Blog Update!
For those of you not following me on Facebook, as of the Summer of 2019 I've moved to Central WA, to a tiny mountain town of less than 1,000 people.

I will be covering my exploits here in the Cascades, as I try to further reduce my impact on the environment. With the same attitude, just at a higher altitude!

Wednesday, November 28, 2007

Rudolph the green nosed reindeer

Green for ChristmasPerhaps Grandma was run over by a reindeer bent on trying out all those new organic wines and spirits?

For many people food and drink is what getting together is all about. And today's green holidays posting is all about how to make your holiday dinners and parties green.

Tableware - Let's start with the foundations. Forget the paper plates and plastic cups. Try to use real dishes if you can. If you must use disposable, try to get something compostable. There are a number of different options. If you must go with disposable, choose bamboo tableware, corn "plastic" or other biodegradable dinnerware.

Table decorations - As with the rest of your house decor, go for the natural. Decorate with bowls of edibles, vases filled with cranberries, etc. For place markings, you can make your own using old Christmas cards or gift tags.

Food - Follow the same guidelines as you used for the Eat Local Thanksgiving Challenge. That is, try to find foods that are local and in season for your area. Choosing organic is even better. If you must have something out of season, look for the organic versions before settling for the conventional. If you eat local, you'll save tons of food miles and if you choose organic you be saving the soil from all those petrochemicals used to grow it.

Beverages - Stick with local or organic wines, local juices and stay away from soda and bottled water. Most people won't notice that the pitcher of ice water on the table contains tap water.

Cocktails - What's a holiday without a little classic cocktail party? Just make sure you choose fruits and juices that are organic, if possible, and try some of the following organic spirits if you can find them:

     4 Copas Organic Tequila
     Juniper Green Organic Gin
     Square One Organic Vodka
     Rain Organic Vodka
     ModMix Organic Mixers comes in the following flavors:
  • Pomegranate Cosmopolitan
  • Citrus Margarita
  • Mojito
  • French Martini
  • Lavender Lemon Drop
New Year's Eve - There are a few organic champagnes out there or you can choose any sort of bubbly organic beverage. Again, keep your tableware to reusable, decorations on the natural or reuse side. For example, reuse silver or gold wrapping paper over cardboard boxes to make silver stars you can hang from the ceiling with leftover silver ribbons or even raffia. Dig out that silver tray for your drinks. Frost some grapes in superfine sugar and egg whites for the table (see directions at the bottom of this page).

Stay away from fireworks and throw confetti instead. Preferably something recyclable. You'll save yourself from toxic chemicals and spare your lungs from air pollution.

Host an Eco New Years Resolution Party where each guest commits to a resolution to do something new and green in the New Year. Make a list of green ideas for party goers to choose from. I'll be posting more on this later in mid-December if you need more party ideas.

Ambiance - If you want to light candles, go for the soy or beeswax ones to eliminate breathing in petroleum byproducts from paraffin. If you want to
roast your chestnuts by an open fire (especially if you're Freezing Yer Buns) then choose a Java Log or other eco-friendly firelog instead of a Duraflame. The Java Log burns hotter and higher than the average firelog, diverts coffee grounds from the waste stream and produces far less emissions.

So spend some time this season planning to green your holiday parties. But just remember to eat, drink and be merry!

4 comments:

Burbanmom said...

Crunchy,

I LOVE your Eco New Years Resolution Party! What a FABULOUS idea!

Chile said...

Lots of great ideas, Crunchy. We tried a Javalog last New Year's. Unfortunately, it turned out that the chiminea installed inside the house had hairline cracks around the base. The house filled with smoke in 10 minutes, leaving us to fish all the crumbled pieces out while they were still burning!

(If we owned the house, I would have yanked that stupid chiminea out the first week and put in a proper wood stove!)

On the plus side, I covered it all up with Christmas decorations last year so the base and stove pipe kind of looked like a Christmas tree. LOL

Jane said...

The Java Log sounds like it might be a cool Christmas gift to give. Gotta google that!

Chile said...

Jane, last year I did give my sister a Java Log for Christmas. Paired it with a pair of coffee mugs in new condition from the thrift store and a homemade fancy coffee mix. I think I also included a gourmet coffee drink recipe book from the used bookstore, or maybe I sent that to my brother.) She liked the coffee theme...