How to Plan a Green Thanksgiving
10 Steps to an Eco-friendly Holiday Party
These 10 green Thanksgiving ideas will save money and time while protecting the environment. Green holidays can be creative, fun, and easy - and easy on your conscience.
Give yourself peace of mind and make your holidays eco-friendly with these green Thanksgiving ideas. These 10 steps to an eco-friendly holiday party also include a few eco-friendly gift ideas.
- Send eco-friendly, paper-free invitations made of hemp, banana stalks, organic cotton, kenaf or bamboo. To reduce waste and cost, use postcards instead of envelopes. Eco-friendly holiday parties don’t have to cost hundreds of dollars.
- Suggest ride sharing. Encourage fewer emissions and more parking spots by including on the invitations the names, phone numbers or email addresses of guests who live near one another.
- Decorate with organic flowers, branches, dried flowers and (naturally) live poinsettas. Find a florist who recycles and uses local sources. Consider environmentally sensitive Eco Flora or Sierra Flower Trading for your floral arrangements. Green holidays can include green flowers!
- Dress in vintage, hemp, organic cotton or silk. Redesigned vintage is unique and chic. Accessorize with enchanting recycled or vintage jewelry, and experiment with all-natural makeup. Vintage jewelry is also a great eco-friendly gift idea.
- Serve organic wine or champagne with real cork, not plastic stoppers or twistoff tops. Cork is renewable and trees aren’t felled for cork; the forests and industry will disappear if cork isn’t used. Your eco-friendly holiday party can help preserve an industry.
- Quench thirst with green liquor. Serve organic vodka, gin, cider, wine or beer; buy local if possible. Instead of bottled water, freshen tap water by filtering and adding squeezed lemons, limes, or oranges.
- Go light on chicken, turkey and beef. Focus on eco-friendly vegetarian fare or organic meats. Try vegetarian nut roast with apple walnut stuffing or baked acorn squash with cranberries. A green Thanksgiving can be delicious without the turkey!
- Use biodegradable plates and cutlery that can be composted afterwards, or rent plates and cutlery. Avoid paper or plastic dishware; even the paper ones aren’t eco-friendly if they’re coated in petroleum-based wax.
- Jive to the sounds of eco-friendly music. Green bands take the bus to their gigs to reduce carbon emissions; they play portable instruments and sound fantastic without speakers. Eco-friendly holidays can include green music.
- Donate leftover food to a shelter or a food bank; call before your party to arrange pickup or delivery. Ask if they could also use your leftover decorations, gift boxes or bags, or recycled wrapping paper. Or, give leftover food to your party guests.
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The copyright of the article How to Plan a Green Thanksgiving in Green/Simple Living is owned by Laurie Pawlik-Kienlen. Permission to republish How to Plan a Green Thanksgiving must be granted by the author in writing.
