Here are a few tips to make your holiday more sustainable this year:

Green your holiday feasts: Cook holiday meals by using organic (fewer chemicals, pesticides, and often fewer food miles) or vegetarian or vegan ingredients (animal agriculture is a major contributor or greenhouse gas, plus plants require less land for production). Buying local is also great choice because it reduces carbon emissions produced in the transportation of food across country.

Host an ornament collecting party: Rather than buying more plastic ornaments transported from across the ocean, have an ornament party in your own backyard. Collect pinecones, pebbles, leafs or any other items that can be made into tree ornaments using eco-friendly glue and craft products.

Trim a tree — outside: Have children decorate yard trees with suet pine cones, popcorn strings, and corn cobs (for squirrels), then watch to see what visitors show up.

Send holiday images not paper:  Take digital photos of the wintery journeys mentioned above, then make your own digital green holiday cards.

Green holiday wrapping: Put a dent in holiday waste by using recycled or repurposed material — newspaper comics, old calendar photos, unwanted maps, scarves or reusable gift bags — are great materials. If you can’t break away from standard wrapping, at least avoid foil paper as it generally cannot be recycled, then resolve to wrap a percentage of gifts in recycled material. Make it more fun by having a green-gift-wrapping night with children, using crayons to decorate used paper or newspapers.

Click here for more tips on making your holiday greener.

Happy Holidays from DBI!