Have yourself a sustainable little Christmas

Here are our Top 10 Tips for a sus­tain­able Christmas:

1. Switch to LED or solar-pow­ered lights

LED lights use far less ener­gy than tra­di­tion­al bulbs, and solar-pow­ered options can help cut down your elec­tric­i­ty use alto­geth­er. Turn lights off dur­ing the day or when not in use to con­serve even more energy.

2. Send e‑cards or recy­cled paper cards

E‑cards are a fun, paper­less way to spread fes­tive cheer. Pre­fer a tra­di­tion­al touch? Look for cards made from recy­cled paper or con­sid­er get­ting the kids involved and make your own.

3. Wrap gifts sustainably

After the thrill of unwrap­ping, Christ­mas paper often ends up crum­pled in a pile, des­tined for land­fill. Switch­ing to more eco-friend­ly wrap­ping is a sim­ple way to reduce waste this fes­tive sea­son — and it can even make your gifts look more unique and thoughtful.

Fab­ric wrap­ping: Inspired by the Japan­ese art of ​‘furoshi­ki,’ fab­ric wrap­ping is not only beau­ti­ful but reusable. Use scarves, tea tow­els, or even linen nap­kins as your wrap­ping mate­r­i­al — dou­bling as part of the gift itself. 

Nat­ur­al dec­o­ra­tions: Try dec­o­rat­ing with sprigs of euca­lyp­tus, dried flow­ers, or thyme. 

Reused mate­ri­als: Dig into your stash of old wrap­ping paper, gift bags, or pack­ag­ing tucked away in drawers. 

Upcy­cled papers: Give mag­a­zines and news­pa­pers a sec­ond life by turn­ing them into cre­ative gift wrap. Bonus: they’re recy­clable once the cel­e­bra­tions are over.

4. DIY dec­o­ra­tions inspired by nature

Craft dec­o­ra­tions using nat­ur­al mate­ri­als like fall­en branch­es, pinecones, or dried flow­ers. Not only are they beau­ti­ful, but they’re also biodegradable! 

5. Focus on expe­ri­ences (no wrap­ping paper required!)

Instead of giv­ing phys­i­cal presents, why not gift an expe­ri­ence that cre­ates last­ing mem­o­ries? Treat your loved ones to a day out at Cle­land Wildlife Park, where they can con­nect with nature and meet icon­ic Aus­tralian ani­mals like kan­ga­roos and koalas. 

Explore even fur­ther with a mul­ti­ple entry parks pass and explore the best of South Australia’s nation­al parks year-round, at sites like the white sand beach­es of Lin­coln and Cof­fin Bay Nation­al Parks, the rugged coast­line of Deep Creek Nation­al Park and the ancient moun­tain land­scapes of Ikara-Flinders Ranges Nation­al Park.

6. Don’t put unwant­ed gifts in the bin! 

Not every gift will hit the mark — and that’s okay. If you’ve received some­thing that doesn’t suit you, don’t let it go to waste. Instead of toss­ing it in the bin, con­sid­er donat­ing it to a char­i­ty or pass­ing it on to a friend or fam­i­ly mem­ber who will appre­ci­ate it.

(Don’t wor­ry, your secret’s safe with us!)

7. Opt for a pot­ted Christ­mas tree

Choose a live pot­ted tree that can be replant­ed or kept for years to come. It’s a green­er alter­na­tive to arti­fi­cial trees, which often end up in land­fill. Plus, it’s a great week­end activ­i­ty with your loved ones. 

8. Choose local food, when possible 

Christ­mas is the per­fect time to cel­e­brate South Aus­tralian pro­duce and sup­port local businesses.

By buy­ing sea­son­al fruits, veg­eta­bles, and oth­er fresh ingre­di­ents from local farm­ers, you’re not only enjoy­ing top-qual­i­ty pro­duce but also reduc­ing food miles and sup­port­ing the com­mu­ni­ty. For seafood lovers, opt­ing for a wider vari­ety of local­ly caught seafood helps main­tain sus­tain­abil­i­ty in SA’s fisheries. 

9. Recy­cle right

Set up clear­ly marked bins for recy­clables dur­ing your cel­e­bra­tions. Remem­ber to rinse con­tain­ers and avoid wish-cycling (plac­ing non-recy­clables in the recy­cling bin).

Don’t for­get about batteries!

The fes­tive sea­son often brings gifts that require bat­ter­ies, whether it’s toys, pow­er tools, or gad­gets. While bat­ter­ies might seem harm­less on their own, they can become a fire haz­ard when dis­posed of incorrectly.

To help pro­tect your home, and the envi­ron­ment, make sure you han­dle bat­ter­ies respon­si­bly. This includes learn­ing where to take your loose bat­ter­ies, e‑waste, and oth­er hard-to-recy­cle items. Vis­it the Which Bin web­site for advice on safe dis­pos­al and drop-off locations.

10. Embrace reusable tableware

Say good­bye to sin­gle-use plas­tics! Use cloth nap­kins, real cut­lery, and wash­able plates for your gath­er­ings. It’s kinder to the plan­et and makes your table look extra festive.

We hope these tips help you have a fun and eco-friend­ly Christ­mas this year!