How to Have a Green Christmas

greensanta 300x265 How to Have a Green Christmas

At a time when many of us are trying to reduce our impact on the environment—even the White House will recycle its Christmas decorations this year and use LEDs on the national tree—Christmas provides an excellent opportunity to start ecologically-minded traditions. Follow the steps below to green up your Christmas and grow more eco-conscious all year round!

Step 1: Going Green in Baby Steps

  • Initiating even a few changes this year will make a difference.
  1. Start discussing your intentions to have a green Christmas with your family early in the season.
  2. Decide on a few key areas to improve without sacrificing family traditions.
  3. Understand that not everyone will want to participate. Be careful not to offend family members who might still be clinging to non-recyclable tinsel and giftwrap.
  4. You don’t want to portray yourself as “the green evangelist of the family.”
  5. Focus on the ways in which you as an individual can make changes. Sending cards via email, instead of sending paper cards, is one thing you can do on your own.


Step 2: Holiday Cards

Image by someecards.com

Image by someecards.com
  • The 2.6 billion holiday cards sold each year in the United States could fill a landfill the size of a football field 10 stories high. The following options could help reduce that pile.
  1. Consider switching to emailed holiday cards.You can send photo and holiday e-cards using sites like Blue Mountain and Amazon.com.
    Someecards.com provides a little comic relief for the holidays, with cards like the one pictured at right. NOTE: Several of Someecards’ e-cards are not appropriate for children.
  2. Try creating a holiday album on a photo-sharing site like flickr or Shutterfly and circulating that instead of a traditional card.
  3. Buy cards printed on recycled paper, handmade papers, or paper made from materials like hemp. Three of Hallmark’s lines have recycled content: Shoebox Greetings, My Thoughts Exactly, and Comedy Club.Hallmark has e-cards available, too.
  4. Buy cards that donate a portion of proceeds to a good cause.
  5. Reuse holiday cards you receive to make gift tags. Most people don’t write on the back of the front of the card.

Step 3: The Tree

  • Decide whether to invest in a live or artificial tree.

Live Tree

  • A live tree certainly evokes the season with its pine-fresh smell, and families often enjoy the annual ritual of picking out the perfect tree. Before strapping that seven-foot Douglas fir to your roof, however, consider the following:
  • PROS
  1. Biodegradable
  2. Can be chipped into mulch, compost, or wood chips
  3. Wood can be repurposed to make fences or for use in building
  4. Christmas trees trap more carbon dioxide than other tree forests
  5. Smell terrific
  6. Can buy or rent a living tree, which is planted after the holiday
  • CONS
  1. Very few truly organic trees exist
  2. Trees can be loaded with pesticides
  3. Trees might be trucked across the country, adding to fuel costs
  4. Need to be watered regularly
  5. Shed needles that will need to be cleaned up
  6. You will need to organize how you recycle your tree after its use and likely transport it yourself
  7. Not every community provides recycling options

Artificial Tree

  • Artificial trees are another option to consider. They can be shipped right to your door and don’t need to be watered or pruned. The key things to consider when deciding on an artificial tree are whether you have room to store it and if you can find a tree that hasn’t been shipped from overseas.
  • PROS
  1. Can be used year after year
  2. Less expensive
  3. Don’t dry out
  4. Good for urban dwellers
  5. Can be put up earlier in the season
  • CONS
  1. Made mostly of plastics and metals, including lead, that are not biodegradable
  2. Often shipped long distances, as most are made in China
  3. Need to be stored every year
  4. Not as aesthetically pleasing


Final Considerations

Cut down your own tree if there's a farm nearby. (Creative commons photo by JAGwired)

Cut down your own tree if there’s a farm nearby. (Creative commons photo by JAGwired)
  1. Decide if a living tree is right for you.
  2. Consider making your own family tree from recycled materials. It won’t look like the neighbors’ blue spruce, perhaps, but it will be special to you and could be great fun to create.
  3. If a live tree is your best option, try to buy your tree as close to its source as possible.
  4. The same goes for an artificial tree. If it’s made in the United States, you’ve just reduced the costs associated with shipping overseas.
  5. Ask the grower about pesticide use.
  6. Consider chopping your tree down yourself if there is a tree farm close by.
  7. Decide, as well, how you will recycle your tree after the holiday is over.

