My tips for an eco-friendly, guilt-free Holiday season

November 26, 2021

Holiday season has began! I absolutely love this time between November and the end of December when winter slowly settles in, when weekends become slower. We are eager to the snow, Christmas is in the air...

This Black Friday week, slow is not the easiest feeling to have as I can feel the commercial pressure at a maximum. It's easy to get caught up in this avalanche of commercial messages and to buy things I don't need. I'm trying to stay aligned with my environmental values, but it's not always easy to limit my consumption, even more so when it comes to making gifts.

Over time, I've developed a few tings for a softer Holiday Season, to limit the frustration of giving and receiving.

First, create wish lists for yourself and your loved ones. This is the key to not ending up receiving or giving something you don't really need or like (even if it's given with all the good intentions in the world!). I always feels it frustrating to bring home something that will not be useful to me, and I don't want to do that to someone else. During the year, when I see something I would like (but that is not essential right away), I put it in a list on my phone. It's easy to share it with those who ask me for my Birthday or for Christmas. I also have a list for my husband and my daughters, so I don't run out of ideas when it comes to spoiling them.

Then, I recommend organizing a gift exchange to limit the number of gifts we give and receive. In my family, for the past few years, we've had a raffle that determines who each person gives a gift to. And we stick to that. This allows us to spend more time finding the perfect gift for our assigned person, rather than buying for the sake of buying because we have no inspiration and a limited budget.

Limiting waste is essential for me to feel good. Single-use gift wrap is rarely recyclable, so it's crazy to think that we're producing paper that is only meant to be torn up and thrown in the trash. Instead, choose to wrap your gifts in something that can be reused: a cotton bag, for example, or a tea towel, a scarf, any fabric. A two-in-one gift with no waste! Take a look on Pinterest, it's full of ideas on how to wrap your gifts without generating waste!

Finally, the key to being aligned with your values during this time is to give gifts that make you feel good. This is the advantage of limiting gift exchange, the budget available per gift is more important. This makes it easier to buy better, locally made things that respect the planet. I love being able to tell the story behind the products I buy, and I know that many small businesses rely on the Holiday Season to live all year long. I'm proud to be able to support local, and I thank everyone who supports us by donating products from our collection this holiday season. It means a lot to us!