(MS) -- With the holidays upon us, the return of holiday traditions is upon us as well. Thanksgiving football games, Christmas mornings spent opening gifts, and New Year's parties are a few of the more standard traditions most families partake in this time of year.
Another tradition of the holiday season is decorating. Houses adorned with colorful lights and halls decked out with holiday decor are a common element in households across the country during the holiday season. However, too often decorations and the various other traditions of the holiday season are less than environmentally friendly. Fortunately, there are ways to make this holiday season both festive and friendly to the environment.
* Alter your party plans: Parties are a big part of the holiday season, whether they're office parties, gatherings with family, or simply friends getting together to enjoy some good times. Though paper napkins and plates offer convenience, they aren't exactly beneficial to the environment. Sustainable items such as cloth napkins and reusable plates, are an easy way to make a holiday party environmentally friendly. There are even companies that specialize in organic and sustainable linens.
* Give more responsibly: Gift giving is arguably the most common of all holiday traditions. But the pageantry associated with gift giving often has a negative impact on the environment. Tissue paper and ribbons cannot be recycled. In lieu of such items, consider wrapping gifts in the Sunday comics, posters or go the easy (and reusable) route by placing gifts in gift bags instead of wrapping paper, tissue paper and ribbon.
* Decorate with natural scents and oils: Natural scents and oils can create the ambience many people want around their home during the holidays. On the positive side, these natural scents and oils don't provide the downside that aerosol sprays and even some scented candles do. Such items can be harmful to the environment, while natural scents and oils pack the same punch without the negative impact.
* Grow your own trees: If you have the room on your property, growing your own evergreen could be a good way to go this season. While planting won't pay immediate decorating dividends, it will pay off in the long run, and save you money as well. If you can plant an evergreen, as that tree begins to grow, you can trim its branches to use for decorating around the home. Once it's grown to an adequate size, you can then use that as your Christmas tree. This process can keep repeating itself so long as you have the room to plant the tree.
* Do your shopping from home: One of the more stressful aspects of the holiday season is holiday shopping. Eliminating that stress is not only healthy, but helpful to the environment as well. Rather than driving to the nearby mall or shopping district throughout the holiday season, consider shopping online. When shopping online, you aren't wasting any fuel, nor are you sitting idly in traffic and contributing to air pollution.
Content courtesy of Metro Services
