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How are you incorporating sustainability into the holiday season this year? Not sure where to start? We’re making it easy with a few simple choices that can leave a big impact on your environmental footprint. No matter what holiday you’re celebrating or if you’re just enjoying time with your family, there are always alternatives available to you to ensure we are not negatively impacting the planet.
Here are some tips on how to have a more sustainable holiday season:
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Rethink the wrap: Did you know that more than half a million tonnes of waste is generated every year in Canada from gift-wrapping and shopping bags alone? Chances are, you have old grocery flyers, local printed publications, magazines, brown paper bags, extra fabric scraps, shoe boxes, mason jars, or extra reusable bags lying around. All of these can be repurposed to wrap gifts creatively, adding a unique and personal touch to your holiday presents. If DIY isn’t your thing, look for sustainable wrapping paper from brands that are fully recyclable.
- Make an eco-friendly feast: Gathering for a shared meal is great way to connect with our loved ones. Here are some ways we can make our holiday meals more sustainable.
- Buy local ingredients: Consider buying local vegetables, bread, baked goods and seasonal ingredients to incorporate into your meal.
- Reduce food waste: Try to save as much food as possible by getting creative with your leftovers and giving extra food to guests.
- Avoid single-use dishes and cutlery: Paper plates and plastic utensils may be convenient, but using your own reusable dishes and cutlery keeps extra waste out of landfills.
- Include a variety of dishes: Adding more vegetables, grains, and seasonal ingredients to your meal can be easier on the planet. When including meat, choosing smaller portions and sourcing locally or from responsible producers helps reduce environmental impact.
- Compost excess food scraps: Make sure to put any food waste in your green bin so they don’t turn into methane in the landfill.
- Light up without powering up: Consider putting your Christmas lights on a timer to save you $$ on your winter electricity bill. Switching to LED Christmas lights is also an easy option to save money, energy and the lifespan of your purchase. Consider lighting your dinner table by beeswax or soy candles to create a cozy atmosphere for your holiday feast.
- Decorate with tradition, not trends: Instead of buying new trendy decorations each year, stick to reusing the festive decorations you already own. By reusing your decorations from prior years, you can create a sense of tradition with your loved ones. Each year, you may associate certain decorations with family memories and stories. You can also gather natural items responsibly, like pine tree branches, pinecones, or stones, to create your own homemade wreath that everyone will be asking “where did you buy that from?”
- Give with intention: By re-thinking gift-giving, we can make our holidays more sustainable, meaningful, and aligned with our values.
- Create handmade or consumable gifts: Repurpose or upcycle items to create a beautiful one-of-a-kind gift. Embrace the power of DIY! You can also get creative in the kitchen and gift items like homemade granola, jam or cookies.
- Support local artisans and small businesses: Instead of purchasing a mass-produced item from a large retailer, buy gifts from local or small sustainable businesses. Visit the bustling boutique shops in communities across Muskoka, seek out local artisans or craftspeople, and explore small businesses such as garden centres or wellness spas to discover a range of lovely and memorable gifts. These items often come with a unique story that can make your gift even more meaningful.
- Organize a gift exchange: gift exchanges such as Secret Santa or White Elephant are a good way to reduce the number of gifts within a group. Exchanges encourage you to put more effort into one gift, rather than purchasing multiple gifts for numerous people.
- Quality over quantity: gift items that will last for a long time and have lots of use, rather than multiple disposable items.
- Give experiences instead of material items: give the gift of a fun local experience you and your loved one can share together.
We can all take steps to be more sustainable this holiday season. By leading by example, we show our family and community that joy doesn’t come at the planet’s expense.
Join our Climate Heroes program to learn practical ways to shrink your carbon footprint throughout the year and inspire others to do the same. Every small action today helps protect our planet, and ensures future holiday seasons are just as bright!
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