Friday, December 11, 2009

Dreaming of a Green Christmas


Thanks to the hard work of Kate Miller of the Conservation Commission, Middletown has a wonderful Green Buying Guide that is packed with great ideas for the holidays. An excerpt is below, and the full guide is available at this link:

http://www.middletownplanning.com/documents/GreenBuyingGuide.pdf


GIVING WITHOUT GLUTTONY:


* Give necessities. Buy your family the new Energy Star dryer you've needed; give organic or locally grown food, or energy saving compact florescent light bulbs.
* Give your time. A card with a promise to help clean the basement or babysit the kids could be someone's favorite gift.
* Give services. A gift certificate for a massage, an afternoon of a cleaning service, a garden planted by a landscaper.
* Give gifts that keep on giving. Donate in the person.s name to a non-profit like a local environmental group, Hospice or social justice organization.
* Give homemade. Kids underestimate the appreciation of a homemade gift. Many are easy to make: a laminated bookmark with photographs, candles, cookies, decorated notecards.
* Give your skill. Good photographer? Give a family photo shoot. Organizer? Offer to help with a cluttered study or bedroom. Cook? Your favorite recipes.
* Give them skills. Buy art or drawing classes, music lessons, obedience training (for the dog.).
* Give an experience. Take the kids wall climbing or bowling, treat a friend to lunch, watch the kids so your spouse can have the afternoon alone.
* Give an heirloom. Emphasize the importance of family connections by giving a favorite piece of jewelry, a knick-knack or furniture.
* Give used. A treasure from an antique shop, a refinished piece of thrift shop furniture, a rare find from a used book store.
* Give back. Kids may better appreciate what they have, if they understand that so many people have less. Donate to toy drives, send money to a disaster relief organization, bring food to the soup kitchen, have them sort through their things and give excess to a thrift store, engage them in community service.
* Give a little at a time. Kids are often overwhelmed by the gift pile. Try giving one for the each of the twelve days of Christmas, open some on Christmas Eve, or go on the aspirin schedule - 1 every four hours.
* Give thanks! Creating moments to appreciate your good fortune and reflect on your values can be a welcome respite in this busy time.

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