Thanks for "jumping"! Here are the next few on my personal Green Holidays favorites list.
4. Purchase locally raised meats and in-season, locally grown veggies for your holiday feast…and be careful not to prepare so much food that you throw lots away. These efforts will reduce your meal’s “food miles” AND your after-holiday contributions to the landfill.
5. Avoid disposable dinnerware, drinkware, and plastic cutlery – employ a family dishwashing assembly line…or make the losing team of the family monopoly game do the dishes! (Did you know that 25% of landfill waste is plastic?? And while recycling is better than throwing away, it stills takes quite a bit of energy to melt down and reform materials.)
6. Cut down on “filler gifts” – only buy what is truly necessary 
and special and won’t be forgotten in two months! Consider toys that encourage creativity and/or outside play.
- My friends and I (all of us 20-somethings and not exactly living like kings) have opted to celebrate the holidays with an annual get-together instead of exchanging gifts. The tradition and quality face-time is so much more memorable!
- Try starting a gift exchange system with a family name-drawing. This gives everybody an excuse to reduce the quantity and up the quality of the gifts they purchase!
Jump through one more time to check out the last few tips!
