I take issue with what is probably THE most treasured holiday custom of the year. And I feel awful about that. Because a beautifully decorated Christmas tree does hold magic. BUT….
I just can’t make peace with it. There are numerous articles out there discussing the pros and cons of real vs. artificial trees and which is better, but my choice continues to be -Neither.
In short, artificial trees are made with plastics, sometimes lead. They are usually imported from China, which is a huge environmental footprint if you live elsewhere. They emit toxins while being manufactured and in your home. Even if you do reuse them for many years, their eventual landing space (and, yes, even those artificial leaves shed each year) is a landfill… Nope. Can’t do it.
Real trees, grown locally and –this is the really important part–recycled when they’re done, are supposedly the better of the two choices. But, first off, as a tree lover, I just cannot make peace with cutting down a tree. Ever. Even if it’s grown for the purpose of killing. I can’t do it, the same way vegetarians can’t eat meat. Often times, wildlife do start making homes in these “temporary” trees, so that sucks. And pesticides are often used in the process… So, another ‘No’ from me.
And I totally get that there are bigger, other things with environmental impact. I’m far from perfect, and I know I have many of these things in my life. But, like I said, for some reason the Christmas tree is a sticking point for me. So, this leaves me with “alternative” trees. I’ve pinned a bunch of ideas for these on my Pinterest page. But there are waaaay more than these ones out there. These are just some of my favs. I also really love the idea of potted, tabletop trees that can be planted after the holidays. Living in rentals doesn’t usually allow for this though.
Several years ago, after years of decorating our wall with fabric or ribbon trees, I asked my husband to make a tree from an old pallet. I painted it with some eco-friendly milk paint, which isn’t as bright and vibrant, but gives a bit of a rustic look that I like. Anyway, we hang our lights (that’s a whole other post) and ornaments here. At least once a year I wonder if we should just give in and get a “real” tree. I research it and think about it all over again, and I just can’t bring myself to do it.
Yes, I miss the trees I grew up with during Christmas time, but there’s also something said for new traditions and for the creativity and togetherness involved in making our own kind of tree. Besides, if I could give my kids a truly big gift for Christmas, it would be the chance at a more sustainable world for their future. So, cheeseball as it sounds, there it is. This is the tree that gives me “hope and strength throughout the year.”
I LOVE, love getting fortunes from fortune cookies! And even though I’ve grown to dislike the restaurant ones, and I’m not always in the mood to make the homemade ones, I still crave the random messages of wisdom or hope or complete randomness to reflect on.
Enter….Paper and Fabric Fortune Cookies! I love this idea, especially because it’s a GREAT opportunity to reuse old magazines, catalogs, wrapping paper, damaged books, etc. as well as fabric scraps. Wouldn’t it be fun to have a jar of these around either at a celebration or perhaps year-round for your family or guests to reach in for some fortune cookie wisdom every now and then?
The first time I made these, I sort of made it up as I went, and it was a bit of a struggle. In the video above, I’ve shown a few different tips and ideas, which I hope can help.
I think a bag or box or container of these would be such a fun, simple (possibly upcycled?) gift. If your gift recipient is going through a tough time, you could hand select quotes or messages to offer them hope or a chuckle. If it’s a special anniversary party, you could collect messages about love or marriage. If you’ve collected cute, little sayings your kid has said over the years, you could put those on the messages at a birthday party. You could stick a fortune in with your child’s lunch or tuck one into a birthday card. The creative possibilities are endless.
If you’re not up for a crafty project, but still like the idea of fortunes, why not just put out a jar of fortunes with no cookies? Here are some fortune cookie quotations (and hereand here) I put together for my shop, if you’re interested!
Reducing food waste can happen at many stages in a food’s journey, but with the holiday season in full swing, I thought I’d talk a little bit about leftovers today.
I know some people who are very clever and creative with their leftovers; I am not one of those people yet. But, I do have some tips to share that have helped our family cut down on the leftovers food waste.
