Green Holiday Tips
By Michele Kadison
Whether its Christmas, Chanukah, or Kwanza, any holiday can become Earth Day if you take a little time to rethink your old habits and adopt some green thinking. Did you know that every year Americans throw away more than 5 million tons of trash between Thanksgiving and the New Year? This means 25% more garbage is generated than usual. Here are some helpful tips to keep your festivities eco-conscious and productive for your home and the planet.
- Decorate with natural products like popcorn, berries, or outdoor greens rather than conventional holiday décor.
- If you want a live tree, search for an organic tree farm that grows pesticide-free trees especially for the holidays. Find out where you can recycle it once the holidays are over by contacting Earth 911. Other alternatives are using an artificial tree or decorating a large house plant.
- Buy LED holiday lights. They use 90% less energy than conventional lights and can save you up to $50 on your energy bills during the season.
- Use sustainable candles made with soy or other natural base. Remember that candles made of paraffin, a byproduct of petroleum, emit toxins when they’re burned.
- Send out invitations and cards via email. If you must send your holiday greetings by snail mail, make cards from recycled paper or from paper you already have in your home. Fold and seal your note paper so that it doubles as an envelope or send postcards to avoid using extra envelope paper.
- Print your party flyers on recyclable paper. Avoid red and green paper as these colors are harder to recycle than the lighter pastels.
- Bring your own bag when shopping for gifts and food.
- Wrap your gifts in fabric, newspaper, old comics, or opened up brown paper bags. Avoid foil, plastic-backed paper, and ribbon as these materials hinder the recycling process. And absolutely no Styrofoam please! Save boxes for re-use each season. Find creative and natural ways to decorate your gifts by using springs of herbs or drawing something fun on the outside.
- Instead of focusing on material gifts, give a gift of your time and talent. Gift certificates for babysitting or doing a helpful task make a thoughtful present for loved ones. Gift certificates for restaurants or movies are another great option. Donating to a charity in a friend’s name or giving renewable energy credits are another ways to give consciously and with love.
- Pass along heirlooms and hand-me-downs and heirlooms that carry memories with them.
- Make your own gifts. Bake goods or create jewelry of your own design. Taking time and care to make something by hand is a special way to show you care.
- Use glass and china as well as cloth napkins instead of throw-away materials at the table. Not only are you preventing waste, but you will also make your holiday meals more special.
- Buy from local farmers who raise sustainable and preferably organic produce and meats.
- Give away leftover food and unwanted gifts to those less fortunate.
