Small Planet Tips for An Environmentally Lighter Holiday Season

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December is a time we associate with friends, family and giving.  In the pursuit of creating a time of year we’ll always remember, it can be easy to forget about the environmental impact of our celebrations.  Did you know that Americans throw away 25% more waste between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day than in the other part of the year?   That equates to about one million extra tons of trash per week![1] In this last month of the year, we thought we’d share some tips to make your holidays easier on the environment and share some photos of the little people and animals who bless our lives.  We’re saving our holiday wishes for the very end of the article.

Holiday Decorating

  • If you’re using lights for indoor or outdoor decoration, consider switching to energy-efficient LED Christmas light bulbs.  LED lights use 75% less energy and last 25 times as long.  Wondering what to do with your old holiday light strings?  Some local hardware stores will recycle them or you can use Earth 911’s recycling locator to find other options for recycling in your area.  

  • Use wreaths and greenery to augment (and maybe reduce) the amount of energy-using decorations you use. 

  • Consider a live Christmas tree this year instead of a cut one.

Rudy Van Blankenstein’s dog Zoe helps decorate the holiday tree.

Rudy Van Blankenstein’s dog Zoe helps decorate the holiday tree.

Angela Dooley’s light-free wreath adds holiday beauty to Small Planet Supply’s Vancouver warehouse.

Angela Dooley’s light-free wreath adds holiday beauty to Small Planet Supply’s Vancouver warehouse.

Holiday Meals

Steve Lamberg’s Grandson rhys lights up the room in addition to providing heat to the room.

Steve Lamberg’s Grandson rhys lights up the room in addition to providing heat to the room.

Gathering together to enjoy a meal is one of the best parts of the holiday season. Being mindful when planning and preparing food can be helpful to the planet and your budget. Food waste is responsible for 6% of global greenhouse emissions [2] and wasted food costs the average family of four $1800 annually.[3]   Some advance planning can make a huge difference when purchasing, preparing, serving and storing your holiday meals.

When planning, cooking and hosting holiday meals:

Do a reality check about the amount of food you’ll need to prepare for your meal. Especially this year, many gatherings are going to be smaller than usual.  

  • Purchase what you can from the local produce stand or meat market- it’s more important than ever to support the smaller local businesses. 

  • When using the oven, plan on baking multiple dishes at one time, if possible, to conserve energy.  Or consider using smaller, more energy-efficient appliances to do some or all of the cooking.

  • Consider tag teaming with another family to split holiday cooking assignments and then divvy up the dishes to heat and serve for each family.

  • Use reusable plates and utensils whenever possible and choose fabric napkins instead of paper.

  • Have a plan for how you’ll use leftovers, if you know you’ll have them. Options can include a planned leftover night or sending food home with guests (if it’s safe and you’re lucky enough to have them).

  • If you do end up having more people in the house this season, consider turning down the thermostat. An increase in the number people in your home means more body heat. If it’s just a few people consider a sweater or another comfortable layer to feel comfortable in a lower temperature room.

Draco, Crystal, Ziggy and Archie demonstrate that pretty much anything goes with this year’s holiday meal dress code.

Draco, Crystal, Ziggy and Archie demonstrate that pretty much anything goes with this year’s holiday meal dress code.

When Planning for Gifts

For a lot of people, sharing the holidays means gift giving.  With smaller gatherings and a lot of uncertainty about travel plans, this might be the year to shake up how you share with others.

Alternative gift giving ideas:

  • Encourage your circle to shop small or make a DIY gift. If everyone is taking a stab at a handmade gift you’re bound to have varying skill levels making it all the more fun and interesting.

  • Give the gift of an experience.  Time together enjoying an event or activity takes little or no wrapping and can create memories that last a lifetime.

  • Consider doing a Secret Santa or White Elephant gift exchange, so you can reduce the quantify of ‘just because’ gifts and spend your thoughts and money on one intentional gift recipient- and then spend your time interacting with the rest of the group.

  • When doing your holiday shopping, avoid plastic bags. Ask for paper if available, or even better bring along reusable shopping bags for your purchases at the grocery and the mall.

  • If you and your gift recipient are blessed with all you need, consider making a donation to a charity instead of, or in addition to, a gift.

Gift Presentation

Remember when you thought it was tacky when your grandma reused wrapping paper?  Turns out she was actually ahead of her time. 

  • Reusing or reusable wrapping materials make a difference in the amount of waste we created. If every family reused just two feet of holiday ribbon, the 38,000 miles of ribbon saved could tie a bow around the entire planet.

  • If every American family wrapped just three presents in re-used materials, it would save enough paper to cover 45,000 football fields.[4]

When Wrapping Gifts:

  • Make a conscious choice on your gift-wrapping materials. Choose paper that can be recycled, as some types cannot be recycled/ reused for mulch. Instead of glossy foiled or glittery papers consider using newspaper, (reusable!) fabric or fabric gift bags or tissue paper. 

  • Use socks or gloves as “useful” wrapping for small gifts,

  • Or, try a Christmas scavenger hunt with unwrapped presents.

As Franklin and Maggie demonstrate, having discussions ahead of time with family members about the size of your celebration and the amount of gifting can reduce work and avoid misunderstandings.

As Franklin and Maggie demonstrate, having discussions ahead of time with family members about the size of your celebration and the amount of gifting can reduce work and avoid misunderstandings.

Mose knows that sometimes the best presents don’t need any wrapping.

Mose knows that sometimes the best presents don’t need any wrapping.

Sharing a seasonal wardrobe: Rosie, Ziggy and Franklin demonstrate that one festive outfit can be shared by three friendly dogs.

Sharing a seasonal wardrobe: Rosie, Ziggy and Franklin demonstrate that one festive outfit can be shared by three friendly dogs.

A Final Thought

This challenging year has forced us all to re-think how we do almost everything.  It’s also certainly illuminated how connected we are to each other and to our small planet. Like everyone else, we at Small Planet Supply are still learning (and stumbling sometimes) to be easier on the earth. We hope these tips are useful and you enjoyed seeing the little ones who make life on our Small Planet fun. Best wishes from all of us at Small Planet Supply for a healthy and happy holiday season and a wonderful new year. Thank you for being part of our time on the planet.


Resources:

[1] https://www.colorado.edu/ecenter/2020/11/13/green-holidays-tis-season-reduce-your-waste

[2] https://ourworldindata.org/food-waste-emissions

[3] https://www.nrdc.org/resources/wasted-how-america-losing-40-percent-its-food-farm-fork-landfill

[4] https://lbre.stanford.edu/pssistanford-recycling/frequently-asked-questions/frequently-asked-questions-holiday-waste-prevention