Reduce Plastic This Holiday Season and Into the New Year

By Wendy Vernon

Give the Earth a gift this holiday season by cutting back on single-use plastic in your celebrations and making New Year’s resolutions to reduce plastic. The holidays are joyful but also among the most wasteful times of the year. From overpackaged gifts to disposable decorations, plastic sneaks into nearly every tradition. Instead of filling our homes with short-lived items and layers of packaging, focus on experiences, shared time, and thoughtful gifts that reduce waste and show care. These actions can carry into the New Year, helping you start 2026 with intention and impact.

Thoughtful Gifts to Buy

• Books, records, and movies: Buy new from local shops or used from resale stores or eBay
• Games and puzzles: Find new or used versions at game stores
• Food and drink: Local honey, gourmet vinegars and oils, favorite snacks, coffee, tea, wine, or craft beer
• Plants: Choose pesticide-free options or grow a cutting from one of your favorites and place it in a pretty pot
• Seeds: Choose non-GMO varieties and avoid those treated with pesticides
• Local artisan goods: Pottery, handmade soaps, or crafts from local makers

Homemade Gifts

• Garlic or dried herbs from your garden
• Knitted, crocheted, or sewn items: scarves, mittens, reusable napkins, or produce bags
• Canned items: Jams, preserves, pickles, sauces 
• Baked goods
• Family recipe books

Gift Wrapping

Choose sustainable options that reduce plastic and waste. Wrap gifts in reusable fabric, scarves, or tote bags, or use recycled paper, newspapers, or old maps. Add a natural touch with twine, dried flowers, or sprigs of pine instead of ribbons or plastic decorations.

Gift Certificates

• Classes or workshops: Yoga, dance, cooking, art, music, food tasting
• Local or zero-waste stores: Let recipients choose sustainable products
• Restaurants or cafés: Pair with a reusable container for takeout
• Entertainment: Movie theaters, bowling, or concert tickets

Subscriptions and Memberships

• Museum or arboretum memberships
• Online learning: Language, creative, or skill-based courses
• Video streaming services: Netflix, Disney+, Hulu, PBS Passport
• Music streaming: Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music
• Fitness and wellness subscriptions: Gym or yoga memberships, online fitness classes, apps

Gifts of Time or Service

Offer your time as a meaningful, plastic-free gift. Create handmade “coupons” for:

• Cooking a meal
• Helping with errands
• Repairing a broken item
• Babysitting or pet sitting
• Planning a day outdoors: Go for a hike, have a picnic, or enjoy an adventure

Simplifying gift-giving reduces plastic, stress, and clutter. Reduce the number of gifts your family or group needs to buy by trying a Secret Santa or grab bag where everyone brings one gently used or meaningful item, or by having a “favorites” exchange of something each person enjoyed during the year. You can also choose to skip gifts entirely and donate together as a family or group to a local charity or food pantry. 

As we enter the new year, carry your plastic-reducing mindset forward with simple resolutions that fit your life. Write to manufacturers when products have excessive packaging and ask for more sustainable alternatives. Host a documentary night with friends and family to raise awareness using freely available films like The Story of Plastic or We’re All Plastic People Now. You could also start a book discussion with The Problem with Plastic by Judith Enck, founder of Beyond Plastics. Encourage grocery stores, restaurants, and cafés to reduce single-use plastic. Contact your Illinois legislators to support policies that reduce plastic waste, such as SB1531, which aims to ban polystyrene foam foodware, known for its harmful impact on the environment and human health.

Each conversation, letter, and action helps shift social norms. Reducing plastic isn’t about perfection; it’s about taking small steps whenever we can and celebrating progress along the way. This holiday season and beyond, let’s give gifts that inspire and adopt resolutions that ripple far beyond our homes. Together, we can make using less plastic the new normal: one holiday, one habit, one hopeful step at a time.