8 Shades Of Green

Christmas Tree

• Instead of buying a real tree thats been cut down, transported and then thrown away, purchase a large potted plant or small tree that can be used each year as the Christmas tree evergreen.

• You could buy an artificial tree that can be reused for many years, these range from 10 pounds to more than 100 pounds. Ours actually looks real!

• If you buy a real tree, pay the Woodland Trust or a different organization to plant one in its place!

Christmas Decorations

• If you have shrubs and trees - to make sure you have an annual supply of eco-friendly Christmas decorations why not do some of your pruning just before Christmas and use the choice bits for inside? Please I evergreens, but has a garden to call some of these plants as Christmas presents. It may take a couple of years to grow but then all you need do is harvest in December and be as creative as you like.

• Make a homemade wreath using branches trimmed from your garden or someone elses.

• Purchase handmade décor from recycled or organic materials. If possible for fair trade as well, since they are a great way for supporting the disadvantaged. Although some of these trades can not be recycled materials that provide much needed income to needy people.

• Ivy is good to wrap around pictures, windows and the base of Christmas trees, will hide the wires of the lights of the tree. I know there is no substitute the electric fairy lights but as they last for years and use very little energy, their impact is relatively low and they do look great.

• One of the advantages of using natural decorations is that after Christmas is not necessary to go to the garbage can enter your normal garden waste on the compost heap.

Christmas tree ornaments

• Make homemade ornaments (painted) pinecones, painted eggshells, crushed (colored) aluminum foil, chains of paper, paper snowflakes, old CDs and more!

• Decorate a doll as an angel.

• Do a search trees online or homemade recycled for many ideas or purchase these recycled or eco-friendly tree if you can not be bothered make them.

Gifts

• Buy a subscription to an organization that works to make the world a better place, as the RSPB, RSPCA or Oxfam.

• If you are buying a gift that uses batteries make sure the person you're buying for has a battery charger and buy rechargeable batteries.

• Buy a gift homemade bird table, compost. Chocolate cakes often go down very well!

Gift Wrapping

• Collect additional copies or no longer needed paperwork for their children to draw on the back.

• Use color pictures of their children's coloring books.

• Use leftover pieces of fabric or wallpaper.

• Use recycled paper.

• Put the gift inside another gift as a decorative tin, box wood, etc.

• Use gift wrap, gift bags and gift boxes, ribbons and bows from last Christmas or previous celebrations. Leave blank labels the gifts they are giving so that they can be reused.

Greeting cards and gift tags

• Send an e-card.

• Make a greeting card or tag from scrap paper, fabric or wallpaper.

• Make cards or tags from pieces of food box.

Packaging material

• Use packaging material stored as foam or bubble wrap.

• Periodical Crush in loose balls. This is cheap, fast and light! This is our preferred method for box filler.

After New Year

• Find where you can recycle your real Christmas tree or Christmas cards, local councils and supermarkets are a good place to start. They turn their trees into fertilizer use in parks and public gardens.

• Use any wrapping paper that is no longer reusable for shelf liners or craft projects.

• Save boxes, gift bags, wrapping, filler, ribbons and bows for future gift wrapping or craft projects. Gifts to friends, neighbors, etc. if you have too many to keep.

About the Author:

Davinos Greeno works for the organic directory This green directory lists 100s of Organic Food and Drink Companies and Eco Jobs and Ethical Companies

Article Source: ArticlesBase.com - Suggestions for a Cheaper, Greener, More Eco Friendly Christmas and New Year