The Green Christmas Inquiry – 8 ways to Celebrate with Mother Earth’s Blessing

Today’s blog post is part of a blog party on the topic of Holiday Consumerism.  I’m blogging in concert with Carole Jane Treggett, Sarah O’Leary and Sue Mitchell who have some very interesting things to say on the topic so be sure to visit their posts as well!

I really hadn’t planned on writing this post. I had some vague notion that I could personally do a better job of having a more environmentally friendly Christmas but I wasn’t really sure I could pull it off. First of all I am a complete Christmas fanatic. At one point in my life I put up FIVE, yes five, Christmas Trees in my apartment, each with a different theme. My favorite was the one I decked with blue and green lights and decorated with only fish ornaments. It was an undersea spectacular! Actually each of them were spectacular in their own right, Austrian style with straw ornaments, a Santa specific themed one, an ornament free tree and the show piece which was a hugely over decorated thing with more tinsel and “snow” then a Macy’s store front display.

Second, I ALWAYS have these ideas milling about in my head but I honestly never get around to doing half of what I think might make a difference, Then I start to get all angry with myself for not being able to do what I think may be good and right and then I end up doing nothing. Perhaps this happens to you too? Somehow you have a vision of how things are supposed to look but, if or when you realize that isn’t going to happen, well then you just go ahead and scrap the whole idea and default to the status quo.

As an example, this translates to my wanting to make and use only homemade and recycled items for gift wrap but in the last minute preparation fury resorting to grabbing that cute elf paper at Walgreens. Or knowing that we really don’t NEED anything but feeling like my child will somehow be gypped out of her childhood if Santa doesn’t fill her extra large stocking to the brim. I say I want to make a difference in the environmental exploitation of the planet yet at Christmastime I allow myself to get swept up in the wasteful, glittery excess.

Then a friend of mine, weary of her own Christmas shopping posted that she wished instead it could be “Christmas doing.” Rather then running around trying to buy something, perhaps we should be “doing” something together. Wow, that’s brilliant. Thinking of my own solitary treks to the mall, spending some hopeless number of hours not enjoying my friends and family for the hope of causing their fleeting enjoyment on Christmas morning I realize that the equation just doesn’t add up. What we really want, time and enjoyment together, has been replaced with to-do lists and lots of solitary time trying to get it all done.

So I began my own inquiry. What could Christmas look like if I actually honored my heart and the earth?

I want to keep all the Joy and delight of the season but do it in a way that makes Mother Earth proud. All the glitz and over the top glam that we have all become accustomed to just isn’t the kind of Christmas our hearts or Mother earth yearn for. My heart breaks when I hear stories of “Black Friday” shoppers who hurt each other just to get the “big toy” of the year. I am sickened by the growing amount of plastic in our oceans and I know our Earth just can’t take much more of our unbridled need for shiny baubles and plastic reindeer. There has to be a better way.

Here are my choices for ways to celebrate with mother earth’s blessing:

• Buy Less. From wherever you are starting, consider buying less. This is the single biggest  earth loving difference you can make. When you do choose to buy, pick meaningful gifts and consider the environmental impact of the things you choose. Skip battery powered toys for kid powered ones. Buy locally made or recycled goods. This year at my house Santa will not be filling those giant stockings for each of us, we’re starting a family tradition of one stocking for all of us!
• Give the gift of Experiences. Experiences are treasured and have the added benefit of not filling your closet or garage with unwanted items. Being able to learn a new skill, try out a new hobby or just spend time with a loved one is a great gift. Consider cooking classes, concert tickets, theater tickets, museum passes, hockey tickets… what ever your loved ones enjoy. I’m working on the perfect choice for my Sweetie this year… I’ll keep you posted (over on the Facebook page where he never looks!)
• Join my friend Harmony’s gift barter group on Facebook. Here is what she has to say about it “Have something that might make a good holiday gift? (Old book, name brand jeans you can’t fit into, end tables that don’t go with your couch, services, crafty abilities, etc?) Post it here and see what you can swap for those things. We can all make and give presents for each other’s friends and family and maybe not spend any money!” Just reading through the dozens upon dozens of offers will give you your own ideas and new visions of what Christmas can be about. I predict that the success of this group will lead Harmony to do something like this on a very large charitable scale in the very near future. Do stop over, I think you’ll be inspired.
• Give a flock of geese! Or a pig, goats or even a whole ark! For those of you not familiar with Heifer.org, I heartily encourage you to visit their site. Several years ago my sister gave a family the gift of a goat in my name. That year I received no little package under the Christmas tree but it is probably one of my happiest in memory. Knowing that a family would be no longer starve because of “my gift” was the best gift I have ever received. Since that year we routinely buy each other the gift of geese, pigs and other animals as our way to acknowledge a birthday or holiday.
• Charitable contributions as gifts. If a pig or goat isn’t your style then consider what types of things your loved ones might appreciate. A gift to the humane society for a dog lover. Seed money to spend at Kiva or Kickstarter for business minded folks. Museum donations for art lovers.
• Wrapping in something other then paper. After reading this fact “If everyone wrapped just three gifts in reused paper or fabric gift bags, it would save enough paper to cover 45,000 hockey rinks.” I knew I had to commit to doing this! A pretty scarf or interesting fabric bag can be a gift unto itself! What a delight to enclose a gift inside!
• Decorate with and Connect with Nature. Evergreens are a perfect symbol of the season, and not just in tree form. Decorate the mantle and table tops with sprigs of the greenery. Add pine cones, perhaps glittered and painted by children and you have decorations that can be composted rather then sent to the landfill. At our house my four year old and I spend hours hunting for the perfect pine cone specimens and we will paint and decorate them as gifts for our friends and family. (Using earth friendly craft paints of course!) Use the holiday to start your own Earth friendly outing. Plant a tree together, do an annual family hike, watch for birds, go snowshoeing. Make nature a part of your family’s holiday tradition.
• Have a cookie swap – or holiday tea, champagne brunch, gift wrapping party or anything else you can think of to get together with those that you love. Make this holiday season one about the time spent with friends and family. Gifts are not required. Open hearts and cheerful wishes are recommended.

Now that I’ve reached the bottom of my post I realize that a greener, more earth friendly holiday is totally possible. If we start where we are, add or subtract the things that work in our situations, we do something that makes a difference. Holiday consumerism is all around us but we can choose to make our holiday traditions about something else!

I do hope you will join me in trying some of the more earth friendly holiday ideas and I invite you now to hop on over to visit the other folks who are blogging on this topic:

Foster Wellness In Your Community: Shop Local and Independent This Holiday Season 

by Sarah O’Leary

6 ½ Ways Consumerism Impacts Your Creativity 

by Sue Mitchell

Merry Debt-Free Holidays: How to Spend Less and Create More Meaning and Value This Year 

by Carole Jane Treggett

 

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