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Green Up Your Holiday Gifts

On Black Friday, news cameras watched as shoppers waited outside of stores, anxious to spend their money or swipe their plastic credit cards to purchase the most sought after toys, electronic gadgets, and much more. For those shoppers who missed out on Black Friday bargains, they were able to shop online for bargains on Cyber Monday.

We all want to give the perfect gift and have our holiday decorations look beautiful for the season. We get in our cars, drive to several stores in order to locate the gifts for our family and loved ones. It is important that we consider the impact the gift we are giving has on the environment.

It is so easy to go into a store and make a purchase without giving a thought to the packaging the item is in. The United States Environmental Protection Agency reports that household garbage increases by 25 percent in the days between Thanksgiving and New Year's Day. That places an enormous burden on our landfills.

Celebrate the holidays, Christmas, Hanukkah, Winter Solstice, Kwanzaa, New Years -- they all deserve to be celebrated. It is our responsibility to be responsible stewards of our environment and work to lessen the negative impact these holidays have on our environment.

Here are some ideas:

Look for gifts and greeting cards that contain recycled content and that are recyclable themselves.

When purchasing appliances, look for the Energy Star logo. This logo means that the appliance is more energy efficient.

Send our smaller sized holiday greeting cards such as a post card. Better yet, send a special holiday email greeting your your friends with computers.

Recycle your holiday greeting cards and use them the following year as gift tags.

A treasured gift does not have to be a new item. Shopping at an antique store or thrift store an turn up so unique items that will be a perfect gift.

Make your own gift, use your talents to create a treasured gift. If you are a stamp or coin collector, consider making a starter collection for a child, using your duplicates.

Consider preparing food as a gift item, either baked goods, or even simple recipes that prepared with love. These make perfect gifts for elderly or those on a fixed income.

Your time and expertise makes a perfect gift. If you have talents that someone else lacks, this makes a helpful gift. It may be something as simple as mowing the lawn for someone, or pulling weeds for an hour.

Plant a tree as a way to honor someone.

Donate to an organization or cause the recipient cares about.

A gift certificate for a massage or facial.

This holiday season, be responsible in your gift giving. Choose gifts that are environmentally friendly. If each consumer does makes a conscious decision to buy gifts that are kind to the environment we will all benefit.