Eco-Conscious Holidays: Tips for Greening Your Holiday Party
[Image credit: Freshtopia at Flickr under a Creative Commons license]
It’s that time of year! There are parties and big meals to plan, gifts to get together, and travel plans to finalize. How is a person supposed to live green during such a busy time of year? This week, we’re going to take a look at ways to have a fabulous holiday season without giving up those Earth-friendly ideals. It doesn’t have to feel like a sacrifice!
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Food and Drink
Whether you’re having a fancy dinner party or a casual cocktail hour, it’s easy and delicious to make sure you have sustainable snacks and drinks!
A lot of holiday meals, like Thanksgiving, center around the meat. It doesn’t have to be that way! Meat production creates more greenhouse gases than the transportation sector. If you think it would go over, consider a vegetarian Thanksgiving! Otherwise, try cutting back on the amount of meat you’re serving. If you would have gotten a conventional 12 pound turkey, go for a free-range, organic 8-pounder. On top of saving some money, that smaller bird takes less time and energy to cook. You can also reduce the meat in the meal with tasty vegetarian side dishes, while keeping the traditional turkey and trimmings.
At the grocery store, opt for local, organic ingredients wherever you can. You can even find tasty organic wines and beers to serve! I’m a big fan of Ladybug Red Table Wine, which my grocery store recently started carrying. It goes well with a variety of different dishes without breaking my budget. Last time I picked up a bottle, it was about $12. If you’re serving cocktails, you can find details on all sorts of organic liquors over here!
Party Supplies
The greenest option for plates and cutlery is serving your food on reusable dishes. When your guest list is larger than your supply of plates, platters, and cutlery, though, you might be tempted to pick up disposables. If you’re going that route, check out this great bamboo cutlery. It’s more stylish than plastic, and produced responsibly. You can even toss these guys into the compost bin when the meal is through! Green Feet is a great resource for Earth-friendly plates, bowls, cups, and serving dishware, too.
So what about decorations? I am pretty much in love with this butterfly garland by Royal Buffet. Created from upcycled books and photographs, this stuff beats your run-of-the-mill streamers any day! Instead of stringing lights, add a little ambiance with these beautiful soy candles by Oak Moss. You can green up your table by opting for cloth table coverings, napkins, and place mats over disposable ones.
One last party tip: take advantage of the body heat from all the extra people in your home, and turn down your thermostat! For every degree you lower your heat in the 60-degree to 70-degree range, you conserve 5% of your energy use.
Check out the other posts in this Eco-Conscious Holiday series! Read about greener travel tips here and Earth-friendly gifts right over here.
