by the DoItYourself Staff
Each holiday season, the news anchors start their evening reports with tales of holiday shoppers getting trampled as they rush into various department stores. Stories detailing which toys are on the most wanted lists and how many diamonds you should buy to tell your loved one just how special she is to you are told several times a day.
During this season of excess, consumers spend thousands of dollars on gifts, wrapping, cards and other seasonal needs like batteries and trash bags. All of these gifts come in elaborate packaging with plenty of paper and it all winds up in the trash, filling up our landfills. In fact, between Thanksgiving and New Years, Americans throw away an additional five million tons of garbage.
In an effort to help conserve energy, the burning of fossil fuels and to help control global warming, there are certain steps that each of us as responsible consumers should follow. By taking these easy steps into consideration, having a “green” Christmas will better ensure that you will have a white one.
Recycle Wrapping Paper – Did you know that if each American family wrapped three holiday gifts in re-used wrapping paper, the amount of paper saved would cover 45,000 football fields? Many companies have taken to making recycled wrapping paper. If the environment is one of your concerns, you can do your part in helping it by purchasing recycled wrapping paper. Newspaper is another good choice for wrapping gifts. For travelers, a great idea is to pick up a newspaper in a foreign country and wrap your gifts with it. It makes a great conversation piece and you can bet the receiver of the gift never got a gift wrapped in Kilimanjaro newspaper before!
Get Crafty – Hand-made gifts are gifts given truly from the heart. If you are the giver, put your best effort into making the gift. If you are the receiver of the gift, think about the time and effort the giver put into making it. It may not sparkle like a diamond, but the thought that went into it is much more valuable. Try your hand at carving a figuring from a piece of wood, explore your inner artist and let the paint fly on a blank canvas or take a nature walk and pick up a fallen stick to craft into a fanciful magic wand for a young fan of a certain book series.
These crafty gift ideas are only a few of the thousands of creative ways to make great holiday gifts. In addition to providing a loved one with a special piece of your heart, you may actually discover a hidden talent or passion for a certain craft or hobby! Hand-made gifts also reduce the amount of packaging materials that make their way into the landfills every holiday season, thus helping out the environment.
Recycle Holiday Cards – If you are a person who simply must send holiday cards, look for 100 percent recycled holiday cards. If you still have the cards you received last year, re-use them in new ways this year. For instance, turn them into gift tags, use the colorful holiday pictures as decorations around the house or cut them up for any number of craft purposes.
Buy Only Useful Gifts – Novelty gifts sure are funny, but they also find their way into the landfill quickly! If you are going to purchase gifts, do so thoughtfully. Pick up useful gifts that the receiver will appreciate and use, not one to get a chuckle. The receiver of the gift will no doubt throw it away in a month.
Give Green Gifts – Since you are so concerned about the environment, help spread the word by giving environment-related gifts. Give gifts made from recycled materials, books about the environment or nature, a canvas tote bag or some other gift that helps keep the environment on the mind of the receiver.
Make It Tasty – Who can refuse a delicious gift of holiday cookies or home-made jam? Baking cookies or any other type of delicious treat (forget the fruitcake!) are a great gift-giving solution. Food is the universal gift, one to please everybody. Just ensure that you are aware of any special diets or dislikes of the recipient before you put your time into making them.
These are just a few ways to help make your holiday this year an environmentally friendly one. With these ideas, you can significantly reduce your waste as well as the waste of those receiving your gifts. There’s no better time to show your concern for the planet than during the holiday season. Remember the three Rs of thinking globally – Reduce, reuse and recycle!
. Questions of a Do It Yourself nature should be submitted to our "