Well folks, another year…
another holiday season! As we plan our
parties with friends and gatherings with family, we begin to realize… “My
goodness this is a lot of work!” On top
of the usual holiday stressors of determining the number of guests entering
your humble abode or deciding on that perfect menu to “WOW!” your guests, figuring
out how to “green” your holiday party is typically not on the top of your
list. That’s where Be EGOlogical comes
in.
There are a variety of ways your holiday party can reduce its environmental impact that can cause you to go extremely out of your way, potentially remove your guests from their comfort zone, and become costly. Hosting a holiday party is difficult to run and maintain with little, or zero impact. Therefore, it is all about the small steps you can take that add up to a fabulous, yet green…er holiday party.
Try the following Be EGOlogical
tips to having a “green…er” holiday party:
Food
Keep track of who has RSVP’d to your party so you can prepare just the right amount of food. Having too little could be disastrous and having too much would be a waste of Earth’s natural fuel.
Heating
As your guests arrive, turn down the thermostat and let your guests’ body heat naturally warm the room. This will reduce your electric and/or gas bill.
As your guests arrive, turn down the thermostat and let your guests’ body heat naturally warm the room. This will reduce your electric and/or gas bill.
Drinks
There are two necessities for your holiday party that you cannot forget: 1) A permanent marker, and 2) Wine charms. Wherever drinks are being served, ask guests to write their names on their disposable cup with the permanent marker and use wine charms on wine/champagne glasses. This will eliminate the use of extra cups or washing extra glasses because a guest forgets where they set their drink and need a new one.
There are two necessities for your holiday party that you cannot forget: 1) A permanent marker, and 2) Wine charms. Wherever drinks are being served, ask guests to write their names on their disposable cup with the permanent marker and use wine charms on wine/champagne glasses. This will eliminate the use of extra cups or washing extra glasses because a guest forgets where they set their drink and need a new one.
Decorations
Reuse holiday decorations from previous years. It is an extra cost of time and money to buy new decorations for this year’s holiday party. That way you won’t have to worry about buying new items that will most likely sit in house for years and eventually end up in a landfill. Since many new holiday decorations are made of plastic and metal, it would take thousands of years for an inflatable snowman to decompose.
Reuse holiday decorations from previous years. It is an extra cost of time and money to buy new decorations for this year’s holiday party. That way you won’t have to worry about buying new items that will most likely sit in house for years and eventually end up in a landfill. Since many new holiday decorations are made of plastic and metal, it would take thousands of years for an inflatable snowman to decompose.
Poinsettia Decorations
Avoid buying poinsettia
plants. The American culture associates
poinsettia plants with the holiday season and are often used as decorations or
given as gifts. Each holiday season
millions of poinsettia plants are purchased and are thrown away. This uses up a large amount of resources to
grow, package, and transport the plants to the consumer, who will throw it out
when the holidays are over. You will
save money and resources by not buying them as decorations and/or gifts this
holiday season.
Hope your holiday party will
now be green…er than it would have originally been. Just keep in mind that every little effort
counts and adds up to one big change!
Wishing you a happy holiday season and a Green…er New Year!
