eco friendly Christmas

[smilingcat]

I'm on a mailing list for green/eco-friendly organization. They've sent me the following link.

What a wonderful idea. I think we may try this.

living christmas tree (http://www.livingchristmas.com) You sign up and rent a living Christmas tree. You choose the date for the drop off and they deliver. And you choose the date of the pickup and they come and pick up the tree. The tree is saved for the following year or for planting somewhere to grow big..

Unfortunately, it is only available in Los Angeles Area.

[shootingstar]

We have a minature tabletop artificial Christmas tree about 1 ft. high. I've had it over last 20 yrs. Gets draped with a permanent collection of decorations acquired from bike touring trips, children's homemade decorations and other paraphenalia from several European vacation trips, ,etc.

He comes from a strong family tradition of live trees. Traditional Germans value live evergreen. 'O Tannebaum'...is a German carol. Until she died, his mother liked decorating her home with live evergreen boughs. My partner even remembers real flame candles on evergreen Christmas tree indoors at home as a child here in Canada. :eek:

Whereas my lst memory of Christmas ..was a 6 ft. high silver foil Christmas tree for lst 10 yrs. of life. A Christmas tree memory better erased. :o:p

[badger]

when we lived in Japan in the early 70's, nobody really celebrated Christmas. And my dad being European he made an effort by digging up this poor little Charlie Brown tree every year and bringing it inside in a pot and putting it back outside when done.

But we didn't care, it magically had presents underneath it on Christmas mornings :D

[lph]

Friend of mine still uses real candles on her Christmas tree. She says they're a bit of hassle to light (and get hold of, they're special, thin ones) and don't last very long ,but are very very pretty :)

[tc1]

Trees sold as Christmas trees in the Northwest are a farmed crop. It's like buying a bag of carrots or potatoes. I used to always buy one to support the local farmers.

Unfortunately the boyfriend prefers a plastic tree, because that's what he grew up with. So we did that for a couple years. Now we have a crazy pointer dog so we don't put up any tree...

[Zen]

True about the farmed crop. That's a living for someone.
However, if I planned on staying where I live now I'd buy a live (root-balled) tree and plant it.

I've wanted an aluminum tree for some time now. My uncle had one with a color-wheel light projected on to it. It would turn different colors like the horses in The Wizard of Oz.

[Shara]

I like that they have that Christmas tree service. It's a good option for people who can't get out but still want to go natural and help the environment. Reminds me of a diapering service 'we'll do the dirty work for you if you'll just go green!' lol I love Christmas and have two artificial trees. One is table top and the other is a skinny 5' one. I'd love a big plus 6' one but that's not in the budget this year.

[nancielle]

...I've wanted an aluminum tree for some time now. My uncle had one with a color-wheel light projected on to it. It would turn different colors like the horses in The Wizard of Oz.

Ah, memories. My grandmother had one of those when I was very young and I thought that color wheel was the coolest thing evah!

I'm a Christmas decorating-aholic. I have a silver tree that I put my snowmen ornament collection on. I also have a regular ol' green tree that everything else goes on. So far, dog and cat have respectfully stayed away from both (at least while I'm there...who knows what evil crosses their little minds once I leave for work. :rolleyes:)

[tulip]

I'd like to put a wreath on my door. I'm not sure about a tree yet. I might get one, but I don't have any ornaments. Maybe Ill make a bunch of origami cranes. And a chain made out of paper. Oh! And popcorn-cranberry garlands! Okay, I think I want a tree now.

[Shara]

The cafeteria at my university has been flooded with Christmas. Personally, I think it's awesome :D There are probably 20-30 trees of all sizes. All artifical. They are all have really neat decorations. One is decorated with BIG BOLD feathers in blue, purple and red. I don't know who did it but it's soo festive and just what I need at this time of year.

[shootingstar]

Friend of mine still uses real candles on her Christmas tree. She says they're a bit of hassle to light (and get hold of, they're special, thin ones) and don't last very long ,but are very very pretty :)

Dearie does remember in his teens, when the family's live Christmas tree with real candles, did catch on fire. :eek: His mother loved a decorated Christmas tree so much that every Christmas she had it up until her birthday (early Feb.). By that time, the tree was very dry and unfortunately one year, went up in flames indoors.

Fortunately that was the only damage!

Christmas is the only time for me to enjoy atypical tree mementos: plastic tiny bike, Santa Claus in a rowboat, Venetian glass bauble (from Venice), tiny plastic mug from Munich, child-painted baked decorations from now-adult niece and nephew, corn husk angel from Santa Fe, tiny East Indian doll, etc. I need my family and long-term friend memories...they live far away from me. :)

[owlice]

Live (balled) Christmas trees are very heavy (because of the root ball), and the root ball may contain mold spores, and if one is allergic to mold, one doesn't breathe and one has a headache throughout the entire holiday and might be snarly and not in the Christmas spirit at all because having a headache and not being able to breathe is not fun.

