I'm Dreaming of a Green Christmas......

Even though I respect the turkey and generally dislike the idea of putting up Christmas/Holiday/Winter themed decorations BEFORE Thanksgiving, you can't help but have it on your mind as your mailbox starts to flood with catalogs, stores are playing Christmas music incessantly, Victoria's Secret starts showing countless ads on TV again....
With all the consumption and commercialization surrounding Christmas, it's easy to be tempted to drop a small fortune on decor and gifts! So what's a person to do if you're trying to be more green??

In the next couple of weeks I'm going to post some ideas focusing on how to make your Christmas (and other holidays) more green, as there are plenty of ways you can go about it.

For starters, Home Depot is advertising something wonderful (which I posted last week on my Facebook page):
The Christmas Light Trade-In!!

http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ContentView?pn=SF_EV_Christmas_Light_Trade-In&langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053&cm_mmc=hd_email-_-102809_GC-1028-Wed-_-1027-GC21-_-LED-VAL

Bring in your old used/broken Christmas light strands and get $3 back toward the purchase of new eco-friendly LED Christmas Light Strands! LED lights use much less energy than the traditional bulbs, so you'll save money on your electric bill. They also last up to 10 times as long as traditional bulbs, too, so you'll stretch your money even further!

Another thing you can do, as the catalogs start piling up in the recycle bin- is to call the companies who are sending them and request to be removed from their mailing list (unless you regularly order from them). A lot of companies share names and once you're subscribed to one, you end up getting 5 affiliate catalogs as well. (As a plus side to this, often when you call to unsubscribe from one, they will take you off the shared list- but it's hard to know exactly who shares with who.)

One last tip for today is to look for handmade gifts and decor, rather than mass-produced. Many towns and cities have gift shops where local artists sell their one-of-a-kind handmade items, so see if you can find one! And if you prefer to shop online (like me), try Etsy! They have just about everything you could ever want. To get even greener, try the Shop Local option and your item won't have to travel as far to get to you! You'll be surprised at how many local handmade goods you can find!