Eco-Friendly Christmas Tips: 7 Ways to Make Your Festivities Sustainable

It is the time for festivities again!

As we get ready for Christmas, get the goodies baked and decorate the Christmas tree and buy the gifts, we also need to take a conscious attempt to celebrate the festive season more consciously.

Here are seven ways for you to go green and celebrate a fun-filled sustainable Christmas.

Get a ‘Green’ Tree

Yes, trees are green, but we are talking about going 'clean & green'. Plastic trees of all shapes and sizes have become very popular in recent years, but all that plastic ends up in our landfills.

A plastic tree also leaves twice as much carbon footprint when compared to a real tree.

If you are bringing home a real tree, be sure that it's sustainably sourced.

Another option is to bring home a rooted tree so it continues to live in your home. If you can, try renting a tree.

If you already own a plastic tree, take good care of it and store it carefully so that you can use it over and over again for a long time.

Go For Sustainable Decorations

Just getting the tree home isn't enough - now you got to decorate it! Christmas also means banners, stockings and other decorations. Many of these are used only once, and tossed after the holiday season.

Most ornaments these days are made of cheap plastic, which don't last and take forever to break down in the environment.

Instead, go for sustainable decoration ideas, like ornaments made of natural materials like wood, cardboard, jute or silk.

You can also use greens from your garden to deck up your home. There are many other decoration ideas that you can make by yourself for a completely DIY Christmas!

Go Easy on the Lights

Lights are an integral part of Christmas decor, including fairy lights, string lights and candles.

While these certainly create a festive feel, the collective lighting of so many lights across neighbourhoods can consume a large amount of energy.

It is estimated that the United States uses up 6.6 billion kilowatt hours of energy on just Christmas eve - electrical energy that could power countries like Nepal, Cambodia or Ethiopia.

No, you don't need to spend Christmas in darkness!

LED lights use 75 percent less energy than regular bulbs, so they are an option. You can also use solar powered lights that are a perfectly green kind of lights.

Candles are another option for a lovely glow, but be careful that the candles you light are not made from petroleum products like paraffin. Some lights also come with a timer that turn off after a while, so they won't consume endless energy.

Get Unique Gifts

Okay, so you've decided not to spend too much on gifts, but what do you gift your loved ones?

That's the beauty of being frugal - it also makes you more creative!

There are many, many handmade gifts that you can make, for people of all ages.

Make things more interesting by moving away from materialism and gifting experiences, like a spa treatment or a yoga membership.

If you can't think of anything, you can always opt for virtual gift cards, so the recipient can get exactly what he or she wants and there is no risk of wastage.

Gift a Plant

If you want to give someone the ultimate green gift, we've got the perfect suggestion for you - a plant!

It seriously doesn't get any greener than a real, live plant and it doesn't have to be a huge fiddle leaf fig tree.

You can gift something really small and easy to maintain, like a snake plant or spider plant. You can also use cuttings of your own plants which you can propagate and gift.

This may require a little advance planning, though. Else, you can put together a gardening hamper with some tools, pots and seeds.

Buy Less

This season sees the most shopping in all the months of the year.

Most of us think that it's the time to celebrate after a hard 12 months, and we let loose with the retail therapy.

But apart from being bad for our wallet, excessive buying is also bad for the planet.

Since most of our shopping is for others, it's a good idea to re-think our gifting strategy.

Re-gifting is perfectly fine, as you're giving new life to something that's simply languishing in your home.

You can also avoid one person buying gifts for everyone else and go for a round-robin system so each one gets a gift for another person. If you reuse decorations and reuse what you have, you can cut down on buying new ornaments and other supplies too.

Support Local Businesses

Of course, we can't avoid shopping completely during this season, so when you do buy, try to buy from local businesses.

The festive season is very important for small businesses, and they deserve all the support they can get.

Most of these brands use sustainable methods and are much more mindful about their products and services.

What's more, by buying local, you are cutting down on the emission of greenhouse gases that contribute to climate change, and thereby reducing your carbon footprint.

Supporting local businesses also helps building a sustainable economy, and also helps preserve traditional arts and crafts.

With these simple steps in place, you are all set to celebrate a green and sustainable Christmas.

(Pratibha Pal spent her childhood in idyllic places only fauji kids would have heard of. She grew up reading a variety of books that let her imagination wander and still hopes to come across the Magic Faraway Tree.You can view her blog at www.pratsmusings.com or reach to her on Twitter at @myepica.)