3 Sustainable (Plastic-Free) Christmas Tree Traditions

Every year, Americans throw away between 10 and 15 million Christmas trees.🌲Many, if not most, of these trees end up in landfills where they slowly rot over years, releasing methane, a greenhouse gas that's 25% more potent than carbon dioxide at speeding climate change. 🗑️🔥🌎Not so merry...😭

If you celebrate Christmas, I've got three more sustainable and plastic-free options for your consideration below. 

1. Get a Small Potted Tree to Live Indoors Year-Round

You can buy a small evergreen tree that can live in a pot inside your house year-round that you can decorate at holiday time. Bonus: this little tree will add its ever-greenery to your home during the dark winter months. During the warmer months, you may wish to put it outside to get more sun if you have a yard or balcony.

2. Get an Indoor “Ornament Tree” to Decorate

If house plants are not your thing, you can always buy a small wooden or metal ornament tree to decorate (sizes range from tabletop to free-standing). When the holidays are over, you can break it down and store it until it’s time to celebrate again. Whether wood or metal, there are plenty of nice options available at a range of prices.

3. Decorate a Living Tree That’s Growing Outside with Edible Ornaments

If you have access to the outdoors in your home, try decorating a tree that's growing outside. You can even make the decorations edible to help wildlife through a lean time of year by stringing popcorn and cranberries, drying orange and apple slices and making bird feeders out of pinecones slathered in peanut butter and coated in seeds. Get more directions on making bird-friendly ornaments here. Pssst! Parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and babysitters: this could be a fun activity to do with kids on a weekend or over their winter break.

If you prefer to continue buying a cut tree, I understand as they really are magical. If you do get a cut tree, here are three better disposal options to consider:

• Check to see if your municipality collects discarded Christmas trees to chip and use as mulch for muncipal projects;
• If you live in the boonies like me, leave the dead tree in the woods to break down naturally over time and turn back into soil; or
• Give it to someone who'll use it like the goats on the farm next door to my house who LOVE to munch on discarded Xmas trees.

You might also like:

25 Fantastic Kids Books About Food, Gardening & Cooking

5 Must-Have Essential  Kitchen Tools & Gadgets

How to Make Vegetable Stock from Kitchen Scraps

Want more recipes, green home, and gardening tips? Sign up to receive posts from The Garden of Eating.

3 Sustainable (Plastic-Free) Christmas Tree Traditions

Every year, Americans throw away between 10 and 15 million Christmas trees.🌲Many, if not most, of these trees end up in landfills where they slowly rot over years, releasing methane, a greenhouse gas that's 25% more potent than carbon dioxide at speeding climate change. 🗑️🔥🌎Not so merry...😭

If you celebrate Christmas, I've got three more sustainable and plastic-free options for your consideration below. 

1. Get a Small Potted Tree to Live Indoors Year-Round

You can buy a small evergreen tree that can live in a pot inside your house year-round that you can decorate at holiday time. Bonus: this little tree will add its ever-greenery to your home during the dark winter months. During the warmer months, you may wish to put it outside to get more sun if you have a yard or balcony.

2. Get an Indoor “Ornament Tree” to Decorate

If house plants are not your thing, you can always buy a small wooden or metal ornament tree to decorate (sizes range from tabletop to free-standing). When the holidays are over, you can break it down and store it until it’s time to celebrate again. Whether wood or metal, there are plenty of nice options available at a range of prices.

3. Decorate a Living Tree That’s Growing Outside with Edible Ornaments

If you have access to the outdoors in your home, try decorating a tree that's growing outside. You can even make the decorations edible to help wildlife through a lean time of year by stringing popcorn and cranberries, drying orange and apple slices and making bird feeders out of pinecones slathered in peanut butter and coated in seeds. Get more directions on making bird-friendly ornaments here. Pssst! Parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and babysitters: this could be a fun activity to do with kids on a weekend or over their winter break.

If you prefer to continue buying a cut tree, I understand as they really are magical. If you do get a cut tree, here are three better disposal options to consider:

• Check to see if your municipality collects discarded Christmas trees to chip and use as mulch for muncipal projects;
• If you live in the boonies like me, leave the dead tree in the woods to break down naturally over time and turn back into soil; or
• Give it to someone who'll use it like the goats on the farm next door to my house who LOVE to munch on discarded Xmas trees.

You might also like:

25 Fantastic Kids Books About Food, Gardening & Cooking

5 Must-Have Essential  Kitchen Tools & Gadgets

How to Make Vegetable Stock from Kitchen Scraps

Want more recipes, green home, and gardening tips? Sign up to receive posts from The Garden of Eating.