Green Christmas.  Where we live, those are not happy thoughts.  My children were horrified at the beginning of December because they thought we were going to have a green Christmas.  To put it in perspective, we live in Canada.  Their idea of a green Christmas was one where there wasn’t enough snow to completely cover the ground.  We still had snow, but not enough for my little Canucks to consider it a white Christmas.  My little six-year old son sang “I’m dreaming of a white Christmas” for a week, and when we finally got a good snowstorm he was fully convinced that it was because he wished it into existence.  Maybe he did.

These days I am working hard towards having a green Christmas.   Of course I’m still in love with the white stuff and you’ve figured out by now that what I’m talking about is an environmentally friendly holiday celebration.

Christmas is perhaps one of the least eco-friendly times of the year.  Now before you start accusing me of being a scrooge, I will defend myself by letting you know that I am quite the opposite.  I love the holidays.  I love snow, and decorating, candles and Christmas lights.  I get the itch to decorate as soon as Halloween is over, but I usually manage to hold off until mid-November.  I send Christmas cards, I bake cookies and gingerbread houses with the kids.  We write letters to Santa at the North Pole and anxiously await his replies.  I am not a grinch…but I maintain what I said.  These days Christmas is filled with non-recyclable wrapping paper, overspending on plastic toys that don’t get used, and waste.  So, so, so, much waste.

I don’t know about you, but I’m not ready to give up our holiday traditions.  But I have made an effort to change some of them to make our celebrations a little more environmentally friendly Here are some of my ideas.

*Environmentally Friendly Wrapping Paper*

Did you know that a large percentage of wrapping paper doesn’t actually contain much paper?  A lot of it is layered with foil and plastic that is non recyclable.  Even the paper wrap that is available becomes difficult to recycle because it is covered with ribbons, bows, and pieces of tape.  So what are some environmentally friendly alternatives to traditional wrapping?

*Reusable gift bags.  If you can tear them (which means they’re made from paper, not plastic) and are not covered in foil or glitter, then these are a great option.  Not only can you reuse them, but you can recycle them when they’ve worn out their use.

*Recycled wrapping paper.  Look for gift wrap that is made from recycled paper (check out this website for some gorgeous, responsible gift wrap).  Or recycle your own using old comic strips.

*Cloth bags or reusable shopping bags.  Check out places like www.reusablebags.com for bags in different prints and colors.  These bags can hold your gift but can also be used over and over again.

*Other cloth ideas.  Are you giving somebody something for their kitchen?  Why not wrap their gift in tea towels that they can also use.  How about wrapping bath items in a new towel.  Use a tablecloth, laundry bags, sheets, pillowcases.  The ideas are endless for cloth wrapping that can be used by the person receiving their gift.

*For embellishment - use cloth ribbons or ties, lengths of jute or hemp, jump ropes for kids presents.  Get creative!

*Make your own – buy some plain brown wrapping paper and let your kids go crazy with their crayons or paints.  Or find your inner artist and paint it yourself.

As you can see, there are a lot of  eco-conscious alternatives to the usual gift wrap.  The key here is to get creative and think outside the box.  I hope you have a green Christmas!