Archives: Whose Birthday Is It, Anyway? #5I'm Dreaming of a Green Christmas |
by Miriam Youngquist-Thurow
Christmas comes our way once more, it's difficult not to succumb to the advertising and hype enticing us to buy, buy, buy! Most of us spend as much as 70 percent of our discretionary income in November and December. Christmas accounts for more than a fifth of retail sales and two-fifths of store profits. These figures don't even begin to acknowledge the outrageous amount of waste produced by the biggest shopping binge of the year. Come December 26th, needle-bare Christmas trees, bags of crushed wrapping paper and discarded gift packaging sit in mounds at curbside. The production of gifts, decorations, party supplies, as well as travel for shopping and visiting place an even greater burden on our environment and its natural resources.
While gift-giving, decorating and celebrating together is often fun, we must keep in focus the reason behind our celebration: the joyous response to the greatest gift God gave to us, Jesus Christ. With that in mind, we could guess Jesus would be pleased if we honored his birthday and showed consideration for God's creation at the same time.
The following ideas will help to make your Christmas "green." Many of the ideas will be familiar, coming from traditions of days past; others may be new. Put a check next to the ones you will do. When you use even one alternative to the spending, consumptive mania, you will be taking a step toward greening up the Christmas season.
DECORATIONS
North Americans cut 35 million Christmas trees every year. We decorate our Christmas trees, our homes and our yards with countless strands of lights. We buy packaged tinsel which we discard soon after the holidays are over. While we might be able to spout off the cost of a pre-cut, 6 foot Christmas tree and the price of a light-up ornament, we seldom consider the costs to the environment. What resources are used to produce our decorations? Where are hazardous production wastes disposed? How much valuable electricity do our lights use? What happens to the tree, tinsel, and empty cans of imitation snow after they leave our curb? Consider the following earth-friendly decorating tips.
Christmas Tree
___ Consider purchasing a live tree that can be planted in the yard. (In northern climates, it helps to dig the hole before the ground freezes.) Ask a local nursery or the Cooperative Extension Service for information on native trees, care and planting.
___ Use an artificial tree. Even though it may seem "unnatural," you save the life of a tree every time you use it. (Purchase a well-made artificial tree that will last for years as the manufacture of plastic trees causes toxic pollution.)
___ If you buy a cut tree, recycle it after the holidays. Place it near a bird feeder where birds can use it as cover. Or use dried branches and needles for mulch or compost and use the trunk for firewood. (Don't burn branches as the resins can cause chimney fires.) Find out if a local nature center needs wood chips for trails and ask if they have a chipper. Call a nursery or local solid waste removal service to find out who is recycling trees in your area.
___ Use bits of nature to hang on the tree: pine cones, acorns, shells, dried flowers, unique small sticks or driftwood, etc.
___ Use discarded toys, scrap materials, cardboard, bits of ribbon and some imagination to create a myriad of ornaments.
___ Make dough ornaments: Use 4 cups flour, 1 cup salt, 1.5 cups water, and food coloring. Mix everything together and roll out with a rolling pin. Use a knife, cookie cutters or container lids to make shapes. Press an ornament hook or loop of string into the dough for hanging. Bake at 150 degrees until shapes become hard. Paint the ornaments, if you wish.
___ Use dried grasses or milkweed fluff from dry pods as a tinsel substitute. (Don't open milkweed pods until ready to decorate.) Use reusable glass icicles.
___ Other:
Indoors
___ Make compostable wreaths. Dried fruits and vegetables make colorful additions to vine or evergreen wreaths. (Use a wire hanger to shape.) You can also use bits of nature: acorns or other nuts, dried leaves, pine cones, shells, sand dollars, dried flowers.
___ Use the front of old Christmas cards to decorate walls and doorways.
___ Use paper or cardboard to make Christian symbols to hang in windows or about the house. Make snowflakes out of construction paper or crochet some.
