Can Christmas be celebrated responsibly?

The answer is, yes it can!

Do you ever stop to wonder, what kind of effects our way of celebrating Christmas has to the surrounding world and society ecologically, socially and economically?

Christmas is generally a season of over consumption, which has negative effects to the planet. It is truly good to think about it, but even more to act and aim to be more responsible with our own choices that we make in everyday life. Christmas can be made less consuming, ethical, and more environmentally friendly by making the right choices. That makes the planet say thanks, and often your wallet too!

The most challenging thing in changing your habits is usually where to begin, and how to reach something that feels so huge and almost impossible. By changing small things first can make a huge difference, when wanting to spend a more responsible Christmas. A little goes a long way.

This year we have had an Advent calendar in Visit Häme Instagram and Facebook sites about responsibility at Christmas, and some easy tips what you can do yourself. It was published only in Finnish but, below you can find some tips in English on how you can start to become more responsible as a consumer.

• Favor local services and local food products 
• Favor domestic and seasonal products 
• Consider your purchases and their necessity, like gifts and Christmas food 
• Favor materials that you can primarily reuse or recycle
• Try to minimize food and other waste generation
• Give an intangible experience or your time as a gift 
• Do it yourself or get it recycled 
• Respect and value nature 
• Cherish traditions and culture 
• Remember safety first in traffic 
• Share a good Christmas spirit  
• Help those in need 
• Be kind, love and stop to enjoy being together and the Christmas atmosphere 

So come on and let’s all do Christmas celebrating even more responsibly!  

You can find more tips from eartheasy.

Writer,

Essi Rockas

A student of Sustainable Development