Written by: Nabiha Khan
Edited by: Mannat Malhan
Designed by: Nabiha Khan
With Christmas just around the corner, I’m sure we’re all excited to have some fun with friends and family! However, it’s also important to remember that our environment is a very large part of the beauty of Christmas. After all, what’s Christmas without the snow? In this blog, I’ll go over some fun festive Christmas activities to do with family and friends, which also give back to the environment!
Eco-Friendly Decorations
No need to compromise Christmas decorations for environmental sustainability when you can make environmentally friendly decorations at home! Try crafting your own ornament, using cardboard, toilet paper rolls or even old jars. You could even use pinecones and branches as replacements, providing a more natural festive look. Plastic ornaments are often thrown out after Christmas and are mass-produced, which end up in landfills and destroy millions of habitats per year. Even if you don’t particularly like the idea of homemade decorations, I’d highly recommend not throwing away ornaments after one Christmas. You could always reuse them or give them to someone else!
Set up Energy-Efficient LED Christmas Lights
We can all agree that Christmas lights really bring together the whole holiday look, but what if you can help the environment with them as well? Using energy-efficient LED lights would consume less energy and reduce the need for frequent replacements. You could also minimize light usage by having smart timers that turn lights off late into the night.
Homemade or Local Gifts
Making homemade gifts really shows how much thought and time you put into someone’s gift; it can often mean more to a person than something you could have just bought for them at a store. When mass consumption has become so normalized in our culture, it’s important to take a step back and make something at home sometimes! Some examples could be bath bombs, candles, baked goods, and much more! You’d be surprised at the number of cool things you can make from home! If making homemade gifts isn’t really your thing, try considering buying gifts from local Canadian shops, rather than global shops, which pollute the air through air travel. I know it may sound like a bit of a nuisance to find local shops, but it can really help towards the climate, and maybe you might find some real gems along the way! That’s it for today’s blog. Thank you for reading, and have a great Christmas!
References
Armstrong, Claire. “51 Recycled Christmas Decorations: Eco-Friendly and Fun DIY.” Pillar Box Blue, 1 October 2024, https://www.pillarboxblue.com/recycled-christmas-decorations/. Accessed 7 December 2025.
Brite Nites. “LED vs. Incandescent Holiday Lighting.” Brite Nites, 9 September 2022, https://britenites.com/incandescent-vs-led. Accessed 7 December 2025.
eartheasy. “How to Have a ‘Green’ Christmas – Eartheasy.” Eartheasy, https://learn.eartheasy.com/guides/how-to-have-a-green-christmas. Accessed 7 December 2025.
Navarro, Nubia. “Christmas decor Free Stock Image.” Stocksnap.io, https://stocksnap.io/photo/christmas-decor-YJVZO6N8L7. Accessed 7 December 2025.
Odintsov, Roman. “Homemade Jam and Cookies with Strawberries.” Pexels, 24 January 2021, https://www.pexels.com/photo/homemade-jam-and-cookies-with-strawberries-6588383/. Accessed 7 December 2025.
Wilson, Aaron. “A Guide to a Sustainable Christmas in Canada.” ECO Canada, 19 December 2023, https://eco.ca/blog/a-guide-to-a-sustainable-christmas-in-canada/. Accessed 7 December 2025.