It's inevitable to shop for a lot of goods, before the Christmas season, especially the Christmas gifts, Christmas trees and holiday lights. For a green and affordable Christmas, we need to be a smart buyer. Here are some tips for Christmas shopping.
Buy Less While Giving More
But sometimes we can spend less, take the holiday gifts for example. Though practical and necessary, not all holiday gifts need to be bought in the store actually if we really want to express thoughtfulness and wishes to our friends or relatives. We can try some DIY or just simplify the family gift-giving ritual. For example, focus on a special gift for just one. Before the Christmas season start, write down the names of all adult family members on separate slips of paper and take turns picking one name per adult and use this game to decide our gift recipient. Keep our chosen pick a secret so get prepared for a big surprise. In this way, our gift list can be shortened. Discuss about the spending limit so that gift sending might be much interesting.
As for green purchase, we need to think more about things behind what we buy. For example, most of the gifts in the market come from halfway all over the world. We may hardly see the impact of transportation to the greenhouse emissions. We can actually choose locally made gifts so that the purchase will not impose extra costs of transportation. For a green holiday this year, try to find some gifts made from recycled materials or even re-gift others this year. Re-gifting is a trend. If we get something we really don't need, think about good ways to pass it on to someone who can use it.
Energy Efficient LED Holiday Lights
The most popular energy-saving stars on the holiday scene are LED Christmas lights. LED decorative lights apply semiconducting materials instead of incandescent filaments, which is 90% more efficient than traditional Christmas lights. Try to replace the traditional decorative lights with LED holiday lights. LED lights actually can last long hours yet release very little heat. They are also very safe lighting.
Artificial Christmas Tree
For most of us, Christmas can not be wonderful without a fragrant Christmas tree at home. But if each family has a live Christmas tree, there will be too many trees being cut down from tree farms. Instead, if we use artificial trees, especially the one-time purchase-for-repeated-decoration tree can be much better. Artificial trees actually cost much more energy and petroleum-based materials when they are made. But a one-time-purchase of such trees can over a long time save gas otherwise used for annual trips to the tree farm. Artificial trees can be re-used after the Christmas season. Once they are accented with lights, they can even be used for party decoration, garden decor or other special occasions.
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