The Green Parent » christmas

5 Ways to To Bring More Meaning To Your Family's Holiday

Jenn Savedge — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 11:31:54 +0000

The holiday gift-giving season is an appropriate time to involve children in charitable giving and teach them why the old adage, “It is better to give than to receive,” is true. Here are five great ways for parents to lead by example and teach their children the true spirit of the holidays.

1. As a family, select a charitable organization you’d like to support. Use online tools like to find an organization that you trust. Give your children a budget and encourage them to decide how your family will donate to that organization this holiday.

Cherish the stories of your family. Have your children talk to their grandparents and write down the stories of their past. Create a book to share with the entire family or record it online through .

3. Consider do-it-yourself gifts, like no-sew fleece blankets, that you can make with your children. Donate those blankets to a local homeless shelter. Find other homemade gift ideas at About.com’s

Work with your children to create a for your neighbors that might need an extra hand this year. Coupons could include shoveling their sidewalk, watching their children, or providing a meal.

5. Bake cookies or sweets with your children and deliver them to your local nursing home or school-in-need. Get started with this list of .

by Devin Hermanson, a charitable giving expert and national director of

Very Berry Holiday Tree

Jenn Savedge — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 12:48:25 +0000

Materials

1 floral foam or green styrofoam cone (measuring 4-5 inches in diameter at the base and 12 inches high)

NOTE: I know this isn’t very green, so please, please , please try to reuse an old piece of styrofoam or pick up a gently used piece at a thrift store)

1 box of toothpicks
4 one pound containers of fresh strawberries
1 bunch fresh mint
1 slice from a carambola fruit (also known as star fruit)*

NOTE: If you can’t find a carambola, you can use a 1-inch star-shaped cookie cutter to cut out a star shape from a mango slice instead.

Directions

Wash the strawberries and blot them dry with paper towels. Pull off the green stem from each strawberry. Reserve a perfect strawberry for the top of the ‘tree’.
Push a toothpick halfway into the side of the cone, about 1/2 inch from the bottom edge. Secure a strawberry to the toothpick, piercing it through the stem end. Secure another strawberry right next to the first one. Continue securing strawberries to the cone in circular rows up to its top, covering the cone completely. Secure the reserved strawberry to the top of the tree.
Remove some mint leaves from the bunch of mint and tuck them between the berries, placing them at about 3-inch intervals.
Secure the star-shaped carambola or mango slice to the top of the cone using a toothpick.

Makes one table centerpiece

About Tish Boyle
Tish Boyle is editor in chief of Chocolatier and Pastry Art & Design magazines. A graduate of Smith College and La Varenne Ecole de Cuisine in Paris, she has been a caterer, pastry chef, and food stylist. She is the author of The Good Cookie and Diner Desserts, and coauthor of Simply Sensational Desserts (IACP Award Winner), Chocolate Passion, and the Grand Finales series of books.

This craft project was sent to me courtesy of

The Greenest Tree: Is Your Christmas Tree Eco-Friendly?

Jenn Savedge — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 12:52:00 +0000

According to the , about 29 million Americans brought home a real, live Christmas tree in 2006. But that still pales in comparison to the 70% of Americans who prefer to set up an artificial tree. So which is greener? Here’s how to make sure your Christmas tree is eco-friendly:

The Green Parent Pick: Go get a real tree. Sure, it means cutting down a tree. But these days nearly all Christmas trees are grown on tree farms. So deforestation is not an issue and it is really no different than harvesting corn or any other crop. From a global warming perspective, sustainable tree farms actually provide a continued “sink” for carbon dioxide emissions. And real trees are not made from PVC plastics that are harmful to the planet. Just be selective about the tree farm you choose to buy from and look for one that does not use an excess of pesticides and other chemicals.

Green Parent Tip: Get the family together and head out to your local tree farm to cut your own Christmas tree. Surf over to to see if there is an organic tree farm in your area. When the holidays are over, toss your undecorated tree in the backyard to provide wildlife habitat or in the compost bin for next year’s mulch.

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Live Trees: A live, potted Christmas trees may seem like a good option for Green Parents, however, you have to make sure that you live in an area where your tree will thrive once it is planted. In addition, live trees are truly not meant to endure the warm temperatures inside your home. So it’s best to either leave it outside or bring it in for only a few days during the season.

Green Parent Tip: If you really want a live tree, your best bet would be to find a suitable tree in your backyard, and decorate it (with eco-friendly decorations, of course) right where it stands.

