Decorating

• Go creative! Wrap presents in a Hamilton-Wenham GREEN reusable bag, use old maps or children's artwork, decorate paper grocery bags, wrap gifts in newspaper comics, use fabric scraps/pillow cases, or purchase recycled content wrapping paper. When possible use biodegradable ribbon made from cotton and soy-based inks. Check out Furoshiki to learn how to wrap gifts in an origami style without ribbon, very cool. If you'd still like to use traditional paper be sure to recycle it for later use. If every family wrapped just three gifts this way, it would save enough paper to cover 45,000 football fields.

   

• Buy energy saving LED holiday lights. They last longer, use 80 to 90% less energy, and will save your family up to $50 on energy bills this holiday season. Traditional old lights can be recycled through a mail-in program: www.holidayleds.com/holidayledscom_christmas_light_recycling_program.

   

• Turn off your lights and electric devices when not in use. Even in standby they consume 15% of household electricity. An excellent way of recycling energy would be using a solar powered rope light.

   

• If there's a fire in your fireplace this Christmas, turn down that thermostat! Lowering the temperature even five degrees can take 10% off your energy bill.

   

• For those in a digital mindset try sending a virtual card or make an electronic photo album with your own greeting and background holiday music.

   

• Avoid artificial Christmas trees. They are petroleum based and non-biodegradable. The process of making them includes metal and derivatives of PVC and the by-products such as led harm both humans and the environment. Ideally buy a potted tree that you can later plant in your garden and even use it again next year.

   

• If you prefer a traditional Christmas tree try to purchase one locally. The Edfund with the help of the Boy Scouts and volunteers will be selling trees at Patton Park. Also consider searching for a pesticide free tree; some growers use 40 different pesticides, as well as chemical colorants. Ask your local tree seller about their products. More information on local sellers hopefully coming soon.

   

Gifts

• Make your loved ones a surprise and offer them handmade or homemade gifts. If you don’t have the time or talent, consider supporting local artists and craftspeople by buying their products.

   

• In place of traditional presents consider giving an experience instead: Sign up a friend or relative for cooking classes, horseback riding, a massage, or some art classes. An experience will last them a lifetime, truly a gift they will never forget.

   

• If you're getting a new cellphone for the holidays be sure to recycle your old one. There are collections boxes at the library, local schools, or Staples. Each year, 130 million cell phones are thrown out, weighing approximately 65,000 tons. Recycling your old phone prevents hazardous elements like mercury, cadmium and lead from ending up in our landfills.

   

• If you receive a gift that you don't intend on ever using and cannot exchange consider Freecycling it (yahoogroups.com – choose a group in Hamilton, Beverly, or Rowley). Someone else's clutter can easily become someone else's treasure.

   

Eating

• Add organic and local foods to your holiday meals. Make a New Year's resolution to try and eat more locally and organic/sustainable if possible.

   

• If you need a break from the kitchen consider going to an environmentally conscious local restaurant: Green Meadows Farm offers take-home soups, sandwiches, and baked goods all served in compostable dinnerware; Indigo Bar and Grill highlights seasonal cuisine with much of its produce sourced locally. recycles their cooking oil, and composts their kitchen food scraps; Burgerworks, in Beverly, uses minimal and compostable dinnerware and all food-scraps are taken to BrickEnds Farm.

   

• If you're throwing a party, use real glasses and dishes instead of disposable ones and go for cloth tablecloths instead of throwaways. If you need to use disposable tableware use a compostable brand. At the end scrap your plates and put in your home compost pile or add to your yard waste bags to take to the DPW on one of their scheduled drop-off days.

   

Travel

• Traveling for the holidays? Consider purchasing a carbon credit to offset your travel (carbonfund.org). When you arrive at your destination take advantage of public transportation. And if you drive, avoid idling.

   

  Gift Ideas

   

  Source for LED lights: 1000bulbs.com

  Fair trade gifts: Ten Thousand Villages

  Charity idea: Heifer International

  Yankee Swap: Official rules

  Wrapping ideas: Grist article, Handmade paper and Natural ribbon

  Carbon offsets: Native Energy

  Eating local: Green Meadows Farm

  Great source of ideas from alternative gifting to creative wrapping and LED lights, etc: Earth Easy

  Remember to also look on our Links page for products and services that committee members have recommended.  Could be some gift ideas!