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You are here: Home / Blog posts / How to have a sustainable Christmas

How to have a sustainable Christmas

December 8, 2021 Filed Under: Blog posts, Sustainability

sustainable christmas decorations

AD/AFF – Some of these products have affiliate links. You can read my disclaimer here.

I’ve been really excited about writing this blog post because the more I think about it, the more ideas I get! In the past few years, I have tried to add in little ways to be more eco-friendly. In this guide, I’ll be sharing some ideas and products for you to have a sustainable Christmas.

Decor

Decorations are a key part of Christmas but this can be where a lot of waste is produced. One thing I will say is that if you already have plastic decorations, continue to use them. There’s nothing worse than throwing away a usable item just to look more eco-friendly.

Christmas trees

Here we find ourselves at the great Christmas tree debate. Is a real tree or a fake tree better? I debate with myself every year which is better and I honestly have no idea. On one hand, we are always told that cutting down trees is bad but at Christmas tree farms, they get replaced so it isn’t as bad. Plus, in most places, the trees are turned into mulch which is a huge plus. With a fake tree, it can last for years and years but it does end up in a landfill at the end of the day. It is such an interesting topic and if you want to read more, definitely check out this blog post from Michelle.

In our house, we have 2 real trees and 2 fake trees. We have had one of the fake trees for longer than I have been alive and I’m sure we will use it until it breaks!

Wreath

I love the idea of a natural wreath! You can get a base, or you could probably make one out of twigs etc. I would love to make one and wish I had this year. You can get acorns, pine cones, berries and leaves to make it so pretty!

Related post: How to have a sustainable Halloween

Tree decorations

You can get so many cute kits to make felt or knitted baubles. Or you can get handmade ones if you aren’t into that kind of thing.

These are a few of my favourites:

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  • 5
  1. Make your own felt Robin* £2.75
  2. Make your own felt Reindeer* £2.75
  3. Make your own felted baubles* £15
  4. Homemade felted penguin* £5+
  5. 3 gingerbread people baubles* £12

I saw this cool video on how to make your own star by Forestry England. You can watch it here. One of my favourite tree decorations to make is orange with cloves in it. Last year we didn’t have an orange, so I used lemon instead.

Read the full blog post on eco-friendly decorations 🎄

Christmas table

Christmas crackers

Christmas crackers were the first thing that I swapped. 2 years ago I got a plastic-free cracker kit from Oxfam which came with a joke & a hat. I bought my own little gifts to put inside, personalised for each person. I had a lot of fun with it! There are lots of options when it comes to crackers, you don’t have to make your own.

The lovely Bea from Keep This Cracker contacted me to share her reusable Christmas crackers with you! I had no idea that Christmas crackers could be reusable, but they look so amazing. They are plastic-free, all materials from the UK and are Forest Stewardship Council certified.

1

Some of my favourites:

  1. Reusable crackers £20.95
  2. Plastic-free crackers with wooden decorations £15
  3. Plastic-free crackers with RSPB pin badges £15

Table cloths & napkins

A lot of people use single-use table cloths and napkins out of the convenience of just throwing them away when they become dirty. A better idea is to make one purchase and wash it with your laundry! This is a much more eco-friendly and sustainable practice.

A few favourites:

  1. Christmas themed reusable napkins* £3.60+
  2. Christmas napkins* £6+
  3. Christmas gnome napkins* £12.95

Christmas gifts

One of the best ways to incorporate sustainability at Christmas is to give sustainable Christmas presents! I have created 2 eco-friendly gift guides which you can read below:

  • Eco-friendly Christmas gift guide 2021
  • Eco-friendly stocking filler guide

Wrapping

Wrapping is an important factor when trying to have a sustainable Christmas. Last year I attempted to do some origami wrapping which I only managed for one present! I watched countless videos but I’m awful at origami so I just couldn’t work it out. You might have better luck though 😊

If you can’t do origami, you could buy some plastic-free wrapping paper*, use newspaper, tissue paper or even a scarf! It’s nice using plain brown paper, then you could add some Christmassy stamps on each one (I also attempted that a few years ago!). Or, you could use reusable gift bags*. Another important part of wrapping gifts are what you use to keep the paper together. Some people like to use string, twine* or my personal favourite paper tape*! You can get lots of pretty patterns of paper tape.

Christmas cards

This year I have bought my Christmas cards from Suzanne Marie Papiere. You might remember her from my small businesses gift guide last year where I fell in love with her shop! I just love the idea of plantable cards.

Here is what I got:

Buy the plantable Christmas cards* £12+

Christmas tags

For as long as I can remember, we have cut up old Christmas cards to make gift tags. I always found making them really fun and then getting to pick out who would get which tag. I really like this idea because we are upcycling and reusing Christmas cards. However, this year I have gone a different route. I saw that Suzanne sold plantable gift tags and I just couldn’t resist them! My family are big on planting so I know they will be used.