And then when the tree, which can stay indoors for only a week without damaging the tree, is planted outside and dies, one who couldn't breathe and had an aching head all through the holidays might wonder why she even bothered.

Not that I know anyone whose ever had such experiences or anything....

[badger]

one of my fondest memories of the little bits and bobs that my aunt sent us from Austria is one of those twirly angel things where these metallic angels with little bars going around in circles hitting bells. The angels moved by the heat of the candles underneath them. I'm sure there's a proper name for them that someone here knows!

[badgercat]

Every year after I turned 4 or so, all the way through college, I got to decorate a small (maybe 3-foot) artificial tree that my parents bought before my time. The Little Tree was "my" tree (I'm an only child), and I got to put my little cute and silly ornaments on it while the nice and elegant and family heirloom ornaments went on the Big Tree (my mom was so particular about ornament placement that she would move anything that I put on it anyway :o). The Little Tree will be the tree that DBF and I decorate this season in our first home together. :D

So... I guess the fact that the Little Tree has been in use for the past 30-some years makes it environmentally friendly enough. :o

[NoNo]

We've never had a real tree, and the thought of needles all over the place and the inherent fire risk have never appealed to me. I like the thought of this service, though, for those real tree lovers out there. I'm using my parents' old tree, which is the only tree I remember having, so it has to be a good 25 years old. And I just took advantage of Home Depot's light recycling program where they gave you $3 off LED lights for every set of standard lights you brought in. The old lights get salvaged for usable components and the rest recycled. Every year we get a Hallmark ornament from our godparents, so I have quite a collection of those to go with some ornaments I made as a child (mom was going to get rid of them!:eek:). I guess my tree is as eco-friendly as I can make it.

[bmccasland]

My first year here in the 'burbs of New Orleans, I bought a potted Norfolk Pine for my living tree. It could only take very light weight ornaments.... and I managed to use the same tree a second year, but then it wanted a new pot, so I planted it. It is now as tall as the house! :eek: Got a bit battered by the hurricanes, but didn't we all. The boughs are still down to the ground which provides perfect hiding spots for my kitties, and keeps the outside water bowl shaded.

[channlluv]

...
Whereas my lst memory of Christmas ..was a 6 ft. high silver foil Christmas tree for lst 10 yrs. of life. A Christmas tree memory better erased. :o:p

We had one of those, along with that rotating colored disk thing with the backlight that shone up on the tree turning it blue, red, green, and golden.

Ah, good times, good times.

Roxy

[OakLeaf]

A living tree is nice if you can keep it alive (very difficult) but I don't know how eco friendly it is. The difference in fuel required to excavate and haul the root ball (total weight 100-150 kg), vs. hauling a cut tree (maybe 10 kg) and extracting a stump; the thousands of gallons of (usually potable) water that have to be fed to the sapling as it gets established, vs a much smaller amount of water to farm new seedlings each year...

Just speculating here, but I'd have to think that the main route to an eco friendly holiday season is the ordinary one of reduce and reuse. That all becomes so much more difficult under the commercial pressures of the holidays of course - which is all the more reason to try.

[smilingcat]

A living tree is nice if you can keep it alive (very difficult) but I don't know how eco friendly it is. The difference in fuel required to excavate and haul the root ball (total weight 100-150 kg), vs. hauling a cut tree (maybe 10 kg) and extracting a stump; the thousands of gallons of (usually potable) water that have to be fed to the sapling as it gets established, vs a much smaller amount of water to farm new seedlings each year...

Just speculating here, but I'd have to think that the main route to an eco friendly holiday season is the ordinary one of reduce and reuse. That all becomes so much more difficult under the commercial pressures of the holidays of course - which is all the more reason to try.

Oh :eek: didn't think about LCA (life cycle analysis)... I wonder which is better??

I do miss the smell of fresh evergreen. I love the smell of earth, the plants, the trees. Maybe his is why I prefer to have a real tree in my house... (and yes my parents also had a silver christmas tree. blech!!)

With two boy dogs and the cats, anything standing up like a tree is just asking for trouble. sigh...

[five one]

For many years, we have gone to a particular tree farm in the Santa Cruz mountains and cut our own tree. If cut correctly, leaving several lower branches, the tree will regenerate in about five years. After we take the tree down, DH, who is an arborist by trade, runs the tree through a brush chipper where it becomes mulch. The company that picks up our trash has a very good recycling program. Unflocked trees left on the curb are picked up and chipped.


And speaking of pets and Christmas trees...

