It’s a day that tends to celebrate “too much”. Gifts. In-laws. Food. While I can’t control the onslaught of relatives, I can help you take back your plan for a greener holiday. Let’s start with:

The Food
It’s easy to green your holiday meal and, in fact, changing what’s on our plates can be a highly impactful (not to mention tasty) way to make that connection to Mother Earth.
Whether your family salivates at the prospect of turkey, roast beef or ham for the holiday meal, consider a few key factors before digging in.
For starters, what was the animal fed? Cows that are grass-fed are not only better for you (lower in fat, higher in Omega 3s, for starters), they’re also healthier, happier and better for the planet. How? Because they’re eating what their digestive systems are designed to eat, they release far less methane from burps and…ummm…flatulence. And before you roll your eyes, all that cow gas creates more greenhouse gas emissions globally than all forms of transport combined. So eating grass-fed goes a long way toward shrinking your carbon footprint. Look also for grass-fed lambs.
If you plan to put pork on your fork, look for pasture-raised pigs. It means they’ve eaten what nature intended and are healthier and happier piggies as a result.
If you’re a turkey lover, you’ll want to avoid those supermarket birds in favor of a heritage and/or organic bird. The difference isn’t only that the latter tastes far better, but that the cruelty inflicted on these caged and speed-fattened turkeys is unimaginable. And aren’t the holidays about goodwill toward hens (and turkeys and…you get the idea).
Don’t forget to surround your meat with lots of organic, locally grown goodies, such as all those root vegetables that you can still find close by, whatever your climate. Organic produce means you’re not giving pesticides and fertilizers a free ride on your plate

The Tree:
The endless fir debate… Frankly, this is one of those “on the one hand…but on the other…” issues. Let’s break it down:
If you already have a fake fir, stick with it. Unless you can still smell it off-gassing (which is possible), lavish it with lovely decorations and use it until it’s a Charlie Brown-esque twig. If you simply can’t bring yourself to have a fake tree any longer, donate it. The environmental damage has been down. Better to keep it out of landfill and let it live on in someone else’s living room.
However, if you want to go live, short of cutting down an old-growth pine, you can’t really go wrong. Most Christmas trees are grown for the express purpose of being chopped. If you want to go REALLY green, try a “live” Christmas tree. This is a tree that you keep in a pot (which, of course, limits its size – no soaring Christmas trees for you this year!), then, when you’re done with it, you simply store it somewhere warmish…and plant it in your garden next spring. In the meantime, it’s busy doing what trees do best – absorbing our CO2 and, in true Christmas spirit, giving off life-sustaining oxygen.

The Decorations:
I’ve yet to see a made-in-China decoration that rivals anything Mother Nature can offer up. Pinecones, dogwood branches, acorns, chestnuts, pine boughs… Add some LED lights and you’ve got a home filled with warmth, beauty…and no toxic chemicals leaching into the bodies of your loved ones.