An eco-friendly Christmas… inside and outside the garden

The holidays are coming, and soon our attention will be monopolized by decorations, festive dinners, and gifts. But while the magic of Christmas lies precisely in its power to enrich an entire month with promises and hopes, it is also true that we must not let ourselves be distracted from our daily missions, such as caring for the environment, the health of nature, and avoiding pollution. This period is, in fact, when so much is produced, purchased, and consumed that it causes enormous amounts of waste. And if living the holidays in the name of consumerism makes us lose their magic, the environment and green philosophy also falter during this period. However, there is a way to live an eco-friendly Christmas that does not deny the joy of the holidays, lunches, and gifts, but allows us to enjoy them in the most environmentally friendly way possible.

1. Eco-friendly Christmas tree
2. Eco-friendly Christmas gifts
3. Eco-friendly habits: from wrapping paper to colorful lights
4. An eco-friendly Christmas at the table too

Eco-friendly Christmas tree

Christmas tree or no Christmas tree? Real tree or artificial tree? This is perhaps the biggest sustainability dilemma during the holiday season. Each of the two options has advantages and disadvantages. A real tree can be purchased locally, producing it does not involve large amounts of CO2 emissions, and if it has roots, it can be replanted. However, it is also true that if it is purchased with cut roots, you are effectively cutting down a tree for a trivial reason, just to create a decoration, which often cannot even survive household temperatures, let alone all climates. An artificial tree, on the other hand, is very durable and reusable, potentially for life, yet its production pollutes greatly, as does its disposal, since it is neither biodegradable nor 100% recyclable, and during disposal it can release carcinogenic substances.

Neither option, therefore, is without its flaws. How can we then have eco-friendly Christmas trees? If you have a garden or even just a balcony, you can opt for a tree, not necessarily a fir, that withstands the temperatures of your area well and can be replanted outdoors after the holidays. While the fir is perfect in Northern Italy and cold-climate areas, in Central and Southern Italy there are other types of plants that withstand other climates perfectly. You can opt, for example, for Quercus Ilex, Cypress, and Cypress Olive, ideal for those with little space.

Eco-friendly Christmas gifts

If sorting waste is necessary to be environmentally friendly, the same does not apply to gifts, and an eco-friendly Christmas is not made of recycled gifts (unless we are talking about vintage). It is, however, made of thoughts that are not purchased without too much conviction just to give something, but designed to avoid waste, to prevent them from remaining unused, or even being thrown away.

The simplest way to avoid waste is intangible gifts. Tickets for visits, exhibitions, museums, but also trips and dinners for those looking for more significant gifts. The point is to give experiences instead of things. No objects, knick-knacks, or trinkets, especially if we are not sure they will be appreciated and desired gifts, to avoid buying objects that will not be used and will only produce pollution. It may seem like a trivial gesture, but if we imagine all the objects unnecessarily gifted during this period, it is easy to realize that gifts are often the first enemy of an eco-friendly Christmas.

Then, the most sustainable gifts of all are plants. In general, choosing sustainable products made by supply chains that certify the ethics behind production is essential, but to avoid fueling consumerism and giving objects, plants are always an excellent idea. Flowers, or even just seeds, or versatile Gift Cards from your trusted supplier for the most passionate enthusiasts, are thoughtful gifts that do not contribute to any type of pollution and are never wasted.

If sustainability is also a topic close to the recipient's heart, there are gifts designed specifically to do good for the environment. For example, many websites and online communities “sell” trees in certain areas of the world to be reforested, or beehives to be tended. Giving a tree or a beehive does not mean donating them physically, but financially supporting, on the part of the gift recipient, the planting of a tree—whose oxygen production level can also be monitored—to contribute to reforestation, or the care of a beehive and the life of all the bees that inhabit it—also allowing you to taste its honey. A gift, therefore, for the environment, perfect for those who contribute every day with their actions to limiting pollution.

Eco-friendly habits: from wrapping paper to colorful lights

How many of you, at every family gathering with ten gifts each to unwrap, realize the enormous amount of paper that is wasted? How many of you think that all that cellulose comes from trees that were cut down just to wrap gifts? Making pretty packages is fun, but gifts do not lose their value if they are not wrapped, and there are many valid eco-friendly alternatives to wrapping paper.

The simplest step is to replace wrapping paper with colored bags, which can be reused for new gifts. But even so, a large amount of paper is produced. In these cases, the mantra is reuse: packaging paper or brown paper that arrives with online orders, or even newspaper, represents a fun and entertaining alternative to purchased wrapping paper. But if we are looking for a truly eco-friendly Christmas, we can consider the idea of not wrapping gifts, perhaps limiting ourselves to a smaller card to accompany the gift, so as to show care and attention even without producing paper waste and trash.

Another major source of pollution is certainly Christmas lights. Along with decorations and ornaments, they are the thing that contributes most to creating the magic of the holidays. But they also require large amounts of energy. It is not necessarily true that to have an eco-friendly Christmas you have to give up the lights: the important thing is to use LED Christmas lights. This is the lighting option that, at the moment, consumes about 80% less energy than a string of classic light bulbs. And, moreover, it lasts up to ten times longer, further reducing waste.

An eco-friendly Christmas at the table too

One of the most important elements of the holidays is food. Not the dishes themselves, although every place has its own tradition. But the mealtime as a time of conviviality to share with loved ones. Lunches and festive dinners are, in fact, the most anticipated—and most feared—moments to spend the holidays together, but they are also the situation in which it is necessary to fight most strenuously for an eco-friendly Christmas.

First of all, during these times a lot of waste is produced, leftover food that is often thrown away. For this reason, the first rule is to reduce quantities. In fact, we are led to prepare much more food than needed, to ensure a good portion for everyone, but preparing a little less will not leave anyone starving. Furthermore, organizing to give each guest a few portions of the leftover food so that it is not thrown away is an excellent idea.

However, what hurts most at our Christmas tables is precisely what we eat. Every family, every area, every region has its own habits and traditional dishes. Italian culinary tradition and, in general, the Mediterranean diet are made of a great recourse to products of plant origin and the use of animal products only during the holiday periods. However, during our lunches and festive dinners, we end up buying and preparing huge quantities of meat- or fish-based products. And, as we often remember, it is precisely products of animal origin that pollute the most. If completely eliminating traditional dishes may seem difficult, a good idea to limit the emissions of our meals could be to choose only a few meat- or fish-based dishes, and to experiment with many vegetarian or vegan alternatives to add to the traditional menu. In this way, you begin to savor different flavors, without completely breaking with tradition, but polluting much less.

After all, at Christmas we are all kinder, and precisely for this reason, we must not give up sustainability.