We have a couple rescue kitties (both adults, not kittens) that we adopted last February, so this will be our first Christmas with them. One is a 15# Maine Coon who is very curious and loves to be up high. He can jump like nobody's business and he's fearless. I have visions of him trashing the tree while we're at work. We've never had an issue with cats we've had in the past. Our house is small and there is only one spot where there's room for a tree. There is no way to close off this part of the house from the cats. Suggestions anyone?

[malkin]

One year, we decided to set up a train set near the tree. We have a collection of very small trains that borders on excessive. (Okay, it is plainly excessive, but at least they are small.) Because the trains are so small, to show them off properly we wanted to set them up running in front of the tree. Because the tree was rather small it was on a table.

Cleverly, we put a board on the table, but sticking out in front so the trains could run around in front of the tree. How wonderful!

So spectacular, in fact, that when the cat jumped up to explore the train platform it catapulted the tree over the train, and the whole mess ended up in a wet pile on the floor.

Not green;
Not recommended.

[lph]

I have visions of him trashing the tree while we're at work. We've never had an issue with cats we've had in the past. Our house is small and there is only one spot where there's room for a tree. There is no way to close off this part of the house from the cats. Suggestions anyone?

tension wire the tree. I'm not kidding! We had several large athletic cats when I was growing up, a rickety tree holder and always a large tree going right up to our high ceiling. We'd attach minimum a short wire to the closest wall, preferably wires to three directions. They looked appropriately festive with garlands on :D

if it's breaking ornaments you're worried about there's nothing you can do about it. Either hang non-breakable ones, or hang the breakable and most interesting ones up very high. Either way, expect to lose something... a decorated Christmas tree is heaven to any cat left alone :rolleyes:

[five one]

tension wire the tree. I'm not kidding! We had several large athletic cats when I was growing up, a rickety tree holder and always a large tree going right up to our high ceiling. We'd attach minimum a short wire to the closest wall, preferably wires to three directions. They looked appropriately festive with garlands on :D

if it's breaking ornaments you're worried about there's nothing you can do about it. Either hang non-breakable ones, or hang the breakable and most interesting ones up very high. Either way, expect to lose something... a decorated Christmas tree is heaven to any cat left alone :rolleyes:

Fortunately we have a nice heavy large tree stand. Although we do plan to wire the tree to the nearest wall, I'm not too concerned with the tree toppling. It's the 15# Maine Coon jumping/climbing into the tree and wreaking havoc. I think we may get it early, put it up, and leave it undecorated for a few days to see what happens. Breakable ornaments with sentimental value will stay in the box this year, particularly because we have hardwood floors. But most of the rest are handmade and unbreakable. I just don't look forward to having to police the living room waiting for the worst to happen. This cat just CANNOT leave things alone.

The only issue we ever had with past cats is pulling away the tree skirt to get to the water trough. I guess we had it easy then.

It should be an interesting few weeks...:rolleyes:

[Ana]

When I was in high school, I convinced my family to purchase a live tree instead of a cut one, despite the increased cost. The first one was great: it was cute and nicely shaped. We watered it inside and planted it outside after New Year's.

The next one did not go so well. After Christmas was over, it died. I forget whether it died before or after we planted it but thereafter, we have regressed to traditional cut trees.

[katluvr]

Cat's and Christmas Trees....

I have been VERY fortunate w/ my kitties and the tree. Last year was "kittens" (aka "the girls") first year w/ a tree. They were about 8 months old. I "cringed" to see what it would bring.

I have always hung "cat friendly" ornaments on the bottom. They can swat them around and if so swat them off and play with them. Of course my tree is artifical. They also usually just like to lay on the tree skirt under the tree. (I'll miss Thesis being there this year). I also hang one ornament that is a series of bells. I call it my "cat alarm". If I hear the "tinkling" of the bells I go running. But mostly false alarms.

Now if me brand new sectional sofa would only be so safe. Currenlty still covered top to bottom w/ throws and comforters until I can determine if the kitties think it is a scratching post or something!

K

[StressFree]

Wow SmilingCat, thats a really great idea! I live in the LA area, so I'm definitely gonna have to tell my family about that. Thanks for sharing! :)

[Trek420]

So, enough about trees already :p ;) :rolleyes: how about all the paper/trees that go into wrapping paper when you could use this:

http://wrapsacks.com

Every season, every occaision and it's like the "Where's George" of gifts. :)

[ny biker]

I've wanted an aluminum tree for some time now. My uncle had one with a color-wheel light projected on to it. It would turn different colors like the horses in The Wizard of Oz.

Awesome.

