This year you can celebrate a green Christmas by buying a real tree and recycling it after the season ends , add more vegetarian dishes to your meals, decorate your tree and home with sustainable materials, give useful gifts, and cut down on waste. This changes do not have to be extreme you can start small. Green means good for the environment and your health.
Christmas Tree Farm Source: En Wikipedia
Buy A Real Tree and Recycle It After The Season Ends
Buy a real tree at your local tree farm because real trees are better for the environment. After the holidays you can find a program in your local area that recyles trees or find ways to do it yourself. Often recycle programs will turn leftover trees into wood chips and mulch.
The tree can be chopped up and pine needles removed for firewood. A leftover Christmas tree can be composted to make mulch and wood chips if you have the proper equipment like chain saws and shredders. Wood chips can be used in gardens and around trees and shrubs.
If you have room you can plant the tree outside and decorate it. You will have another tree outdoors to add to your landscape. Be sure you have room to plant it outdoors and avoid overcrowding your property.
Recyling Flicker Souce Department of Enviromental Protection
Recycling Station Mulches Trees
Source: Flicker/Questionmark
Decorate Your Tree and Home With Sustainable Materials
Glass Ornaments Source: Christmas Stock Images
Whether you make ornaments or buy them look for ornaments made of glass, wood, or metals. These are sustainable materials for decorating your tree. Stained glass oranments, pewter, silver, cotton, or inen ornaments are better for your health. Use real evergreen branches, berries, and holly to decorate your tree and home.
Ornament madeof pinecones, shells, fabric, or bamboo are other choices. Some ornaments may be made of recycled material sold in stores and at craft fairs. These materials are better for your health and often less expensive.
Switch to LED Lights as they will save you about 80% on your electric bill. Turn off the lights outside and on the tree when you go out or are sleeping. Reduce the amount of outdoor light you use. Keep it simple.
Silver Star Source: Christmas Stock Images
Give Useful Gifts And Cut Down On The Amount
We all get gifts at Christmas that we do not want or need. It is better to ask your family and friends what they want before purchasing. Do they have a hobby or interest, like certain food or beverages like wine, chocolates, baking, cooking, sports, and the list goes on.
Giving gifts like gardening tools, potted plants, bulbs, handmade crafts, pottery, jewlery, leather, gourmet candy, coffee, tea, a wool sweater, cotton or linen bed sheets, organic cosmetics, glassware, knitted hats, or gloves and mittens is a good choice.
A pratctical gift can be tools for home repair, a wood working kit, a gift card for books, a cooking class , a day at the spa, or clothing. Be creative and think about what you are giving and what the person likes or needs.
Gifts Under the Tree/ Magnus D/ Flicker
Plan a Healthy Menu
Source: Espanol News
You don't have to become a vegetarian to eat a healthy meal. Add more fruits and vegetable dishes to your menu. Shop locally and buy grass fed meats and poultry that is not raised with hormones and antibiotics. Look for wild caught fish. For snacks serve nuts, figs, dates, popcorn, fruit, and vegetables with dip.
Serve appetizers like grapefruit, fruit salad, vegetables and dip, shrimp cocktail, cheese and cracker, hummus, smoked salmon, pork or chicken skewers with sauce, deviled eggs, and spinch dip with crackers.
Serve soup and salads it is one of the best ways to get more vegetables in your holiday meals. Vegetable side dishes are another way to include more vegetables in meals. If you family does not eat too much consider cutting down on the amount of food you make. Try to make dishes that can be eaten as leftovers.
Too much sugar is not good for your health. Consider buying or making less desserts this year. Try having four dessert instead of 10. If you have several guests offer to let them take some home. Buy some of your produce from local farm markets and local meat or poultry producers.
Try to eliminate food waste as much as possible. Cooking sites to find healthy holiday recipes are Eating Well, Pioneer Woman, Brit and Company, Taste of Home, and Leites Culinaria.
Outdoor Activities
Walking/Hiking Source: Goodfree Photos
Visit a Christmas town and walk around to look at the decorations, shop, and enjoy the atmosphere. Weather permitting go to local park decorated for Christmas and walk during the day. Visit an indoor or outdoor ice skating ring with your friends or family. If you live in a cold climate dress warmly.
Hiking, walking or running are good ways to exercise during the holidays.
Other activities for outdoors are sledding, making a snowman, snowshoeing, or shoveling.
Ice Skating Rink Source: Flicker/ Southie 3
References:
How to Have An Eco-Friendly Christmas, Christmasphere, 2023
25 Ways To Have An Eco-Friendly Christmas by Ellis Cochrane, Country Living, November 2021
How To Have A Green Christmas, George Seaman, Eartheasy, 2023
How to Have A More Sustainable Christmas, by Elizabeth Hotson, BBC December 2019
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