I love Christmas. I like setting everything up, and Christmas traditions, and Zoo Lights. And presents. Wrapping presents is one of my favorite-favorite things to do. And there are always so many cute new decorations in stores.
Today I saw a picture (on Hostess with the Mostest) of a styrofoam tree that was sprayed in glue and rolled in glitter snow. So cute! So simple! So cheap! A couple would look great on my 11-foot mantel. But--styrofoam? Sooo bad for the planet. And they probably take up some decent space to store. Keeping something around when you have limited space for a month per year seems silly (and I've already got plenty of Christmas decor in my storage unit).
And then there's the wrapping. My only black Friday purchase was $40 at Michaels. They had 50% off wrapping paper, and I got four rolls of solids (and, um, three rolls of patterns). It's hard to find solids on sale and I love dressing them up with fun ribbon (which made up most of the rest of my purchase, with a bit of card-making stuff thrown in).
I also buy a live tree. That's the most conflict-inducing decision there is, but to not have a tree feels so sad. Especially when I host a cookie exchange and a party and actual Christmas dinner in my condo. And fakes are so...fake (and have their own host of environmental issues).
So here's the deal:
This Christmas, I need to spend some time to figure out how the things I love about the season fit with my values. And it will be a balance. I don't WANT to wrap peoples presents in grocery bags (besides, I bring my own, so I don't have those). And I like decorating.
How do you make Christmas just a little greener?
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