| Each Christmas, our family continues to find | | | | or burn candles to add a real Christmas ambiance. |
| innovative ways to reduce our impact on the | | | | Gift Wrap - again none is better but if you wish |
| environment. Here are some ideas that your | | | | to keep it a surprise, try wrapping in materials |
| family may like to consider: | | | | you already have around the house such as |
| Christmas Trees - we eliminated our tree | | | | newspaper, bags or last year's saved wrappings. |
| altogether and we place our gifts around a festive | | | | You can draw your own Christmas designs onto |
| stuffed Christmas Santa Bear. If this is too drastic | | | | plane looking bags. You could also wrap one gift |
| a change for your family then go for a potted, | | | | inside another such as a tea or bath towel. |
| live tree that you can replant after Christmas. Still | | | | Shopping - remember to bring your own bags and |
| not comfortable, then choose a live cut tree over | | | | look for products with no or minimal packaging. |
| an artificial tree that and can be taken to the | | | | Buy locally made or search for used items in good |
| chipper afterwards to ensure there is no waste. | | | | condition. |
| They smell nicer too. | | | | Gifts - apply green thinking to your gift giving as |
| Cards - by far one of the most wasteful | | | | well. Think about giving services like hair and spa |
| traditions we practice. Think of the volumes of | | | | treatments or booking family vacations or outings. |
| paper need, the energy used in manufacturing and | | | | Buy locally made items or give homemade gifts. |
| transporting the cards first to the stores and then | | | | Search for e-gifts that can be digitally downloaded |
| to your recipients. Try a phone call instead to | | | | such as music, video games or online courses. |
| connect with friends and family or send an e-card | | | | Re-gifting is no longer taboo in the sustainable |
| via e-mail. A nice idea is to setup an online family | | | | world. |
| album with pictures taken throughout the year | | | | Food - as much as possible buy food that is both |
| and send a link to friends and family. If you do | | | | organic and locally produced. Not only is this more |
| get cards sent to you, save them for the | | | | sustainable but it is comes with great health |
| following year and make cut-outs from their | | | | benefits as well. |
| pictures to reuse as gift tags. | | | | Entertaining - avoid paper and plastic as much as |
| Decorations - reduce where possible but still keep | | | | possible by serving your local organic food on real |
| it festive for that Christmas feeling. Try | | | | dishes. Collaborate with friends and family to share |
| homemade decorations such as popcorn strings | | | | dishes for large gatherings. Real napkins and |
| and making decorations from recycled materials. | | | | tablecloths will also go along way to reduce waste. |
| Use LED lights both inside and outside the house | | | | |