11 Best Ways to Have a Sustainable Christmas

Last Updated on 29 November 2021 by Lily

How to Make Greener Christmas This Year?

Christmas is coming in almost a month’s time. I cannot believe how time flies so fast. Christmas is the most exciting time of the year, but we can’t really say it’s the most eco-friendly day, unfortunately. We consume a tree, lots of food, gifts, and decorate the home with lights… However, there are ways to make a more sustainable and greener Christmas. Small changes by each of us can make all the difference in reducing the environmental footprint when the potential for waste, overconsumption and mass shopping is high like Christmas.

Let me share 11 best ways to have a sustainable Christmas today.

♯1. Rent a Christmas Tree

Having a real tree or artificial tree is an arguable topic. Real Christmas trees are a more sustainable option but buying them can still have a negative impact on the environment. In fact, after the holiday season, 6 million Christmas trees are discarded every year. To make the holiday season a little more sustainable this year, you can adopt a Christmas tree that is given to you every year during the holiday season and return to the forest for the rest of the year. Make sure to read how to take care of your tree before renting a sustainable Christmas tree.

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♯2. Decorate Tree and Home with Eco-Friendly Alternatives

Same as the tree, Christmas decorations are used once a year. Therefore, I am sure you can reuse them each year. Reusing is the most environmentally-friendly way to decorate your home on Christmas. If you need to get new Christmas decorations, instead of shopping at a home store or supermarket and buying mass-market plastic decorations, choose handmade decorations that are made of natural materials such as wool, wood, rattan, recycled glass, hemp, jute etc. Nkuku is a great shop for green Christmas decorations. Their Giant Christmas Baubles are made from recycled glass, Talini Tree Topper is made from brass, and Star’s decorations are made from mango wood. Also, you can find locally made sustainable Christmas decorations on Etsy. You’d like to add handmade linen Christmas stockings, William Morris Christmas Decorations, Scandi style wooden Christmas tree baubles and Colourful Felt Confetti Garland to your collection.

♯3. Get a Sustainable Wreaths

Wreaths are essential items for Christmas decorations but some are more eco-friendly than others. If you have time to DIY, why don’t you get the Diy Scandi Christmas Wreath Making Kit which you can make a wreath by using eco-friendly materials. If you don’t have time for making it, Etsy has plenty of different types of handmade eco-friendly wreaths like Gold and Ivory Christmas Wreath, Handmade Christmas wreath, or Natural Rattan Christmas Wreath.

♯4. Choose Eco-Friendly Crackers

Christmas crackers can also be a huge contributor to waste. So ditch these single-use crackers from the mass market and replace them with reusable eco-friendly crackers. You can even make it by using recycled kraft brown paper. These are perfect green Christmas crackers for the lunch table.

♯5. Shop Locally

From gifts to food, try to get them from your local shops. Supporting your local small business helps boost a strong, sustainable local economy. They have often put more care and love into their products, too. Not only that you can have fewer food miles and less packaging. And make sure to make a list before going shopping to prevent buying things you won’t need.

♯6. Get Natural Eco Scented Candles

Having candles at the dinner tables or when you chill with your family will add a cosy and relaxed atmosphere. There are so many great scents that tap into the magic of the Christmas season. For instance, Black Oak Candle – Cedarwood, Cardamom & Nutmeg With Oakwood, Oakmoss & Spices, Spiced Pumpkin Candle, Essential Oil Soy Wax Candle – Herbs + Lavender or Green Meadow Scented Candle 100% Natural. Lighting up these luxurious smelling holiday-scented candles make the moment extra special.

♯7. Choose a Sustainable Christmas Presents that Lasts

Choosing gifts for your loved ones is as exciting as choosing for yourself but at the same time, it can be tempting to panic-buy presents which can lead to a lot of gifts ending up in landfills particularly when you simply don’t know what to get. So from this year, why don’t you try more mindful gifting and start thinking about gifts early and buy less, but with more thought. When choosing sustainable Christmas gifts, avoiding single-use plastic and giving zero waste giftset or reusable essentials as gifts is a great way to wake up friends and family to the idea of embarking on a green life journey.

Another way to select greener gifts is that you can get an E-gift card from the shop his/her favourite shop. I personally think this is the best sustainable Christmas gift idea as it doesn’t create any rubbish and also they can choose what they like by themselves. E-gift cards from Making A Green Life by Lily can also be given to your loved ones as a Christmas gift and able to pick the price you want to.

♯8. Wrap Gifts with Green Christmas Wrapping Paper or Fabric

4 million wrapping papers and shopping bags are wasted every year just for a special day. We definitely should reduce it. So from now on, instead of contributing to the mountain of non recyclable wrapping paper, sticky tapes, ribbons, or glitter that can’t be recycled, use green Christmas wrapping paper or reusable fabric to wrap sustainable Christmas gifts. Switching to recyclable eco-friendly paper, Kraft Paper Tape, 100% Recycled Grosgrain Ribbon will help to minimise the high levels of waste produced at this time of year.

♯9. Send E-Cards

According to Imperial College researchers, 1.5 billion Christmas cards are thrown away by UK households each year. That is a lot. To reduce this much waste, there is a way to send seasonal greetings without costing the planet which is E-Cards. Thanks to technology! Use design apps like Canva which can create unique and beautiful Christmas E-cards. If you know people who cannot receive E-cards like your grandparents, consider getting plantable cards. Plantable seed cards are a great alternative to sustainable Christmas cards. When the biodegradable paper is planted in a pot of soil, the seeds will grow and eventually the paper will decompose.

♯10. Reduce Food Waste

During the Christmas season, almost 270,000 tons of food is wasted. We can reduce this number by buying less. If you still have many leftovers, create new meals by using leftovers which will not only cut waste but also save money. Another option is that you can give it to the local food bank or soup kitchen.

♯11. Opt for LED Lights and Solar-Powered Lights

Do you know how much CO2 we can save for just switching to LED lights? We could save more than £11 million and 29,000 tonnes of CO2, just over the 12 days of Christmas. Also using LED lights use up to 80% less energy.

If you want to decorate your garden with some Christmas lights, use solar-powered green Christmas lights. You’ll not only make environmental savings but your energy bills will be reduced too.

Final Thoughts on 11 Best Ways to Have a Sustainable Christmas

Having a green Christmas can not only minimise the impact on the environment but also be a great way to lead your family or friends into a green lifestyle. I hope these 11 best ways to have a sustainable Christmas help you to have a wonderful sustainable Christmas with your loved ones!

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