Going Green for the Holiday Season
I’ve read several articles and posts lately on how families can celebrate the holiday season in an environmentally friendly way. Here are a few things my family is doing to reduce our footprint this holiday season.
As recommended by the Sierra Club, we will:
We painted butcher paper to use as wrapping paper. I'd suggest markers or crayons instead of paint, the paint flecked off easily.
1) Wrap Christmas presents in handmade paper or recycled materials: One of the co-op classes I did last year was a class to “design your own wrapping paper.” We made enough wrapping paper to wrap everyone’s gifts!
2) Use LED lights: we got rid of our traditional lights last year and invested in LED lights. The cost was lower than expected since we bought our LED lights during the post-Christmas clearance sales. LED lights use 90% less energy than standard Christmas lights and are more Earth friendly because they last for 50,000 hours or more.
Here are some things we’ve been doing that are endorsed by Earth911:
3) Turn the thermostat down: If you are coming to our house, wear a sweatshirt – we keep it about 64-65 degrees during the day (and lower at night). Dressing in layers keeps us warm, and you really do get used to the cooler temperatures.
4) Avoid the Christmas shopping nightmare: We were done with Kieran’s Christmas shopping well before Black Friday, and everyone else on our list is getting handmade items. Tom and I aren’t going to buy each other Christmas presents, instead we will purchase a bigger ticket item that we can use as a family.
5) Buy handmade or make your own Christmas gifts: related to avoiding the shopping madness is to buy or make your own gifts. It’s better for the environment and shows your friends and family that you really took time to think about them. Practically all of our gifts this year will be handmade (and some of them will be made by me from recycled material!).
How will you make your holiday season Earth-friendly?
About the Author - Dionna
Dionna is co-founder of Natural Parents Network. She blogs about natural parenting and life with a toddler-almost-preschooler at Code Name: Mama. She also co-founded NursingFreedom.org, a site dedicated to normalizing breastfeeding anytime, anywhere.
