New Perspectives: Decorating Your Christmas Tree the Green Way

source image courtesy of Green House Eco-Cleaning

For many of us the Christmas season is a time of lights and decorations. However many of these decorations are not exactly eco-friendly. From wasteful lights to harmful plastic to chemical additions there are all kinds of ways to make your Christmas tree less than green. However there are great ways to easily change this mindset. Here are some fun and festive decorating tips for your tree:

1. Real is best – Having a real tree instead of an artificial one can seem counterintuitive. I mean you are killing a tree for your personal use. However Christmas trees are always replanted and the demand for trees actually keeps more real trees growing in the long run. Not to mention that it is much better for the environment to have a real tree produced instead of a plastic one.

2. Natural décor – Using natural elements like trimmed pine branches, pine cones, holly sprigs and mistletoe is a great way to bring green indoors figuratively and literally. The vibrancy of real plants cannot be matched. Even plants that are toxic, like poinsettias, make for beautiful living decorations if you are careful to keep them out of the reach of children and pets.

3. Homemade ornaments – Decorating the tree the natural way is easy with homemade ornaments. You can make edible ornaments in the shape of gingerbread men, sugar cookies, candy canes, and so on. These edible ornaments can not only be a great visual appeal on your tree but can also be part of the gifts. The children can pick and choose one snack to have every day until Christmas, leaving less to toss after the holidays and increasing their enjoyment.

4. Stringing garland – Another great old fashioned idea in tree decorating is garland stringing. A needle and thread can be a great asset as your family joins in Christmas cheer to create strands of popcorn or cranberries to wind around the tree.

5. LED lights –Speaking of flammable, the hot lights that usually mark the Christmas season are very wasteful and older models can even be a fire hazard. Instead, try to use new LED lights. These lights produce little heat and are very energy efficient. They also last a very long time so you do not have to keep replacing them every year. No more frustration with burnt out lights or worrying about fires!

6. Recycing tree –Last but not least, after the holidays make sure to dispose of your tree properly. There are many areas that will take your tree for recycling into mulch or other useful things. Or you can cut the tree up and use it as part of your own gardening compost. As you can see it is easy to decorate your Christmas tree in an eco-friendly way. Stay green, have fun and enjoy time with your family this holiday season!

Author: Rachel is an ex-babysitting pro as well as a professional writer and blogger. She is a graduate from Iowa State University and currently writes for www.babysitting.net. She welcomes questions/comments which can be sent to rachelthomas.author@gmail.com.