Chrismas lights in overdrive
Make this coming Christmas as green as possible and help to reduce waste and save the environment. This is a time of year when we can make a real start at being green and have fun in the process, you will also be able to save money as an added bonus.
Green the Xmas tree
Let’s not buy the plastic tree made of toxic materials and imported from china, purchase a locally produced LIVE tree from your local nursery, make sure it has roots and is of an adequate size for your home.
A live tree can be reused year after year providing you look after it and give it some water while it is in a heated interior. It could be planted outside in the New Year or kept in the pot on your deck or in the garden.
Green Xmas tree decorations
I like to make my decorations edible, it adds to my Chrismas fun, but if you want you could easily make reusable decorations from recycled materials or involve the children in making some playdough ones. The playdough will harden if you bake it and you can have hours of fun painting and hanging them on your tree.
Edible ones can be made from home made cookies or chocolates or strings of coloured pop corn, use fairy floss or spun sugar as snow.
Green Christmas lights
Forgo the traditional lights for the more energy efficient LED lights, they use only about 10% of the energy of ordinary bulbs and they also last a lot longer.
Invest in a timer for your lights, this way you will not forget to switch them off.
Do not leave your lights on when you go out.
Give green presents
Make home made presents by baking a larger batch of cookies or make some chocolate truffles. Make them from organic and locally produced ingredients, this way your friends and family can also be introduced to a greener Christmas. Put them into recycled jam jars and cover the lid with a piece of fabric, try pieces of sacking you get coffee in or old flour bags and tie them with a piece of twine.
Wrapping presents uses so much paper that is thenwasted, why not use a pretty piece of fabric that could be reused or purchase some white pillow slips and tie dye them or decorate them with fabric paints. This makes your present personal and reusable.
Another green present wrapping idea is to forage around charity shops and get pretty scarves to wrap gifts, tie them like a bundle and they will look great.
If you must give battery powered gifts, include a battery charger to reduce waste.
Give vouchers for various charities instead of buying presents, make donations on behalf of the friends and family you would have bought a present for, this could encourage younger people to think of other people in need.
Give useful or educational gifts to children [adults too] find la local artisan who makes wooden toys or buy fair trade gifts.
Green Christmas feast
Buy your food locally and get it organic if you can, if you buy local you will reduce the food transport costs and reduce carbon mileage.
Reduce waste ad only buy what you will eat, plan ahead and make delicious meals with the leftovers or freeze them.
Candles are an old favorite in my house, I have made some of beeswax supplied by a local honey producer and they have a divine smell, alternatively you can obtain soy candles as they are totally natural.
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