What are your suggestions for having a 'green' holiday season?

Question

Is it important to you to be eco-friendly over the holidays, and if so, what are your ideas for staying green?

How to enjoy an eco-friendly holiday

http://ca.lifestyle.yahoo.com/home-garden/articles/green-tips/cp/home_family-dreaming_of_a_green_christmas_reuse_buy_local_best_bet_to_enjoy_eco_holiday

Online shopping takes on the mall

http://ca.lifestyle.yahoo.com/fashion-beauty/articles/shopping/greenliving/energy--online_xmas_shopping_takes_on_the_mall

How many Canucks cross-border shop?

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/capress/071207/business/cross_border_poll

Answer 1

The clusters of evergreen trees you see at Downsview Park brought in for the holiday season  and decorated with LED lights each include their individual rootball and will be planted throughout the park in the spring.

Answer 2

Its great to have an eco-friendly, or "green" christmas!

I'm all for it! But why are we only concerned about it during the holidays, it should be a year long mission, not just at certain times that we are producing more wastes. For those who do it year long, they don't need to think of new ways to think about christmas, but just carry on with how they live all year round.

Answer 3

don't buy many gifts, just one or two really meaning full ones.  also either reuse gift wrap, wrap with newspaper or create reusable cloth gift bags.

Answer 4

well, I think my family has been using the same wrapping paper and gift bags for several years now! it saves money and keeps rolls of paper out of the garbage dump. also, definitely switch to energy-saving xmas lights and consider an artificial tree.

Answer 5

Simple. Don't buy anything. Give you family and friends cards instead.

Answer 6

Making sure you have enough compostable bags for the food garbage from dinner.  Also I believe tissue paper is compostible as well.  Boxes should be recycled.  I usually do that boxing day!  I try to minimize my garbage the best I can (but without going crazy over it)

Answer 7

i use a fake tree not a real one, so dont have to keep cutting down a tree, then sending it off to be composted or disposed of.

Answer 8

Drive responsibly.  i.e. combine shopping trips - hit several errands in one go.   Not use drivethrus (idling car) but walk into store to get the order.  Try and buy gifts that are reasonable on packaging.

Answer 9

Car pooling to parties, giving environmentally friendly gifts and/or biodegradable gifts.

Answer 10

Stopped the whole gift-exchange madness seven years ago, and the holidays have been peaceful and stress-free ever since. Do we all need another toy, gadget, thing-a-ma-bob, or more clothes than our closets can hold? Give the money to charity instead, spend time with friends and family and enjoy good, healthy food to celebrate the holidays. It's the true spirit of the season - not the blind consumerism we're brainwashed into participating by the media.

Answer 11

I like a lot of these suggestions, in fact this year is the first year that I am doing handmade gifts and stuff instead of stressing over how much to spend etcetera. As for the Christmas tree debate, there are some merits to having a real tree too. Making fake trees and transporting them across the globe uses a lot of energy and fuels that burn pollutants into the air. Tree farms are a fairly natural process that are designed specifically for Christmas, and the amount of oxygen produced is excellent. Not to mention when you buy a real tree you support local business. You could also buy a tree that has the roots and everything still with it and plant it after Christmas. I'm not sure I have a preference but it's new information that I hadn't thought of previously (tree farms).

I think the biggest thing we can do is avoid wasting. not just at Christmas but all the time. Don't buy more than what you or anyone needs, that goes for gadgets, clothes, food, anything. Don't consume more than you need, share, reuse, and support local business instead of international monopolies. They say that it's the thought that counts, but if we don't think about how our actions are habit forming, or how ads are designed to pinch our wallets, we'll suffer holiday stress instead of holiday cheer. Think! It means the world.

Answer 12

Use a fake tree, put presents in gift bags instead of wrapping, so people can use them over and over again. Keep the tissue paper use to a minimum, unless wrapping something breakable, and even then, use as little as possible.

Don't buy too much wrapped candy for the kids, because you'll be up to your neck in wrappers by the first hour.

Don't use lights on the tree, because it consumes electricity. Garland can make a tree look just as pretty.

Answer 13

SoapGurl said it best - and she can spell!!  There is some hope for the human race after all.

Answer 14

Buy locally made products.  It reduces the amount of fuel needed for shipping and it supports the local economy.  Get a live Christmas tree.  Eat vegetarian and organic meals.  Hey the holiday season is just like any other - just use less, spend more time with your family and have fun!

