Three years ago my dad put his foot down and announced that, after spending an arm and a leg on my college tuition, we needed to have a Sustainable Christmas.

Naturally, I was taken aback. 

My indignation grew as he explained what sustainable meant to him in this case: almost no material gifts, decorating our small indoor palm rather than buying a Douglas fir and spending Christmas morning baking and eating cinnamon rolls rather than unwrapping presents.

“But, Dad!” I cried. “It won’t feel like Christmas without a Christmas tree! And without presents!”

Despite my reservations, it did. The weeks leading up to Christmas were filled with long FaceTime calls to extended family and friends to have genuine conversations about how they were doing. My brother and I baked gingerbread cookies and later dropped them off at our neighbors.

We spent Christmas Eve at the beach. On the morning of Dec. 25, we woke up to the smell of cinnamon rolls rising in the oven and fresh coffee brewing. Since then, every Christmas has been sustainable in our house.

To say that the holiday season in the United States has been overrun with commercialization in the past years would be an understatement. Christmas has seemingly become synonymous with Buy! Buy! Buy! The holiday industry is worth $465 billion and the average American will spend $900 on gifts this season.

That number doesn’t include the amount spent on decorations, Christmas trees, gift wrap and other holiday-related items. When asked to describe their feelings around the holidays, Americans will frequently use the word “stressful” because of the societal pressure they feel to give family and friends the “perfect” gift.

Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, certain Americans seem undeterred when it comes to having a big Christmas. In Hawaii, the holiday season has brought large numbers of shoppers to Ala Moana Center, and thousands of Christmas trees have been shipped to our islands in refrigerated containers that require massive amounts of fuel to keep them cold. Even more carbon emissions are being generated to deliver the many Amazon packages that we see arriving on doorsteps each week.

As expected, this massive amount of consumption culminates in yet more waste: Each year roughly 25 million tons of garbage are thrown away nationally between Thanksgiving and New Year’s. Think of all the flimsy plastic toys that pile up in the landfill every January. Further, the fashion industry has consistently been a large emitter of carbon emissions; the  average American consumer discards around 20 pounds of textile waste each year. 

I can think of no better time for a Sustainable Christmas than 2020. This year, carbon dioxide levels continued to rise despite the global COVID-19 lockdown. California was ravaged by an unprecedented number of wildfires that were made worse by climate change. The UN General Assembly has already concluded that there are only 10 years left to stop irreversible climate change. This should be a Christmas to reflect on our consumption habits before it’s too late.

Although my family isn’t completely sustainable yet, we are making small steps to get there every year and I would encourage everyone to do the same. A Sustainable Christmas might feel different to your family at first, but it will not make you feel deprived.

Consider buying a local Christmas tree or decorating your own palm. The spirit of the season can still be found in alternative gift-giving. Last  year, I gave my dad coupons for “one day of hiking” and “one car wash.” My mom gave me a day at the movies. Sustainable Christmas is bound to quickly become a beloved tradition in your family too.

Most importantly, a Sustainable Christmas allows us to reconsider our priorities and focus on the true meaning of the season. Ultimately, it is to celebrate those we are with and to give thanks for what we have.