A green Christmas -- 10 tips for an Earth-friendly holiday

From your tree to your wrapping paper, make it a green Christmas with easy ways to keep your festive celebrations eco-friendly and fun.

Updated:: 2009-12-03 11:20

Published:: 2006-12-01 00:00

By: Carlye Malchuk

Environmental tips 1-5

Christmas is a time that can bring out the best in people, yet it seems to bring out the worst of our environmental consciousness (think rolls of disposable wrapping paper clogging landfills and miles of twinkling lights stressing power plants). Despite the typical overconsumption of all that is disposable and energy-intensive during the holidays, making a few changes to your holiday preparation can allow you to have a white Christmas that helps to keep the planet green. Here are 10 tips:

1. A real tree can be an environmental choice this Christmas. For every tree harvested at a tree farm, another 10 are planted to ensure a crop every year; and one acre of Christmas trees on a farm will produce enough oxygen to support about 18 people and remove up to 13 tonnes of airborne pollutants per year. Although Christmas trees have been a problem for landfills in the past, many municipalities now chip them for mulching material. If your town doesn't recycle, use the branches and needles for mulch in your garden.

2. Buy a potted tree native to your region from a nursery and plant it once the holidays are over. This may require digging a hole in the yard before the ground freezes and covering it with plywood until New Year's. Or buy a potted Norfolk Island Pine, which can survive indoors year-round and serve as your tree for many Christmases to come.

3. Switch your Christmas tree twinklers to LED (Light Emitting Diode) lights. LEDs come in the same brilliant colours as standard lights and use a fraction of the wattage of your older ones. They'll also hold up better to the task of putting up and taking down the strings every year, saving you from hours of searching for that one broken bulb.

4. Before heading to the store for decorations, check your backyard. Make a centrepiece out of pinecones, or hang evergreen tree boughs over entranceways. Decorate your tree with edible decorations like popcorn strings or cranberry wreaths (thread 10 to 15 cranberries on a string and tie to create a wreath).

5. Instead of buying trinkets or packaging-laden gift baskets for friends, give a gift certificate for a dinner out or theatre tickets. Or make your own vouchers, good for a night of free babysitting.

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