Ideas for a sustainable Christmas

Welcome to YouChoose, a blog where we explore ways of living sustainably. This is the time when we like to go out shopping for gifts for friends and family. Here are some ideas to make our Christmas more sustainable.

Take your own shopping bags

When we take our own bags for all Christmas shopping we save resources, pollution, and waste. It doesn’t matter whether we use cotton, plastic, or paper. The most important thing is to reuse as much as we can. Sometime we get bogged down in idle discussions about whether plastic, fabric, or paper take more resources to make, however the important point is to use what we already have to get away from waste and pollution. I have used my five reusable bags for years and they will probably last me for the rest of my life. They were collected at various conferences and I can’t think of a better use for them. This year I also made a new one from an old t-shirt that was too faded to donate. Old t-shirts or any old fabric you have at home can be repurposed to make nice produce bags, easily washable and light to carry.

Buy second hand books

Second hand books make a great gift for readers. It is an excellent way to reuse resources and save trees and money. There are plenty of them all around and online and most of them are in excellent conditions. Used book shops have a variety of selection of different editions and unusual books. If you have books you are planning to dispose of you can also donate them to a library or resell them.

Make your own Christmas tree decorations from reused items or from the garden

One nice thing about wildlife gardening is that it doesn’t end in September. I keep working in my yard all year round (snow permitting). In winter I bring the garden indoor to make Christmas decorations. I like to use garden items such as leaves and pine cones. Another thing I discovered is that you can reuse old pieces of wrapping paper from last year’s gifts or even cardboard to make decorations that last for a long time.

Cook a vegetarian menu for Christmas

I know that holiday menus are supposed to include meat or fish, however a great dinner can be put together of vegetarian ingredients. Here is one idea for a holiday menu, I tried this for thanksgiving and it came out very good: Appetizer: Bruschetta with hummus, olives, and artichokes. Soup: Mushroom potage. Main entree: Lentil loaf with roasted butternut squash, sage, and chestnuts.

Buy something for yourself and the Earth

If you feel like buying something to embellish your backyard, owl houses and bird baths enhance the look of the garden and also help wildlife. We can also give a gift to Earth this Christmas and donate to a reforestation or conservation effort, there is much to be done.

No matter what we do these holidays let’s include sustainability in your consumer choice equation and reward companies that care about the Earth.