Step 4: The Lights

  • Not only will your choice of lights and their power source make an environmental impact, they’ll slash your energy bill, too.
  1. Switching to LEDs (light emitting diodes) is 90% more efficient than incandescent lighting. LEDs don’t get as hot as traditional lights, lowering the risk of fire, and if one bulb goes out, the rest of the string still works. They last longer, too.
  2. A slightly more expensive option is solar-powered lighting.
  3. Set lights on a timer to save energy. This will also eliminate the need to run around turning off lights in inclement weather or late at night.
  4. The smaller the bulb, the lower the energy cost.

Step 5: Household Decorations

Use seasonal fruit to decorate. (Creative commons photo by Milica Sekulic)

Use seasonal fruit to decorate. (Creative commons photo by Milica Sekulic)
  • How you decorate around the house is important, too.
  1. Use seasonal fruits as decoration, which you can eat afterwards, or are at least biodegradable. Pomegranates and gourds are good choices.
  2. Seedlings or potted evergreens are another option. When it’s time to take down decorations, you will have a tree to plant.
  3. Decorate with bulbs. Amaryllis plants are always popular at Christmas, and they can be potted after the holiday.
  4. Wreaths don’t have to be made from evergreens. Make your own from fabric remnants, tree ornaments, or shells. Or buy one that can be used year after year.
  5. Try pulling a few branches from your Christmas tree to decorate around the house.
  6. Use family items you already have to decorate: a child’s first shoe as an ornament, an old circle skirt to put around the tree, hair ribbons to decorate wreathes.
  7. Other found objects like pine cones, horse chestnuts, and leaves are great natural touches.

Step 6: Giving Green

  • There are myriad ways to give green and choose gifts that will keep on giving.

Cut Back

  1. The swiftest way to eliminate waste is to give less.
    A 2005 survey by the Center for a New American Dream showed that 78 percent of Americans wish the holidays were less materialistic.
  2. Consider picking names at Thanksgiving or at another time when your family is assembled. Each person is only responsible for giving one gift.
  3. Determine an upper limit on cost and stick to it. This should reduce the overall number of gifts.
  4. Consider only giving gifts to the children in your family.


Make it Yourself

Make gifts yourself. (Creative commons photo by Lauren Weinhold)

Make gifts yourself. (Creative commons photo by Lauren Weinhold)
  1. Institute the practice of giving handmade or found gifts. Seashells from a beach vacation earlier in the year, a song, a poem, or a handknit scarf are all priceless gifts.
  2. Collaborate with family members to create a family recipe book you can give to everyone in your clan.
  3. Reprint a favorite family photo and have it framed.
  4. Research your family history and create a family tree.
  5. Make a “Greatest Hits” album for everyone on your list. Find songs that will evoke special memories for your friends and family.
  6. Make seasonal cookies, cakes, or breads and give the recipe, too.
  7. Make your own soap, paper, or candles using sites like the DIY Network.

Good As New

  1. Buy antiques, early edition books, or vintage jewelry.
  2. A family heirloom that has been sitting in your attic could be a precious gift this year.
  3. Flea markets, estate sales, and local craft fairs are other great sources for gifts.
  4. Try shopping at thrift stores or your local Goodwill.

