Article by Jen Cole, Clean Fairfax
(Posted 2025 December)
Holidays do not have to be wasteful, stressful and expensive at the time when we need to be more aware of the world around us. We repeat these wasteful habits because we are in a hurry and feeling overwhelmed by everything that must get done, but that does not have to be our holiday. We can be more mindful about how we do holidays. All it takes is wanting to make a change.
Making your holidays more sustainable might mean rethinking how you approach gift giving, decorating, or entertaining – or all three, and includes all the places you spend time – home, work, school, and social or faith-based events.
But what does being sustainable mean? A few considerations as you contemplate your holiday planning (and not just holidays, but any area of your life – you can apply sustainable principles all over):
- To know and not exceed your budget.
- To use things you already have.
- To consider the beginning, middle and probable end of a product.
- To ask yourself: How have I served, protected, enhanced my community and environment?
Gift Giving
Above all, it’s important to be thoughtful when you give gifts. Giving someone a gift that they don’t want or like has consequences:
- One third of Americans who got a gift they didn’t like threw it in the trash.
- Three in five Americans have lied about liking a gift they’ve received.
- Retailers throw away about 25% of returned products, which adds up to more than five billion pounds of trash every year.
- In the United States, $10.1 billion dollars is spent on gifts people do not want or need – that is not sustainable in this economy or for the environment.
Think like a journalist when choosing gifts:
- Who are you shopping for? Be thoughtful and deliberate in your gift giving.
- What are you getting them? Is it something they want?
- When are you going shopping? When are you gifting this? Is it timely?
- Where are you getting it? Shop locally when possible.
- Why are you choosing this gift over other options?
- How are you wrapping it? Cloth or kraft paper with natural decorations are better options.
- Bonus – what will happen at the end of this gift’s life?
A few ideas for more sustainable gift options include:
- Gifts of time like baby- or pet-sitting, organizing the tool shed or garden, or teaching the younger generation one of your favorite hobbies or skills.
- Experiences like trips or classes.
- Family heirlooms (Why wait until you’re gone to give the people you love the things you love? Wrap them up this year.)
- Thoughtfully thrifted items, gift certificates, and handmade items. Get creative!
If you purchase your gift, try to support local businesses. Did you know that more than $70 of a $100 purchase made at a local business stays in the community, compared to less than $40 out of $100 spent at a big box store? Keeping your dollars local boosts your community and benefits your neighbors, which is important these days.
Decorating
Making your home look festive adds to holiday cheer but your decorations need not be wasteful. You don’t need to buy the newest set of plastic things every year that you will just throw away. The most sustainable holiday decorations are those you can use repeatedly, made from natural materials, or compostable. Consider these tips:
- Look for reusable items at thrift stores, yard sales, your local online marketplace or buy nothing group (pro tip: keep an eye out in spring and summer when people are cleaning out their storage areas).
- Gather natural items like grasses, leaves, evergreen branches, pinecones, and acorns when you are out for a walk, and come up with artsy ways of using them around your home to up your holiday game.
Gift Wrapping
Most wrapping papers, especially anything foil or plastic-y, will not be recyclable. Instead, use paper that is already made from post-consumer waste and is recyclable. Pull tape off paper and boxes before putting them in your recycling bin. A fun project with kids and grandkids is making your own inexpensive and environmentally friendly wrapping paper and gift bags out of rolls of kraft paper or white drawing paper, decorating it with crayons or rubber stamps. You can even use scraps of fabric for wrapping. Skip the bows and curling ribbon, which are expensive, not recyclable, and hazardous to pets who ingest them. Instead use simple garden twine, pinecones, evergreen boughs, cinnamon sticks, and other natural decorations.
Christmas Trees: Real or Fake?
This is a tough question and there are different ways of measuring the environmental impact of a Christmas tree:
- Real trees – Many trees sold in our area come from North Carolina, making a real tree a good choice because it will ultimately break down into mulch or compost.
