What are your suggestions for having a %26#039;green%26#039; holiday season? 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-garde...

Online shopping takes on the mall
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How many Canucks cross-border shop?
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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 %26quot;Christmas%26quot; nowadays, and there something else also mentioned that%26#039;s left me).

Happy Holidays, and drive safe! 0% 0 Votes

I don%26#039;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 0% 0 Votes

SoapGurl said it best - and she can spell!! There is some hope for the human race after all. 0% 0 Votes

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%26#039;re not willing to go vegetarian prepare an organic Christmas meal. 0% 0 Votes

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! 0% 0 Votes

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%26#039;t have any yarn on hand. 0% 0 Votes

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%26#039;m not sure I have a preference but it%26#039;s new information that I hadn%26#039;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%26#039;t buy more than what you or anyone needs, that goes for gadgets, clothes, food, anything. Don%26#039;t consume more than you need, share, reuse, and support local business instead of international monopolies. They say that it%26#039;s the thought that counts, but if we don%26#039;t think about how our actions are habit forming, or how ads are designed to pinch our wallets, we%26#039;ll suffer holiday stress instead of holiday cheer. Think! It means the world. 0% 0 Votes

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%26#039;t buy too much wrapped candy for the kids, because you%26#039;ll be up to your neck in wrappers by the first hour.
Don%26#039;t use lights on the tree, because it consumes electricity. Garland can make a tree look just as pretty. 0% 0 Votes

we have purchased a 5 kw turbine so our x-mas will be spent putting it up 0% 0 Votes

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.