I'm dreaming of a Green Christmas

During the Christmas period so much goes to waste - wrapping paper, unwanted presents, food, drinks, plastic plates etc. Not only does it burn a hole in our pockets but it adds greatly to the landfills around the World.   With this in mind I thought this year I am going to have an eco friendly Christmas.  Now I have two small kids so I still need to make it all christmassy and not to boring so over the next couple of months I will provide ideas on how to have an eco-friendly, kid-friendly Christmas - if you have ideas please feel free to provide details below in the comments section or email me at amanda@greenmeoz.com.au.

So what is my theme for Christmas?
Well it is tradition in our family to have a hot Christmas lunch, no matter the temperature (which is usually hot hot hot!!), followed by leftovers for dinner.  So for us it will be lunch inside and dinner outside on the verandah.

I love red, green  and white for Christmas so I am sticking with the traditional Christmas theme but chucking in the eco-friendly, aussie touch. I call it the 'Green Aussie Christmas'.  Here are a couple of ideas:

• Table decorations: euclyptus leaves, bottle brush and gumnuts.  Save a couple of old jars to use as vases.
• I'm going for the cloth napkins - will stick with a neutral colour which means you can reuse them for other occassions.
• I invested in a white dinner setting and accessories years ago so again, it can be used year in year out,  no matter what the trends are.
• Handmade Christmas Crackers.  I made these one year and they were great.  Just use toilet paper rolls, some left over paper and ribbons.  You can write your own jokes or messages to include in the middle along with some yummy chocolates.  You can even personalise them and use them as a table place setting as well.  I'll pop some photos up of mine once they are done.
• Outside I will be using the same table decorations plus my beautiful Ecococoon cups  (see picture below).
• Solar christmas lights and lanterns around the verandah and in the garden.  You can pick these up quite cheap now at the discount stores. Make sure you put them up well in advance so they have time to charge.
• Invest in some mozzie candles for outside. 
• NO disposable plates, glasses, napkins or cutlery.

Ecococoon cup set in 'Celebration Red'.
Set of six plus cover for just $38.00 including postage.

Well that's a start.  What green theme ideas do you have?

Amanda
Green Me OZ
b. http://greenmeoz.blogspot.com/
w. http://www.greenmeoz.com.au/
f. http://www.facebook.com/greenmeoz

We have the power

They say it's hard to teach old dogs new tricks.  When it comes to changing people's bad habits into green habits ie recycling, saving energy, choosing green alternatives and respecting the Earth, it can be hard but one area where it is a lot easier is with our kids.

I was walking home after picking up my daughter from school when I overhead a couple of young girls, probably about 9 years old, talking about a plastic bag that was flying by.  One girl commented "we should pick up that plastic bag before it goes into the ocean and it gets stuck on a turtle", she then giggled and they walked off.  I think perhaps her intentions were good but she was embarrassed when her friend did not respond.   This got me thinking......perhaps the message is getting through.

My kids only use stainless steel water bottles and cups - they know no different.  We use eco bags, we recycle, we save energy, we respect the planet.  To them, this is a normal part of life, not something they have to adjust to.  By making this a part of our everyday life we have the power people! Let's use it and educate our kids on helping the environment and how they can make smart green choices.

Think green. Live green. Love green.

Amanda
Green Me OZ
w. http://www.greenmeoz.com.au/
b. http://greenmeoz.blogspot.com/
f. http://www.facebook.com/greenmeoz

Hanging Plastic Bottle Garden

I came across an article and great idea which I have to share with you. Basically they have used old plastic bottles and created a hanging garden. What a fantastic idea.

Hanging garden made from old plastic bottles

Well actually I am in two minds about it.  I absolutely love the idea of recycling and using dead space to create something like this BUT the bottles will obviously contain BPA and as they are in direct sunlight they will be heated. I would imagine that BPA would leach into the soil and hence the plants that are growing in them.   It would be such a great school project but I am torn by the possibility of BPA exposure.

What are your thoughts on this?

Amanda
Green Me OZ
b. http://greenmeoz.blogspot.com/