Merry Christmas everyone! Before we celebrate the New Year, we want to share the gifts that we made for each other. All my friends are creative, but we are creative in very different ways. Our mission to create eco-friendly gifts for each other took us on very different paths.

Corinne knitted up a storm and made a blanket for our friend Harv, and Mario gloves and toque for me. I hope she gets her Etsy site up soon, as I’m positive that I will be asked where I got my Nintendo inspired accessories.
Harv baked both of us a delicious container of cookies and brownies. He also did without wrapping paper and used colourful magazine pages instead.
I went the art route and drew a customized My Little Pony for Harv. The print came from our favorite FSC Printer, Linxprint. For Corinne, I made a flash game of her favorite childhood cartoons. You can play it here.

I love Christmas. I love the decorations, the scents, the presents and the parties. What I hate about Christmas is how absolutely poor it makes me. Not only are the holidays hard on the budget but also on the environment. In fact the Christmas season produces the most waste out of all the holidays: the result of 3 billion tons of extra garbage generated mostly from cheap and often meaningless gifts. Christmas does not have to be a commercial and wasteful affair. Here are some ideas on how to make your Christmas more eco-friendly.

Setting the Scene
Set the scene with a cozy Christmas fire, candles, and scents. Burning wood is a great sustainable way to heat a room. Wood is carbon neutral and releases the same amount of carbon dioxide when burned as when it rots naturally. Make sure you get your wood from sustainably managed resources. To make your home even more inviting and cozy, place pine cones or orange peels on top of the burning wood to create delicious smells. You could also try scented candles. Natural soy or beeswax candles are great options as they are biodegradable.

Choosing A Christmas Tree
Buy a locally grown tree with a Christmas tree growers’ association label. This ensures that your tree has been sustainably grown. Once Christmas is over, your tree can be converted to mulch in a seasonal recycling program. Talk to your city’s waste disposal to learn more about your local recycling program. Artificial trees are popular alternatives. However, take proper care to ensure that you do not purchase a petroleum-based product that may have been flown from China. Another option is renting a tree. Vancouver based Evergrow Christmas Trees rent potted trees. They deliver and pick-up the tree and you can request to have the same tree year after year.

Decorating Your Tree
Use garlands instead of lights. Or if you can’t go without lights, make sure to use low energy LEDs. LEDs come in the same brilliant colours as standard lights but only use a fraction of energy. Compliment previously purchased ornaments with dried fruit, pine cones, cinnamon sticks, and hand-made decorations.

Presents
This year my friends and I decided to save money (and the environment) by making gifts for each other. We will be posting our creations at a later date. Crafts are not the only eco-friendly option. Here are some ideas:

• Oxfam Unwrapped donation. A gift of peace on behalf of your loved ones.
• Gifts that can be experienced. (E.g. Concert or sport tickets)
• Food is always great. A basket of organic jams, herbal teas, or baked goods.
• Eco gadgets like staple free staplers or Eco kettles
• Recycled stationery. Take a look at Poo Poo Paper.
• Bamboo products. E.g. Towels, robes, bamboo serving bowls.
• Cloth diaper starter kit. Try the GDiaper.

For more green Christmas ideas read A Greener Christmas by Sheherazade Goldsmith.

With Christmas fast approaching, and a general tendency to be creative / crafty, I’ve made my own Christmas decorations this year.  They’re really easy to make, and they’re all natural!
Here’s how to do it:

What you need:
2 cups of flour
1 cup of salt
1 cup of water
Mix the flour and salt together and gradually add the water until a soft dough forms.

Knead the dough for about 5 minutes, roll it out and cut it into shapes.

Pierce a hole in each one so you can hang string through them later.  Bake in the oven at 325 degrees for about an hour.  It might be longer or shorter depending on how thick the dough is.

Remove from oven and let cool.  Decorate as you like!

The finished Christmas ornament, decorated with sparkles!