[badgercat]

So, enough about trees already :p ;) :rolleyes: how about all the paper/trees that go into wrapping paper when you could use this:

http://wrapsacks.com

Every season, every occaision and it's like the "Where's George" of gifts. :)

I ask my parents to wrap my presents in old newspapers/magazines/etc that would otherwise be thrown away and I do the same for them. This was a tradition I started with my college roommates. My mom made a bit of a stink about it at first, as she's very into Christmas and prides herself on her wrapping abilities (which are quite lovely, btw), but a couple Christmases ago she wrapped my presents in the classifieds and stacked them neatly in 2 reusable shopping bags. :D

[withm]

my sisters and I pride ourselves on opening gifts carefully to preserve the paper and we re-use it for years. I still buy new when I come across a particularly nice roll of paper knowing full well it will be used again and again. We've had a lot of laughs when the really old stuff shows up under the tree. :)

[malkin]

I have some fabric wraps that I've used repeatedly and nice ribbons.

One year I sewed my dad's gift into the wrap.

[nc tam]

Several years ago we decorated plain brown shopping bags using construction paper, markers, paint, whatever we had in the apartment. Placed gifts inside and folded down the tops. We're still using some of them. Every couple of years we make a few more as some get gifted away. Wish I had thought to put the date on the originals as our favorites have quite a few years on them now.

[NoNo]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34365419/ns/technology_and_science-science/ I don't know, my artificial tree is 20+ years old, not the "few years" they're claiming. Still going strong, too. But maybe literally going green is the better option:confused:

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

We have a couple rescue kitties (both adults, not kittens) that we adopted last February, so this will be our first Christmas with them. One is a 15# Maine Coon who is very curious and loves to be up high. He can jump like nobody's business and he's fearless. I have visions of him trashing the tree while we're at work. We've never had an issue with cats we've had in the past. Our house is small and there is only one spot where there's room for a tree. There is no way to close off this part of the house from the cats. Suggestions anyone?

Yep...do like we do, and get a tall cactus and decorate it as your xmas tree.
Our cats will not have anything to do with my cactii!
http://forums.teamestrogen.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=4999&d=1197603200
This picture was taken 2 years ago, the cactus is now about 50% bigger. Every year i have to get a bit more lighting for it, since it keeps growing. :p

[Eden]

Well, I wasn't sure if I was even going to put up a tree, but when I was getting cat food, just next door was a place selling trees that was giving a portion of the profits to the children's hospital where I work, and they had a tiny little one (its only 4.5 feet) so I was sucked in.

The cats had a great time sniffing and chewing on it for a little while, but they are slowly leaving it alone. I have a model train around the base.... it has been good for training them to leave the tree be. When they start looking like they are going to decide tree skirt slides are really fun, I turn on the train :rolleyes:. They are getting the idea pretty quick. So far the only ornament that has been broken is the one I dropped.

[GLC1968]

Our cat never showed any interest in our tree except as a good nap place where the dogs would leave him alone:

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_ON1gXz2esyE/SUbKhPVz5lI/AAAAAAAAAtg/0O8R4hpmaVI/s320/christmas+kitty.JPG


Maybe he wasn't intersted in a fake tree because he had a world of real ones open to him?

[GLC1968]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34365419/ns/technology_and_science-science/ I don't know, my artificial tree is 20+ years old, not the "few years" they're claiming. Still going strong, too. But maybe literally going green is the better option:confused:

I think that depends on where you are. Right now, I wouldn't doubt that a real tree would be 'greener' for us since we are surrounded by tree farms. The problem is that we already have a fake one and I sure as hell am not going to toss it into a landfill if it's still perfectly fine. We bought the fake one when we lived in Florida. The real trees available to us down there were trucked down from North Carolina - I hardly find that 'sustainable'...so we figured that a fake tree was the better option. Plus - fire was a real danger there because the trees were already long since dried out before they got to us (sometimes even sprayed with green paint to hide the brownness!).

Now we are stuck with our fake tree until we can find an alternate use for it! Christmas tree clothes line? Christmas tree bird feeder? Christmas tree goat scratcher? Hmmmmm......

[NoNo]

That's a good point. Certainly sounds like there's a northern bias to the study. I wonder if someone will come up with an artificial tree recyling program? There's got to be some use for the metal.

[malkin]

List your fakee on Craigslist!

[KnottedYet]

I use the same fake tree year after year after year.

This year my kiddo is TALLER than the tree! Shocking!!!!

(and I love those Wrapsacks! It's also very easy to make your own. The ones you make won't have tracking numbers, though.)

[badgercat]

The Little Tree will be the tree that DBF and I decorate this season in our first home together. :D

So... I guess the fact that the Little Tree has been in use for the past 30-some years makes it environmentally friendly enough. :o

Now that it's up and decorated, I thought I'd share a picture... the lights that were on it had a tag that said "03/1988" and weren't turning on this year (probably just a burned out bulb but I took it as a sign), so I indulged in some new bling--LED lights! They're very vibrant.

Behold, The Little Tree!

http://i188.photobucket.com/albums/z272/tastee_wheat/IMG_0287-1.jpg