Answer 15

Reuse boxes, and buy gift boxes that already are 'wrapped', just put on a bow, an then use them again next year! And, the gift boxes are really cheap, and you can find them at the dollar store.

Answer 16

Is it important to be eco-friendly over the holidays?  Yes - but it is more important to be eco-friendly year long.  Do it constantly and you can splurge a bit at Christmas with family and friends.  That - after all - is what this time of the year is about - rewards for all the hard work done all year long.  Spending time with parents, kids, brothers, sisters.   Just be eco all year and allow yourself to let loose a bit at the holidays

Answer 17

Cut the commercial holiday c**p, first of all! Limit gifts to 'favours' such as free babysitting, car maintenance, baking, etc.  Focus on the joy of spending time with the people that you love. Teach your children the true meaning of the season--share what the holiday means to you, whatever your religion or beliefs.  Create meaningful family rituals that will become a tradition, and are not focused on a consumer mentality. Too many people today see Christmas (and every other holiday) as an excuse to 'get stuff".  Refuse to be shallow--give only handmade gifts that are not harmful to the environment, only send electronic cards, share yourself with your family and friends--it's a much more meaningful gift.  I think many people are ready to step off the consumer treadmill that the holidays have become, but are afraid to come across as cheap or 'granola'.  Consider how many people are spending a fortune that they don't have to live up to what media culture tells us is a good holiday--the credit card companies are laughing all the way to the bank with their record breaking profits every year.  Ask your friends at your next gathering--you might be surprised at the groundswell of support for a 'non-commercial' Christmas!

Answer 18

Proven trees do help the environment. don't believe me? Read on...

http://ca.lifestyle.yahoo.com/home-garde...

Also the usual for eco friendly methods... (LED lights, car pooling for trips as mentioned before, spreading the sentiment of the season rather then what the media calls "Christmas" nowadays, and there something else also mentioned that's left me).

Happy Holidays, and drive safe!

Answer 19

Cut down on wastes by reusing gift rap, purchasing gifts with less packaging, making ornaments out of things you would normally recycle and bringing your own reusable bags while shopping.  Use LED Christmas lights; they last longer and use less energy and if you're not willing to go vegetarian prepare an organic Christmas meal.

Answer 20

we have purchased a 5 kw turbine so our x-mas will be spent putting it up

Answer 21

I m a big fan of recycling so I try to be creative.     I use gift bags that can be reused(and they have been, some are returning our way).  I love the smell of pine trees, but cringe when any tree gets cut down, so its artificial for us.  Any gifts bought have little or no packaging, plastic or otherwise.  I am always on the lookout to green up our lives so any feedback will be greatly appreciated.

Answer 22

I use gift bags and tissue and we reuse them as many times as I can. They are cheap and fairly durable and I have used them at least 4 or 5 times before they are recycled. If we get papered gifts i try and reuse the paper or recycle it when we are done with it. Happy Holidays everyone!

Answer 23

I don't give material gifts, but prefer to give treats like a manicure, massage or salon treatment to my friends. And forget Christmas cards--I only send virtual ones

Answer 24

Compact florescent light bulbs make a good (albeit not very personal) stocking stuffer for adults.  Fair trade ingredients (e.g. spices) are good gifts for those who like to cook.  

To wrap, I use ends of balls of wool yarn (compostable) to embellish gifts.  I tend not to like gift bags -after all, half the fun of a gift is unwrapping it- so instead of wrapping paper, I use silk scarves from second-hand stores.  

Lots of holiday decorations are available at second-hand stores, especially if you stock up early in the season - a great source of bows and ribbons if you don't have any yarn on hand.

Answer 25

There's so much I could share!  People who appreciate it get handmade gifts; relatives who don't, get money.  The gift must be useful, unless it's for my brother (some traditions cannot be ignored), and sourced locally.  I prefer to give consumables (e.g. hand-milled soap or fair trade treats) because we all have too many things we don't need cluttering our lives.  I encourage the recipient to "regift" if what I've sent is not to taste, no hard feelings.  I call this the "gift of emergency gift preparedness" - e.g. that last-minute invitation to a neighbour's New Year's Eve party.  Unless I'm giving tree ornaments, I avoid seasonal gifts.  Shoe boxes and cookie tins get recovered with fabric or paper to hide corporate logos, and are tied shut. My recipients like my shoeboxes because they can be used to store fragile tree ornaments until the next year.