 The dilemma: fake or real? Do you torture yourself every year trying to decide what’s easier on the environment: to cut a live tree down or to buy an artificial one?
Artificial trees, while they don’t shed pine needles, often come pre-lit, and don’t require heavy lifting to hoist them up in the house; they do require large amounts of energy to produce, are often made of petroleum products, are typically manufactured overseas and shipped thousands of miles before adorning our living rooms, and end up in the dump at the end of their “natural” life. Live, cut trees, on the other hand, are a much greener option than the fake variety.
 Cut trees are often grown on tree farms where their stock is replenished annually and sustainable farming methods are employed. Choosing a tree from a tree farm also prevents forests from being damaged. Cut trees, unlike artificial trees, can be mulched, recycled, or left to decompose naturally outside after the holiday season.
A third option for selecting your Christmas tree exists, too: buying a potted living tree. It can be kept in the pot during the holiday season and planted outdoors afterwards.
Trim the tree in green. Now that you have chosen your green Christmas tree, how will you decorate it? DĂ©cor can be kept green, too. Here are a few ideas to get you started:
- Choose Christmas lights of LED bulbs. They use 80% less energy than incandescent bulbs and last for about 200,000 hours (as compared to the month of December that typically describes the useful life of most incandescent bulbs). LED lights will cost you about $2 to light the tree for 30 days compared $30 for a string of 500 traditional incandescent mini-lights. Another major perk of the LED lights is that if one bulb ceases to twinkle, the rest continue on…. No more one light out and they all go out!
- One person’s trash is another’s treasure. Check out garage sales, resale stores, and eBay for Christmas decorations and holiday table ware.
- Make festive paper chain rings of recycled paper to string amongst the tree branches.
- Bake your own ornaments from salt dough.
- Place candy canes and cinnamon sticks tied with ribbon throughout the tree.
- Place seasonal fruits, like kumquats, clementines, or pomegranates, among the branches to add a splash of color. Buy ornaments made from recycled Christmas trees or Christmas cards ….. Or better, yet make your own.
- Buy fair-trade ornaments.
- String popcorn or cranberries together to drape around the trees boughs.
- Cut snowflakes from recycled paper. Use different colors of papers to really spice things up.
Eco-conscious holiday décor. Here are some suggestions for festive holiday home décor that is environmentally kind.
- Take your cues from Mother Nature. Use natural evergreen boughs cut from your Christmas tree. Decorate with bowls of seasonal fruit, like oranges, pomegranates, and cranberries. Add color to your home with seasonal plants, like poinsettias and holly.
- Make handmade decorations.
- Buy fair-trade decorations or decorations crafted by local artisans.
With these tips, you will be rockin’ around your very green Christmas tree in no time!
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