Simplify the Holidays

Posted On: Dec 02, 11

The holidays are a time of celebration with family, friends, and the community. Every family celebrates the season in different ways and for different reasons, but there is a universal act in which most participate: Giving. This once-simple holiday tradition has led to consumption practices that can have serious impacts on our environment-and the family budget!

Our 12 Days of a Green Holiday Guide has great ideas to help simplify your season and make a commitment to start a new tradition today! Here are a few of our favorites:

  • Give reusable or homemade gifts.
  • Reuse wrapping paper and bows or try repurposing newspapers, brown paper bags, maps, or artwork to make your own unique, eco-friendly packages. Reusable grocery bags are also a good gift-wrapping option, and then it’s a gift inside a gift.
  • Cut out pictures and messages from last year’s cards, and then put them together to create brand new cards for this year.
  • Consider giving the gift of a Kokua Hawai’i Foundation membership or making a donation to Kokua Hawai’i Foundation in the name of your friends and loved ones.
  • Give teachers, coworkers, and friends edible gifts, plants, or gift certificates instead of “stuff” that will get stuck in a drawer somewhere.
  • When buying a Christmas tree, consider live potted trees that you can keep. If you do get a cut tree, try to find one that’s locally grown instead of imported. Helemano Farms on Oahu offers locally grown Norfolk Pines.  Sunset Beach Elementary School’s Student Farmer’s Market Club is selling Helemano Farms Christmas Tree vouchers to benefit their garden and snack program.  Stop by the school office or the Haleiwa Farmer’s Market this Sunday to purchase your voucher.  Remember to “treecycle” your tree with your green waste after Christmas.

School campuses are also abuzz preparing for the holidays. Classrooms filled with anxious children and teachers race to finish projects before the break. Check out KHF’s Green Holiday Educator Resource Guide full of tips and ideas that will help you green your classroom crafts and parties.
We would like to give The New American Dream credit for inspiring us to bring the Simplify the Holidays campaign to Hawai’i. Check out their website to take their Simplify The Holidays Challenge.