Having a green New Year isn’t just about re-usable champagne glasses and biodegradable confetti at your celebration. A green New Year is a commitment to do the best you can to lessen your carbon footprint and still have an awesome time at whatever celebration you choose to ring in the New Year. Taking a little extra time with whatever celebration you plan can make a huge difference to the planet.
A Home Celebration
What’s the greenest New Year celebration of all? The one you have at home! Keeping your celebration at home cuts down on emissions, allows you to control the food and decorations and best of all, keeps you out of nightmare traffic! Consider hosting a celebration or planning with friends or neighbors to co-host a celebration. Control of waste is the easiest way to have a green New Year.
New Year’s Celebration Food
Buy local! Stick to seasonal organic fresh fruits and vegetables grown by local farmers. Try some festive vegan recipes. Reducing meat consumption improves health and reduces your carbon footprint. Instead of buying bottled water, use a filtering pitcher to keep your New Year’s celebration hydrated. Use paper plates made from recycled materials, or forget about disposable plates entirely and use glass! Make party clean up a part of your celebration. Everyone will be happy to pitch in!
New Year’s Celebration Decorations
Having a green celebration doesn’t mean scrimping on fun decorations. Like most eco-friendly ideas, it just means thinking about things a little differently. Instead of buying decorations for your celebration, why not make them? Pick up some ecofetti, or re-purpose Christmas decorations for a fun New Year’s celebration. Instead of card stock, try using recycled paper or cardboard from around the house. Make fabulous celebration banners out of old fabric. You can adapt almost any craft to be greener by adding recycled paper and using items already in the house.
New Year’s Celebration Activities
Host an item swap at your celebration! Instead of giving out party favors, have everyone bring items like used books, Christmas presents they’d like to return or clothes that no longer fit. Everyone will get something they need while also disposing of things they don’t want! Talk about a win-win celebration! Or, if you and your friends love games, consider hosting a Murder Mystery celebration with a New Year’s theme!
How do you plan to turn your celebration green this New Year? Tell me about it in the Comments section!