6 Ways to Green the Holidays

The aftershocks of Black Friday may have you thinking green.  The holiday season is a time of excess; lots of food, decorations, and more toys arrive at once than any other time of the year.  Every once in a while a little indulgence is okay, but that excess can take a toll not only on your waistline or wallet, but also on the environment.  If you worry about the environmental impact of all those presents, decorations, and food; here are 6 ways to ‘green’ your holidays:

1. Use “LED″ energy saving holiday lights: Using LED lights can save your family up to $50 a month during the holiday season not to mention using 90% less energy than regular holiday lights.
2.  Recycle old toys: In the realm of gift exchange it is good to both give and receive.  After all the new toys arrive or even before, have your children collect all the toys they no longer play with and donate them to a charity, Goodwill, or the Salvation Army so that others can use those toys and they will not go to waste.   You can also check online or in the papers for gently used toys to give as presents, which can save a lot of money as well as excess waste.
3. Buy local: When it comes to holiday meals and presents, try to buy locally whenever you can which supports not only your community but also the environment.
4. Make your own wrapping paper: Think about the giant trash bags full of nothing but paper, ever wonder where it goes? Since most if it is not recyclable it ends up in landfills.  There are many ways to create your own paper with newspaper, paper shopping bags, bandanas, scarves, or even festive dish towels.  You could also put presents in reusable grocery bags for a totally reusable wrapping. If every family wrapped only 3 presents this way you could save enough paper to fill 45,000 football fields.
5. Recycle your tree: If by chance you celebrate Christmas and get a tree every year, you could either buy one that is reusable or recycle your tree when you are finished.  Trees cannot fit in your recycling bin with plastics and papers and over 10 million Christmas trees end up landfills each year.  Visit Earth911 to find out where you can recycle your tree or any other holiday items you won’t be reusing.