ecochick: Giveaway Tuesday: Green Christmas - How to have a Joyous, EcoFriendly Holiday Season!

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Giveaway Tuesday: Green Christmas - How to have a Joyous, EcoFriendly Holiday Season!

And from Random.org.. the winner is Lauren M. who said...

"I hate giving my nieces more shiny, brand new "stuff" that is pretty meaningless. So I've decided to put together a dress-up box for them. I've been collecting second hand costumes, masks, hats, wigs, anything that could be good for playing "dress up". I'll find a basket or box at a second hand store or on Freecycle. Hopefully they will like it... but it could just be another weird gift from the crazy aunt!"
Love it, Lauren! Please email me at talk at ecochick dot ca so that I can send your book!

Soon, very soon, the Hallowe'en decorations will be down and the Christmas decorations will be going up (if they aren't up already). And oh, the woe: While Christmas is magical and wonderful for everyone, it's not so happy for the planet. christmas is notoriously eco-hostile: From the use of wrapping paper that usually isn't recycled, to the overconsumption that's one of the hallmarks of Christmas, it's so tough to get through the holidays with your Green conscience intact. What's an ecochick to do?

Here's step 1 to your green cred salvation: A great book called Green Christmas: How to Have a Joyous, Eco-Friendly Holiday Season, by Jennifer Basye Sander, Peter Sander and Anne Basye. The stocking-stuffer sized book has fantastic ideas for green gift-giving, holiday card alternatives, ecofriendly holiday decorations and more. Inside, you'll learn how to:

Choose which is better - a real tree or a fake tree?
Learn easy ways to turn your Christmas into true Family time, rather than Shopping time;
Great ideas for eco-friendly celebrations;
Ideas for green gift giving

And much, much more. This book is little but it packs a huge wallop of ideas!

Interested in a copy? ecochick has one to give away! Simply post in the comments below by Wednesday, November 5 and tell me what you're doing to make your Christmases greener. The giveaway will be drawn by Random.Org and posted here after the 5th, so be sure to check back and see if you're getting a copy of Green Christmas.

Don't like your odds? Then you can purchase a copy of Green Christmas at Amazon.ca or at Chapters. Enjoy and good luck!

10 comments:

Unknown said...: We've been going green for Xmas for a few years now!

1 - We do not give our adult family members gifts, we give donations to a variety of charities on their behalf and encourage them strongly to do the same for us.

2- We try to support local artists when giving to the nieces and nephews. Or when really involved, we make them gifts. I do sew myself, so it is a bit easier for us to do this when we can.

3- I have the same tiny artificial tree I have owned for 15 years. If I decided to do something new, I would actually choose to make another "monument to the season" out of found/recycled stuff from around our home.

4 - We also collect used, but in good shape, items to donate to a local women's shelter including clothes, home items, and more.

We try to do as many things as we can along these lines, helping to reduce the consumerism, while purging our home and friends homes of unwanted items, passing them along to new homes in need!; October 28, 2008 at 9:50 AM
Tammi Hayne said...: We use an artificial tree so as not to cut down a tree only to toss it to the curb a week later. We also use bags instead of paper to conceal gifts. We collect them all after the gifts are opened and save them for next year to reuse again.; October 28, 2008 at 10:00 AM
Sarah Eve said...: We put up an artificial tree with LED lights

We used recycled wrapping paper or 100% post consumer gift bags to give gifts

For children we adopt animals from WWF and they get a replica plush of the animal which are ethically made

For adults we give soy candles and bamboo towel sets...my father receives organic mandarins and organic root beer too! My mother gets organic beauty products and often times some non-toxic cleaning products

We eat a vegetarian Christmas dinner (no turkey) and with local veggies from an organic delivery service in my community

We stay close to home and do very little driving

All of our ornaments are purchased from Ten Thousand Villages (they are all fair trade and hand crafted with materials plentiful in the earth

Babies receive organic cotton clothing made by myself or organic bamboo T-Shirts

We hand make our cards using scraps from our recycling bin

We clean out our closets and donate to charity every year, we also donate to Siloam Mission for the homeless and send school supplies for 2 children to Africa

We spread the word...we ask that our son only receives local, fair trade or organic gifts or charitable gifts (Last year we were surprised to see that 80% of the people listened)

We LOVE Christmas and especially Green one's!; October 28, 2008 at 10:41 AM
Lara said...: We're switching from wrapping paper to cloth gift bags that can be reused (and that don't fall apart after 1-2 uses).
We also have an artifical tree and use LED lights.; October 28, 2008 at 11:13 AM
Ms.Teacher said...: What an awesome book idea!; October 28, 2008 at 12:16 PM
Jessica said...: Wow. I thought we were doing okay, but after reading some of the other comments, I have a lot to learn/put into practice! I think I'll have to check out that book, assuming I don't win it ;)

We reuse wrapping materials. I have not problem giving someone a Christmas gift in a baby shower bag, or tissue paper that's wrinkled from multiple uses.

We don't give out many adult gifts, but for those we do, we try to give handmade items.

We have a small artificial tree, and our lights are all LED.; October 28, 2008 at 2:42 PM
Anonymous said...: We buy a balled up tree and plant it in the yard.; October 28, 2008 at 3:55 PM
Samantha said...: We recycle our wrapping paper. My husband faithfully collects it every year and makes sure it goes into the paper bin on the next pick-up. And this year we are opting to send photos rather than buy gifts for everyone - it saves shipping things all the way across the country! I am also attempting some homemad chrismas gifts made from items found at thrift stores.; October 28, 2008 at 10:40 PM
JillEBean said...: We're trying to buy gifts that have been made by a "Green" company (ie Plan Toys); October 29, 2008 at 1:16 PM
Anonymous said...: I hate giving my nieces more shiny, brand new "stuff" that is pretty meaningless. So I've decided to put together a dress-up box for them. I've been collecting second hand costumes, masks, hats, wigs, anything that could be good for playing "dress up". I'll find a basket or box at a second hand store or on Freecycle. Hopefully they will like it... but it could just be another weird gift from the crazy aunt!; October 29, 2008 at 5:01 PM