One of the best ways to reduce waste for us is to label our leftovers. I tend to be one of those who is overly careful about how old food is. So to counteract this, I keep masking tape and a Sharpie in the kitchen. Most of our food goes into Pyrex containers to be stored, and that is when we label it. By simply marking the date on the food and designating a shelf for leftovers, I find that our food waste is greatly reduced. Another option we like to use is our freezer. Not only do we mark the date in this case, but also the food item. If we know we won’t be enjoying the food in a timely manner, then the freezer is a great place for it. This also gives us bonus, easy meals, whether it’s days or weeks down the road.
When you’re planning a big meal for a holiday, it might help to have a plan ahead of time for leftovers. And while I know that leftovers are seen as a great bonus of holiday meals for many people, this doesn’t always include all the parts of the meal. So, be sure to have a plan for the side dishes as well as the main ones. The Internet is, of course, a good source for ideas. By simply typing in “leftovers ideas” and the name of the holiday you might be celebrating, you’d be surprised by the number of posts.
Another way to cut down on food waste is to do your best to plan for how much food you really need. Especially at holidays, I know many people get wrapped up in the idea of a huge meal or cooking certain items because they feel those are expected or traditional items. Be sure that what you’re cooking or buying really matches what people will want to eat in the first place. It might help to ask yourself or those around you which foods are actual favorites versus which foods just seem like they should be on the table.
Another way to reduce leftover food waste is by sharing with others, whether it’s guests you have over for a meal (in non-Covid times), neighbors, or whoever you think might benefit from the food, if you know you won’t be able to eat it all.
Foods go through so much to get to us. The amount of water and time and labor and transportation and packaging is staggering. By trying some of these suggestions or others you might have, hopefully we can reduce the leftovers waste.
Quick review:
-Create or buy foods that match your preferences and the amount that will most likely be eaten.
-Have a leftover plan in place ahead of time.
-Find recipes for leftovers.
-Store and label leftovers in a visible location.
-Freeze leftovers if they won’t be eaten soon.
-Share with people who will enjoy the leftovers, if you won’t be able to.
Thank you so much for being here. I am grateful for you. Your actions can and will make a difference!
As we roll into the last month of this year, I have to admit that my first temptation was to have a post about gifts. And, while I would still like to do that, I stopped myself and realized how strange it is that our holiday season has become so centered around this.
Now, honestly, as much as I’m a fan of reducing unnecessary consumption and waste, I really do love the idea of holiday gift giving. I think there’s a lot of good behind the idea of wanting to show our appreciation of others through giving gifts and recognizing our own part in others’ lives by receiving gifts. But, it seems like the idea behind why we exchange gifts has almost gotten lost. I feel the holidays have become a whirlwind of shopping and lists and obligations. Many of us are going through the motions and doing the holiday “thing” out of habit or a life checklist of sorts.
So, I wanted to pause and think about what the holidays really mean. I know, upon reflection, this answer will be different for everyone. It might be about family or religion or forgiveness. It could be about endings and beginnings as the year comes to a close. It could be about the importance of quiet reflection or finding joy in the moment. But, much like the Whos down in Whoville, I know that the holiday season—for whatever it is you’re celebrating this month—is about more than gifts and feasts. So, while I don’t disagree with many of the traditions behind this month, I do think it’s important to pause and remember just why it is we’re doing them.
I’ve been out of the trick-or-treating loop for awhile. In my pre-parenting days, I didn’t really think much about it, and then once our kids were born, we lived somewhere that wasn’t really set up for trick-or-treating, and we didn’t want our kids having candy anyway. But, now with the kids a bit older and living in a bigger city, there’s little way to escape the event.
And, being the type that I am, I can’t help but feel a bit overwhelmed at the sheer volume of waste created for this annual tradition. I watch handfuls of candy go into each child’s bag sometimes. I know this might not apply to everyone, but many of the parents I know do not let their kids eat all of this. So, it either goes directly in the trash or Switch Witch takes it or it sits in a drawer for months until it finally ends up in the trash. On the whole, it seems more and more parents have become label readers. Ingredients like corn syrup, Red 40, Blue 1, palm oil, and more are found in almost every candy and are often things parents like to avoid.
So, we’ve got either food waste or, for those who do want to consume the candy, there’s sometimes litter, teeth issues, and, of course, health issues. Also, because of the bite-sized amounts given, there is waaay more packaging used than would normally be used for candy.