Artificial trees: Artificial trees require the use of a significant amount of energy and petroleum-based (PVC) resources in their manufacture. In addition, most artificial trees today are manufactured in China, and are literally shipped halfway around the world to their destinations. And there are also some new concerns about residues of lead and other chemicals on artificial trees.

However, if you are going to buy one tree that you are sure you will use and reuse year after year for the next few decades, the environmental damage caused by producing and shipping your tree would be minimal when averaged out over the lifespan of the tree. And just think of all the gas and energy you will save from year to year by not having to head out to the local Christmas tree farm.

Green Parent Tip: Purchase an artifical tree that is made in the U.S.A to minimize the pollution and resource consumption caused by shipping. (Check out and for aritificial trees that are 100% lead free and made in the U.S.A.) Reuse the same tree from year to year.

Take Your Kids Around The World This Winter

Jenn Savedge — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 13:04:25 +0000

‘Tis the season for the winter holidays. In my house, this is the time of year when we deck the halls, talk about the nativity story, play the dreidel game, set up the kinara, decorate the tree, and whip up the eco-friendly menorah.

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No, I haven’t lost my mind. Much to my daughters’ dismay, we don’t actually celebrate ALL of the winter holidays (ie, they don’t get to double dip for presents.) But we do observe as many different holidays as possible so that my girls can understand the traditions we share together as a family as well as the traditions of people all over the world.

In this spirit of fellowship, I was very excited to come across a beautiful book that talks about the different ways that love and lights are celebrated at this time of year. Winter’s Eve: Love and Lights by Lisa Sferlazza Johnson takes children on a journey around the world as they learn about Christmas, Hannukah, Kwanzaa, as well as Los Posados, Diwali, and more. The book is published by Positive Spin Press, a publishing company that aims to help children learn about the world they live in in a positive way. And it’s just got a great message of love, family, and connectedness that’s appropriate no matter what winter holiday you celebrate.

Blog post for Parent Bloggers Network.

Deck The Halls with Eco-Friendly Christmas Deocrations

Jenn Savedge — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 20:54:00 +0000

Looking for holiday decorations that are safe for your kids and the environment? Follow these tips to deck the halls with eco-friendly style:

1. Go Lead-Free: Watch out for ornaments and holiday decorations that are coated in lead-based paint. Instead, look for decorations that bear the 100% lead-free label.

2. Go -Au Naturale: Look to nature when decorating your home this year. Here are some great ideas for natural holiday decorations: organic popcorn, cinnamon sticks, holly, ivy an evergreens, pine cones, cranberries, homemade gingerbread, organic fruit and vegetables, and dried Indian corn.

3. DIY: Give your kids some markers, eco-friendly paints, scissors, and recycled paper and let their creativity shine. If they need some inspiration, suggest they cut out shapes of stars and snowmen from the paper and decorate with markers and/or paints. Another idea is to make a candy cane using alternating stripes of red and white recycled paper. Or they add some festive flare to pine cones with gold or silver paint and some leftover holiday ribbon.

4. Keep It Fair:

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Green is, at the very least, the hippest new trend. So impress your friends and family with fair-trade decorations that show off your eco-savvy style. Look for decorations that are locally made or check out Ten Thousand Villages for Fair Trade Certified options.

Green Your Christmas with Low-Energy Holiday Lights

Jenn Savedge — Fri, 14 Dec 2007 14:52:00 +0000

Whether you like lights that are white or multi-colored, make them green with LED lights that use 90% less energy and last much longer than traditional bulbs. LEDs don’t heat up like standard bulbs…so they stay cooler, are safer for kids, and pose less risk of fires. And if one bulb does break or burn out, the rest of the lights in the strand will keep glowing.

If you can’t find LED Christmas lights at your local store, check out Holiday LEDs or Forever Brights from Christmas Treasures to light up your holidays while going easy on the planet. To get even more green from your outdoor Christmas lights, try Solar Illuminations for solar-powered Christmas LEDs.

Photo credit: Graham Soult

Have A Happy Green Hanukkah!

Jenn Savedge — Thu, 06 Dec 2007 17:28:00 +0000

Green thinking is everywhere these days, in your appliances, in your favorite movies, in your kid’s school, and yes, now in your menorah. There is a movement underway, launched by the Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life (COEJL) called Let There Be (Renewable) Light: A New Look At Hanukkah that offers eco-savvy tips to help Green Hanukkah.

