Let’s Change Trashy Traditions

Guest Opinion

By Cathye Williams | Dec. 13, 2025

From the last Thursday in November until the ball drops in Times Square, it’s estimated that we Americans create 25 percent more waste than normal—approximately 25 million more tons of garbage. It comes from consumer goods, gift packaging/shipping, food scraps (including over 300 million pounds of Thanksgiving turkey scraps alone), and extra electricity use for all those pretty lights. In short, we give and get too many things that no one needs and that never get used. We make a feast but never finish it.

The problem is that most of this waste will end up in a municipal solid waste landfill (MSWL). Once there, paper and food scraps decompose rather quickly, emitting methane and other greenhouse gasses. Landfills are responsible for about 14-17 percent of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions, and food waste accounts for a whopping 58 percent of the methane coming from MSWLs (EPA 2022).

Plastics in toys (they are 90 percent plastic according to the World Economic Forum in 2024), decorations, and disposable foodware are also a big part of the holiday waste stream and a whole other problem. They degrade into “forever chemicals,” which leach into our soil and water, and eventually into us.

So what do we do, quit Christmas? Nooooo. The richness and diversity of holiday traditions that families and friends share are food for the soul. Faith services and community events bring us out in the cold dark of December, candles lit, voices raised. We need that now more than ever. We don’t need to stop celebrating—we need to celebrate smarter. How?

Create new giving traditions. Many families have moved from piles of gifts around the tree to exchanges—one special gift to get and one to give for each person. Without all the frenzy, more thought will go into those gifts, making them more dear and less likely to end up in a landfill. Fun games, such as the now ubiquitous “white elephant” exchange, add a little competition and laughter.

Try gifts that require no wrapping: experiences. Get out to a movie together or attend an area concert or play (also a gift to local artists). Take a cooking class or have a great meal at that one place you’ve been meaning to try. Movie tickets, park passes, gym memberships, “coupons” for a date, or girls’ nights out—there are many options to create memories that will outlive anything bought at the mall.

Plant a tree, save a bee, or give any gift in someone else’s name for their favorite cause. When you do buy, look for handmade, local gifts or choose durable items that won’t have to be replaced over and over, giving the receiver more years of enjoyment. Shop brick and mortar and as local as possible. Online purchases are twice as likely to be returned, and due to costs to the retailer, often end up landfilled.

Find interesting things to wrap and decorate your gifts with like reusable bags or colorful cloth scraps or ribbons that can be reused many times. Nature offers gift wrapping too, with pine cones, plant vines, milkweed down, or pressed flowers and leaves from another season.

Whether sitting down to a hearty buffet or a fancy plated dinner, have a plan and a shopping list and stick to both to avoid overbuying. Fewer leftovers are more easily used up, sent home, served again, or made into one (not seven) more delicious meals.

Keep your Christmas tree out of the landfill too. Most municipalities will use them for mulch, erosion control, and wildlife habitat. And the lights? Take Clark Griswold as a cautionary tale and go with less. Upgrade to LEDs, get a timer, and buy better lights, so you won’t need to replace them as often.

Turn off ads whenever you can. Holiday marketing is relentless from Halloween on. Using our data, giant retailers and Big Tech work together, bombarding us with images and sounds that convince us we need things we don’t. Anything deemed this year’s “must have gift” likely isn’t.

Practice gratitude and kindness a little every day. Studies show that these acts reduce feelings of stress and anxiety. Meanwhile, shopping, especially at high volume times, increases those feelings. A calmer you will make better buying—or not buying—decisions.

Take a little time to reflect on the way you “do” Christmas. Is it aligned with your values? Does the stress outweigh the joy? Get feedback—you may discover that others in your circles are ready to try something new.

Keep in mind that the mega corporations and tech companies that drive the holiday buying frenzy are all part of the same system that keeps wages and benefits low, unions weak, and healthcare costs high, while corporate execs and their boards become more wealthy and powerful. If the message of Christmas is truly “peace on earth and goodwill toward all,” then it can and should be a time for us to use our buying power to say “NO” to giving them more.

Cathye Williams is a local climate activist. She writes from the northern corner of Manistee County.