With Halloween over, the next major Canadian holiday is Christmas. I discussed how unsustainable Halloween is in a previous post, but I think Christmas is the most unsustainable holiday of the year. It wasn’t always this way, though.
The meaning of Christmas has transformed over the last six decades or so. What was once a solely religious and secular day has transformed into one of consumerism. It is the ultimate time for spending money during the year, with a day right after it devoted to shopping.
This transformation makes Christmas one of the most wasteful days of the year. Each Canadian produces on average 50 kilograms of waste over the holiday season, which is 25 percent more waste in comparison to the rest of the year. Let’s look at some facts, courtesy of Zero Waste Canada.
On average, the amount of waste that Canadians produce during Christmas every year include:
- 540,000 tonnes of wrapping paper
- 6 million rolls of tape
- 2.6 billion greeting cards
- 3,000 tonnes of foil
Also don’t forget about artificial Christmas trees, real trees improperly disposed of (i.e. put on the curb for garbage collection), food waste, unwanted gifts and broken decorations.
This waste can largely be avoided by adopting a few sustainable practices. Below I share 5 simple and affordable ways to reduce your waste this Christmas season.
1. Hand-made gifts
One of my favourite ways to reduce waste not just during Christmas but also birthdays or other holidays is to make gifts rather than buy them. I like to create drawings or paintings of things I know the specific person loves. That’s the benefit of making your gifts: they are unique and completely customizable. The gift receiver will be thankful for the time and effort you put into the gift, treasuring it more than a general, store-bought item.
Don’t like to draw or paint? No problem. You don’t need to be artistic to make something; there are many amazing DIY ideas on the internet that are quick, easy and waste-free. In fact, many of these repurpose old materials around the house, making them a truly eco-friendly choice.
Here are a few great DIY gifts:
- Pouring dip paintings (as easy as it sounds!)
- Hand-threaded bracelets
- Drawings of the gift receiver’s favourite plant, animal, place, etc
- Hand-decorated picture frames
- Crocheted or felted characters (a lot easier than you may think!)
2. Gift an experience, not a thing
Rather than buying physical things for Christmas, gifting someone an experience is an amazing way to not only reduce waste but also create lifelong memories. There are endless opportunities for this, such as a spa package, an overnight stay at a fancy hotel, tickets to a play, musical or concert, dinner on top of the CN Tower, train/plane tickets to somewhere they’ve always wanted to go, the list goes on. There are ideas no matter what your budget is. When you look back in ten years at Christmas 2019, are you more likely to remember that amazing concert your friend got you tickets for, or generic coffee mug number fifteen?
3. Up-cycle your wrapping paper
There are simple yet creative ways to wrap gifts without the waste. A rustic yet simple one is old newspaper tied with yarn. If you’re feeling super artsy, tuck a dried flower stem or sprig of cedar under it. You can also use old magazine pages, pages of old books or paper bags. You can recycle these materials afterwards, use newspaper to line your kitchen compost bin, or save them to wrap a gift in the future. If you are gifted items in bags or wrapping paper, save those for future gifts rather than throwing them out.
Another option if you really want to purchase wrapping is to use reusable bags. There are holiday themed ones and plenty of beautifully designed ones on the market. Lastly, you can use material to wrap products rather than paper. LUSH offers their reusable wraps in a variety of creative prints for their gifted products, which can be used afterwards as a scarf or bandana. Alternatively, you could use your own scarf or purchase silky-textured ones from thrift stores for simple yet beautiful wrapping. Simply tie a knot and you’re good to go!
4. Homemade meals can’t be beat
There’s nothing better than a homemade dinner made using family recipes. How can boxed products even compare?
If your household usually uses boxed food items like stuffing, cranberry sauce or pie, try making your own this Christmas. See if anyone in your family has a staple recipe, or make a new one to share with your loved ones. Make it a group activity, working with your family to create a delicious dinner. Just like gifting experiences instead of things, creating and using your own recipes and sharing those with one another forms lasting memories. This past Thanksgiving, my household made my grandmother’s traditional stuffing, modifying it slightly to support my plant-based lifestyle. I always make our desserts from scratch as well, usually a fruit crumble or pie.
5. Eco-friendly decorations that look professionally made
You can make festive low-waste decorations using products you have lying around at home or outside. Do you remember making pine cone ornaments when you were little? We had the right idea back then!
This website shares some amazing ways to make eco-friendly Christmas decorations. A few of the highlighted ideas include wreaths made of old greeting cards, rustic candle holders made of glass jars and collected twigs, and sparkly tree ornaments made of old CDs. I promise you, these decorations all look professionally made, despite costing next to nothing to make.
Cheap, easy and sustainable? Yes please. Sustainability does not mean spending insane amounts of money or time. If anything these tips actually save money and time since they use products you likely already have at home. This also shows that you do not have to sacrifice sustainable living just because it’s a holiday; sustainability can be incorporated into everything you do, using small actions like changing your gifting, wrapping and decorating habits. We need to take these small actions regularly to ensure a hopeful future.
Share any sustainability tips you have for the holiday season in the comments. If you try out any of the tips I mentioned above, make sure to share your experiences in the comments as well!
Until next time!