Have yourself an eco-friendly Christmas

The holidays bring out the best in many of us. But they also bring an environmentalist’s worst nightmare: excess in everything from energy consumption to packaging and food. With that in mind, we’ve compiled a few final tips for celebrating the season and the planet, too.

Food

• buy your fruit and veg loose (without packaging)
• when shopping for your holiday feast, use a re-usable shopping bag
• bigger is better! Buy drinks in bigger bottles - one large bottle generates less waste than several smaller ones
• look for organic wines and spirits in your local liquor and beer stores (check out our recent post for more info on organic booze)
• put the vegetable peelings from your Christmas dinner in your home compost bin
• be a locavore! Buy local foodstuffs and produce where possible to help reduce your ecological footprint.

Energy

• turn off Christmas lights overnight or when you’re not at home
• turning the thermostat down by just 1 degree can cut as much as 10% off your heating bill
• when cooking holiday feasts, keep lids on your saucepans - your sprouts will cook faster and you’ll save energy
• avoid keeping the oven door open when checking the turkey - remove the turkey to check it and close the door instead, saving heat in the oven and energy as well

Gifts

• send an ecard instead of a paper one, or look for cards printed on recycled paper. Direct friends to a family blog or create a free multi-photo card or online slideshow.
• cut down on what you buy. Gift tags can be made from old greeting cards. Wrap your gifts in green - check out our planet-friendly gift wrapping tips here.
• save envelopes and reuse them with labels
• recycle ribbon - gently untie bows and tuck them away until next year
• instead of coming home with 15 shopping bags, bring your own when you hit the shops
• consider purchasing carbon offsets to balance the emissions generated from shipping gifts to friends and family
• give the gift of the environment with tips from our green gift guide

Decorating

• avoid using paper plates, cups and napkins for dinners and parties. Set a green holiday table with inspiration from the outdoors.
• make a homemade wreath using branches trimmed from your garden or somebody else’s. After Christmas, it can be composted instead of tossed in the garbage
• buy a real tree - or better yet, a live one. Real Christmas trees are the best environmental choice.
• decorate your tree with recycled and eco-friendly trimmings, from LED lights to homemade cranberry strings

Being ecologically minded at the holidays is not a priority for many families, but by using a few of these tips, it’s easy to have a “green” Christmas.