Celebrating the holidays like a minimalist.
By Cora Gold, Editor-in-Chief of Revivalist
The holidays bring twinkling lights, packed tables and piles of presents. They also bring plenty of trash once the celebration winds down. Overflowing bins after a family gathering are a familiar sight, but they can become a thing of the past.
When you pair a minimalist mindset with a few sustainable swaps, you can minimize waste during the holidays and still enjoy everything that makes the season special. Here’s how to minimize environmental impact during the holidays and focus on what’s really important.
Rethink Your Gift List With a Minimalist Mindset
Presents are often the biggest source of holiday clutter, so your gift list is a smart place to start. Unwanted gifts rarely stay out of the waste stream for long. Retailers expected holiday return rates to climb about 17% above normal in 2024, and returns generated 8.4 billion pounds of landfill waste the year prior. Buying fewer, more thoughtful gifts helps keep those items out of the trash.
Minimalism means choosing what truly matters rather than showing less love. A recent study found that people who embrace simple living report increased well-being, largely because a simpler life leaves more room for social connection. Try these ideas to trim your list:
- Give experiences: Concert tickets, cooking classes or a museum membership create lasting memories without adding clutter or packaging.
- Suggest a gift exchange: A Secret Santa-style swap lets each person buy one meaningful present instead of a pile of small ones.
- Shop secondhand: Vintage books, thrifted sweaters and refurbished electronics give existing items a second life.
- Make it yourself: Homemade jam, a knitted scarf or a framed family photo feels personal and uses fewer resources.
Choose Low-Waste Ways to Wrap Your Presents
Once your gifts are sorted, it’s time to think about what goes around them. Much of that colorful paper never gets a second life. Wrapping with glitter, foil or a shiny laminated finish is off-limits for most recycling bins, and some facilities turn away gift wrap entirely because it contaminates loads. Ribbons, bows and tissue paper also usually end up in the trash.
A quick scrunch test helps you sort what’s left. Ball the paper up in your hand. If it stays crumpled, it may be recyclable, but if it springs back open, it likely contains plastic or foil. Better yet, skip single-use wrap with these alternatives:
- Fabric wraps: Scarves, tea towels or the Japanese furoshiki technique turn the wrapping into part of the gift.
- Reused materials: Old maps, newspaper comics, kids’ artwork and paper grocery bags add charm at no cost.
- Saved supplies: Fold up this year’s gift bags, tissue and ribbons and tuck them away for next season.
- Sturdy containers: A mason jar, basket or tin doubles as packaging that the recipient will keep using.
Plan Your Holiday Meals to Cut Food Waste
Festive feasts are a highlight of the season, yet hosts tend to cook far more than their guests can eat. An estimated 320 million pounds of food go to waste on Thanksgiving alone, and over 90% of hosts intentionally make extra. Turkey makes up 40% of what gets tossed.
Food scraps also add up over the whole year. About 60% of the 66 million tons of wasted food from homes, restaurants and grocery stores in 2019 ended up in landfills. A little planning keeps your leftovers out of the bin:
- Plan your portions: Build your menu around your actual guest count and shop from a list.
- Shop your pantry first: Check what you already have before you head to the store.
- Send food home: Ask guests to bring reusable containers so they can take leftovers.
- Freeze the extras: Soups, casseroles and sliced turkey freeze well for easy meals in January.
- Compost your scraps: Peels, coffee grounds and eggshells can feed your garden instead of a landfill.
Setting the table with real plates, glasses and cloth napkins also trims the pile of single-use items you’d otherwise throw away.
Ship Edible Gifts in Earth-Friendly Packaging
Food gifts are a thoughtful, clutter-free choice, but mailing them to faraway loved ones brings its own packaging puzzle. Perishable treats, including cheese, smoked meats and homemade fudge, must stay cold in transit. Many shipments rely on foam coolers and plastic gel packs that are hard to recycle. If you want to minimize waste during the holidays, look for compostable or drain-safe ice packs, which keep food fresh with far less leftover trash.
If you’re ordering a food gift, check how the company packs its perishables before you buy. Choosing a local maker or delivering treats in person can skip the shipping box altogether.
Decorate With Energy and Reuse in Mind
Your home can still sparkle without leaving a heavy footprint behind. LED lights use about 70% less energy than incandescent bulbs, and a timer that switches them off overnight further reduces your usage.
Before you buy new decor, take stock of what you already own. A minimalist approach favors a few cherished pieces over bins of seasonal clutter, and it makes cleanup in January much easier. Here are a few ways to deck the halls more sustainably:
- Bring nature indoors: Pine cones, evergreen clippings and dried orange slices look beautiful and can go into the compost afterward.
- Swap with friends: Trade ornaments or wreaths you’ve grown tired of for a fresh look at no cost.
- Buy pieces that last: When you do shop, choose durable decor you’ll happily display for years.
- Donate what you’ve outgrown: Working lights and decorations can find a new home through thrift stores or community groups.
Wrap Up the Season With a Responsible Cleanup
Once the last guest heads home, a few smart habits keep your celebrations out of the landfill. Start with the boxes. Break down cardboard shipping boxes and recycle them, but save sturdy ones for next year’s gifts or storage. Pull off plastic tape, bubble wrap and foam inserts first, since those materials usually belong in a separate bin or a drop-off program.
You can give your tree a second life. Many cities collect real trees in January and turn them into mulch for parks and gardens. Remove every ornament, hook and strand of tinsel before you set it out, and check your local schedule to ensure it gets picked up on time. Broken string lights belong outside the curbside bin. Look for a hardware store or community drop-off that accepts them for recycling.
Take a quick inventory before you pack everything away. Note which decorations you actually used and which stayed in the box. That list makes it easier to donate what you no longer use and to shop with intention next year, which keeps your holidays simpler and greener over time.
Celebrate a Simpler, Greener Season
A low-waste holiday puts the focus back on time with the people you love. Every swap you make, from fabric wrap to planned portions, grows more powerful when you repeat it year after year. Start with one or two changes that feel manageable this season, then build on them next time. With a little intention, you can minimize waste during the holidays and create traditions that feel as good as they look.
About the Author
Cora Gold has a passion for writing about life, happiness and sustainability. As Editor-in-Chief of women’s lifestyle magazine Revivalist, she loves to share her insights and find inspiration from others. Follow Cora on Facebook, Pinterest and Twitter.