This year is about to end, but the holiday season has just begun! With Christmas approaching all of us, it’s time to start buying presents and trees. But spending too much on Christmas may have a harmful impact on the planet. Did you know that in 2021, Americans spent nearly $6.1 billion on just Christmas trees?
With the rise of wanting to buy fancy gifts, we forget how detrimental it can be not just for the earth but also for us so look and follow on Festive Finds ideas which are economical and sustainable.
It’s now time to switch over to eco-friendly ways of celebrating our holidays. Here are some ways in which your Christmas can be nature-friendly.
1. Buy less
Sounds extremely obvious, but is pretty difficult to do. According to Capital Counselor, 1 in 10 Americans returns their gifts to stores. Therefore, you don’t always have to gift something costly or fancy to your loved ones.
You can buy eco-friendly products or recycle items. For example, if you love flowers or have a beautiful garden, make a preserved rose gift box out of it and give it to someone. The less you buy, the better it is for the environment. So try to give more while spending less.
2. Give battery-free gifts
According to the EPA, about 40% of battery sales occur during the holiday season. Batteries can be a huge environmental hazard. Even discarded batteries leak and may cause water pollution.
For your little ones, choose gifts that do not run on batteries. Plushies or storybooks are lovely gifts for toddlers. For teenagers, you can give eco-friendly resin jewelry or showpieces.
3. Choose a sustainable tree
There has been quite a lot of debate regarding the natural vs plastic Christmas trees and their impact on the environment.
If you’re planning to buy a natural tree, look for one that has an FSC certification. This will prove that your tree is sustainable. In case you’re worried about whether your tree is organic or not, you can even look for soil association approval.
Once you’re done with the festivities, make sure you dispose of the tree properly. Go to a local tip where it will be processed and recycled into something new. Also, look out for local council recycling schemes or places that use Christmas trees as decoration all year. This will ensure that your tree is being used and recycled.
4. Tree decorations
Instead of using plastic or PVC items to decorate your tree, use wooden items or items made of fabric, leaves, or even glass. Wooden or fabric items come in various different designs and shapes which look beautiful when placed on your tree.
Plastic baubles and decoration items look very generic or even boring, and you’ll probably be tired of using the same old types of items every year. So switch to eco-friendly materials that last for years and give you a wide range of choices for decoration. One good option that you can consider is christmas nativity set outdoor.
5. Connect with nature
If you have children at home, teach them the importance of loving nature and conserving it. Instead of doing the same old routine of having dinner or celebrating it in a restaurant, take them on a nature hike. Or go bird watching in a park near your house.
Your young ones will love reconnecting with nature and will get a respite from video games and Netflix. You can even have a small tree-planting ceremony with your neighbors or have a tree-planting competition that will promote values like protecting trees.
6. Less lighting
We often think that the house that is lit up with lights the most is the best decorated. But the more lights we put up, the higher our electricity bills are. And electricity drains natural resources. So it is very necessary to remember that lighting has to look grand in terms of quality, not quantity.
Try to reduce the amount of outdoor lighting and use LED bulbs. LEDs use nearly 95% less electricity as compared to traditional holiday bulbs and last up to 100,000 hours when used indoors! During bedtime, turn off all these decorative lights before you go to sleep to save energy.
Over to you…
There are various other ways to ensure that your family gives back to nature by celebrating a nature-friendly Christmas. These 6 tips will help you greatly to make this holiday season as natural as possible while making sure there is no impact on your festivities and fun!outdoornativitysets.com
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