Palm | Kelapa Sawit

It's the holiday season and folks are looking for gifts and wrapping paper that are green and eco-friendly. For good ideas peruse your local holiday market for handmade items like soaps, baths and crafts that are made with organic home-made items that are made locally and avoid the advertising and Greenwashing marketing that is abound in the stores. Try to be creative with paper bag wrapping paper, twine and newspaper wraps instead of using store bought non-recyclable wrap and tinsel. For more ideas and inspirations read on:

Go to:
http://www.lime.com/features/green-holiday/Top-10-Green-Gift-Wrap-Ideas
for more information and ideas on green wrapping and recycling for gift ideas.

It is also recommended that if you buy a christmas tree, buy a live one and recycle it properly. Go to: http://earth911.com/blog/2008/11/11/treecycle-this-holiday-season/.

This website can tell you how christmas trees get recycled and what happens in the process. At home, we personally have a fake tree that is 7 foot tall. We have had this tree for the last six years. We like an artificial tree because we like to decorate before Thanksgiving and a live tree usually does not last as long in our home.

For ornaments, there are also awesome ways that you can decorate a christmas tree by making handcrafted ornaments. One favorite for my family has always been making dough out of flour, salt and water. Cutting or creating shapes out with cookie cutters and using our imagination as to how we want out ornaments to look and be. Cook them in the oven and paint them or decorate them the way you choose. Here is the recipe: http://crafts.kaboose.com/saltdoughgifttoppers.html.

My Mom and Grandma used to make dough people, ornaments and pins to give away as gift
presents with the above recipe. These times have brought back many happy memories with my family and I hope to give those same memories and sense of using your creative edge in creating eco-friendly items that can become family heirlooms over the years.

Here is a link for more information on other eco friendly gift giving and ideas.
http://crafts.kaboose.com/saltdoughgifttoppers.html.

You can also visit your local recyling center for items to be used for making ornaments, wrapping and hand crafted gift items. In Eugene there is M.E.C.C.A which stands for Materials Exchange Center for Community Arts. One can only imagine how junk can be recycled and made into something fun and unique. http://www.materials-exchange.org/

Happy Holidays!
Christina Lymath

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