By May Long

The Christmas season arrives amid a flurry of activity: planning holiday parties, trimming the tree, stringing lights, selecting and wrapping gifts and cooking meals for guests. Sometimes those purchases and plans steal the spotlight from the joy and traditions that mark this festive time of year.  In all that seasonal frenzy and merrymaking, it’s easy to forget the unintended consequences our celebrations have on the planet. In the months of November and December, each household throws away 25 percent more trash. In fact, according to the Ecology Center in Berkeley, California, Americans toss more than five million tons of additional trash between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Eve. We need to find ways to have a true green Christmas.

The season of giving all too often turns into the season of griping. This is a time when we can easily lose focus of our values and get caught up in the commercial side. The idea of Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle can’t be heard over the roar of the mall crowd, and our efforts to simplify seem simple-minded. But before you collapse under the pressure of another commercialized Christmas, consider giving your family the best gift you can: a green Christmas.

This season provides an excellent opportunity for replacing wasteful behavior with newer, environmentally responsible actions. Take care of yourself and the earth with ideas based on green values you practice all year long. And the first thing that comes to mind when planning a green Christmas is your Christmas tree.

When it comes to Christmas trees, you may wonder what is the most eco-friendly tree choice- cut, live, or artificial? Live trees are a great choice if they’ll be properly planted and taken care of once the holidays are over. Make sure they are of a variety appropriate for your region. Cut trees should be purchased from responsibly managed forests, then mulched afterwards. Artificial trees have a much longer life span but should only be purchased if the manufacturer can certify the tree is not made with harmful chemicals or plastics, like PVC. Look for artificial trees that are made with nontoxic recycled materials and pre-strung energy-saving LED lights. Remember that after months of storage artificial trees can accumulate dust and mold spores. Be certain to air them out before bringing them indoors.

A white Christmas may be ideal, but a green Christmas is even better. Finding more eco-friendly gift ideas will help make your Christmas better all around. Consider giving gifts that don’t cost a cent. Giving the gift of time, such as offering a winter’s worth of snow shoveling, will keep material good from ending up in a landfill. Making your own gifts, like birdhouses, cookies or candles, or shopping at second-hand stores will cut back on resources as well. Other earth friendly ideas include canvas grocery bags, organic personal care products, and jewelry made from recycled materials. Donating to a charity is another possibility, but be aware that some people think giving to a charity should be their choice, and that some teens want an iPod in their hand, not donations in their name.