Sustainable Holiday Ideas To Teach Kids Eco-Friendly Habits

Forbes December 11, 2024

Lifestyle

Sustainable Holiday Ideas To Teach Kids Eco-Friendly Habits

Have you ever paused during the holiday chaos to wonder how much waste we create during this festive season? Between wrapping paper, discarded decorations, and unwanted toys, the environmental impact can be staggering. What if this year, we could make the holidays just as joyful while teaching children to be eco-friendly and create sustainable holiday traditions?

Sustainability is about using today’s resources responsibly to ensure that future generations thrive. With the holiday season approaching—a time often associated with consumerism and waste—it is the perfect opportunity to teach children how to protect the planet. Teaching children about sustainability during the holidays is essential because it helps cultivate eco-conscious habits early, empowering them to make thoughtful choices that reduce their environmental footprint and protect their future.

The holidays offer a unique opportunity to engage children in hands-on activities like crafting decorations from recycled materials, choosing sustainable gifts, and conserving energy with eco-friendly lighting, which make sustainability relatable and actionable. These practices not only reduce immediate environmental harm but also nurture values like responsibility, empathy, and creativity, setting the foundation for a lifelong commitment to protecting our planet. Educating children during this impactful period helps them see sustainability as a joyful and integral part of celebrations, encouraging a generational shift towards a more sustainable holiday.

Shocking Holiday Waste Impact & How to Be More Eco-Friendly This Season

The holidays typically brings a sense of joy and togetherness and of course, gifts that children love. According to Stanford University's Waste Reduction, Recycling, Composting and Solid Waste Program, household waste increases by 25% from Thanksgiving to New Year. The Environmental Protection Agency recently shared that the daily average household waste is 4.9 pounds per person, this means that the period between Thanksgiving and New Year Celebrations sees the average family of four generating 735 pounds of waste during the festive season. This presents the perfect opportunity to reduce, reuse and recycle without compromising the desire to give gifts and enjoy the festive season. Additionally, these sustainable practices can be the catalyst to develop new family traditions during the holidays.

Eco-Friendly Holiday Gift Wrapping Ideas

Variety of Christmas presents wrapped in the environmentally friendly paper

According to the Ecology Center, each year, Americans consume around 4.6 million pounds of wrapping paper, with the majority used during the holiday season. Producing this amount requires burning approximately 17,000 barrels of oil, which releases nearly 16 million pounds of CO2 into the atmosphere. The shiny and laminated papers are non-recyclable and contribute significantly to carbon emissions and will be categorized as as general waste, with their final destination being landfills. Coupled with this, 50,000 trees are used to produce the beautiful gift paper used to cover the lovely gifts that create so much joy for children during the holidays, according to Business Waste UK.

This presents an opportunity to create a new family tradition of giving gifts in cloth bags . Creativity can be at the forefront, as these bags can form the basis of a fun family activity of decorating the Christmas gift bags and leaving the empty bags under the tree and the gifts placed in them. These bags can be reused yearly and upgraded with new DIY ideas each year.

Sustainable Holiday Toys: Giving & Sharing to Protect the Planet

Sharing toys

For many children, the holidays mean new toys and endless excitement. Children are often times anticipating the latest toys and may have shared with parents their wishlist, or maybe you figured it out when you saw their face light up at the latest commercial or when you walked by a store in a shopping mall. This is another opportunity to have a sustainable holiday and to teach children that by giving away their old yet fully functioning toys to those who may be less fortunate, they are learning to care about others, especially those who may not have the opportunity to get new toys from their family. It can be the beginning of a new tradition to donate toys to Salvation Army, Good Will or Toys for Tots or your local thrift store. Alternatively, parents can host a a toy exchange among friends and family in the form of a playdate where children can exchange their toys. It is the perfect opportunity to bring joy while being sustainable as it promotes reuse and reduces waste while simultaneously introducing children to the idea of sustainable consumption.

Create Lasting Family Traditions with DIY Eco-Friendly Holiday Decorations

Young woman making Christmas decorations with her daughters

Holiday decorations are often discarded after just one use, contributing to millions of tons of waste. In the UK, approximately £23 billion is spent annually on Christmas decorations, according to Express UK. A significant portion of this spending ends up in landfills, with millions of decorative lights and items discarded after the festive season. This highlights both the economic and environmental challenges of holiday celebrations. However, this is also an opportunity to embrace sustainability and create lasting eco-friendly family traditions. Ask yourself: what is wrong with last year’s decorations? Why not store them carefully and reuse them each year? You can also get creative by turning everyday household items—like jars, paper, and glue—into DIY holiday magic. Eco-friendly decorations can be made from things you already have, such as glass jars repurposed into lanterns or centerpieces. For some inspiration, Martha Stewart’s 17 DIY Christmas decorations offer great ideas that will last for years and set the tone for a fun family activity.

Celebrate The Holidays With Purpose For A Greener Future

As the holiday preparations begin, it is essential to focus on small, collective actions which have the ability to reduce carbon footprint and make the season a teachable moment for children. Whether it is crafting eco-friendly DIY decorations, donating toys, or choosing sustainable holiday wrapping options, every step contributes to a more eco-friendly, sustainable future.

The holidays offer a unique opportunity to instill values of sustainability in children—whether it's reducing waste or encouraging reuse. These efforts not only create lasting memories but also help protect the planet, teaching the next generation how to celebrate with purpose and minimize their environmental impact with small, mindful steps.