15 Ideas for Sustainable Holidays

What looks beautiful under your tree is decidedly less so elsewhere. Most mass-produced wrapping paper and gift bags are printed using unsustainable inks and coated with shiny foils — which are not recyclable. Get creative and wrap gifts with materials that you have around the house, like old maps, comics, or paper shopping bags. You can also use any pretty, clean fabric like scarves, bandannas, or dish towels for a reusable wrapping. Create your own bows from strips of colorful paper and accessorize with twine, pressed leaves, and pinecones.

While preparing all of your favorite holiday dishes, try to support local farmers that grow sustainable meat and produce. Not only will fresh, local ingredients lend an extra vibrancy to your meals, the food will taste better, too. As a bonus, you’ll be keeping your dollars in the local community, and supporting businesses that are still recovering from COVID-related economic shutdowns. Finally, a local, sustainably farmed roast or ham is generally much better for the environment than factory farm meat grown 1,000 miles away. 

Why? Real Christmas trees are more environmentally friendly than fake ones, which are made from plastic that will take hundreds of years to break down. But don’t get just any tree: some growers use up to 40 different pesticides and even add chemical colorants! Ask your local Christmas tree grower about their practices or search for a sustainable farm near you. Besides using less pesticides, a sustainable farm will plant more trees than they cut down each year. And those that they do harvest will be selectively cut in patches to maintain healthy forests. 

While Christmas lights don’t use as much electricity as other things, switching to LED lights can save you around $50 on your holiday season energy bills because they use 90% less energy. Still not convinced? LEDs release very little heat and last about 200,000 hours, so you won’t have to replace them for a long time. And according to one study by the US DOE, if everyone in the US replaced their conventional string lights with LEDs, it would save about 2 billion  kWh of electricity each month.

Keep your holiday footprint small by purchasing locally crafted gifts from small businesses. And if you can’t find everything on your list close to home, check out our eco-friendly holiday gift guide for plenty of great ideas! Everything on the list is produced by our partners, which means that anything you purchase will plant a tree! And from awesome tree-inspired apparel to the smoothest bourbon and beautifully produced sustainable headphones, there’s sure to be something for everyone on your list.

Get creative and use things that you have around the house to create your own unique, adorable Christmas decorations. This can be extra special, for example, if you use items from a deceased loved one to create a memento ornament that will remind you of all the beautiful Christmas memories you once shared. It’s also a great project to keep kids busy when they’re on break from school, or a crafting party with your friends and family!

As the holidays draw near, many wish to send a card to commemorate the season.  But as appreciated as they are, many cards get thrown away once the holidays are over. The solution? Send an eco friendly holiday greeting card that’s made from recycled or recyclable paper — or, choose from one of our several e-card options to go zero waste and plant a tree to boot!

Gift something that can be enjoyed in the future, like tickets to a rescheduled game, comedy show, play, or concert, a fun day trip, a museum membership, guitar lessons, or even a gift card to a favorite local restaurant or business. You'll be supporting a local business and giving your recipient something to look forward to!

With supply chain issues looming large, try creating a gift basket filled with homemade body care products like soaps, lotions, bath bombs, and lip glosses — or one filled with holiday cookies, infused liquors or extracts, fudge, spiced nuts, and more. Add some special touches like homemade ornaments, a favorite bottle of wine, or a book you loved this year, and it’s bound to please! 

Having trouble finding something for that certain person on your list that has everything? There are so many awesome nonprofits and charities out there, so find one that resonates, and make a donation in their name! It doesn’t have to be a huge donation to be meaningful, but they sure will appreciate the thought that you put into it!

Have an environmentalist on your list? Consider planting some trees in their name!

In the spirit of the season, sometimes we can get caught up in the excitement of buying what we think is the perfect gift. And perhaps you have a few of those “perfect” gifts hanging around collecting dust. Set some ground rules, and get a group of friends or neighbors together for a gift swap! You’ll clear clutter after the holidays — and who knows? You might just end up with something that was on your list. 

Every year, over 10 million Christmas trees end up in landfills. We know that, especially when living in an urban setting, it can be challenging to properly dispose of your tree, but many municipalities offer solutions to this. So look into what local programs are available, like turning your tree into mulch or wood chips, or even donating it towards an environmental project like stream bank stabilization. 

Often, stockings are filled with cheap plastic items that end up broken, lost, or discarded once the holiday season ends. Instead, fill them with delicious homemade treats and a few small, thoughtfully chosen gifts to round it out. Stockings are a fun part of the Christmas tradition, and with a little thought, they can be transformed from wasteful to awesome!

As the snow falls, we understandably respond by cranking up our thermostats. This year, get cozy with some Christmas themed PJs and a snuggly blanket by the fire. Play board games, tell Christmas stories, and take advantage of this chance to slow down and be together with your immediate family and pets. After all, that's what the holiday season is all about.

Before you hit the eggnog with your usual gusto, look into quality local wines, liquors, and microbrews that are crafted using organic ingredients and sustainable practices. Local vintners, brewers, and distillers often use less additives and preservatives and incorporate regionally available ingredients, so you’ll be in for a special treat — and perhaps less of a post-holiday hangover.