How to Simplify the Holidays to Save Money and the Planet
I remember Christmas as a child being my favourite day - we were up early, ate a special breakfast as a family, opened presents, and then just hung out all day while the turkey was cooking. We'd play games and listen to classic Christmas records and watch movies or just quietly read a new book we'd received. My brother and I would sneak an extra bowl of Mom's famous pineapple pudding and more than our fair share of peanut butter balls. Sometimes we'd go to my grandparents' or cousins' houses and spend time with lots of other family members, and on the way back and forth we sang Christmas songs together in the car. It was a slow and peaceful day of being in the present moment with those I loved.
Could we go back to those carefree Christmas days?
I want to enjoy time without so many presents and trips to stores and buying way too much. I want fewer commitments and more time in jeans and a comfy sweater hanging out with friends and family and pets curled up in my lap. I want to play outdoors in the snow and enjoy the fresh air and sunshine.
When did the spirit of the holidays go from celebrating together with people you love to buying and entertaining and having perfect decorations and doing a million things at once?
The season has in many ways become a very commercial endeavour. We seem to buy trinkets and decorations and clothing and the latest technology and way too much food just because it feels like it's expected (or because there’s some sale that makes us feel like we’re crazy not to buy). It takes an enormous toll on our wallets, our sanity and on the planet.
What’s the alternative to a stressful, expensive, environmentally-destructive holiday season?
A simple one where you buy a whole lot less but actually give a lot more.
Christmas, Kwanzaa, Hanukkah and other holidays that happen around the winter solstice offer us an opportunity. Just as the post-solstice days give us a little more light each 24-hour period, so too can we give each other a little more time and love each day.
We can give the gift of conversation, of laughter, of listening, of singing and dancing, of eating together, of being healthy together and of relaxing together. The gifts we give can be thoughtful, needed and helpful, not plastic, impractical and cluttering-creating. The holidays needn't be a consumerist or stressful event.
Ideas for a simple, anti-consumerist, anti-stress, more sustainable holiday:
1. Decorate naturally.
Use greenery and branches and acorns and pinecones and berries all found in the natural world around us. Plan an outing to a friend's woodlot to gather them together or walk with family to the local farmer's market to get them.
2. Decorate intentionally.
Put your efforts not into purchased decor but instead into setting up your home to accommodate your vision of what the holidays mean to you. That may mean pulling out board games and decks of cards, adding cozy blankets and pillows to your living room, having some holiday-scented natural candles ready, queuing up your favourite festive songs, or rearranging your furniture so that the TV isn't front and centre.
3. Send e-cards.
Instead of buying and sending a gazillion impersonal cards by mail (unless that’s something that slows you down and gives you joy), send a simple e-card or even a really thoughtful email that tells the person how much they mean to you. You can write and send all your cards over a single coffee with Paperless Post e-cards. Or give back by sending e-cards through Greet for Good, a site that allows you to choose the charity of your choice to donate to through your purchase.
4. Say no.
Don't go to every holiday party you're invited to if you don’t want to. Forget hosting your own big do (if that's not your essential holiday activity) in favour of spending even more meaningful time with your friends throughout the coming cold months by getting out for coffee dates, walks or card nights - it will most likely be even more appreciated.
5. Give a repurposed gift.
Instead of adding to the nearly-new items bursting off the thrift store shelves, rescue one by redirecting it to a loved one. Purchasing secondhand items prevents more of earth's resources from being transformed into stuff and reduces the volume of items entering the waste stream.
6. Give experiences.
Instead of giving stuff that clutters up our homes, give something that will add to the enjoyment of life. Movie tickets, bowling passes, spa treatments, yoga classes, park passes, rock-climbing adventures, museum tickets, ski-lift tickets, a sporting event or concert...experiences will be remembered long after the excitement of 'stuff' has worn away.
7. Give consumables.
The gift of homemade cookies, muffins, soup, frozen casseroles, hot chocolate or an assorted tea pack will undoubtedly be appreciated and enjoyed, with no waste and no clutter left over.
8. Give learning.
The gift that will keep giving for a lifetime is that of knowledge. Give online learning classes from Skillshare or Udemy, or gift a class from your local college or university. Or how about an art class? A cooking class? Or a guided meditation app like Headspace? Books, of course are also fantastic gifts. You may have guessed that I highly recommend Essentialism for everyone on your list.
9. Give your time.
Giving your time is so much better and more valuable than anything else you could give. Spend a day with someone helping around the house or baking together. Plan a meal together at their favourite restaurant. Wash their car for them. Babysit so someone can go on a date night. Help them paint their house in the Spring. You get the picture.
10. Buy local and handmade.
If you do purchase any gifts or decorations, opt for locally made items that reduce shipping and support makers, artisans and small merchants. You might also consider purchasing gifts online (or at local craft shows) that support women and makers in third-world countries who are helping build their communities through their businesses. Check out my Best of Etsy boards for handmade, feel-good gift ideas.
11. Ban waste.
Commercial wrapping paper is non-recyclable and burning it emits toxins into the environment. So save our landfills by opting for natural and recyclable wrapping options. Use recycled paper bags, brown or white kraft paper, scraps of fabric, newsprint, old maps, or even a tea towel. Forget the tape and plastic bows and tie up a pretty knot with jute rope or baker's twine. These ideas for natural, sustainable gift wrapping are pretty cool.
I hope this inspires you to simplify a little this holiday season, and save money at a time when consumerism is costing us more than ever. Your family will thank you, and so with our planet.
