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greenliving


GREEN Merry Making


Retro-Fresh Family Traditions by Claire O’Neil


T


please recycle


hroughout the year, Santa’s good girls and boys of all ages make every effort to buy only what’s


needed, plus recycle, reuse and repur- pose. Then the holidays hit and disci- pline often gives way to indulgences. The season seems consumed by up- tempo decorating, feasting, shopping, gift-giving and merrymaking at any cost. Yet, creative green living experts show us how easy it is to tweak time- honored family traditions to align with the green way we wish to live and feel even more satisfied with festivities.


Decking the Halls For Danny Seo, author of Upcycling Celebrations: A Use-What-You-Have Guide to Decorating, Gift-Giving & Entertaining, “Upcycling is basi- cally a form of recycling that elevates something to a better level than be- fore.” Based in New York City and Bucks County, Pennsylvania, Seo always has an eye out for green pos- sibilities. “Opt for vintage pieces and re-imagine them in new and interesting ways,” he advises. For example, he likes to upcycle a vintage glass cake stand with a collection of bright ornaments for a unique holiday focal point. Michele Johansen, a lifestyle writer in Bellevue, Washington, sug- gests bringing in the outdoors. Instead of decorating the tree with tinsel and the home with plastic faux greenery, she suggests stringing popcorn and cranberries on the tree and decking the halls with fresh wreaths and garlands


54 Collier/Lee Counties swfl.NaturalAwakeningsMag.com


accented with boughs of holly. “Local nurseries are good sources for holiday décor that you can later mulch or put in yard waste bins,” she says. “The smells are much more authentic and festive.” Save energy by using LED lights


whenever possible, suggests Sheryl Eisenberg, a writer for the National Resources Defense Council. Plug lights and electronics into a power strip, and then unplug it when not in use to save “ghost” energy pulled by electronics that are plugged in, but not activated. Buy a live tree to later plant or


recycle, Seo suggests. This supports regional Christmas tree farmers while retaining the integrity of local forests. Many communities offer recycling of holiday trees to provide mulch or habi- tat for aquatic life in local lakes.


Keeping the Feast Organize a cookie exchange to get together and save time and energy on holiday baking, suggests Sara Novak, a food policy and health writer at SereneKitchen.com, from Sullivan’s Island, South Carolina. Generally, a hostess asks guests to bring several dozen of their favorite cookies. Once gathered, attendees share the treats and recipes, taking home several of each variety. To “green it up”, Novak recommends emailing the recipes rather than printing them, encourag- ing invitees to use fresh and local ingredients and bring favorite reusable containers from home, like a colorful, time-honored cookie tin.


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