazine, LinkedIn, and Twitter.
