During the Holidays

Holidays are a time to reflect, spend with loved ones, and celebrate joy. They are also a time where household waste increases by more than 25 percent, according to the EPA. Being more mindful in celebrating our holidays can not only reduce waste; the intention behind it can also lead to a more meaningful celebration of this time of year.

We hope you draw some inspiration from the handy tips below. From holiday meals, to gifting experiences and handmade presents, to resources to shop locally, wrap creatively, and recycle properly. Happy holidays!

Holiday Meals

Buy and cook only what you need (avoid food waste)

Food waste increases by 33% during the holidays. To help you buy and cook only what you need for holiday events and meals, try the Guestimator, a dinner party calculator that estimates how much food you need to keep you guests happy and full.

If you're hosting a holiday meal and expect to have excess leftovers, ask guests to bring tupperware to take some home. If you're attending holiday meals, keep containers in your vehicle so you can easily take some home. For more resources on reducing food waste, take the Rethink Food Waste Challenge.

For any food scraps or unavoidable food waste, remember when it comes to food waste: Prevent what you can, and compost the rest! Remember that in the city limits of Bend, Redmond, and Sisters you can compost in your yard waste bin.

 

Gifts? Consider an experience, or make one!

Central Oregon is the perfect place to give the gift of experience! 

Examples of passes, tickets, and gift cards:

  • Parks and other outdoor spaces
  • Equipment rentals for activities
  • Brewery, distillery, or winery tasting 
  • Concerts and other shows
  • Museums, climbing gyms, swimming facilities

Other gifts of experience

  • Online classes to an activity the recipient enjoys
  • DIY scavenger hunt featuring local art and nature
  • Donate to an organization that aligns with the recipient’s values

If you are buying physical stuff, shop local to avoid the environmental and financial costs of excess packaging and transportation across long distances. Better yet, choose to shop small, sustainable businesses!

 

Shop sustainably

  • When shopping for yourself, decide: do you really need it?
  • When shopping for others, think: can you give the gift of experience — something your loved one will remember?
  • Any time you’re shopping: can you buy a pre-owned version rather than a new one?
  • When possible: can you buy products that are refillable and reusable rather than disposable?

2024 Shop Local Guides:

 

Opt for alternatives to gift wrap

Here are some materials to reused and reusable materials to consider:

A little inspiration from our friend, Nora, featuring a map from ReStore and reused ribbon and gift tag.

  • Fabric as gift wrap
  • Outdated road and forest maps as gift wrap
  • Baskets or boxes (bonus points if you can thrift them!)
  • Jute or other reusable bags
  • Save gift wrap from the previous year to reuse
  • Dried flowers/greens and other natural materials to decorate brown paper bags
  • Create your own natural dye stampers to use on brown paper bags
  • Cut last year’s holiday cards into gift tags

For more inspiration, see Source Weekly's Eco-Friendly Gift Wrapping and Decor article.

 

Recycle right

While reduce and reuse always come first, check out Deschutes County's handy Holiday Recycling Guide to learn more about what you can or can't recycle. From string lights, to wrapping paper, cardboard, Christmas Trees, and electronics – you might be surprised to learn some of the options that exist.

For our most common question of gift wrapping paper: Paper-based wrapping paper and holiday cards without glitter or metallic finishes can go in your commingled cart. But shiny or photo cards and metallic/glittery wrapping paper must go in the garbage.

At the end of the day, enjoy the holidays with more of what brings you real, deep, joy, and less of a reliance on consumerism and consumption where not needed. Happy holidays!