Here’s what I got:

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  1. Plantable animal-themed gift tags* £6.50+
  2. Plantable festive-themed gift tags* £6.50+

Food waste

Food waste is a big thing over Christmas. Often we overbuy and then don’t end up eating all the food. Here are a few ways you can reduce your food waste over Christmas:

  • Freeze leftovers → try and empty out your freezer as it gets closer to the 25th
  • Make stock
  • Make leftovers into pies etc.
  • Plan ahead
  • Donate unopened food to a local food bank
  • Compost peelings

And there we have it! I hope this blog post has given you some tips on how to have the most sustainable Christmas.

Best wishes, Cx

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About Caroline

Welcome to Enviroline Blog 💗
I blog to raise awareness about the environment and mental health - specifically eating disorder recovery.
I upload every Sunday and some Wednesdays.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Fadima Mooneira says

    December 8, 2021 at 12:04 pm

    Yeah!!!!!!! Celebrations can always be sustainable. These are good tips. Thank you for sharing.

    Reply
    • Caroline says

      December 9, 2021 at 7:35 pm

      Thank you

      Reply
  2. Jamieadstories says

    December 8, 2021 at 1:25 pm

    I think the food waste advice is super important or we end up with so much leftover and thrown away.

    Reply
    • Caroline says

      December 9, 2021 at 7:36 pm

      Agreed

      Reply
  3. Alison says

    December 8, 2021 at 2:44 pm

    There are so many great ideas and tips here! I’m in love with those plantable gift tags. I cut up old cards too, but would love to try the plantable ones!

    Reply
    • Caroline says

      December 9, 2021 at 7:36 pm

      Me too! x

      Reply
  4. Megan Charlie says

    December 8, 2021 at 2:46 pm

    These are some great tips! I love the idea of making your own decorations. It would definitely make things that little bit more personal and it’d be a great tradition!

    Reply
    • Caroline says

      December 9, 2021 at 7:36 pm

      I agree x

      Reply
  5. Eleanor Jones says

    December 8, 2021 at 3:12 pm

    Fantastic post! Thank you for sharing Caroline, it is so tough to be sustainable at this time of year. I give away any presents that I don’t need to charity shops and I try to throw away minimal bits- although it’s hard to be completely sustainable. Great tips 🙂

    Reply
    • Caroline says

      December 9, 2021 at 7:36 pm

      I feel you, that sounds good x

      Reply
  6. Jodie | That Happy Reader says

    December 8, 2021 at 3:32 pm

    I love all these great ideas to have a more sustainable holiday! I think making your own decorations is wonderful as well as recyclable gift tags. Thanks for sharing!

    Reply
    • Caroline says

      December 9, 2021 at 7:37 pm

      Thank you x

      Reply
  7. Seriah Sargenton says

    December 8, 2021 at 5:42 pm

    I have never thought about recycling gift tags. That is such a great idea!

    Reply
    • Caroline says

      December 9, 2021 at 7:37 pm

      Thank you

      Reply
  8. Simona says

    December 8, 2021 at 8:19 pm

    I love the smell of a real Christmas tree, but I always felt bad getting it for the house since it’s been cut down. The felt decoration sets look so cute as well, need the robin ones!

    Reply
    • Caroline says

      December 9, 2021 at 7:38 pm

      I know what you mean x

      Reply
  9. Lucy says

    December 8, 2021 at 9:14 pm

    I love these suggestions and ideas to have a sustainable Christmas, I don’t think anyone can have any excuses to not do one of these things! x

    Lucy | http://www.lucymary.co.uk

    Reply
    • Caroline says

      December 9, 2021 at 7:38 pm

      I agree 🙂 x

      Reply
  10. Michelle says

    December 8, 2021 at 11:19 pm

    What an excellent roundup of ideas, Caroline! And thanks so much for linking to my Christmas tree post.

    I definitely need to look into the Christmas crackers. I have several packages of paper Christmas napkins to use up. Once they’re gone, I’ll definitely get some cloth napkins.

    Reply
    • Caroline says

      December 9, 2021 at 7:39 pm

      No problem, I really enjoyed reading it! That sounds good 🙂

      Reply
  11. Merry Sari says

    December 9, 2021 at 2:05 am

    I don’t celebrate Christmas but I love the Christmas vibe sooo much! I like taking photos of Christmas trees wherever I go haha Love these recommendations 😀

    Reply
  12. Adelaide says

    December 9, 2021 at 10:29 am

    These are great ideas to have a sustainable christmas, making your own decoration is a great idea, I remember one of my aunts she made all her christmas decoration self. In september she began craf everything, was really fun.

