Here are a few ideas to add to what you have…hope they are useful to many!

GIFTS/TOYS
The key here is to buy items that have the least impact on our environment without sacrificing personalization.

•Consider shopping second-hand or antique shops
•Give gift certificates or tickets for services or special events
•Buy items made of natural materials such as wooden or paper instead of plastic
•Give books or magazines instead of purchasing items that won’t be used
•Buy consumable items such as candles or perfume rather than items not needed
•Purchase items that are recyclable made from recycled materials

COOKING
•Compost your kitchen scraps (fruit and vegetables, no meat or grease)
•Buy drinks in large containers rather than individual
•Buy local at farmer’s market for fresh food items such as ingredients or breads
•Use local, independent catering businesses/services

ENTERTAINING
•Use cloth napkins, silver and glass ware, ceramic mugs and reusable plates
•Choose paper disposables over plastic or Styrofoam
•Rent party furnishings or decorations rather than buying things you’ll only use once
•Reuse plastic margarine or yogurt containers to store or give holiday leftovers.

DECORATING
OLD decorations –
Reuse last year’s decorations
Donate to schools, shelters or other non profit

NEW decorations
Consider natural items such as pine cones, berries or dried flowers

RECYCLE YOUR CHRISTMAS TREE!
You can help preserve the environment by dropping off your trees at any of the 14 drop-off locations provided by The City of Houston Solid Waste Management and Living Earth Technology Co. beginning December 26, 2008.

Homes with City of Houston Automated Garbage Collection also have the option to leave their trees at the curb for collection. Please remove tinsel, plastic bags, tree stands and water bowls.

A list of Christmas tree recycling drop-off centers will be available beginning December 3, 2008 at http://www.houstonsolidwaste.org.

Off to dream of a Green Chrismas….Happy Holidays to all!

That is so true. We usually only get one bag from wrapping paper, but all of those boxes and stuff from the toys. I’m going to try and find something to do with those.

The tags for next year are a good idea.

I’m going to try and do some research to see what else the City and outer areas will recycle over the Holiday seasons. It would be nice to have local options. You can only make and reuse so much after all.

How many trash bags of wrapping paper do you fill? You know the famous game of someone holding open the black trash bag while another person unwraps the box, wads up the paper and throws it across the room for a “hoop shot” into the trash bag. This can be just as much fun, by using the comic section of the newspaper as wrapping paper. It’s colorful, and it covers the 3 R’s..reuse, reduce and recycle.

Gift tags…use last year’s Christmas cards as the gift tag. It’s also fun to re read the cards from previous years. Cut the front of the card and use it as the gift tag.

Gift giving is inherently an environmental burden, from traveling to the store, to its final destination, there’s nothing “green”. Instead of buying something, why not make a donation to a charitable organization of choice in the name of your gift recipient.