Sure, you could argue that Hanukkah, even at it’s most elaborately festive, does not even come close to eliciting the same commercial over-consumption and environmental damage as Christmas. But the fact remains that there are a number of things that you can do to celebrate Hanukkah with your family while minimizing your impact on the environment. Here’s a few ideas:

Raid your recycling bin to make your own “green” menorah
Check out The Green Parent Holiday Gift Guide for low-impact, eco-friendly gift ideas.
Save paper by sending your holiday cheer via ecards and slideshows instead of by mail.
Surf over the COEJL website for blessings, energy saving tips, games, and kid-friendly craft ideas to help you celebrate an eco-savvy Festival of Lights.

Spread Some Holiday Eco-Cheer With E-Cards and Slideshows

Jenn Savedge — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 18:44:00 +0000

Get out your address book, it’s time to send out your holiday greeting cards. If you are like most Americans, this is the one time of year where you send out cards to family and friends both near and far. In fact, Americans send out almost 3 billion greeting cards over the winter holidays (that’s enough cards to fill a football field ten stories high!) But holiday cards generate a mountain of wasted paper in addition to heaps of environmental pollution in their production and shipping. So this year, why not save the planet while saving yourself a fortune in time and cash and spread a little eco-cheer instead. Here’s how:

Choose from one of the 25,000 free e-cards available from Care2. Customize one for each person on your list or send one card to everyone. Each free card you send generates donations to environmental organizations.
Set up a holiday slideshow (complete with music or falling snowflakes) at Photobucket and email the link to family and friends. Photobucket has preset templates for Christmas, Hanukkah, or Kwanzaa.
If you simply must go with paper, look for cards printed on recycled paper (try PaperCards.com, Rossetti Designs, or KidBean.)
Enlist your kids’ help in making cards from scratch using newspapers, magazines, and recycled holiday cards that you have around the house.

Get Ready For The Green Parent Holiday Gift List

Jenn Savedge — Thu, 08 Nov 2007 18:16:00 +0000

I usually make it a rule in my house that we don’t talk, shop, or decorate for Christmas until the day after Thanksgiving. Any sooner than that and we risk an all-encompassing holiday burn-out. This year, however, I am making an exception, so that I can thoroughly research all of the eco-savvy new games/books/toys/and gizmos out there and have my Green Parent Holiday Gift List ready before you hit the stores.

So, I’m making my list and I’ll be checking it twice. If you know of a cool green something or other (product, gift card, charity, etc.) that you think should make the list, drop me a line. And be sure to check back here on Green Friday (formerly known as Black Friday) for a list of earth-friendly gifts that will please everyone on your shopping list.

Green Your Halloween: Decorations

Jenn Savedge — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 17:31:00 +0000

Not that long ago, Halloween decorations consisted of a couple of pumpkins on the front porch and old clothes fashioned into a stuffed scarecrow in the yard. But today, Halloween has begun to rival Christmas with the amount of planning, preparation, and purchasing that goes into the holiday decorations. Don’t be frightened….there are plenty of ways to decorate for a Green Halloween that won’t spook the planet. Check out these ideas for Green Halloween decorations…

Seek Out The Spooky…Reuse and recycle stuff around your house to use as Halloween decorations. Don’t worry if it’s not perfect. Halloween as all about the eerie, the gross, and the creepy, so it will look even better if it’s dirty or falling apart.
Get Thrifty: Hit your local thrift store for awesome decorations that won’t cost a fortune.
Reuse decorations from year to year…don’t just throw them away…that’s SCARY!!
Go Au Naturale: Skip the inflatable and light-up decor that wastes both money and resources. Instead, opt for natural decorations like pumpkins, corn stalks, mums, and straw bales.

Add a little spookiness to your front yard with stuff that’s already laying around your house. Check out these ideas for transforming everyday items into frightfully fun decorations:

Cardboard Box

Coffin: Paint it black, stuff a shirt with newspaper and hang it from the side
Tombstone: Paint it gray and add a funny epithet
Skeleton: Paint it white and cut out a skeleton design

Recycled Newspaper/Paper

Witch’s Hat: Paint it black and fold into a pointy witch’s hat.
“Chain”: Cut out strips of paper into chains that you can use to decorate inside or out

Rocks

Spiders: Paint black and attach pipe cleaners as legs

More Ideas

Stuff old clothes with newspaper to form a scarecrow for your front porch. Add a hat and some funky shoes.
Use old stockings or the netting from a bag of oranges to make spiderwebs.
Turn an old sheet or pillowcase into a ghastly ghost. Use a small amount of crumpled newspaper to stuff the “head.” Tie off the head with a string and add a spooky face with markers. Hang your ghost in a nearby tree and let him blow in the wind.