Okay, yallz. The earth hath made her rotation ‘round the sun once more; holiday stressors creep in, poinsettias replace pumpkins Oct 31, and Mr. Crosby blasts every jam-packed department store aisle. ARE YOU READY….. TO CHRISTMASSSSS?! I sure am. TBH, I’ve grown weary of the commercialized festivities and long for a season that more-so celebrates our lives, blessings, and beloved planet. It’s been a decade in progress, but last year I began resisting our nation’s norms and toyed with following a more unconventional route to the holidays. And while I am -by far- no expert in sustainability and carbon footprint reduction, I’ve observed, learned, and implemented some earth friendly practices that I’d love to share. Here are 5 quick n’ easy ways to transform your household from commercialized resource guzzler to LED-sparkling-upcycled-ornament-boasting-enviro-friendly-holiday-land-mermaid this December. I’m sure there are tons of folks out there who feel and do the same; please do comment below with additional ideas you’ve tried!
1: Buy small business / locally. Mega profit-obsessed corporations are annoying, right? I have indeed noticed a trend towards shopping small business and it tickles mine heart strings like the straggly hairs on Santa’s neck beard. Shopping locally (if the item was made locally as well) reduces shipping pollutants and petroleum resources spent to bring you said item.
2: Wrap it up… wisely. Ever ponder what happens to the actual mountains of wrapping paper, ribbon, bows, and adorably cut out Santa name tags that we stuff into a contractor garbage bag < 5 minutes after excitedly tearing open our presents? In a word: landfills. Freshly produced wrapping paper is secured in plastic, boxed up, loaded into trucks, and shipped across miles of roadway to your nearby shelves. 
*You* spend money to buy it, and *it* spends the rest of its days in our already-burdened waste heaps. Last year I recycled circular newspapers for presents and they actually turned out kinda cool looking (not that I minded either way, but ‘twas a nice surprise). I stumbled upon this post that has lots of great alternatives. Reusing gift bags and tissue paper is a win as well. So go ahead and be the slight weirdo this year- the earth will thank you! (And in approx. 3 mins no one will remember your “odd” choices anyway).
3: Mind your lighting. Admittedly, this is something I’d like to pay more attention to this go round. One way to cut back on energy consumption is to use those handy dandy light timers. After all, who’s really setting out to admire the neighborhood bulb shows at 1:30 am?
4: Spend… less money, more time. I’ve always felt obligated to devote hundreds upon hundreds to get every person the “perfect” stuff. The obvious environmental ties here are overconsumption and commercialization of the holiday season. New this year: I’m setting a small budget meant to cover everyone on my list, from our family members to the kids’ teachers (our friend group happily agreed to nix presents altogether and schedule a couple nights where we simply enjoy each other’s company). I won’t mention the amount here, but it’s lowwwww, baby. I’m diggin’ the challenge, though. Such a budget friendly journey brought me first to Pinterest, where I was thusly sucked into the thing for approx. 13 hours, escaping only when the sun’s first rays pierced my eyeballs and children sat awaiting breakfast (hyperbole). But seriously, I found a couple awesome ideas that I could easily and inexpensively make for the majority of my family members. Have older kids? Get them in on it, too! Nothing quite like a thoughtful, homemade gift to express affection towards another human. 
Some ideas include tins of homemade fudge, sugar scrubs, jars of shaving cream (hubs did this one year and everyone adored it), Christmas ornaments, frames, hot cocoa kits, and the other billion things Pinterest suggests. And, unlike me, avoid that December 21st trap of convincing yourself the gifts aren’t good enough and last-minute buy All The Things. Repeat this reminder: it really should be about thankfulness, camaraderie, and hangin’ out with your most favoritest of people. Oh and adult beverages.
5: Skip the shipped paper. Instead of mailed holiday greetings, consider an e-card. Unfortunately, perfectly crafted greeting and photo cards are tossed after (or sometimes during) the holidays. Brighten up your loved one’s work day with a lil inbox surprise! I did this for the kiddos’ birthday invites this year and unexpectedly received quite a few compliments.
You already do 2-3 on this list? Sweet! Implement some others as well. NEVER underestimate the power of one individual action. If 20 people who read this start shopping smaller and reducing waste, it truly would make a massive difference. Consider these and other holiday tips while preparing for the most magical time of the year. Happy holidays, dear friends! *clink*
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/ethicallivingblog/2007/dec/12/toptipsforagreenchristmas
http://www.sustainablebabysteps.com/green-christmas.html
http://eartheasy.com/give_sustainchristmas.htm
https://www.todayshomeowner.com/how-to-have-a-green-eco-friendly-christmas/
Homemade Jeli 