Five sustainable tips to make your holiday festivities more Earth-friendly

When choosing gifts to give loved ones during the holidays, consider gifting experiences and/or digital gifts instead of physical items, which can create more waste from packaging and may ultimately end up as clutter. 

Meaningful and fun gifts could include:

• Tickets to a performance or event (music concerts, dance or theatrical performance, movie tickets etc.)
• Tickets to sporting events
• Spa treatment gift certificates
• Cooking classes
• E-books, subscriptions, and online courses (such as MasterClass)

Don't forget the variety of performances and sports games here at CSULB! Tickets to these would be a great gift for your friends and families for the seasons!

• Bob Cole Conservatory of Music 
• Carpenter Center of Performance Arts
• CSULB's Theater Arts Box Office
• Long Beach Athletics Ticket Office
• ASI Ticket Center

Consider donating to a charity in someone's name to give back to your community and support a cause that they care about. You can also donate items, such as food, personal care items or toys, to those in need. 

Here are some resources for finding charitable giving opportunities, including some right here at The Beach!

• CSULB’s Beach Pantry 
• Give to CSULB
• Charity Navigator
• "Adopt" a local family for the holidays

Consider using natural elements such as like pine cones, branches, leaves, and shells to decorate your space for the holidays. After the holidays, you can compost these items to give back to the Earth. Also, try buying second-hand or reusing decorations saved from previous years to reduce waste. 

Here's some inspiration: 

• Natural Christmas Decorations
• Upcycled Decorations

Holiday gatherings and parties can be the source of lots of holiday cheer, as well as lots of waste, from leftover food to mountains of discarded wrapping paper. Here are some tips for reducing holiday related waste:

• Bring your own reusable containers for left over food at holiday parties
• When hosting a gathering, collect food scraps and place them in your organics bin for composting
• Opt for reusable gift bags or fabric furoshiki wrapping instead of single-use wrapping paper, which is often not recyclable
• Recycle your Christmas tree and holiday wreathes at these locations  

The holiday season can mean a lot of travel—whether it's visiting family and friends on special days or traveling around town to many different holiday parties. If your destination is close enough, consider biking, walking, or taking public transit to your destination. For those farther locations, carpooling is a great way to reduce the number of cars on the road, which in turn helps reduce air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions.