Are you tired dealing with a
Christmas season that is stressful, commercialized and consumer-oriented?
Have you been trying to live a
simpler, greener lifestyle, but you are not sure of how to go about greening
the holiday season?
This year you can make your
Christmas more eco-friendly and meaningful for you and your family.
Make
Your Own Holiday Magic
One way to add more meaning into
the holiday season is to slow down and make time for the ones you love. Shop
less. Spend more time not money on your loved ones.
A great way to make memories that
last is to create holiday traditions that you look forward to doing as a
family: like making and decorating Christmas cookies, decorating the tree together
or wrapping gifts together. Other traditions could be reading Christmas poems
and stories, such as "The Night Before Christmas", as a family.
Another way to make holiday magic
is to celebrate the true meaning of the holidays by doing something meaningful
for someone else: Donate to charity or volunteer at a soup kitchen or homeless
shelter for a day. Go through your closets and donate unused, un-needed items
to charity. Get the kids involved too, have them find things they no longer
need, and donate the items to charitable organizations or local churches that
distribute items to the needy.
Decorate
Green
A fake tree can keep real trees
from being cut down but artificial trees are not usually made of earth-friendly
materials, yet once you buy one it lasts for years. Even experts are divided on
whether it is better to buy a fake tree or purchase a real one. My pick is if
you already have a fake one stick with it but if you need a tree then opt for a
live one. Preferably a real tree that is purchased from a local tree farm
(organic if possible) and have your tree mulched afterward. Many communities
are now providing tree-recycling services during the holidays.
Once you have a tree, light it up
with LEDs. They use 90% less energy than regular lights, which means you’ll be
green, and you’ll save some green at the same time. They also don't emit as
much heat, therefore helping to reduce the risk of fire. LEDs have other
benefits as well: one LED light can outlast 60,000 regular incandescent bulbs
and last up to twenty years longer than a regular bulb.
Another way to decorate green is
to purchase decorations of good quality that will be used over and over again
for years to come. You can also decorate with vintage ornaments or ones made
from recycled and natural objects.
How about an old fashioned
popcorn string that can be fed to the birds or composted after the holidays?
Just make sure to skip the
disposable stuff that will only be thrown away. Save your ribbons, bows, bags
and boxes and use them again next year. If it can't be saved, recycle it.
Greener
Gifts
You can green up your Christmas
shopping habits, too.
One way is by purchasing
eco-friendly gifts. These could include organic, sustainable, reused, recycled
or fair trade items. Examples include organic bath and body products, natural
beeswax or soy candles, or clothing and household linens made from organic
cotton, hemp or bamboo.
Another way to shop green is to
purchase items from nonprofits. Many of them sell great Christmas gifts and
donate the proceeds to charity. Like the NWF (National Wildlife Federation) and
WWF (World Wildlife Federation) both offer wild animal “adoptions” where you
donate money to help an endangered animal and in return you get items like a
certificate and stuffed animal-which would be the perfect gift for a child on
your list.
Give green by giving gifts that
are sure to be used. No one ever lets gift cards or gift certificates to
someone's favorite store, tickets to a concert, movie passes or cold hard cash
go to waste.
Shop for unique gifts for the
collector on your list. Treasure hunt at local thrift stores, consignment shops
or antique stores for one-of-a-kind fabulous finds.
Edible gifts are another
eco-treat (except the fruitcake). A box of cookies, a cake, crackers and
gourmet cheeses or fine chocolates are sure to be enjoyed. A wine lover would
enjoy a good bottle of wine. Other options could be jars of do-it-yourself
mixes for cookies, cakes, brownies and even soups. Homemade jams, jellies and
canned vegetables or fruits are also a good choice and a way to extend your
bountiful harvest.
A very green gift is one that you
know someone really wants or needs. That way, you know it won't sit around
unused, be returned or end up in a landfill anytime soon.
Other ideas for eco-friendly
gifts include multipurpose, practical gifts that are likely to be used over and
over again.
If you can’t come up with a great
green gift idea you can always give the gift of yourself. Make up handmade
certificates or coupons for your time or talent that may be needed. Could your
best friend use some time by herself? Give her a coupon for a night of
babysitting. Does your mom need some help with housecleaning? Would grandpa
like a home-cooked meal? Is there a special event your daughter would love to
go to with you? How about a night on the town with that special someone?
Wrap
It Up
Once you have the gifts you are
going to need to wrap them up green.
You can make your own holiday
cards, presents and gift wrap out of scrap materials, used items or recycled
materials.
Get the kids involved. Children
love craft projects, and they’ll feel like they have more input in the holidays
beyond asking for what they want from Santa. Let them paint, stamp, and
decorate plain boxes, bags and paper and transform it into fun holiday
wrappings.
Here are some tips for wrapping
gifts the green way:
Use unique reusable items for
wrapping paper, such as the comic section of newspapers, pages from magazines,
colorful maps or paper you make yourself.
Plain brown or white package
paper can be completely transformed with stamps, paint, markers, stickers or
anything else you may have laying around the house. Have the kids use finger
paint and stamp their little handprints on the paper, which grandparents will
love.
Make the present part of the
package by wrapping a gift with another gift. Are you giving a blanket as a
gift? Put another present inside the blanket, and use the blanket as the
wrapping. Tie it with a ribbon, and you are all set. Roll up sweaters, and
stick items like socks and underwear inside. Tie gifts up with curtain
tiebacks, shoelaces or hair ribbons. That way everything gets used, and nothing
gets thrown away.
If you are handy with a needle
and thread you could make reusable cloth gift bags to wrap up your green gifts.
If you like the idea of cloth
gift bags but can’t stitch to save your life, check out
www.giftbagsgonegreen.com for a nice selection of hand crafted, reusable cloth
gift bags.
No time to make creative
eco-wrappings? Then make sure you at least purchase wrapping paper that is made
from recycled paper or tree free materials.
FishLipsPaperDesigns.com offers a
cute selection of wrapping paper made from 100% recycled paper and printed with
soy based inks. EarthLoven.com has some snazzy wrapping paper also made from
100% recycled paper and is printed with vegetable based ink.
Interested in learning more about
greening the holidays? Check out I’m Dreaming of a Green Christmas: Gifts,
Decorations, and Recipes that Use Less and Mean More by Anna Getty. It is full
of crafts, recipes, gift ideas and so much more to help you have the best, and
greenest, Christmas ever.
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