‘Tis the season to gather with the ones we love to celebrate good food, laughs and gift exchanges. Despite what the toy catalogs tell you, the best holiday doesn’t have to be over-the-top. Your gatherings, big or small, can return to simplicity when you focus on what really matters.
Deck the Halls Naturally
Let nature inspire your decorating. Ferns, pinecones, pine branches and evergreens are great alternatives to plastic decorations. My standard holiday centerpiece is a glass bowl with a candle surrounded by pinecones. Add color with whole cranberries floating in a glass vase that is filled with evergreens. Skip the toxic petroleum-based scented candles and opt for evergreens combined with simmering a pot of water with cinnamon sticks, orange peels and cloves.
Less is More
If waste-free isn’t completely doable, you can still be “waste mindful”. While the average American throws away 25% more during the weeks between Thanksgiving and New Years, you can easily ensure your family isn’t part of this statistic through planning and creativity. Skip the disposable plates and plastic cutlery and instead use real dishes and silverware. Don’t have enough pieces? Borrow from a friend or stock up for cheap at a thrift store or IKEA. Once you have a stock of party plates and cutlery, you can use them for any gathering that you have… or even lend them out to friends and family for their parties.
Don’t buy “landfill” toys that break after 30 minutes of play. Look for gifts that are free of bulky plastic packaging that can’t be recycled. You probably won’t find gifts like this in your local chain toy store. Check out Etsy, your local market, or craft fairs. And when it comes time to wrap these gifts, think outside the roll and make your own paper. Blankets, towels, craft paper and packing paper all make great alternatives to traditional wrapping paper. We draw ridiculously inaccurate holiday images on the paper and then wrap our handpicked gifts with it. It may not meet Martha Stewart’s standards, but it is re-purposed, recyclable and a whole lot of fun.
Meaningful Memories
Start a new tradition by shifting the focus away from things, and more toward experiences. Make your holidays about adventure, love, fun and memories. Custom dinners with farmers, baking classes, museum passes, winery tours and art classes are all on my list of experiences to look into for our friends and family. You can introduce this concept into any portion of your gift giving; including buying hostess gifts for any holiday parties that you may attend.
Jen Eyers-McLaughlin is a realistic environmentalist. She shares her journey to live a more sustainable life on Jen and Joey Go Green. Word around the campfire is that she makes one heck of a S’more.
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