Sustainability does not always go hand in hand with Christmas. Especially in Eastern Europe and the USA, tons of food are thrown away. But it’s not just about food. Everyone has at some point received a Christmas present that was useless.
How do we prepare for Christmas to be more planet-friendly?
Food sustainability
Every year, tons of food are thrown away after Christmas. We tend to prepare too much food, which goes to waste after all. So how could you deal with this?
Well, you have a few options. Firstly, prepare less food. That’s a pretty simple solution, isn’t it? We all love the festive mood and look forward to the delicious food we eat once a year. But when we are obliged to eat it three or more days in a row, then our appetite diminishes. Plan to cook fewer dishes this year. And believe me, everyone will be happy.
If you decide to prepare the same amount of food as every year, freeze some of the dishes as soon as you cook them. That way you can always prepare them later in the year or even on the third day of Christmas. This way you will keep dishes fresh.
Sustainable Christmas gifts
These days, there are many people who actually have everything they need. But we tend to come up with more innovative Christmas gifts every year. And I understand that. Me personally, I prefer giving gifts rather than receiving them. But why not to choose a more sustainable gift this year. Some time ago, we put together a list of the best sustainable Christmas gifts.
If none of the above suits you, then check out the variety of our Vegan fashion accessories.
Christmas decorations
Most of us have a Christmas tree at home during Christmas. And most of them are beautifully decorated. But why not try sustainable decorations instead of plastic ones this year?
In this case, you can prepare most of the Christmas decorations yourself. You can try with some dried fruit, sweets that will be eaten after all, and gingerbread, to name a few. One of our top choices is hand-knitted bubbles made by our mum. What a spirit!
Plant-based dishes
I know that for some of you, holidays and meat dishes are inseparable. But in a constant-changing world, it’s worth of trying plant-based “meat” dishes or regular plant-based dishes. It’s a good idea to replace only some dishes with a vegan option at first. If you like the idea maybe next year evolve into a fully vegan menu.
While I am not trying to convince you to switch to a vegan diet, you should know that meat production accounts for almost 1/3 of the world’s annual gas emissions. As you can see, that’s quite a lot, and by changing your menu to a vegan one you can reduce that number by up to 10 times.
We highly recommend any of the recipes on jadlonomia.com. This website helped us a lot at the beginning of our vegan journey. Although it is in Polish, you can easily translate it into your language. We highly recommend it!
We have listed our best ideas on how to be more sustainable at Christmas. We know there are many more and we couldn’t be happier about it. Share with us your thoughts on how to make this Christmas greener!