___ Other:
Outdoors
___ Decorate outside trees with things the birds and squirrels will enjoy: popcorn and cranberry strings; pine cones covered with a peanut butter/corn meal mixture (Plain peanut butter can cause birds to choke.); corn-on-the-cob or cracked corn.
___ Other:
"GREEN" GIFTS
With a little energy and thought, we can give gifts that respect the receiver and God's creation. Expensive store-bought gifts with excessive packaging not only cost the buyer a lot, they also cost our environment. And when we go hunting from store to store for that "perfect" gift, we use gallons and gallons of gasoline; every gallon of gasoline we use releases about 20 pounds of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. By making gifts, carefully selecting purchased gifts, and using creative gift-wrap, we can make our Christmas giving more "green." Here are some ideas.
Make Gifts
___ Construct building blocks from lumberyard scraps. Cut, sand, and paint if desired.
___ Sew some durable, reusable grocery bags from heavy material.
___ Cover boxes with fabric for various uses: big boxes for toys down to little boxes for jewelry or odds and ends.
___ Make cloth napkins out of absorbent and stain-camouflaging fabric.
___ Design a calendar with favorite photos or children's artwork.
___ Give plants in hand-decorated pots.
___ Fill a basket with wildflower seeds or vegetable seeds.
___ Build a birdhouse or bird feeder. Make up your own design or get plans from a nature center, library or bookstore. You might even give a supply of birdseed.
___ Give jelly, cookies, or one of your holiday food specialties. Pack in reusable jars or tins.
___ Consider other talents you have to give.
___ Other:
When Buying Gifts
___ Buy gifts that the recipient really needs. Don't buy gifts targeted to "the person who has everything."
___ Choose gifts that promote awareness of environmental issues and encourage action.
___ Consider how a gift is packaged: Is the packaging recyclable? Is it biodegradable? Is it excessive?
___ Consider the materials the gift is made of and how it was produced.
___ Give gifts made by Third-World craftspeople.
___ Avoid buying gifts which require the use of electricity, gasoline or batteries.
___ Other:
Gift Wrapping
___ Buy recycled wrapping paper.
___ Save the comics and use them, or even the regular newsprint.
___ Use the fronts of old Christmas cards for decorative touches or name tags.
___ Use tissue paper and decorate with a festive stamp and ink. You can make a stamp by carving a potato.
___ Wrap gifts with old maps.
___ Use cloth napkins or scarves.
___ Wrap a gift in a pillow case, a decorative towel, a t-shirt, a mitten, etc. (The wrapping can be part of the gift.)
___ Replace bows with evergreens, dried or silk flowers, snowflake cutouts, berries, paper cranes, etc.
___ Other:
EVENTS
Family and community gatherings during the holidays are an important and fulfilling part of our Christmas celebrations. Sometimes, though, we get carried away and plan elaborate affairs that take a toll on our budgets, our environment and our spirits. Consider these ideas to create joyful "green" celebrations.
Outings
___ Plan a family outing that doesn't involve shopping. Go hiking at a nearby nature center or park. Go ice skating, sledding, biking, bowling, horseback riding, etc.
___ Check with nearby camps, State Parks, or nature organizations to find out about and take part in events they have planned.
___ Volunteer to plant trees in poor urban areas or parks. If weather is too cold, make arrangements to volunteer in the spring.
___ Organize a group to pick up trash in your neighborhood.
___ Other:
Entertaining at Home
___ Turn down the thermostat to conserve fuel. Body heat from your guests will keep the temperature warm.
___ Use regular dishes and cloth napkins instead of paper throw-away products.
___ Buy snack items in the largest possible size to cut down on packaging waste.
___ Other:
These suggestions are merely a springboard for ideas you and your family can develop. Consider other ways you can bring the full meaning of Christmas to your family while doing God's creation a service at the same time.
Author
Miriam Youngquist-Thurow is the Environmental Education Director at Lutherlyn, a camp, conference and retreat center of the ELCA in Prospect, Pennsylvania.
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This page last updated 22 October 2012
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