Christmas is a time for celebrating, which is why it’s hard to be a Scrooge asking people to turn off their air-conditioning, recycle champagne bottles and use newspaper for Christmas wrappings. Luckily, there are many eco-friendly Christmas decoration alternatives that won’t make you look like a party pooper. Here are some ideas that are unique, cost-effective and have less of an impact on the planet:
LED Christmas Lights
LEDs (Light Emitting Diodes) are environmentally friendly lights that not only consume less energy, but also last a lot longer. Instead of untangling heaps of Christmas lights and fairy lights from your garage, why not invest in LED Christmas lights this year? LED fairy lights are available in a variety of colours such as green, red and gold, so you can buy lights that match your other Christmas decorations. Check out Décor Electrix for colourful LED fairy lights and Magic Lighting for interesting leaf-shaped LED fairy lights in South Africa.
New York’s famous Rockerfellar Plaza tree is one of the famous international landmarks that have also embraced LEDs – this massive tree has 30,000 LED bulbs spread across 8 kilometres of wire. Since the tree switched from incandescent bulbs to LEDs in 2007, energy consumption from the lights has dropped from 3,510 kilowatt hours per day to 1,297khd. As a further green initiative, the tree’s wood is used to furnish lumber for Habitat for Humanity house construction after it gets taken down on New Year’s Day.
Another fairy light option is solar powered fairy lights, which will give you a sparkly garden all year round without using energy (apart from natural energy provided by the sun). Nigelsecostore.com has solar powered fairy lights that are waterproof and can provide light for up to 40 hours once they are fully charged.
Eco-friendly wreaths
While wreaths are more popular in the United States, many South African businesses also hang up fresh (as well as plastic) wreaths throughout the festive season. Instead of buying a plastic wreath, rather make your own, environmentally-friendly version.
Goodhousekeeping.com has a number of eco-friendly wreath ideas, ranging from fresh, wooden-looking wreaths (made from green Granny Smith apples and pinecones) to using old tie’s to create colourful wreaths. Browse through Goodhousekeeping.com’s eco-friendly wreath photo album for ideas.
Christmas tree options
Some people argue that buying a plastic Christmas tree is the environmentally-friendly option, because you can re-use it every year. The obvious disadvantage is that plastic Christmas trees are, well, plastic. Instead of debating old arguments, here are some new eco-friendly Christmas tree ideas to try out:
- Buy your Christmas tree from a tree farm that engages in sustainable practices;
- Buy a living tree that you can re-plant after Christmas. Remember that a living tree needs to be kept in cool temperatures and it needs to receive plenty of sunlight. If you want to be able to re-plant your tree after Christmas, try not to keep it indoors for longer than a week.
- Recycle your tree after Christmas. Here are a few ideas: Blend the tree’s needles with cinnamon sticks, eucalyptus and essential oils to make potpourri; saw the trunk of your Christmas tree to create round wooden plates that can be used in your garden; saw the trunk into smaller circles to make coasters.
- Make your own Christmas tree from discarded plastic bottles, glass bottles or old newspapers. Check out some of the amazing-looking Christmas trees that have been made from recycled materials.
Don’t give gifts that need batteries
Buying toys, flashlights and games that run on batteries is tempting, but consider the amount of pollution that old batteries cause before buying these types of gifts. Batteries aren’t biodegradable and they contain toxic chemicals. If you’re not able to give people rechargeable batteries along with the battery-powered toy, avoid these gifts entirely.
Rent where you can
Every year, many people go out and buy new Christmas decorations, table centrepieces and expensive china to impress guests. Renting these types of items will also save you money and space. Visit your nearest party store to find out about renting themed table decorations over the Christmas period.
The Live Eco team
