- Recycle wrapping paper
- Try making your own wrapping paper and trimmings from newspapers, paper bags, art projects, clothes, dish towels, etc. And if you do buy new wrapping paper, go for the kind without glossy metallic coating, which makes it harder to recycle.
- Stay home
- Some of the worst impacts to the environment come from all the carbon dioxide emitted by the transportation we use to get around during the holidays. Consider limiting your plane travel (the worst offender) and long car rides. If you must drive, carpool, and try to schedule around traffic, to reduce the amount of time you idle and waste fuel.
- Lose the lights.
- Think about cutting back on excessive house and yard lights, is it necessary to see your glow-in-the-dark inflatable Santa from the next town over? And if you are decorating with lights, try switching to the LED variety, which can use 90 percent less energy than regular holiday lights.
- Use a real tree
- Then recycle it when it’s done! Though it may feel sad to cut down a tree for the holidays, consider that most Christmas trees are grown expressly for the purpose (so you’re not contributing to deforestation), and can be planted or composted when you’re done with them. Plastic trees, in contrast, require petroleum to make, and then can’t be recycled easily when you’re through with them.
- Make it green
- Not only does it show people you put time and effort into their gifts, but it saves money as well! Try making homemade soaps, photo calendars, Christmas candles, baked goodies, mosaic tile picture frames, and beaded jewelry. It’s the one gift you can be sure people will never want to return, and it takes a lot less time and effort than you might think!
