'Tis a gift to be simple
Eight tips for a greener holiday season

 11/20/01

              BOZEMAN—Had enough of crazed shopping centers and frantic holiday preparations? Do you long for a simpler celebration, one that harkens back to yesteryear when the least expensive gift could also be the most meaningful?

            That kind of simpler holiday would not only save money and time, but also natural resources, says Laura Estes, coordinator of the Peaks to Prairies Information Center based with the Montana State University Extension Service. Peaks to Prairies specializes in pollution prevention (P2)--helping consumers and businesses make choices that minimize waste like excess energy use and extra packaging. Estes offers the following holiday suggestions for a simpler--and less wasteful-- season:

    --Give "gifts of time." Do special activities with a significant other: a candlelit dinner, massage, or outdoor activity; or a monthly lunch date or weekly letter written.

--Buy gifts that are durable, energy efficient ("wind up" or use rechargeable batteries), are recycled (like antiques or used bikes) and recyclable. Avoid products with lots of packaging.

    --If you are mailing gifts, use newspaper or real popcorn instead of plastic foam peanuts for cushioning.

--A gift has the same value whether it is wrapped in newspaper, cloth, or in wrapping paper (often bleached and heavily dyed). Newspaper is recyclable and cloth is reusable, making Christmas cleanup a breeze. Use the comics for kids or the arts section for your favorite artist. Try sewing re-usable cloth drawstring bags in various sizes.

    --Use energy-saving mini-lights to decorate. A string of 100 mini lights draws 35 watts while a corresponding string of the larger holiday lights draws 620 watts. The bottom line: $5.80 vs. $102.67 per holiday season (based on ten strings of lights burning eight hours a day for 30 days at $0.069 cents per kilowatt-hour).

--New "icicle" lights have more lights per linear foot than regular light strands and use more energy. Instead, use mirrors and tinsel around indoor lights to heighten their effect.

--Each compact fluorescent (CFL) bulb you substitute for an incandescent bulb in your home will, during the next year, save five times the energy used by one string of 100 mini-lights. You can also save energy by running your outdoor lights on a timer pre-set for three to five hours.

--If a tree is part of your celebration, buy one that can be replanted in your yard. If you can't replant your tree, compost it after the holidays, with wreaths and other 'live' decorations. Edible decorations like popcorn and cranberry strings can be fed to birds after the holiday.

 For more pollution prevention ideas, visit these Web sites:

--Seattle City Light, http://www.ci.seattle.wa.us/light/conserve/cv5_hlt.htm#Energy Efficiency

--Alliance to Save Energy, http://www.ase.org/media/newsrel/archives00.htm

--Environmental Defense, http://www.edf.org/pubs/NewsReleases/1997/Dec/f_holiday.html

--The Center for a New American Dream, http://www.newdream.org/holiday/

 Visit MSU Extension's P2 page and the Peaks to Prairies Center for further information: http://www.montana.edu/wwwated and http://www.peakstoprairies.org

Send questions or comments to and Suzi Taylor, MSU Communications Services, Bozeman, MT 59717 or email them at taylor@montana.edu.

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