There is too much wastage whenever there is a big festive season, including Christmas. The additional shopping, cooking and exchanges of gifts means there will be more plastic bags used, more leftover food that ends up in the trash can and more gift wraps that are used only once.
So how can Christmas be celebrated without causing too much harm to the environment? Going green during Christmas doesn’t mean taking the fun out of the festive season. It only means putting Mother Nature first when shopping and cooking for Christmas. Here are some environment-friendly ideas to celebrate Christmas.
Use Shopping Bags
Avoid using plastic bags at the check-out counter. Instead, bring reusable shopping bags when making Christmas purchases. These bags are cheap and can be used over and over again. They come in various sizes too, allowing shoppers to use them for bulky items as well.
Buy Recycled Christmas Cards
Many greeting cards are printed on recycled paper. Opt for these. If there are lots of old Christmas cards at home, cut out pictures from them and use them as Christmas decorations, gift tags or even make new Christmas cards out of them! Yes, old Christmas cards can be recycled for other new uses. Want to send truly green Christmas cards? Get online and send e-cards. There are so many free e-cards available.
Re-use Old Gift Wraps
When unwrapping gifts, try not to tear the paper wraps, especially those used to cover flat and bulky items. Gently remove them, smooth them out and keep them for other uses. Using gift wraps made from recycled paper is a good choice too. Or better still, make your own gift wraps. Virtually any big piece of paper can serve as a gift wrap. White or plain brown paper can be added with colors or potato prints to make them more interesting.
Buy Food with Little Packaging
When shopping for food, look for items with minimal packaging. Buying in bulk can avoid the excessive use of packaging material too. Plus, bulk buying saves money.
Cook only What’s Needed
There is always too much food left at Christmas. It’s rather sinful to cause so much food wastage when there are millions out there with hardly any food to fill their stomach. So try cooking only what’s needed. If guests are coming with their own dishes, make sure there are no two same dishes. Plan and coordinate ahead.
Get a Real Christmas Tree
No, don’t chop off a tree. Buy a living tree in a pot. At the end of the season, the potted tree can be brought outside or planted in the garden. If it’s still in the pot, it can be brought back into the house for the following Christmas. There are also many artificial trees that can be used year after year. The same goes with lights and decorations. Make sure they can last a few years before buying them. Also, opt for energy-saving LED Christmas lights.
Make or Buy Green Gifts
Those with a knack of making things with their hands should consider making their own green gifts. Fruit baskets, cookies packed in a jar, knitted sweaters or socks and framed photographs are great home-made gifts. Children too can paint pictures on large, smooth pebbles and give them away as paper weights.
Whenever possible, avoid buying gifts that need to be run on batteries. But if that’s not an option, make sure the gift comes with a battery recharger to reduce the number of single use batteries. Also, look for presents with responsible levels of packaging or recyclable packaging.
Celebrating Christmas using the green approach can be fun. So go green. Use recyclable materials, say no to plastic bags when shopping, avoid cooking excessive food, get a real Christmas tree and make your own gifts. Knowing that you’ve done your bit in preserving the environment during the festive season is rewarding in itself.
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