sends me running to Toys 'R Us. It's as if a switch goes off in my brain that says, "Must buy tons of toys for Christmas morning or the kids will cry their eyes out." This could stem from personal issues. My family still laughs over how I would sob after opening my last gift, devastated that I would have to wait another year before tearing into a pile of presents. But I digress. This article isn't about "confessions of a former material girl" but how we've changed our holiday habits for the greater good. I've been pleasantly surprised to discover that less waste equals more joy, time and meaning. That's what green Holidays is all about. Here are some steps that my family and friends are following to get there:
1. Take a thrift-store detour. In my post A Different Way to Do Black Friday, I share the story of a friend who discovered the fun of thrift-store shopping. It's not just a bargain - it's an adventure!
2. Buy a real Christmas tree. Most artificial trees contain PVCs. According to the Children's Health Environmental Coalition, the manufacture of PVC creates and disperses dioxins, which include the most toxic man-made chemical known. Released into air or water, dioxins are a potential risk for causing cancer, damaging immune functions and impairing children's development. Also, artificial trees manufactured in China travel about 7,000 miles, causing even more pollution. Keep it local and healthy with a real tree.
3. Channel Holiday spirit into earth-and-people healing charities. Jewish World Watch's Solar Cooker Project protects female refugees from rape and violence by limiting the need to go on dangerous excursions to collect firewood for cooking (click here for video). Women and girls who have fled the genocide of Darfur, Sudan are particularly vulnerable. JWW reduces the frequency of these heinous crimes by giving the women an alternative cooking option: the solar cooker. A $30 SOLAR COOKER donation provides 2 solar cookers per family and vital skills training for refugee women and girls.
4. Plan a staycation. Many gifts are forgotten minutes after the wrapping comes off. Enjoy the gift of anticipation: tickets to the Dallas International Film Festival. Memberships start at $250; individual screening tickets are just $10." According to DIFF board advisor Rob Ganger, "this is a way to keep your commerce in Dallas, the ultimate in eco-consciousness behavior." Rob suggests sweetening the deal with a stay at the Palomar hotel, a Kimpton (eco-friendly) hotel. Most screenings are across the street at the Angelika Theater. The event runs from April 12 - 22, 2012.
5. Give the gift of green. Try giving eco-friendly gifts this year. Here are a few great places and items to consider:
- Blue Avocado offers eco-chic shopping kits for foodies and moms-on-the-go.
- Green Living, a local favorite since 2003, is Dallas' premier purveyor of earth friendly goods for the home.
- The Ultimate Green Store is a wonderful web-based destination for eco-conscious products for home, office, kids, pets and personal use.
- NRDC's Green Gift collection contains 40 tax-deductible items, including a personalized card. These presents are perfect for people who are passionate about protecting wildlife, saving wild places, supporting renewable energy and fighting climate change.
- WWF offers a wide selection of creative gifts that support the efforts of the World Wildlife Fund.
- Help a friend or family member save as much as $7,000 per year by living green. Give a copy of my book Green, American Style.
6. Reuse wrapping paper (and consider making your own from recyclable objects like fabric or the Sunday funnies). This is a great activity to stave off the inevitable letdown that follows a frenzy of gift-opening. It's a fun ritual to see how much tissue paper you can salvage. (Can you believe how expensive it is to buy this stuff new?) Being able to pull lovely "recycled" gift bags and tissue out of your supply closet all year long is a gift that keeps on giving.
7. Prepare an earth-friendly feast. Hank Will, editor of Grit magazine, explains that not all turkeys are created equal. Heritage turkeys - traditional fowl native to America - are natural, ethical and delicious. By contrast, the turkey on the average American's table is an industrial product that has been so intensely selected to efficiently produce breast meat that no longer mates naturally or produces fertile eggs without artificial intervention.
8. Stay in and bake together. While co-hosting CNN's Mother Earth News radio with Andrea Ridout, I sampled producer Jennifer Weisensel's scrumptious homemade Pumpkin & Winter Squash Pie. Jennifer prepared it from Myra Goodman's Earthbound Cookbook, full of savory eco-friendly dishes.
Earth-friendly holidays don't have to be complicated. In a word, it's all about LOVE for our families as well as our global neighbors. That is the ultimate renewable resource and the reason for the season.
