How to Turn the Holidays Green

Forget about a white Christmas. We are dreaming of turning the holidays green. We can do this by making choices that help the earth without sacrificing comfort and joy.

You can start your own seasonal traditions that help children become better consumers who respect their planet. You can do this whether you celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Winter Solstice, New Years, or other winter holidays. Keeping things simple can help your family as well as the planet. Piles of gifts, festive decorations, and lots of activities can overwhelm young children. Taking the time to reflect and appreciate will make the season more meaningful for the entire family.

The holidays are your chance to teach children that the best things in life aren’t things. Plastic toys can break quickly. Instead, try giving them family activities like trips to the park or family game nights. Teach kids that giving gifts of helping and patience can make the season more meaningful for all.

Consider suggesting activity gifts. Cooking lessons or skating trips are great ideas to suggest relatives who ask. Offer those relatives similarly meaningful presents. These could be private piano concerts from your young musician. Or, an original poem, or free babysitting for relatives who have young children of their own.

The best gifts come from the heart, not the mall. If your child wants to give gifts to friends and teachers, help them prepare simple crafts. Ornaments, snow globes, or other handmade gifts are all good options. You can even make favorite recipes like holiday bark or cookies to give as a thoughtful hostess gift. Shop online for those items that you need to purchase from stores. This helps you avoid that time and frustration of extra car trips at this busy time of year.

When it comes to holiday decorating, remember that more than your tree can be green. Instead of buying expensive ornaments, take your kids on a hike to collect pine cones and boughs for garlands and table decorations.

You can also raid the kitchen for ornament ideas. Tie cinnamon sticks together with red ribbon. Or, string popcorn and cranberries on thin thread for festive décor. Gingerbread cookies and candy canes double as edible decorations.

No need to spend lots of money buying fancy wrapping paper this year. Cut-up brown paper grocery bags or simple brown packing paper tied with raffia and a bit of holly. This greenery can make a striking present. Children can draw or stamp their own designs on the brown paper for a whimsical custom touch. Recycled funny pages from the newspaper, an old map, or sheet music can also make great gift wrap.

You can even turn the wrapping into a part of the gift. Rather than buying a paper gift bag, use a reusable shopping bag for a gift that keeps on giving. Wrap a nice bottle of wine in a pretty tea towel or scarf for an elegant hostess gift. A festive reusable cardboard box or cookie tin is another type of wrapping that lasts long beyond the holiday. Instead of disposable plastic curling ribbons, choose small reusable things like hair barrettes, key chains, or costume jewelry to dress up your packages. Encourage children to make their own gift tags out of scrap paper or fabric.

A new generation of holiday lighting uses far less electricity than the strands you grew up with. LED lights are more eco-friendly, so make the switch for a greener holiday. Because of the energy savings, you’ll recover the cost of the new strands over time. Remember that less is more when it comes to holiday decorating. There is no need to cover every surface with bright flashing lights.

Rather than buying artificial air fresheners that often contain harmful chemicals, make your house smell good the old fashioned way. Hot mulled cider, evergreen boughs, fresh apples, and cinnamon sticks smell delightful. Of course, the smell of baking cookies is another unforgettable scent that beats anything you can buy in a can.