No-gift Christmas: How families are cutting costs and making environmentally friendly choices

There are holiday decorations around Alexander Hryndzio’s home, but no presents tucked under the Christmas tree.

“When we were kids we would get essential things like socks, underwear, sometimes we would get chocolates if we were lucky,” he said.

The 20-year-old’s family made the shift to a no-gift Christmas when he was in high school.

“We just appreciate each other during these times instead of focusing on the goods of Christmas and the gift-giving aspect of it.”

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Kristen Malec, office coordinator with the Green Action Centre, says you don’t have to be extreme to scale back during the holidays.

“Some of the biggest ways you can reduce your environmental footprint this Christmas is in regards to sustainable gift wrapping and not focusing Christmas just on giving gifts,” she said.

4:43 How to have a zero-waste holiday season

Malec says consider experiences instead of items for gifts, gift certificates over toys for kids or making your own presents.

“I have a two-year-old and she has so many things. You can go to second-hand stores for clothes and books.”

A total of 540,000 tonnes of wrapping paper — the equivalent of the weight of 100,000 elephants or 4.5 CN Towers — ends up in landfills following the holidays, according to a 2017 study by environmental group Zero Waste Canada.

Malec says to opt for newspapers, old maps, scarves or cloth as wrapping paper instead.

“Think about the impact you have on the environment. Approach your family and make it a family event. Make it a challenge to come up with cool ways to wrap your gifts,” she said.

4:17 How to throw a ‘green’ Christmas

Another place we waste a lot is at the dinner table. Malec says consider looking at portion planners online and asking people to bring reusable containers for leftovers.

“Do buffet style. Let people choose the amount of food that they want because then there’s less chance there will be food plate waste and that reduces the waste right there.”

All of this can help cut costs during the holidays too.

This year, the majority of Canadians plan on spending an average of $792 during the holidays, according to the Retail Council of Canada.

Last year, the average Canadian actually spent $824 during the Christmas season.