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It’s December which means we’re officially counting down to Christmas Day!!! Preparations are being made and there’s lot of planning to be done. For this season, I’ll be giving you some eco-friendly tips for Christmas…a green Christmas as I love to call it.

Tip 1: Decoration

For your decorations, go all eco-friendly. If you have old ones from last year why not re-use them? Re-using your old Christmas decorations is one way to go about it instead of buying new ones. You could use more natural stuff like leaves and plants to decorate your home. Avoid plastics in your decorations because they’ll contribute to the current plastic pollution problem. Some of your decorations can be DIY. You can check out some eco-friendly DIY tutorials on YouTube for your decoration.

Tip 2: Buy less, buy smart, think green

When shopping this time of the year, there’s always this urge to buy more stuff. It’s like they keep calling your name or there’s some kinda magnet on them. Well if you’re planning an eco-friendly Christmas, you need to reject that call. Straight up voicemail!

Buying less is one important eco-friendly Christmas tip. Before you put anything in your bag (reusable bag of course), ask yourself if you really need it, if you can do without it and if you can improvise or substitute for another eco-friendly form. Buy smart and think “green”. If you have an old version at home, use it rather than buying a new one. Perks of this is that you not only get to protect the planet, but save money.

Tip 3: Make a list

Well yes of course you need a list. There’s a lot of stuff to do so you need to put them down. Making a list is one of the eco-friendly tips for Christmas. Shopping list, grocery list, gifting list, whatever it is just make a list!

When you make a list, you’ll have everything you need at a glance and when shopping, you’ll only have to make a one-time trip to the store, reducing your carbon footprint in the process. Reducing your carbon footprint is really important because…CLIMATE CHANGE.

Tip 4: Bring your own bag

Your eco-friendly Christmas shopping isn’t complete without your reusable bag. Go to the store with your own bag so you won’t have to use a plastic bag. Using a reusable bag is a great way to avoid plastic and reduce plastic pollution.

Tip 5: Re-think your gifts

Lots of gift will be given out this season so you really need to rethink your gift. Make them eco-friendly. When buying gifts for your loved ones, buy gifts that are eco-friendly, sustainable and will last long. You can be creative and make you own gifts instead of buying.

You should also re-think your wrapping options. Avoid plastic packaging and use eco-friendly alternatives.

Tip 6: Shop locally

Shopping locally is also one of the eco-friendly tips for Christmas. It’s really important to shop locally this season. Instead of taking a long trip to get stuff outside or even shipping to your location, shop at your local store. Reduce your carbon footprint and that of whatever thing you’re buying as you do so.

If what you need isn’t available at your local store, try out some other eco-friendly alternative.

Tip 7: Cards

You know, almost everything is now “e”. When sending Christmas cards to your loved ones, make it “e”. Don’t go to the store buying cards which will eventually end up in the bin later. Switch from your regular store bought cards to e-cards. You can check out Canva to design your e-cards.

If you’re really into the regular card thing, then you could make yours instead of buying. You know, DIY.

Tip 8: Make your own

For your cookies and other baked stuff, you can make them at home instead of buying an already made version from the store. There are lots of tutorials on YouTube you can try out this Christmas.

Now you have these eco-friendly tips for Christmas, do good with them. Let me know which one you’ve tried out and how’s working for you.

Here’s to a Green Christmas!