Is a sustainable holiday even possible?
From karaoke microphones to Crybaby dolls to changing systems
If you’ve lived with me, you can attest that I start playing Christmas tunes long before they’re socially acceptable. I just love the bouncy joy around the holidays—the cookies, the trees in homes (are you kidding me?), the goofy sweaters, the board games, the movies. And yet, I also feel super itchy about all the things. Even when I was a kid, it was too much.
And then, I had a kid, and it was really too much. One year, my daughter got a karaoke microphone, which shrieked and made the gift giver laugh and laugh every time I mentioned it (and I admit, that laughter has become a cherished memory). But another Christmas, I bought my daughter a Cry Baby doll that I knew she’d only play with for a day and then discard, and yet I still bought it because: Christmas. Even if you’re trying to be a sensible environmentalist, seasonal happiness can get all tangled up with ridiculous levels of consumption and the result is 100 million extra rubbish bags sent to the landfill.
So here are three sensible things you can do for the holidays and then I give you permission to buy someone’s child a karaoke microphone. (Just kidding!)
1.) Re-imagine gifts for adults. In my family, kids get presents and adults play the white elephant game. Last year, my gift was a mending coupon and it was not the hot item I had expected. In Iceland, folks exchange books and it’s called Jólabókaflóðið or Christmas book flood. As a writer and reader, I 100% support books as presents. The Washington Post did a fun article about buying used items—which, spoiler alert, is what I plan to do for this year’s exchange. And Andria Williams has this even more charming plan: “I decided I would write all the important people in my life a letter with memories about them.”
2.) Unsubscribe from catalogs. Americans get 40 pounds of catalogs a year, which comes from 80-100 million trees. Nobody likes junk mail, but companies keep sending them to us because they work: we buy more. When Lands End stopped sending out catalogs, their sales dropped 100 million. You can stop getting catalogs several ways: A.) Google ‘Name of company’ + ‘unsubscribe’ and follow instructions.
B.) Make a free account with Catalog Choice and unsubscribe through them.
C.) Spend $2 for a DMAchoice account and get serious about stopping credit card offers as well as catalogs.
3.) Change the systems
A sustainable holiday is one with different systems. We make that change.
A.) Call your representative and support sound environmental policies. In New York state, I’m asking my reps to support the Plastic Reduction and Recycling Infrastructure Act, which would reduce single-use plastic by 50%.
B.) Vote every election.
C.) Get an 18 year-old registered to vote.
I struggle with this so much during the holidays. We’ve luckily convinced adults to opt out but it’s hard to keep things manageable for kids. Appreciate these ideas!