ad // Christmas might be the happiest time of year for a lot of us humans but for the environment? Not so much. A study conducted by the University of Manchester argue that Christmas can cause the equivalent carbon footprint as that of a single car travelling 6,000 times around the globe. Scary, huh? Whilst we should definitely all enjoy ourselves as much as possible, we could all definitely do with learning how to make Christmas more eco friendly.
Now I’ll put my hands up and admit that I’ve never been the most eco conscious of people. But these last few years in particular have definitely made me more aware of the environmental impact so many of our actions have. I mean and rightly so. We’re destroying the planet in front of our eyes.
And Christmas is obviously one of the most impactful times of year when it comes to the environment. And not in a good way.
Christmas has obviously become vastly commercialized however it is a happy time of year for so many people. It’s a time for fun Christmas days out, sparkly Christmas fashion, and getting together with family and friends, eating, drinking, playing games and kicking back after a long year.
So, I think it’s important to find that balance. We can still enjoy Christmas as much as possible and do all the things we want to do, whilst at the same time, just being a bit more conscious of our actions and maybe making some sustainable swaps along the way.
One individual can’t save the planet by themselves. And I hate this all or nothing approach to sustainability, especially when we don’t know the circumstances of the people around us, i.e a disabled person unable to use a paper straw.
But there’s always something each of us can do and if we all learnt how to make Christmas more eco friendly and did one or two things to help the environment during this time of year, then it will all add up and make a collective difference.
Here’s some ways of how to make Christmas more eco friendly, so you can enjoy the festivities as well as doing your bit for the environment!
Recycle as much as possible
Christmas is a great time to make sure you’re ON TOP of your recycling game. As you can expect to end up with a lot of recyclable waste after the Christmas Day festivities are over. If you can, ensure everyone else in the household refrains from throwing anything in the regular bin and stock up on recycling bags!
Switch to more eco friendly Christmas wrapping
You’ve probably heard a lot of people on social media over the last few years mention that not all Christmas wrapping is recyclable. I had NO IDEA before I found that out. It’s paper, you assume you can recycle it. So perhaps this year, switch to brown paper wrapping and recyclable craft tags instead!
Switch to LED Christmas lighting
Not only will this have an impact on the environment, but it’ll also have an impact on your bank account. And ANY extra savings are always handy around Christmas. LED lights use 75% less energy than incandescent lights. The folks over at INUI LED Lighting, who sell eco friendly LED panels have this handy LED Lighting Calculator, which could help you work out how much you could be saving in terms of money AND energy!
Substitute physical Christmas cards for eco friendly e-cards
Okay, be serious. Who here keeps their Christmas cards when Christmas is over? Christmas cards produce a HECK of a lot of waste and whilst they’re a nice gesture, is all that extra waste necessary? A lot of people are now switching to more eco friendly e-cards, as a way wish friends and family a happy Christmas, without the extra environmental impact.
Try Vegetarian or Vegan options for a more eco friendly Christmas
It’s no secret that the meat industry plays quite a part in environmental damage. This is something I definitely need to work on, as I’m currently still a meat eater. Saying that, a lot of my favourite meals and foods are Vegetarian.
So, I definitely wouldn’t be opposed to a Vegetarian or Vegan Christmas dinner (I mean, all the best parts are Vegetarian anyway, am I right) If this sounds like you, then this could certainly be an option for a more eco friendly Christmas.
Or buy organic, free-range produce and shop small, local farms where possible
However, if cutting out meat isn’t an option for you, for whatever reason, switching to organic, free-range produce from small local farms could be the better option for how to make Christmas more eco friendly. And perhaps have a couple of meat free days AFTER Christmas to make up for it?
Cut down on food waste
And finally, another point on food but let’s face it, food is the best part of Christmas, isn’t it? And boy don’t we consume a lot of it this time of year? More than we need. Absolutely. Try budgeting for food this year or keeping to strict lists. And if you find you do have a lot of food waste, don’t just chuck it in the bin. Find some recipes to make out of it for Boxing Day!
How are you planning to make Christmas more eco friendly this year? Do you already do any of these points that I’ve made or are you planning on it for the first time this year? Do you have any other tips on how to make Christmas more eco friendly? Let me know!
So many great points here.
I had no idea and gift wrap couldn’t be recycled! I like to try and make up my own gifts rather than buy and create excess waste packaging too.
http://littlemissmelanie.com/
Not all of it can but some can! Just make sure you check the packaging 😌
I loved this. We switched to LED lights a couple of years ago and are using brown paper for wrapping this year. I’ve got some christmastamps so that my little boy can be involved too, making it a nice christmas craft and a nice personal way to wrap a gift 😊
These are great ideas Jenny. I’m trying to have a more sustainable Christmas this year and have already decided to use brown paper for gifts.
Very good tips, Jenny! Especially cutting down on waste by switching to more eco-friendly greeting cards which can work year-round!