All around, the whole thing really bums me out. Besides, I’m personally not a fan of the GIMME, entitled, MORE, MORE attitude that is associated with trick-or-treating. But, what to do? As a parent, I know, I feel stuck. I want my kids to be able to participate in holiday activities, and, unfortunately, this sometimes means dealing with all the wasteful candy.
REDUCE
The best way to reduce the candy waste is to either <gasp!> not trick-or-treat, or find less wasteful alternatives to hand out. The tricky part with that, of course, is A)How do you dictate what is given out? and B) What is a good alternative, since cheap, plastic trinkets are no better than the candy waste?
Sometimes in trick-or-treating situations, it isn’t even other parents handing out the candy. I find that most parents of young children understand how we don’t want to be bombarded with a sugar-y mess. I find the most “generous” candy givers are older. They are sentimental about the tradition and have either over-purchased candy that they don’t want to keep around and/or are truly trying to give the kids candy do something kind. So, the reducing part of this can get tricky… One of the best ways is with awareness. Maybe through articles or other means, we can start to spread the word and try to figure out alternatives to the candy overload.
If your church or organization is involved in a Trunk-or-Treat, maybe you can gently suggest candy alternatives. If you or someone you know is heading up organizing a trick-or-treat at shops, maybe you can talk to the shop owners about this. At your own home, you, of course, have control over what you pass out, but I’m wondering if house-to-house trick-or-treating is even done as much with all the other options out there.
So, what are less wasteful alternatives? As I mentioned, cheap, plastic toys are definitely not the answer. Those cheap bubble containers or mini whistles or spy glasses or anything purchased in bulk are usually things kids take one look at and then never think about again. Or they break after about 20 minutes. And they end up in the trash. Ugh. And things like glow sticks are so horrible for the environment.
So, what wouldn’t end up being wasteful? You can Google “Halloween candy alternatives” and see what comes up, but a lot of times the plastic trinkets will be what you see. Some alternatives that sounded promising to me were local honey sticks, homemade play dough in reusable containers, hot chocolate packets, stickers, mini figs, coloring pages (you can print these out yourself), a small bag of craft supplies and instructions, homemade clay Halloween pins, or homemade small Halloween finger puppets. Obviously, none of these are zero-impact, but I think it’s a start in rethinking old traditions.
If you’re holding a Halloween event with a small group, you can each bring a homemade treat and set up mini booths shaped like houses to pass the treats out to the kids.
Instead of passing out candy at a Trunk-or-Treat, maybe people could collect photos of their kids at each station or the kids could do a small craft at each station. Or there could even be supplies out at each car so the kids could participate in the actual decorating.
At a harvest festival, you could charge a small admission and maybe the kids could play games for tickets and then trick-or-treat at small “shops” and decide what they’d like to buy with their tickets. That way you can buy higher quality items and the kids would be choosing things they want (and “earning” them).
This whole thing is, pardon the pun, tricky. At the very least, just start to become more aware. If someone tries to plunk a whole fistful of candy into your child’s bag and you know it won’t get eaten, politely refuse and ask for just one, please. Don’t overbuy candy for your own home if you know it doesn’t get passed out or eaten. If you really feel you “need” candy for passing out, but you never go through a whole bag, share with a neighbor.
Look for candy with the least amount of packaging and the least amount of offensive ingredients. Maybe opt for crackers or pretzels or organic candies instead of the brands or foods that are overflowing in corn syrup.
REUSE
See if anywhere around town would be able to use any candy you won’t be consuming.
Candy wrappers can be made into many creative projects such as headbands, bracelets, barrettes, coin purses, decoupaging and more. Search “candy wrapper reuse projects” and see what you find.
As I mentioned in the pumpkin waste post, changing traditions, especially very established holiday traditions, is tough. But, part of being human and being on this planet is changing our ways as we gain new information. So, I really don’t mean to be the Bah Humbug of Halloween here, but I think it’s time to start speaking out and thinking differently about our approach to trick-or-treating. I’m sooo far from having the magic answer on this one, but I think it’s something to start talking about.
Thank you, as always, for being here. Your actions can and will make a difference.
