Celebrating Simplicity

As a time for giving, the holidays are the perfect opportunity to give back to the planet. Making sure you're doing your part to help the environment goes hand-in-hand with many of the holiday traditions we've come to love. Here are a few ways to make this December greener without scrimping on the holiday spirit.

One easy thing to do is to brighten the holidays this year with energy-efficient LED holiday lights. Not only will you have the best lit house on the block, you'll save money too. LEDs consume 90 percent less energy than the traditional mini incandescent, which can shave off as much as $50 from your monthly electricity bill.

With the money you'll save on lighting, you can spread your love for the planet to friends and family with environmentally conscious gifts. There are green gifts galore that are truly one of a kind. Many imaginative artists have given stuff headed for the landfill a second life by creating works of art from recycled materials. For the chocolate lover in your life, you can give the gift of guilt-free chocolate. The Sierra Club's organic chocolate is also fair-trade, with a portion of the proceeds going directly to support environmental programs.

Take a cue from nature this holiday season: these birds are perfectly happy spending time together without spending a dime.

Wrap your green gift in enviro-friendly wrapping paper. Most mass-produced wrapping paper is not recyclable and ends up in a landfill. Making your own wrapping paper is not only an opportunity to reduce waste, but it's also a chance to give your gifts the personal touch that the holidays are all about. Kids will be delighted by toys that come wrapped in the comics section of the newspaper and Grandma's heart will melt when she gets a present covered in her grandchildren's artwork. A little creativity goes a long way: If every family wrapped just three of their gifts this way, it would save enough paper to cover 45,000 football fields!

Another step is to bring the green holiday spirit to your table with organic and local foods. Your holiday feast can help support family farmers who grow sustainable meat and produce. Not only will your holiday ham be better for you and taste better, you'll be doing your part for the planet too.

If you don't want pesticides in your food, you probably don't want pesticides on your tree either. Your boughs could be decked with over 40 different pesticides and chemical colorants. Fortunately, many tree-farms are going pesticide-free. Ask your local tree seller or check out www.localharvest.org to find a pesticide-free tree farm near you.

Finally, after the eggnog's gone and the presents are open, don't let your tree be one of the 10 million sent to landfills when it could be put to better use. Most cities have tree-recycling programs that convert your retired holiday centerpiece into mulch or woodchips.

Incorporating these tips into holiday traditions is the best gift we can give the planet and each other. For more green holiday ideas, visit www.sierraclub.org/holidays.