Enjoy a Sustainable Christmas: Celebrate in a Friendly Way

Being able to enjoy a sustainable Christmas and celebrating it in an environmentally way isn’t synonymous with being dull. Being sustainable means meeting our needs without damaging the resources that allow us to support the next generation. In addition, without generating negative economic, environmental and social effects.

In short, it’s about enjoying Christmas where the waste of resources such as food, money, raw materials and energy, among others, is eliminated. Read on to discover the simple tricks that’ll lead you to be more sustainable. You can apply them to other celebrations throughout the year too.

Tips to enjoy a sustainable Christmas

Christmas is one of the most beautiful and long-awaited times of the year. It’s a month where families come together to share anecdotes, gifts and food.

The economy moves forward all the time and Christmas is a positive occasion for both social and economic development. However, we mustn’t forget to take care of the environment, which we can do by taking the following advice as an example.

Sustainable Christmas decorations

Arguably, the most exciting part of Christmas is the decoration. It’s entirely possible to make these completely sustainable. For starters, don’t get carried away by fashion and trends because it simply isn’t necessary to change your decorations every year. You can recycle your old decorations and if you have several, find a way to mix them up to enjoy something unique and surprising.

If you definitely want a change, don’t throw your decorations away, donate them or give them to someone in need. In addition, take the opportunity to buy LED lights, which help to minimize energy consumption. This is also friendly to your pocket.

Taking into account that lights, regardless of whether they are economical or not, contribute to light pollution and affect birds and insects, so it’s best to moderate their use. When you turn them on, turn off your other internal lights and never leave them on all night or when you’re not at home.

Likewise, choose quality decorative elements so that you can use them for other occasions. This way, you’ll reduce your carbon footprint caused by the production of this type of plastic. For example, you can use your artificial tree for a minimum of at least twelve years.

Give gifts from your heart

One of the biggest concerns at this time has to do with gifts. Everyone wants to give their relatives things that they like, in order to surprise and delight. However, what really matters is the meaning behind the gifts you give. 

Spend a little time thinking about the hands that make what you buy. Choose products that respect people’s labor rights, that use raw materials in a friendly way and that are sold at fair prices.

Then we must also think about the wrapping. Every Christmas wrapping paper is wasted which ends up in landfills and overflowing trash cans. Choose to use recycled paper from other celebrations, newspapers or even make bags with scraps of fabric in the best patchwork style.

Enjoy a seasonal dinner

Christmas is a time of traditions, so there are some dishes that are only enjoyed during this season. However, purchasing imported products creates a high carbon footprint, due to mass production, transportation and refrigeration.

Choose local and seasonal products so you can help farmers who spend time taking care of their crops. Equally, don’t buy food that you’re not going to use! In addition to wasting your money, food waste affects the environment.

According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), food waste affects food security and environmental sustainability, on a planet where 690 million people suffer from hunger.

For a sustainable Christmas avoid plastic

As scientific articles explain, single-use plastics generate high pollution, because they take thousands of years to biodegrade. For this reason, various countries have prohibited its use. Even if your country doesn’t have such restrictions, you can still enjoy a sustainable Christmas without them.

Never serve food on plastic tableware, instead, use ceramic or glass containers. If, because of the number of people you’ve invited, it’s necessary to use disposable plates and glasses, choose those made with recycled materials such as avocado seeds or paper.

Ready to enjoy a sustainable Christmas?

As you can see, enjoying a sustainable Christmas is simple and it doesn’t require major sacrifices.

Of course, it generates great satisfaction too. Enjoying one of the oldest traditions while being environmentally friendly and taking care of the resources that we have, encourages and teaches our children and grandchildren to do it too.