- Artificial trees – how durable is it, what is it made of, and how many years will you reuse it? Many artificial trees are made of PVC (plastic) and lead, which cause health and environmental problems during production, use, and disposal.
Real trees may be expensive this year because of climate change, storms, flooding and tariffs. If you have the space, a fun option is to buy a small potted tree, then plant it in your yard after the holidays are over. The key to sustainability is to use (and reuse) what you have.
Entertaining
Holiday gatherings do not have to include trash cans overflowing with paper plates and cups or headaches caused by glitter that is difficult to clean up! Avoid single-use cups, plates and utensils, even if they are paper. Not only is there an environmental cost to these items but you already have plates, cups and silverware at home you can use.
If you are hosting parties at your workplace, community group, or faith community, ask people to bring their own plates, bowls, cups, cutlery, and a cloth napkin. If you have a kitchen in these spaces, ask people to donate serving ware and utensils and wash them up afterwards. You can make your own partygoer’s kit of reusables to take to any gatherings you attend. People have been entertaining for millennia, and it is only in the last 50 years that we have gotten used to single-use items. This coincides with overwhelming plastic pollution – the US has the highest concentration of microplastic fibers in drinking water than anywhere else in the world.
You can also make your holidays more sustainable by skipping the plastic wrap and storage bags at holiday meals. Send leftovers home in reusable containers (and bring a reusable leftover container with you). Food waste can be composted to prevent it from winding up in a landfill.
Finally, when you are shopping, remember to bring your reusable bags. One reusable bag can offset 500+ single-use plastic bags per year. You will save money while helping to reduce plastic pollution in our region. If you need plastic bags for messy chores around the house, look no further than the things that come to you in the mail. most items are in non-recyclable plastic envelopes or plastic padded envelopes, with the item inside in yet another clear plastic bag. Other sources of plastic bags include pet food bags, frozen food bags, and bread bags. Once you start noticing all the plastic that comes into your house, you’ll start using those bags instead.
Other Tips for a Sustainable Holiday:
- Unsubscribe from marketing emails that try to make you feel like you’re not doing or buying enough.
- Consider a family secret gift exchange so that you are buying (or making or finding) fewer gifts.
- Make new fun traditions, like a scavenger hunt on holiday mornings where the ‘gift’ is the process, not the ‘thing’ found at the end.
- Use and shop from “wish lists” to ensure that you’re not giving or receiving unwanted things or items that do not align with your environmental values.
- Avoid participating in or promoting things like Ugly Sweater contests that encourage one-off purchases of items that will be discarded immediately.
- Who doesn’t love a gift of spiced nuts, fudge or a cookie plate? Include the recipes with the gift.
Remember, no one is perfect. It’s better to do a lot of sustainable actions imperfectly than not at all. Once you build thoughtful habits during the holidays, it will be easy to keep them going for the rest of the year. Your holidays will also be more memorable, less stressful, and more affordable. Recognize that you are part of an ecosystem that is made up of natural, human, and economic elements. It flourishes when you care for it, and it withers when you do not. Happy Holidays from Clean Fairfax!
Clean Fairfax is an independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization with a mission to encourage environmental stewardship and urban sustainability in Fairfax County, Virginia through advocacy, education, programming, and community involvement. Clean Fairfax supports community litter cleanups by providing free cleanup supplies. They also offer a Speakers Bureau program, where groups may request presentations on a variety of environmental topics such as how to make your holidays low waste, low cost, and less stressful. Learn more and submit requests at cleanfairfax.org.
This article is part of the Golden Gazette monthly newsletter which covers a variety of topics and community news concerning older adults and caregivers in Fairfax County. Are you new to the Golden Gazette? Don’t miss out on future newsletters! Subscribe to get the electronic or free printed version mailed to you. Have a suggestion for a topic? Share it in an email or call 703-324-GOLD (4653).