How to Have an Eco Friendly Christmas | 7 Ways to Be Merry & Green

An Eco-friendly Christmas means that you and your family can enjoy a joyous celebration without any guilt. If you’re not sure just how to have a green Christmas, here are some simple ways.

7 Ways to Have an Eco-Friendly Christmas

It may sound like hard work. But there are also more ways to turn your festive traditions into eco-friendly options than you may think.

1) Find Eco-Friendly Gifts & Cards

One of the easiest ways to have a green Christmas is to swop wasteful gifts for sustainable, eco-friendly ones. Check out my list of Eco-Friendly Christmas gifts for inspiration.

Cards are cute – but are they really necessary? Especially the generic ones which are wrapped in plastic and often made from non-recyclable paper.

If cards are a must on your Christmas list, then rather go for homemade or eco-friendly ones. In fact, Faithful to Nature has growing paper tags and paper cards for Christmas – these can be planted and a flower or herb will grow.

2) Choose Wrapping Alternatives

Tons of wrapping paper goes to waste every year. While the novelty behind carefully wrapping a gift for someone you love can be appealing, there’s no doubt that there are many better alternatives. Some of these include:

Recycled – use newspaper or other recycled paper to create a beautiful DIY wrapped gift.

Gift bags – not 100% eco-friendly, but at least these can be reused next year. If you don’t have a drawer full of gifts bags for every occasion, you’re doing gifting wrong 😉

3) Make & Buy Green Decorations

You can have a sparkling decorated tree (and entire house) without spending money and buying shop-bought decorations.

There are fantastic biodegradable options out there, like seed-paper hanging ornaments and garlands. But you can also make your own and turn it into a family fun event.

4) Select One of Many Christmas Tree Alternatives

South Africans have a tradition of buying a fake Christmas tree and keeping it for years. In these cases, your tree is eco-friendly, since you’re not throwing it out to sit in a landfill.

But for those who don’t have one of these family trees, there are so many gorgeous and earth-friendly alternatives. You can get wooden trees that you can decorate and then put outside for the rest of the year. Or wall-hanging trees.

You can also buy baby trees from places like Stodels which you can decorate with your homemade decorations.

5) Think Smart When Packing Left-overs

The great thing about Christmas dinner with the family is that there really is never a shortage of food! And to avoid wasting food and letting it rot in the fridge, dividing it up between uncles and aunts is important.

But tell your family to bring their own containers to take leftover food home with them. Make a rule that there will be no tin foil or plastic wrap going home with anyone.

6) Make Eco-Friendly Christmas Crackers

These can be one of the most wasteful things on your Christmas table. But they’re also tons of fun and everyone loves them. Many just can’t imagine Christmas lunch without the crackers.

So this year, skip the bits of paper and plastic that all end up in the bin, and make your own. Recycle the cardboard inners from toilet rolls, use recycled paper to wrap them, and add in small chocolates or something you know will be useful.

7) Take Your Litter With You

If you’re going to enjoy the stunning South African sun over the Christmas holidays, you may be tempted to take a picnic with you – perhaps even unwrap a few presents on the beach. And that’s a great idea!

Just be sure not to leave your paper plates, wrapping paper, or any other waste behind when you leave.