Eco-Friendly Holidays

• New lesson editor
• PSHE
• Holidays
• +1
• Lower Secondary (Key Stage 3)
• Upper Secondary (Key Stage 4)
• Further Education (Key Stage 5)
• BTEC, GCSE

Introduction

Welcome to this lesson on Eco-Friendly Winter holidays!

Instructions

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Eco-Friendly Winter Holidays

Sustainable Celebrations

Welcome to this environmentally friendly lesson on sustainable festivity!

It's geared towards Christmas celebrations as this generates the most amount of waste but the general wording has remained secular to enable flexibility of use.

These slides are very easy to modify for your own use.

When you hear ‘eco-friendly holidays,’ what comes to mind? Share words or ideas you know.

A word cloud starter activity.

1. Explain why traditional holiday decorations and practices can harm the environment.

2. Describe a range of sustainable alternatives for decorations, gift wrapping, lighting, gifts, and meals.

3. Create your own eco-friendly holiday craft or wrapping idea.

Lesson Objectives

Lesson Objectives page.

1. Traditional decorations often use non-recyclable plastic, glitter or foil—creating waste and micro-plastic pollution.

Why Choose Sustainable Holiday Practices?

Information slide.

2. Holiday waste and energy use spike this time of year—cards, wrappers, lights all add up.

Why Choose Sustainable Holiday Practices?

Information slide.

3. Real trees can be composted; artificial trees often end up in landfill unless reused dozens of times.

Why Choose Sustainable Holiday Practices?

Information slide

Use natural materials: dried citrus, pinecones, holly, sprigs, cinnamon sticks. Compostable when done.

Eco-Friendly Decoration Options

Information slide.

DIY crafts from recycled paper, salt dough, cardboard—fun, creative, zero-waste.

Eco-Friendly Decoration Options

Information slide.

Charity shop ornaments, fabric scraps, glass jars, reused wrapping materials are all great alternatives to resuse or to create with!

Eco-Friendly Decoration Options

Information slide.

Real Life Inspiration

Wrap gifts in tea towels or cloth squares—both beautiful and practical

Rather than plastic-filled crackers, families make or reuse cracker sets with seeds or mini soaps.

Cinnamon sticks, pinecones and dried orange slices create lovely, biodegradable décor.

Information slide with hotspots

Real Life Inspiration

Use furoshiki (fabric wrapping), scarves, old maps, or newspaper—fully reusable or recyclable.

Make gifts from experiences, homemade, or charitable choices rather than material extras.

Information slide with hotspots

Green Your Holiday Table

Consider low-energy cooking—e.g., quick dishes like grilled prawns.

Source local, organic ingredients and plan well to reduce food waste.

Information slide with hotspots

Making Sustainability Part of the Celebration

Integrate natural crafts, thoughtful wrapping, LED lights, sustainable trees, and mindful meals.

Each choice combines festivity with care—friendlier to Earth and full of personal meaning.

Information slide with hotspots

Which of these is the best sustainable choice for holiday gift-wrapping?

Which of these is the best sustainable choice for holiday gift-wrapping?

A

Glittery gift wrap paper

B

Foil wrapping paper

C

Plastic wrap

D

Fabric gift wrap

Quiz question!

True or False – Real trees are always worse for the environment than artificial trees.

True or False – Real trees are always worse for the environment than artificial trees.

A

True

B

False

True or false...can you guess which tree is artificial?

False – but it depends on use and disposal

Real trees can be composted and, if sourced locally, are often greener. Artificial trees only become eco-friendly if reused many times—7 to 20 years.

A feedback page for clarification.

Put These in Order of Best to Least Sustainable

1

Reuseable cloth wrap

2

Glitter ornaments

3

Foil wrapping paper

4

LED lights with timer (energy efficient)

5

Dried orange garland

Put These in Order of Best to Least Sustainable

A sorting question - could be used to generate discussion!

Create your sustainable holiday idea!

Submit your sustainable ideas here!

This has been left quite open - it could be an individual activity or a grou activity - it could even involve making an item....you decide!

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Thank you for using this lesson! Hope you and your learners found it useful!