Zero Waste Christmas!

Hello my lovelies! It has been a hectic last few weeks, but I am back and ready to jump head first into the Holiday Season! Whether you celebrate Christmas, Hanukah, kwanza, or another holiday it’s important we try to be as zero waste as possible. When it comes down to it, simply not using wrapping paper or ribbon and switching to something more eco friendly can be a tremendous help to the environment. You don’t have to sacrifice the presentation or quality of the item by going zero waste this holiday. There are plenty of beautiful ways to wrap gifts, and make gifts that will not be wasteful! Let’s get started 🙂

Wrapping Gifts

If you are just starting out in the zero waste lifestyle, or simply want to help the environment this holiday season, wrapping paper is the perfect place to start. Each year approximately 2.3 million pounds of wrapping paper ends up in the landfills. As we know even tho we are recycling our landfills are overflowing, and a lot it will never get reused. A simple way to wrap your gifts is to reuse paper you already have, i.e newspaper, decorative paper, magazines etc. Then instead of throwing it away, fold it up and save it for next year. Reusing boxes, paper, bins and such that you already have, helps prevent the need for more trees to be made into wrapping paper. This year I am wrapping my gifts in cloth, this way I am eliminating the use of paper all together. This is an awesome way to be as zero waste as possible when wrapping your gifts. Another huge way to help is to use something other than ribbon. Ribbon is a non-recyclable product. Instead of using ribbon, try switching to twine. Twine is made of natural fibers that will break down over time.

Ornaments & Decorations 

Zero waste ornaments and decorations might seem like a really hard task, but it is much simpler than you think. I had a lot of fun making christmas tree ornaments and holiday decorations this year. I found all my inspiration online, simply type in “Zero-waste decorations” and tons of ideas and DIY’s will pop up. When making these ornaments
I love using things I find in nature, things like pinecones, acorns cranberries, twigs, flowers, tree needles etc. Then I tie twine on them and hang them from the tree or other places around my house. Another awesome idea is using dried fruit, like oranges, apples, lemons, limes etc. This gives the tree a colorful vibrant look and adds a nice smell. It’s important too get inspiration so you don’t feel like you are doing something wrong. When it comes to decorations and ornaments reuse twine, paper, lights, and add some eco friendly aspects that you have found outdoors.

Zero Waste Gift Guide

When giving zero-waste gifts there are three categories the gift can fall into: Reusable, Home-made, or Tickets. Reusable gifts are obviously items that can be used over and over again. Things such as, straws, Tumblr or coffee mug, toothbrush, wash cloth, ziplock bags, grocery bags etc. It might seem odd getting someone a reusable toothbrush for christmas, but I have found that people actually enjoy getting reusable items. Most of the time it’s not something they would go out and buy for themselves. Next is Home-made items, again obviously these are items made by you, from scratch. This would include, soap, crochet items, trail mix, candles, deserts and so on. People love receiving homemade gifts because of the thought behind it. They love knowing you spent time working on their gifts. Lastly is tickets, tickets to concerts, tours, guitar lessons, cooking lessons etc. This is a great zero waste gift, you can email them the link to the tickets you bought them, or hand make them a card and put the tickets in there.

Homemade Holiday Cards

Homemade holiday cards is another awesome way to go zero waste this season. Take leftover paper, of any color and make cards the whole family will love. I think people get worried that homemade holiday cards will look cheap, but I promise people will always prefer homemade items. It shows them you took time out of your day to sit down and create a beautiful card with them in mind. Before you go out and buy craft items to create these cards check-out what you might have around the house. Things like paints, stickers, stencils, stamps, twine etc. I know growing up my mom always bought a ton of christmas items after the holiday season when they went on sale. She would put them away and then next holiday season she wouldn’t have to buy a ton of holiday items.

Just remember lovelies, the holiday season is not about giving, it is about showing someone you care. A ton of people cannot afford the most expensive gifts out there and that is perfectly fine. I would rather get a homemade card then a technology item any day. If you show me you put some time, and handmade an item, I will always love that more then material things. Give back, donate to charities, don’t go in debt, relax and enjoy the time you have with family and friends

Happy holidays my lovelies!

xoxo