I’ll admit it right now, we don’t try very hard to “reduce, reuse, recycle”. I got to thinking about how Christmas used to be about hanging strings of popcorn and cranberries on the tree you cut down yourself out in the woods. Why can’t we go back to that?

Holiday LEDs got me thinking about other ways to have a “greener” Christmas, including switching to LED Christmas lights. Did you know that LED Xmas lights use 80-90% less energy than incandescent lights? Outdoor LED Christmas lights especially make sense, since we have those on every night for over a month. Makes sense to use something that uses less energy and will last longer than regular lights.

Other ways to have a more sustainable holiday include buying holiday cards and wrapping paper made from recycled materials, or using pieces of last year’s Christmas cards to make gift tags. Instead of wrapping a gift in paper, you could make the wrapping part of the gift by using a cloth or blanket and tying it around the gift. Team up with friends to do holiday shopping to help reduce emissions that pollute the environment, plus, it’s fun to shop with friends!

It’s little things like those that add up. You can lessen the impact of your holiday celebrations on the environment, and still have a great Christmas. Besides, kids don’t care what the gift is wrapped in, they just want what’s inside it!