Think Outside the Box

  1. Giving experiences, like a subscription to the opera, a tennis lesson, or dinner at a chic new restaurant are excellent alternatives to packaged material gifts.
  2. Transfer your gift-giving energy towards buying toys for local kids through Toys for Tots, or stocking your local food pantry.
  3. Donations to a favorite cause are always appreciated. If family members are so inclined, you might organize a Habitat for Humanity project—sometimes just being together is the best gift.
  4. Other outside the box gift ideas:
    1. Personalized coupons for a car wash, a massage, or a movie night.
    2. Cooking lessons.
    3. Membership to a local museum or non-profit organization.
    4. Season tickets to a sporting event.
    5. Open a savings account or buy a stock for a kid in your family and teach him how it grows.
    6. A month of diaper service or babysitting for new parents.
    7. A hot air balloon ride, river rafting ride, or a day of cross-country skiing.
    8. A yoga class, pilates class, or gym membership.
    9. Gift certificate for a facial, pedicure, or other spa service.
    10. Housecleaning for a month.
    11. Membership to a local food co-op or other group that will deliver locally grown fruits and vegetables.
    12. Herb garden.

Encourage Green

Encourage eco-minded habits. (Creative commons photo by Paul Smith)

Encourage eco-minded habits. (Creative commons photo by Paul Smith)
  • Giving environmentally focused gifts will spread the word this season.
  • NOTE: You don’t want loved ones to feel like you are trying to convert them. And remember, your nine-year-old Wii-obsessed nephew probably doesn’t want a compost bin for Christmas.
  1. Energy-saving compact fluorescent lights.
  2. A reusable lunch bag.
  3. Compost bin.
  4. Reusable food storage containers.
  5. Recycling bins.
  6. Canvas grocery bags.
  7. Reusable travel coffee mug.
  8. A basket full of non-toxic, organic cleaning products.
  9. Copies of An Inconvenient Truth.
  10. A subscription to an environmental magazine, like E.
  11. Water-saving showerhead.
  12. A bicycle—for commuting.
  13. Reusable razor.
  14. Automatic thermostat control device you can program to turn the heat off at night.
  15. Rechargeable batteries and charging station.

Step 7: Giftwrap Matters

Recycle giftwrap. (Creative commons photo by rmkoske)

Recycle giftwrap. (Creative commons photo by rmkoske)
  • Now that you’ve found the perfect gift, be sure its wrapping matches your eco-conscious theme.
  1. Skip wrapping paper whenever possible. Wasting an entire roll of paper disguising a new bike, for instance, is a real waste.
  2. Try hiding gifts around the house and then giving kids clues as to where they are—if a gift is well hidden, it needn’t be wrapped at all.
  3. Recycle magazines, fabric, newspaper, or paper bags into wrapping paper.
  4. Get even more creative by using old maps, posters, kids’ coloring book pages, or sheet music to wrap gifts.
  5. Make the wrapping part of the gift by using scarves, kitchen towels, or tablecloths. A canvas bag can hold gifts and be reused for grocery shopping throughout the year. A tin full of cookies can be used again. A pair of earrings could be placed in a wooden box used later to store buttons, jewelry, or safety pins.
  6. Reuse bows.
  7. If you must buy wrapping paper, buy giftwrap printed on recycled paper and save it for next year.

Step 8: Holiday Houseguests

Holiday houseguests can go green, too. (Creative commons photo by Cathy Stanley-Erickson)

Holiday houseguests can go green, too. (Creative commons photo by Cathy Stanley-Erickson)
  • Houseguests may make an impact, but it doesn’t have to be an environmental one.
  1. Install water-saving devices in your toilet and shower.
  2. Point out recycling containers to guests when they arrive so they will know where to dispose of what they use.
  3. Consider giving carbon-offset gift certificates to those who travel to your home for the holidays.

If You’re Hosting a Party

  1. Send out your invitations by email.
  2. Encourage guests to carpool or take public transportation.
  3. Borrow or rent additional glassware, plates, and flatware.
  4. If you must use disposable items, choose biodegradable products.
  5. Buy food products in bulk to reduce packaging waste.
  6. Cut up holiday cards to use as placecards.
  7. Use soy-based candles, or those made from beeswax. Better yet, use an LED candle.
  8. Compost your food waste.

Resources for How to Have a Green Christmas

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