    Reply
    • Caroline says

      December 9, 2021 at 7:40 pm

      Thank you, aww that sounds so lovely x

      Reply
  13. Vourneen says

    December 10, 2021 at 6:14 am

    I love this post Caroline! Christmas can be such a wasteful time of year.
    I completely understand the Christmas tree dilemma. I debate the same thing every year too. I’ve had the same fake tree for so long and I think if I ever decided to go for a real tree I would want to ensure that my one was either recycled in some way or passed onto someone else to use. I’d also need to know that if a real tree was cut down, that two were planted in its place.
    Those plantable gift cards look amazing! I’ve never seen these before but they’re such a cute idea!

    Reply
    • Caroline says

      December 12, 2021 at 11:07 am

      Definitely! x

      Reply
  14. Kelly Diane says

    December 10, 2021 at 7:52 am

    These are great tips. Those baubles look adorable. I’ve never had a real Christmas tree before. I always donate my fake tree to someone less fortunate when I want to update it.

    Reply
    • Caroline says

      December 12, 2021 at 11:08 am

      That’s a really nice idea x

      Reply
  15. Soffy says

    December 10, 2021 at 8:24 am

    These are great tips! I use brown paper to wrap presents I think it actually looks pretty! Love all of these ideas. Thank you for sharing x

    Reply
    • Caroline says

      December 12, 2021 at 11:08 am

      I agree, brown paper looks so good x

      Reply
  16. Jenny in Neverland says

    December 10, 2021 at 12:31 pm

    Some great ideas and things to consider if you want to make your Christmas more eco-friendly! Making cards or sending e-cards is a great idea. The Christmas tree debate is an interesting one – I think there’s definitely pros and cons of each!

    Reply
    • Caroline says

      December 12, 2021 at 11:08 am

      Thank you x

      Reply
  17. Shannon Baker says

    December 10, 2021 at 10:17 pm

    These tips are so awesome! I am trying my best to have a more sustainable Christmas especially with the wrapping, using my paper based washi tape and reuse old paper that we have left instead of buying new tubes. I have recycled cards and reusing gift bags as well. Can’t wait to do more research for next year 🙂

    Love Shannon x
    http://www.shanylou.co.uk

    Reply
    • Caroline says

      December 12, 2021 at 11:09 am

      Thank you, definitely best to use what you have first! x

      Reply
  18. Corinne says

    December 11, 2021 at 1:15 am

    We use the same decorations every year. I do buy a few new things each year but we use them all and I’ll continue to do so until they break! We have a fake tree but hope to have it for many years. I’d love a real tree but it’s not safe with the baby. Maybe in a few years we will have one!

    I will give our old tree away on our community page if we do make the swap.

    Corinne x

    Reply
    • Caroline says

      December 12, 2021 at 11:09 am

      That sounds great 🙂

      Reply
  19. Emily says

    December 12, 2021 at 11:41 am

    These are great tips! I love the little baubles, they are so cute. I think Christmas is a great time to make some eco-friendly swaps as otherwise it can be so wasteful. I hadn’t thought about some of these ideas. We like to use old Christmas cards to make Christmas tags as then it reduces our waste. Em x

    Reply
    • Caroline says

      December 14, 2021 at 12:56 am

      I agree x

      Reply
  20. Headphonesthoughts says

    December 12, 2021 at 3:06 pm

    I agree with the reusing decorations. I have known so many people who throw out each year and buy new each year. I understand if you have to but if you don’t have to just re use them.

    Reply
    • Caroline says

      December 14, 2021 at 12:57 am

      I agree

      Reply
  21. Sophie Harriet says

    December 13, 2021 at 11:32 pm

    I love these ideas for having a more sustainable Christmas! This year I made Christmas cards by cutting up last years ones and sticking the pictures onto plain card that I already had. I hadn’t thought of making gift tags from old cards too but that’s such a good idea. I also got a felting kit from Cats Protection and I’m going to have a go at felting a bauble, modelled on my cat! They ran an online workshop which I wasn’t able to attend at the time but it’s on catch-up. x

    Reply
    • Caroline says

      December 14, 2021 at 12:59 am

      That’s such a fun idea for making Christmas cards! Oh, I love Cats Protection – just ordered a couple of gifts from there for my family 🙂

      Reply
  22. Cristina Rosano says

    December 29, 2021 at 8:32 pm

    These are all amazing tips and love to see so many things we can do so easily! I love the idea of reusable wrapping and it can serve both ways, like with furoshiki, you can keep teh wrapping and reuse it. ALso reusable christmas crackers are such a great idea, thanks for sharing x

    Reply
    • Caroline says

      January 1, 2022 at 9:37 pm

      Definitely! x

      Reply

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Hello!

Welcome to Enviroline Blog. I’m Caroline and I am currently in my second year at Bournemouth University studying Environmental Science.

On my blog, I share tips & tricks on how to be more sustainable in your everyday life.

A few facts about me:

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