By Go Green Be Rich
The song tells of a white Christmas, but that refers to the weather and the Christmasy atmosphere that snow can bring. Planning for a green Christmas is all about being environmentally active and aware while saving money as well.
In times of economic uncertainty that must surely be a good thing. And of course, if the weather brings a little bit of white covering too, then that makes a green Christmas perfect!
Exchanging gifts is a common practice at Christmas, and this is an excellent place to start our green Christmas habits. The gift wrapping paper sold in stores is usually not recyclable.
Most of it is immediately thrown away to end up in landfills. This makes gift wrapping with store-bought paper expensive and very unfriendly to the planet – not what we want for a green Christmas. A much better alternative, and one that close relatives will appreciate, is to use your children’s artwork to wrap gifts.
You could also use your children’s comic books, or the comic sections of newspapers as a bright and colorful alternative, thereby recycling old paper. You can explain to the recipient of the gift in a positive way why you are doing this and perhaps make them feel guilty for not having a green Christmas as well.
It has been calculated by the Sierra Club, America’s oldest and largest environmental organization, that if every family in the country gift wrapped just three gifts by recycling existing paper they already have, the paper saved would be enough to cover 45,000 football fields. Now, that’s a green Christmas and a whole lot of trees saved too!
If you plan to hang a wreath on your front door, consider making one yourself. It’s easy and very environmentally friendly – and you’ll save money too. Go into the forest, or even a nearby park, and find evergreen branches and dried twigs. These can be wrapped in a circular fashion with cranberries strung together to add a splash of bright color.
You’ll surprise yourself at how good you are, it won’t cost you anything but a little time, and the materials are all fully biodegradable. Your green Christmas can’t get much better than that.
There are many more things you can do to make this a green Christmas. Consider making your own cards, for example. Use your children’s artwork again – it’s perfect for this and grandparent will love it.
You can use LED lights on your tree (which should be a real one that can be planted out later) and you will save 90% on your green Christmas electricity bill. If you start thinking about it you’ll come up with other great ideas for a green Christmas.
You shouldn’t be stuck thinking up ideas for green Christmas gifts. There are so many different ways to make excellent and interesting gifts and ornaments using existing materials, or things that are easy and inexpensive to obtain.
Gift baskets are popular and are easily made too, and one of the best ideas for green Christmas gifts. The basket can be recycled from a cardboard box, cut to size and shape as desired, and wrapped in something original.
The artwork that your children produce in school or at home is ideal for wrapping gift baskets. If you can’t find enough old ones, have them make a few new ones. Any left over artwork can be shredded and laid in the bottom of the basket to provide a suitable crinkly base for the gifts.
The gifts that fill the gift baskets can be anything. However, some of the better ideas for green Christmas gifts are things like homemade jams, homemade cookies, and homemade maple candy, which can be cut into Christmas shapes. Other ideas for green Christmas gifts for your gift baskets can be produced by your children.
The 12 Green Days of ChristmasAn aluminum drinks can painted, or covered in an old photo or some kind of artwork makes a great pen holder. A sturdy shoe box, if suitably decorated, can become an attractive treasure box. Your children will love creating these ideas for green Christmas gifts.
Clay ornaments are easy to make and are definitely environmentally friendly ideas for green Christmas gifts. You can make the clay dough with flour, salt and water in ratios of two parts flour to one part salt and one part water.
Mix well together and knead for at least 10 minutes, then roll out and cut to shape. You can use existing cookie cutters, or get more imaginative for better results. You may wish to poke a hole in each ornament before baking them to make it easy for hanging.
Make the hole larger than you need as it will shrink during baking. Then bake the ornaments in an oven at 325 degrees Fahrenheit for around an hour and a half. These excellent ideas for green Christmas gifts can be decorated in hundreds of different exciting ways and will look really great too.
Ideas for green Christmas gifts are all around you. They will save you money and help to save the environment. In that way you will know that you are doing your bit for the planet.
Christmas is a Christian celebration, but people of other religions also know the importance of being green and saving valuable resources and money. As the Dalai Lama said, “We have a responsibility to look after our planet. It is our only home.”
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