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Holidays can be a time when it is difficult to make more sustainable choices, especially if you aren’t the one hosting the holiday. With all the things that get added to your to-do list around holidays, it can be difficult to think of eco-friendly changes to make. Your brain is already too full with other stuff! I’m going to give you some ideas about how to celebrate Easter more sustainably, so you can save your brain power for dealing with relatives you don’t like.
Sustainable Easter Baskets
If you’re doing Easter baskets for the kids in your life, there are a few ways you can make them more environmentally friendly.
1. Reuse decorative items from previous baskets.
My mom used the same plastic/cellophane grass (not sure what it’s actually called, it’s the small strips of plastic that you put in the bottom of the basket and fluff up) every year in my basket growing up. I am still using it for decorating my house for Easter. Reusing ribbon, tissue paper, fluff, or other decorative items that aren’t part of the gift each year is an easy way to reduce waste.
2. Reuse the basket.
If you normally get a new basket every year, but they aren’t ever used for anything else, pick a basket and reuse it every year. Again, this is what my mom did when I was growing up. I had the same basket each year, the stuff that was in it was what changed.
3. Give gifts that will be used more than once.
Unless one of the gifts is an experience, like a guitar lesson, or something edible, it shouldn’t be something that will only be used on Easter and never again. For instance, instead of giving a new stuffed bunny every year, you could give a new book.
The Meal
1. Tell everyone to bring their own leftovers container.
One of the biggest wastes at big holiday meals is the plastic, foil, and paper used to give people leftovers to take home. Solve this problem by asking everyone ahead of time to bring some containers if they want to take home leftovers. This also solves the issue of trying to get your own containers back!
2. Use real plates, cups, and silverware.
If you usually use paper plates, cups and/or plastic utensils, use real plates, cups, and silverware instead. Yes, it makes clean-up take a bit longer, but think of all the trees you’re saving! I loathe doing dishes, but I always use real plates (dishwasher safe though). It doesn’t take that much longer to load the dishwasher after clearing the table than it does to just throw it all in the trash.
If you don’t have a dishwasher, you’ll get no judgment from me if you keep using paper plates and plastic utensils for big events. As mentioned, I hate washing dishes and would not survive without a dishwasher.
3. Use cloth napkins instead of paper.
You may not have cloth napkins on hand, and if not, I HIGHLY recommend getting some. I grew up using finger towels from JCPenney as napkins at every meal. If you search for finger towels, you can find some pretty cheap from warehouse-type sites in a wide range of colors. They are machine-washable and dryable, and my family is still using the ones we’ve had since I was a child (that’s over 25 years!).
There are other cloth napkin options out there, but they seem to be more expensive and stain easier in my experience. Get some that you love and you’ll be more likely to use them. Marley’s Monsters has a wide selection of cloth napkins in really fun prints.
This is both a great Easter swap and everyday swap. I typically use a cloth napkin for about a week before swapping it with a new one.
More Sustainable Easter Egg Hunt
1. Reuse plastic eggs.
You may already do this, and if so, good for you! Plastic can often be made out to be a villain, but I do think there is a place for plastic in the world. Plastic eggs can be durable and if you reuse them every year instead of buying some type of new egg each year, they can be a sustainable choice. I still have plastic eggs from my childhood that I use to decorate for Easter.
2. Don’t fill the eggs with anything (or fill them with money).
This might be tricky if you’ve been filling eggs and suddenly try to stop this year. However, if the kids in your life like the hunt more than the opening of the eggs like I did, you can probably get away with this. I got my gifts in my Easter basket, and then the egg hunt was just finding the eggs. If they were filled with anything, it was usually money. No large bills, but maybe some coins or dollar bills.
I hope this has given you some ideas for how to celebrate Easter more sustainably. Let me know what your favorite idea was in the comments!
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