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Save Energy and Resources This Holiday Season

Centers for Disease Control and PreventionWashington, D.C. – The winter holidays are nearly here! Some of us are ready for the festivities, but many of us are still planning and shopping for decorations and gifts and organizing holiday gatherings. We want to enjoy the fun and spirit of the season, but we don’t want to spend too much money or use too many resources in the process. And most of all, we want to enjoy quality time with those we love.

The good news is that we can participate in all these holiday activities and still manage to conserve resources. In doing so, we also protect our environment and protecting our environment can safeguard our health now and in the future.

Make "green" holiday choices when you are shopping, traveling, decorating, sending cards, and choosing gifts. When you save energy and resources, you protect the environment and safeguard health both now and for the future.
Make "green" holiday choices when you are shopping, traveling, decorating, sending cards, and choosing gifts. When you save energy and resources, you protect the environment and safeguard health both now and for the future.

Whether we are traveling, sending holiday cards, decorating our homes, or choosing gifts, all of us can have “green” celebrations. Even if you already reduce, reuse and recycle, browse through the suggestions below for more ways to bring those practices into your holiday activities. If all of us make even a few eco-friendly choices, we will save energy and resources and send less trash to the landfill during this busy time of year.

Decorate with items that are energy-efficient and durable.

Use fewer resources when you shop, give presents, and wrap gifts.

  • Take your own bags on shopping trips. Keep them in the car so they’re ready whenever you stop at a store.
  • Shop online.
  • Conserve energy when shopping. Use mass transit if possible. If you have to drive, combine several errands in one trip or carpool with family and friends.
  • Give gifts that are durable, energy-efficient, recyclable, or made of natural products.
  • Buy from local shops and craft shows or from companies that use fair-trade practices.
  • Search antique and second-hand stores for unique gifts.
  • Make your own gifts: knit, sew, bake, or create art from reused items.
  • Make calendars using your own photographs or make a recipe book with your favorite recipes
  • Give a membership or an experience—tuition for a class or a visit to museum.
  • Give of your time—coupons for providing a meal, planting a garden, cleaning, or using another talent or skill.
  • Plant a tree in someone’s yard.
  • Use creative materials for gift wrap:
    • Scarves, fabric, handkerchiefs
    • Old maps, sheet music, advertisements
    • Reusable tins
    • Usable baking pans or other home or garden items

Give cards that are eco-friendly and save resources.

  • Make your own cards.
  • Buy cards made from recycled paper (look for “post-consumer” content) and printed in non-toxic inks.
  • Buy cards and envelopes that can be recycled in your town. Choose cards printed on white stock without metallic or plastic coatings.
  • Buy cards wrapped in the least bulky or most recyclable packaging.
  • Substitute postcards for cards that require envelopes.
  • Reuse the fronts of old holiday cards as gift tags.

Eat sustainable food and avoid disposable containers and extra packaging.

  • Research sustainable food choices in your area and buy locally if possible.
  • Buy snacks and beverages in bulk to avoid extra packaging.
  • Serve food with washable utensils, plates, and glasses, rather than disposable items.
  • Make homemade eggnog, hot chocolate or iced tea in large quantities, and prepare pitchers of ice water in advance to reduce waste from water and soda bottles or cans.

Choose a few of these ideas that will be easy for you to incorporate into your holiday celebration. Not only will you conserve energy and resources, but chances are you will also simplify your life. And you may get more of what we all need at this time of year—time to enjoy our families and friends and to focus on the joys of the season.

About the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

CDC works 24/7 saving lives, protecting people from health threats, and saving money to have a more secure nation. A US federal agency, CDC helps make the healthy choice the easy choice by putting science and prevention into action. CDC works to help people live longer, healthier and more productive lives.

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