Warm family time, a richly decorated home with blinking lights and glittering ornaments. A massive pile of gifts concealed in colorful wrappers, Christmas stockings hanging from the mantelpiece. A dinner table filled with festive food and a generally cozy ambiance are all must-have ingredients if we want to make any celebratory occasion a memorable one.
What if these moments did not only have an impact on your household and your mood alone but also on your environment. You can conclude the festivities with the reliving thought that not only did you get but you gave something too?
However cliched, the notion still holds that change begins with you and in your home. Let’s see what are some readily useful tips for a green and more rewarding holiday this year.
1. Experiment with Eco-friendly Tree Options
When deciding on a Christmas tree, buying a real tree may sound counterintuitive compared to purchasing a fake tree. However, the option to go for sustainability and eco-friendliness does exist in this case as well.
Get your tree from an organic tree farm and recycle and compost it after it has served its purpose. It pays more than buying a fake plastic tree that travels a long way to get to you and contributes to pollution, plastic waste, and unnecessary carbon footprint in the long run.
2. Utilize LED Lights and Timers for the Lights
Having your house light up both on the outside and inside certainly has an added charm to it. Have your traditional lights replaced by little energy-consuming LED lights.
Use a timer to create a surprise effect of when the lights go on and off to consume much less energy while enjoying it too. Do not underestimate the usability of extension cords either when it comes to adding length to your display.
3. Engage in DIY Gift Making
Setting aside some quality time with the kids to create homemade gifts will likely bring some joyous moments. This excitement will last not only throughout the creation process but also when these gifts are being exchanged.
Painting generally is a popular pastime, and there’s nothing more exciting than playing around with various colors while making a tie-dye pillow or T-shirt with disperse dyes, knowing you have made an environmentally-friendly choice in the process.
4. Adopt the Single Gift Idea
It does make an impression on people, especially children when they receive numerous gifts. However, it may not send the environmentally-conscious message you would like to. Adopting the idea of exchanging one gift instead of many actually lends more value to your present and makes it a personal one you may cherish for years to come.
Imagine receiving a handmade Christmas card from your loved one. And it functions as a customized coupon exchangeable for small services around the house, such as walking the dog early morning or doing the dishes for a week.
5. Go Organic in Setting the Holiday Table
There’s something special about seeing the grateful faces of your family after the holiday feast. It’s more thrilling if you know you made everything from scratch, from the root vegetables and gravy to the pudding and pie.
You can make your green holiday grocery shopping easy and efficient by visiting your local farmers market and buying fresh seasonal food instead of ready-made pre-packaged ones. With a little preplanning, kids can be involved in the food preparations as well as decorating a gingerbread house and folding reusable linen napkins in all kinds of creative ways.
6. Donate to a Meaningful Cause
Everyone believes in something. It’s great to learn other people out there are working already for what you believe in. Find the cause you can associate with and are also willing to support. This can manifest in helping those less fortunate either because of disease or poverty.
Make this project your own, so it fills your heart when you contribute to a child’s medical treatment or an infant’s food intake. Setting up a monthly donation, however minimal, can go a long way.
Green holiday does not necessarily mean grayer. It does not take special effort or extraordinary cost to prepare for the holiday festivities. With our wider community environment in mind, the long-term effects are invaluable.
