Have children make their own wrapping paper by designing and coloring on paper grocery bags or use old homework pages to wrap gifts. Grandparents love to see them. Sunday comics make colorful gift wrap for children's packages as do old posters, maps old sheet music, and wallpaper scraps.
For packing consider these alternatives: Popcorn (enclose a note saying birds can eat it), biodegradable starch peanuts, used packing peanuts or bubble wrap from a previous gift, or crumpled newspapers.
Consider buying a potted tree that can be used every season as your holiday tree or purchase your tree from a tree farm rather than cutting one in the wild then use trimmed branches from your tree for decorations for wreaths. Consider buying an artificial tree that can be used year after year.
Decorate your home, tree and centerpiece with holly, cedar, berries, cranberries, popcorn, fruits and nuts, all of which can be composted or used for bird food after use.
To add a special touch to your decorating consider using memorabilia such as a child's first shoe or teething ring, old jewelry (restring if needed), mementos from vacations, small stuffed animals and toys, holiday card ornaments, miniature toy cars, cookie cutters, dressed up dolls, or edible cookie ornaments.
Purchase your Christmas cooking items in bulk quantities. This eliminates extra trips to the grocery store and reduces excess packaging. Practice portion control when planning how much food to purchase.
When inviting guests to your Christmas dinner, ask them to bring reusable containers to take leftovers home.
Make your Christmas meal special by using china and cloth napkins instead of disposal paper ones or borrow or rent dishes, napkins, cups and saucers, tablecloths & glasses.
Consider gifts that keep on giving such as a battery charger and rechargable batteries, a perpetual calender, or an erasable message board, gift certificates for movies or restaurants are also "waste-free" gifts.
Buy durable toys made from wood or metal so they can be passed down (become collectables) to others.
Give two gifts in one by using baskets, scarves, or pillowcases to wrap gifts.
Save gift boxes, bows and ribbon to use next year.
Adorn your gifts with these items: reusable items such as hairbows, ornanments, shoe laces, neckties, toys, bows and holiday cards cut up from previous years, scrap fabrics, lace yarn, rickrack and seam tape, scarves, combinations of beads and buttons, and dried or silk flowers.
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