Strategies for a Green 12-Day Holiday Celebration
The Christmas season has begun, following American Thanksgiving, and it's time to embrace a more sustainable approach to the festivities. Here are some eco-friendly ideas for a "12 Days of Christmas" activities list:
- Day 1: A Day of Gratitude — Kick off the holiday season by focusing on gratitude. Share what you're grateful for at the meal table, write notes of gratitude, or create a running list of things you're thankful for.
- Day 2: An Act of Kindness — Perform intentional acts of kindness. Buy a stranger coffee, make a donation to a charity, help a neighbor, offer to babysit, or phone a friend.
- Day 3: A Christmas Card Campaign — Focus on sustainable and recyclable greeting cards. Avoid cards with glitter and plastic embellishments, choose cards that are solely cardstock paper, find unused second-hand cards, send e-cards, handmake cards, or buy from small businesses. Write only on the undecorated side of the card.
- Day 4: A Day for Making Christmas Decorations — Get creative with recyclable and compostable items. Make popcorn garland, dried orange garland, paper snowflakes, paper ornaments, or upcycle toys. Use foliage, pinecones, branches, and holly to enhance your decor.
- Day 5: A Day for Creating a Gift — Homemade gifts can be the most meaningful. Consider making homemade ornaments, baking treats, DIY spa day gifts, family photo shoots, or making seed paper.
- Day 6: Exploring Local Small Businesses or Craft Fairs — Shop small and local. Visit craft fairs, local artisans, or small businesses to find unique gifts and support your community.
- Day 7: Bake Night — Gather with loved ones for a Bake Night. Prepare no-bake items, peanut butter cookies, healthy no-bake bars, apple pie, or banana muffins.
- Day 8: A No Spend Day of Activities — Spend quality time with family without spending money. Play board games, do Christmas-themed Pictionary or charades, have a dance party, do arts and crafts, go on a scavenger hunt, take nature walks, or play in the snow or jump in puddles.
- Day 9: Christmas Light Tour — Bundle up, grab a hot chocolate to go, and view Christmas lights in your neighborhood.
- Day 10: Give Back — Intentionally give back to the community during the holiday season. Help out at a holiday meal or soup kitchen, donate money to a reputable charity, contact a women's or homeless shelter and ask about giving Christmas hampers/gifts, find a project like London Drugs' Stocking Stuffers for Seniors campaign, share a charity's fundraising campaign posts on social media, donate food to the food bank, or hand out socks and hand warmers to those living on the street.
- Day 11: Christmas Movie Night — Gather your family for a Christmas Movie Night. Watch holiday movies for free on sites like CBC Gem and CTV.ca, trade movies with friends, check out the local library, use a Free Little Library stand, or find movies on resale sites like eBay, Facebook Marketplace, Craigslist, or a Local Buy-Nothing group.
- Day 12: Book Exchange — Adopt the Icelandic tradition of Jolabokaflod, where books are exchanged as gifts on Christmas Eve. Find second-hand books at used book stores, thrift stores, free little library stands, resale sites, or give a book from your own collection.
These ideas combine environmental responsibility with creativity and community involvement, making for meaningful and sustainable holiday celebrations. Enjoy a greener, more mindful Christmas season!
- Adopt an eco-friendly lifestyle for your fashion-and-beauty choices by favoring sustainable brands and avoiding fast fashion during this holiday season.
- Revamp your home-and-garden practices by opting for energy-efficient LED lights for festive decorations, and using plant-based cleaners for a cleaner and greener home.
- To sustain a relationship during this season, give the gift of education-and-self-development books, workshops, or experiences to foster personal growth and strengthen your bond.
- When planning travel for holidays, consider eco-friendly modes of transport such as trains or bikes, and choose destinations that prioritize sustainable practices such as reusing water and reducing waste.
