Festive Tips For A Greener Holiday

This time of year is filled with joy and family reunion, it is easy to get wrapped up in buying gifts, planning and attending parties and events, or competing with our neighbors for the best holiday decorations. This busy time of year and can mean we forget to consider our impact on the environment as we go merrily along with our holiday activities.

Let us help you plan an eco-friendly holiday season! Here are some simple ways you can make the season of celebration of the planet we all share:

Give the gift of Green

We’re talking plants!! Plants are a gift that keeps on giving throughout the year. Try giving house plants like pathos, philodendron and spider plants. They’re not only pretty but provide air-purifying qualities. Another idea… a seed packet for vegetables or a flower garden, or a gift certificate for plants or seeds from a gardening supply catalog or shop. Landscape plants that are native to your region also make nice gifts.

Consider planting a living tree for the holidays

•    Choose a healthy tree whose roots are balled and wrapped in burlap.
•    Keep the tree outside until you’re ready to bring it in for decoration.
•    Make sure the tree remains well-watered.
•    Keep the tree inside for no more than a week.
•    Transplant the tree into a hole prepared before the ground froze.
•    Plant the tree with plenty of organic matter; mulch and water well.

Remember: If you opt for the traditional tree instead of a live one, make sure to recycle it when the holiday is over.

Buy Energy-Saving Holiday Lights

Now you can decorate your house with LED lights that use 90 percent less energy than conventional holiday lights, and can save your family up to $50 on your energy bills during the holiday season! LED lights are available at many major retailers, including Target, CostCo, and Ace Hardware.

Make Your Own Wrapping Paper

Most mass-produced wrapping paper you find in stores is not recyclable and ends up in landfills. Instead, here’s a great chance to get creative! Wrap presents with old maps, the comics section of a newspaper, or children’s artwork. Or use a scarf, attractive dish towel, bandana, or some other useful cloth item. If every family wrapped just three gifts this way, it would save enough paper to cover 45,000 football fields.

Holiday Cards

•    Recycle last year’s cards into this year’s gift tags. Use serrated scissors to cut the front of the card in appealing shapes and sizes.
•    Make sure this year’s cards are made from recycled paper.
•    Put E-mail to work and send paper-free electronic greeting cards.

Avoid Wrapping Paper

Use newspaper or brown craft paper that you can decorate yourself. Sunday comics also make a colorful, recyclable wrap kids will love!

Have a safe and happy holiday season!