The holiday season can be a magical time. However, this time of the year is steeped in traditions that feel at odds with vegan values, like animal-centric meals (lamb at Christmas, seafood at New Year’s), wasteful practices, and consumerist messaging at every turn. As a result, it can take a toll on vegans’ mental health.
Thankfully, the social nature of the season also offers opportunities for connection, compassion, and spreading vegan principles. This guide provides a few tips on how vegans can thrive, build bridges with loved ones, and nourish both body and relationships, while minimizing uncomfortable situations.
Challenge #1: Social Pressure and Expectations
Family gatherings and holiday meals often come with strong cultural expectations about food, usually centered around rich meat o seafood-heavy dishes. Veganism may be seen as negating the tradition. Vegans may face subtle (or not-so-subtle) pressure to “fit in” by eating these traditional dishes “just for today, to keep the family tradition.”
Vegans may even find people questioning their choices. This can feel especially awkward when you’re the only vegan at the table.
The strategy: engage in compassionate communication
Instead of approaching these moments with defensiveness or frustration, try to foster understanding through compassionate conversations. When asked about your lifestyle (or where do you get your protein 😊), share your reasons for being vegan in a way that invites dialogue rather than causing tension. You might say, “I’ve found that living a vegan lifestyle helps me align my actions with my values of kindness to animals, the environment, and my health.” By being open and non-confrontational, you might even inspire others to try vegan options. You may want to prepare yourself for these types of questions and have your answers ready.
The key is to foster curiosity. For example, you may want to share all the good things that a vegan diet has done to your health, like reducing blood pressure or cholesterol levels. Usually, if you look and feel good, people will want to know what you are doing.
Being vegan doesn’t mean that you need to dominate conversations or push your beliefs onto others. It’s important to strike a balance between staying true to your values and respecting those of others. If your family is enjoying a meal with non-vegan options, rather than criticizing the dishes or making others uncomfortable, focus on enjoying your own meal and your time together. Celebrating the holiday season is about connection, and your example can often speak louder than words.
Challenge #2: Gift Giving and Excess Consumerism
Many holiday treats and gifts are not vegan-friendly, such as milk chocolates, perfumes, wool scarves or leather purses.
As a vegan, you might feel overwhelmed with so many gifts and stuffing stockers, that in many cases may end up being thrown away or simply forgotten in a drawer. Same with food leftovers, that may end up spoiled on in the trash can.
The strategy: focus on what you can control
Not everyone may be aware of your lifestyle choices or they might think that is exclusively for food choices. That’s why you could consider kindly educating people in advance about what veganism is, so they know what gifts are acceptable for a vegan. In any case, gifting is usually done with a good intention, and nourishing relationships works best when done both ways. Therefore, my suggestion is to accept the gift politely, and later you can decide what to do with it, like a donation.
If you are the one gifting, purchased vegan-friendly gifts, like cruelty-free beauty products, organic teas, or eco-conscious items are always an option. You may also consider crafting vegan gifts with low environmental impact, edible like cookies, or non-edible like vegan candles. People usually appreciate a hand made gift regardless of the money value, as you are also giving your most valuable asset with that artisanal gift: your time.
You could also suggest gift swaps or experiences, like a cooking class, nature hike, or a donation to a cause that supports animal welfare. Thoughtful, compassionate gifts often carry much more meaning than conventional holiday presents, and they spark enriching conversations. They may even initiate a new family tradition!
For food leftovers, you may want to suggest ways to reuse and recycle. Pies, empanadas, tacos, jacked potatoes, sandwiches and soups are easy and flavourful dishes, and actually may taste better with reused fillings! I call this to “upcycle” leftovers (and do it all the time).
Challenge #3: Feeling Left Out or a Burden
As a vegan, you may face out situations when there’s really nothing to eat for you, besides perhaps some bread, a green salad or a handful of nuts. Or if the host needs to plan and cook something vegan for you, you may feel as an additional burden.
The strategy: Bring on the Vegan Treats
If you anticipate this situation, take the opportunity to share the abundance of delicious, satisfying vegan recipes that can fit into the holiday spirit. Offer to bring a vegan dish to the gathering. A rich vegan shepherd’s pie filled with mushrooms, lentil-stuffed squash, versatile dips and hummus, or a hearty walnut Wellington can easily take the place of the meat-centered mains, while vegan cakes or cookies are great additions to dessert tables. Be sure to focus on flavour and presentation to show that plant-based food can be just as indulgent and festive as traditional holiday fare. They may be surprised that herbs and spices impart the same familiar flavours when they are added to plant foods as they did when they were seasoning meat.
Find common ground – and celebrate differences
Think about what led you to go vegan: was it health, the environment, the animals? If someone is interested in fitness, you can start a conversation about plant-based athletes. If someone is eco-conscious, your topic may be the environmental impact of food choices. For dog and cat lovers, they may be receptive to hear about animal suffering caused by farming.
But in the end, we are all unique, and we can all learn from each other. If your group is open-minded and inclusive, wear your veganism with pride. Your partners may be receptive to hear from you, even from a skeptical point of view at first. They may discover things they hadn’t thought about before and even spark curiosity.
If everything else fails
Unfortunately, not every gathering or family is going to be accommodating and inclusive. If you forecast that the offered food might not have sufficient options for you, consider eating beforehand or bringing your own snacks, such as a homemade energy bar or roasted chickpeas. You can also prepare a few easy-to-pack meals. This will help you feel balanced and avoid stress over food choices. I think that resorting to processed vegan foods, like vegan sausages or patties, is acceptable for convenience in this situation.
You might want to consider taking a multi-vitamin supplement to ensure you cover the basics like Omega-3, vitamin D, vitamin B12, Calcium, Zinc, Iodine and Iron.
The heart of tradition is being with one another, sharing stories, being part of one another’s lives and creating new memories. Food is only the anchor.
Conclusion: Bridging the Gap and Celebrating Together
As a vegan during the holiday season, your journey might require patience and thoughtful interaction. By focusing on common ground, sharing festive plant-based alternatives, engaging in compassionate conversations, and creating new traditions, you not only nourish your own body and spirit but also foster understanding and connection with loved ones.
The holiday season is about togetherness, and your compassion and inclusivity can serve as a beautiful example of how diverse values can coexist in celebration, ultimately enriching everyone’s experience.
thrivebytheslice.com 