Posts Tagged ‘holidays’

I guess there's no doubt we're in holiday mode here at CanadianLiving.com. Today's post is written by Jen Murray, one of our web editorial assistants. Enjoy!

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The holiday season is typically a season of excess – gifts, travel and holiday cheer add up quickly when you're trying to watch your carbon footprint. Make this year different with help from I'm Dreaming of a Green Christmas, a book dedicated to keeping the holidays as eco-friendly as possible.

This beautiful book (made of 100 per cent post-consumer waste recycled paper) features everything from recipes for organic appetizers to craft ideas, all focusing on reducing, reusing and recycling. What I love best is the shift in focus; the holiday season has become - as I have discovered since becoming part of a couple and suddenly facing two families' worth of people to buy for - all about "stuff." The eco-friendly theme of this book brings the holidays back to what they used to be about: meaningful time spent with your family and friends, decorating, cooking and giving gifts that mean something.

Whether this book inspires you to craft gifts for everyone out of recycled materials or simply try to be a bit greener this holiday season, any effort made is an eco-friendly step in the right direction.

Amen to that, Jen.

To see a sneak peek of what this book has to offer, check out these crafts:

• Make pretty cork place-card holders
• Vintage egg decoration
• Make a nature inspired garland

And, in honour of a green Christmas, I'm giving away one copy of I'm Dreaming of a Green Christmas. Just subscribe to my blog and leave a reply here telling me about your favourite holiday ornament. I'll announce a winner on Friday, December 4!

First off, the second winner of A Good Catch never claimed his prize, so that copy is up for grabs. All you have to do is sign up to receive my Green Living blog to your e-mail inbox and you are eligible to win Jill Lambert's A Good Catch. Click on the word e-mail under the icon at the top left side of this page (it looks like this ). Good luck!

I must officially be in the festive spirit, as I just can't get Christmas off my mind. Maybe it's because I went to see Stuart McLean's Christmas show on the weekend, or maybe it's because I haven't even thought about going Christmas shopping yet (probably the latter). Regardless, in my quest to green-ify my Christmas I thought I'd share some of my findings with you.

- Use LED, energy-efficient lights to decorate for the holidays. LED lights use 80 per cent less energy than old school tree lights - they also last longer.

- Make your own tree decorations. This year I'm going to dry out some clementines and stick cloves in them. Not only will they feel traditional, they'll smell amazing. You can also make pretty decorations with cinnamon sticks. Tie them in bundles and attach a wire (under the tie) and make a loop - hang from tree! If you are more of a crafter, there are plenty of ideas for other homemade tree decorations here.

- Get creative and make your own Christmas cards. Use recycled paper, old wallpaper or wrapping paper scraps, cardboard from cereal or cracker boxes, bows and ribbons and your imagination. Everyone is impressed with homemade cards. You'll also save a bundle of money!

- With the recession and attempts to greenify, I'm opting to give some homemade gifts this season. It's easy to make bark, squares, cookies and flavourful nuts in the comfort of my own home. I'll then package them in pretty boxes or jars.

I'd also love some more ideas, so if anyone has some great ones to share, please do so here!

This week's winner of Jill Lambert's A Good Catch is (more...)

This is going to be a big post - complete with a contest!!! Read on for details.

With the holidays around the corner, I've decided that on a weekly basis I'll give you some green gift ideas. So, starting today I will pass on some ideas, and continue to do so every Friday until Christmas. Can you believe we're just a month away? Today's theme is (more...)