We’ve all been sick in my home over the holidays, so I haven’t posted much lately. Just in time for New Years, here are my thoughts on ways to make your holiday celebrations a bit easier on the earth. Hopefully this will give you some ideas for next year!

1. Decorate your home with LED lights; if you haven’t already replaced your old incandescent outdoor strings, look for LEDs, which use a lot less energy, and put them on a timer. This year we used one of Noma’s new solar-powered sets for the first time; they’re a bit dim, especially compared with our neighbors’ giant incandescent bulbs, but so pretty, and so practical for lighting areas that aren’t near an outlet. I think we’ll move them into the backyard and use them as year-round fairy lights. Post-Christmas is a great time to find them at discounted prices.
2. Oh, Christmas trees… The long-running real-vs-artificial debate is still going, but you’ll notice there is now consensus on the topic. Current green wisdom holds that real trees – especially organically-grown living ones that can be replanted – are the most environmentally friendly choice (especially if that PVC number with the LED lights built in is manufactured in China, where environmental regulations are, shall we say, permissive). That said, if you already have an artificial tree you should continue to use it, unless there are safety concerns (such as lead content, offgassing,  or electrical peculiarities) – otherwise you’re wasting the material and energy investment that went into making and transporting it. Another caveat is that none of the discussions I’ve seen online take the concerns of families with environmental allergies (to molds and tree pollens, for example) into account. My extended family is rife with dust, pollen, and mold allergies, so I have fond memories of decorating our 1970s-era artificial tree made of hideous brown and green plastic well into the 1990s. The key to the greenness of any artificial tree or tree-alternative is to find something that works with your lifestyle, and that you’ll be happy to reuse for a decade or more. An older wire-based faux tree from the thrift store is easily refurbished with careful fluffing and the addition of some garland and floral picks to fill in the gaps (again, beware of lead content and electrical irregularities – a vintage aluminum tree is the best choice, if you can find one). There are lots of great alterna-trees, too: you can decorate a houseplant, or a chunk of driftwood, or a vase full of bare branches, or skip the ‘tree’ and decorate with wreaths and garlands instead. There’s great coverage of cool artificial trees on digsdigs and inhabitat, including this genius tree made of water bottles (by Paprika Design, from a Montreal shop window!) and a gorgeous CNC-cut plywood tree from Australia.
3. Send e-cards instead of paper. My favorites for holiday wishes are UNICEF’s e-cards; check your favorite charity to see if they offer e-cards, too. If you’re throwing a party, this also applies for invitations… see my green party planning guide to see what other ideas might apply for your soiree.
4. Reduce the number of gifts you give by starting a ‘secret Santa’ tradition or having a regifting game.
5. Take the pledge and give homemade gifts. Nevermind the obvious financial benefits: they’re cool (honest), they’re automatically more special than anything that’s mass produced, and they’re a great way to avoid having to find parking at West Edmonton Mall. You may prefer to give edible gifts, as a tonic against holiday consumerism. Felt an old wool sweater to make a cool purse, unravel it to knit a new one, or consider trying a thrift craft like patchwork or one of the many techniques for making a rag rug. Think about whether you can tweak your chosen craft project to make it greener, by using locally sourced, reclaimed or recycled, organically produced, or naturally dyed materials. I’ll post a roundup of my favorite eco-crafts ideas soon; meanwhile, Lighter Footstep and How about orange… had great lists of homemade gift ideas this year. If you’re short on time, see #8…
6. Whatever you’re giving, consider trying to make it plastic free: see Crunchy Domestic Goddess’ great No Plastic Holiday Challenge article to learn why.
7. Give gifts of time. A decorated cue card that can be redeemed for your time and energy is a thoughtful and creative gift that can be tailored to your recipient. (Those of you who saw that episode of Friends can get your minds out of the gutter!)
8. Give locally crafted, fair trade, or second-hand gifts. Support local artisans on Etsy (search ‘Edmonton’, or whatever your hometown is, to find them), at a craft fair like Stop & Shop, or galleries like the Alberta Craft Council gift shop. (A good example of a local eco-crafter is Edmonton’s Geekware, who make neat things out of upcycled computer parts… I’m lusting after their circuitboard tree ornaments.) Try to make sure any imported items you buy are ethically produced, by buying from stores with fair-trade policies like Ten Thousand Villages and Artifacts. (My Design Secrets had a terrific post about Fair Trade gifts this year.) As for second-hand, you’d be amazed by the cool things you can find at local antique shops.
9. Consider charitable gifts and carbon offsets. The World Wildlife Fund, Plan Canada (formerly Foster Parents Plan), World Vision International, and Unicef all have charitable gifts (such as adopting an endangered animal, conserving an acre of rainforest, buying school supplies and fresh water for people in the developing world) listed on their websites. A great charitable alternative is to give a microloan to an entrepreneur in a developing nation through Kiva. Also consider supporting local not-for-profits, such as the Devonian Botanic Garden or Youth Emergency Shelter Society (or whatever your favorite might be), or giving money to support scientific research, through the Heart and Stroke Foundation or Alberta Cancer Board.
10. Give experiences instead of objects – like concert tickets, or plane tickets, or a gift certificate for a course.
11. When it’s time to wrap the goodies, go for reuseable bags and boxes, Japanese-style fabric wraps, and recycled-content veggie-ink papers (like the Canadian-made Pistachio line carried at Chapters, or the gorgeous papers from Erin Ruth’s Etsy shop). Check out Green Your Decor’s great roundup for more eco-wrapping ideas.
12. Go check out Candy Cane Lane and/or Bright Nights as ways to support the Edmonton Food Bank. This year Bright Nights is boasting their new green cred, thanks to being wind powered and offset, and having Climate Change Central on board… well done Chamber of Commerce! I totally love that you can prebook your Candy Cane Lane sleigh ride via their website, too.
13. Now that the weather is a bit milder, get outside and make some memories! Edmonton’s rinks and tobogganing hills are now open. As soon as the kids’ fevers are gone I’ll be joining you.

Tags: bakers dozen, Christmas, going green, holidays, how-to

This entry was posted on Tuesday, December 30th, 2008 at 6:49 pm and is filed under Green Living. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.