Five Tips For A Green Festive Season (Well maybe 6)

So the silly season is looming and the need to consume and buy "things" gets unavoidable – so why not break the mold and try have a "Green" Christmas" – it's cost effective, good for the planet, great lessons to teach your children and simply a good thing to do. So here are our top 5 tips for Greening your festive season...

1. Ditch the fake tree. They are generally imported, which means a BIG Carbon Footprint and really not all that attractive. Instead opt for an indigenous tree which you and your family can plant in your garden or a park somewhere after the Christmas season. A good option for a South African indigenous tree is most Yellowwood Trees (Podocarpus spp) - Yellowoods look superficially like a traditional Christmas tree with their needle like leaves and grow into beautiful trees. There are Yellowwood varieties that will suit the climate most places in South Africa. Just ask your local nursery! 
2. Invest in LED / Low wattage Christmas Lights. We all love the Christmas lights, a tree without lights just doesn't cut it. LED lights for your Christmas tree are generally a lot lower wattage than traditional lights, as a result cost you less to run, they are safer, will last you many many years and a lot more reliable than the traditional versions. To top it off, they are relatively inexpensive too.
3. Give Green Gifts, how about potted herbs or a tree as a gift for someone special this year? Check out this YouTube Clip for ideas on how to make it special and personal or have look here for some great, unique eco-friendly gadgets.
4. Every year, I wrap my gifts in newspaper, at first glance people squirm but upon explaining that the gift wrap makes no difference (after all is is about the giving isn't it?) and that recycling old newspaper is a gift to the earth and a good thing to do, most people embrace the idea. If they don't, well then, they don't deserve a gift from you anyway. Saving on expensive gift wrap will allow you some extra free cash and save a lot of unnecessary waste.
5. Give a gift that lasts, consider giving a membership to a Non Profit organization (many of them have gift cards which include a years membership, free magazines and other goodies) or a voucher to Green someone's home, something that would save them hundreds of rands (if not thousands) in the coming year! 
6. OK, we said 5 top tips, but this extra one is important, the festive season is about giving, so before you waste your money on overpriced Christmas décor or extravagant outings, why not cut back on those and give to the SPCA or a children's shelter, there are animals and people out there that have nothing, where Christmas is just another day to get through. Make it special for them and your rewards will come.

Courtesy of www.etc-africa.com - click here for more information