Absolutely! x
Some great tips! We don’t send xmas cards anymore as they end up in the bin!! xx
Very true! x
These are some amazing tips, it’s so easy to forget to be good to environment at christmas. I need to be better with recycling although I have started to use brown paper instead of wrapping paper x
Hope you can do a bit more recycling this year! x
brown paper is such a simple and easy way to wrap presents isn’t it! soooo good x
It sure is! x
[…] How to Make Christmas More Eco Friendly […]
This year im deffo cutting down on food waste
Great to hear x
These are such great tips, and some of them are so simple like switching wrapping papers. Thank you for the mention! x
Sophie
You’re welcome!
I’ve already bought my eco friendly wrapping paper, I love it so much!
Love, Amie ❤
The Curvaceous Vegan
That’s great to hear!
Haha that’s great to hear!
Thank you and yes my mum is the person frantically shoving a bag in your face for all the recycling 😂😂
We really need to get new lights this year! I want to use brown paper again next year and hope that whoever opens it recycles it! xx
That’s great news x
That’s a great idea! x
Loved your post too! x
One of my friends uses cloth or scarves to wrap some of her gifts. 🙂 I love it. Of course, it is not practical for all purposes, so recyclable wrapping paper is something I am setting out to buy this season.
That’s a lovely idea! x
Cutting down on food waste is such a key part to me, I love ensuring I meal plan properly to really minimise it!
Erin || MakeErinOver
I really need to start making my family meal plan a bit better this Christmas! x
After reading this, I’m definitely going to be switching to LED lighting! These sound like really great, easy options and we should all be doing our bit to help save the environment. Really informative and helpful post! 🙂
Soph – https://girlvsworldblog.com x
LED lights all the way! Most string lights you can buy now are LED and they’re not expensive either, which is fab 🙂 x
These are awesome tips and we should all be doing this. Thank you so much!
You’re welcome! Totally agree x
Most wrapping papers aren’t recyclable so I’m using brown paper this year x
A lot aren’t. I’ve seen some in Tesco which are though, which is good x
Wonderful post and some great advice that I will definitely take on!
Thank you! x
These are some really helpful tips! I stopped sending Christmas cards a while ago because while they are a very nice gesture, they just add to the clutter. These days, I’d rather message or call my family and friends. Also, here’s a fun fact about Polish Christmas: our main festive meal is on Christmas Eve and we are not allowed to eat any meat! All meat dishes are served on the 25th and 26th of December instead 🙂
Dominika | Into the Bloom
Ooooh really?! That’s an interesting fact – I had no idea! I like that though, I think that’s a great tradition x
Such great tips! I tend to send far more e-cards than paper cards nowadays because of the age we live in and because of the environment. Also, wrapping your presents in brown paper rather than wrapping paper is a great way to help the environment and gives gifts more of an ‘aesthetic’.
Jas xx
I think I’m going to opt for e-cards this year too. Or at least eco-friendly cards of some sort! x
My other half makes wrapping paper from brown paper & then he stamps it with snowflakes or something equally as Christmassy! 🙂
Sarah 🌺 || Boxnip || Latest Post
Awh that’s cute x
There’s some really useful tips here that I’m going to use x
So glad to hear that! x
These are all brilliant tips! I’m definitely more conscious of being eco friendly this Christmas and making changes where I can. I’m definitely going to make the switch to brown paper instead of normal wrapping paper xx
Tiffany x http://www.foodandotherloves.co.uk
That’s great to hear x
I love this post certainly lots of ways you can make little differences to how sustainable Christmas is, and reduce costs too in the long run. I’m focusing on cards, gift tags and giftwrap this year and will be putting money saved on not buying cards for everyone to buying items for our local food bank instead. I’m using brown paper or recycled & recyclable paper (the RSPB have some on their site that raises money for their cause too), it might be a bit fiddly for some gifts but I’m hoping it’ll work on most. DIY gift bags and shredded used card is another way to parcel up presents.
I hate how much packaging is wasted still on kids toys and this is something that really needs focusing on to improve as a lot of it isn’t recyclable/ is plastic, but parents don’t have much of a say when it’s on a child’s list, the manufacturers really should be making better efforts to reduce this.
The manufacturers are definitely responsbile for that. Luckily there’s no kids to buy for in my family, so not something we have to worry about. But I can imagine it’s a bit of a nightmare with all that plastic and packaging! I love your food bank idea too x
Thank you for sharing this! We all need to think about being more environmentally conscious year round, and it’s so nice to hear of different ways we can do that for every occasion 😊
Totally agree 🙂 x
Some great ideas here Jenny.
Now I have even more reason to think about Christmas!
It’s really important to make changes where we can though x x
Haha any excuse to think ahout Christmas even more! x
I’ve decided to send Christmas cards only to those people who are not online at all or very little. The rest will be tagged in my Fcbk messages or will get an e-card. On a positive note though: Paperchase have ditched the plastic wrapping of their cards. So now there is only paper that is easily recyclable that you need to worry about 🙂
That’s great to know! Well done Paperchase! x
I love this! Lately I’ve been thinking of how much waste my family has during the holiday season and all the wrapping paper and everything and it’s crazy! Definitely appreciate this post and will be referring back to it as we get closer to the holidays. Thank you!
It really is crazy! I’m so glad, you’re welcome x