Christmas is not only a time to celebrate with family and friends, but it’s also a time to be more conscious about the environment. Every Christmas, Canadians throw-out thousands of tonnes of holiday packaging, use more energy to decorate their homes and cut down millions of Christmas trees without replanting new ones. This Christmas, why not try and be a little greener? By fine-tuning your Christmas décor, cutting back on packaged goods and wrapping, you can give your Christmas an eco-friendly makeover. Here are some tips to make your Christmas a little greener:

Conserve energy - We all love the twinkle of Christmas lights, but that twinkle also effects our energy consumption. This holiday season a great option to conserve energy is to throw away your old lights and replace them with a low-power LED version. Also, purchasing a timer and creating a time frame for your lights is a great way to conserve energy—this way, you will never forget to turn off your lights.

Recycle your Christmas cards – Instead of throwing away all those lovely Christmas cards, why not recycle them? Try turning them into new cards by cutting and pasting parts of old cards onto a new blank card. This small, yet useful tip can really make a difference in our landfills.

Green presents - When deciding what to purchase your loved ones, why not decide on something that contributes to a better earth? There are many eco-friendly gift options available in the World Vision Gift catalogue (www.worldvision.ca/gifts), such as solar panels ($150) which provide an efficient and plentiful source of energy, and wood-conserving stoves ($50) which provide heat, cook food and sanitize water.

Lower your thermostat - One simple way to reduce your carbon footprint during Christmas is lowering your thermostat while you’re out at holiday parties, or if you are having people over. Turning down the heat may not seem like a big deal, but it can really help reduce home heating costs as well as save energy.

Reusable wrapping - This year why not wrap your presents with something different, distinguish your gift by using something other than wrapping paper. Using cloth or gift bags are great options, not only are they different, they also allow your recipients to reuse them.

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Karen Flores
905-565-6200 ext. 3497
karen_flores@worldvision.ca