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By Mom Unplugged, November 28, 2007 12:28 am

So you have made your list and decided that a Christmas tree is a tradition that has meaning to you. That’s a good start, but what kind of tree do you get?

I personally have had an artificial tree for years thinking that it was better for the environment than causing the death of a real tree every year. Of course it is the kind of tree with the lights built in because I am a Holiday Slacker when it comes to preparation and one thing I REALLY dislike, is stringing lights.

I am beginning to wonder however about the composition of my Chinese-made tree. I did once see a small label on it warning that pregnant women should avoid prolonged contact with the tree. Huh??? I have been pregnant twice and been hauling the tree up and down from the attic etc. I think that this year might be the Swan Song for our tree. It’ll be a one-way trip from the attic this year.

So if you choose to have a Christmas tree, what should you do?? I think the answer depends on many factors, but here are all the options that I can think of:

1) Buy real cut tree from vendor:

PLUSES: Easy. Real tree (if that is what you want).

MINUSES: Dead tree. Where did tree come from and what chemicals and pesticides was it exposed to? Apparently some growers treat their trees with substances that help keep the needles on, or even green coloring!! Drops needles. Potential fire hazard. Disposal issues.

2) Artificial tree:

PLUSES: Easy, does not cause a tree to die on your behalf. Will last for years.

MINUSES: What is it exuding into the atmosphere of your home? PVC and lead. Can be pricey.

3) Live tree: Many nurseries sell live Christmas trees in pots that you can bring in and decorate for Christmas and then later plant outside in your garden and watch grow. I have done this twice and I really love this idea. However the trees (even smaller ones of just three or four feet) are pretty heavy to move and require temperature transition periods in a garage. Also, you can’t keep them inside for long, a few days at most (although I have also heard that up to seven days is OK).

PLUSES: A tree that will live on and grow happily in your garden for years to come.

MINUSES: Heavy. Can’t be inside for long. Fussy due to transition period. Must plant, therefore requires digging a hole in your (or a friend’s?) garden.

Recommendations for live-tree care:

Living Christmas Trees

How to Care for a Live Christmas Tree

4) Live tree rental: Some companies (few and far between) will rent you a live, potted tree. They deliver it and then pick it up again. After that it goes to a park or school or some other group who, for a nominal fee will accept to have the tree planted on their property. What a win-win! Families can enjoy a live tree without the headache, and parks and other worthy spaces get new trees for a teeny fraction of the cost of buying the trees themselves!

PLUSES: Live tree. No fuss. Help beautify your city.

MINUSES: Not available in very many places. Portland, OR, San Diego, CA, or San Fransisco, CA (no pines though) are the only ones that I know of except for a possible IKEA tree-rental program this year (read on).

I read here that IKEA is renting Christmas trees this year! You must pick it up this weekend between Friday, November 30th through Sunday, December 2nd (bring $24.99 which is actually $14.99 plus a $10.00 deposit, and helpers because these trees are in pots and are heavy). You get a 5 - 7 foot Douglas Fir to enjoy through the holidays. You can then either plant the tree and lose your $10.00 deposit, or return the tree and get your $10 back in the form of an IKEA gift card. If you have a local IKEA you might want to call and verify this information before getting too excited. I read this on a Seattle real-estate blog and couldn’t find anything about it on IKEA’s website. Have any of you heard of this? Sounds good to me!

More tree-rental links:

An Earth-friendly Christmas Tree

Feel Guilty Buying a Christmas Tree? Rent One

5) Cut your own tree: There are many tree farms out there that will allow you to cut your own tree. Also, in my area, the Forest Service sells permits to go out on Forest Service land and cut a tree.

There are also “organic tree farms” out there if you are concerned about supporting tree farms using pesticides and chemicals. Be sure to check this great organic Christmas Tree Farm list from Green Promise to see if there is one near you.

PLUSES: You know it is fresh and real. Could be fun family outing.

MINUSES: Cutting and transporting might be a hassle for some. Killing a tree. Pesticides? Needle dropping and disposal issues.

6) Mail-order trees: Yes, you can order just about anything by mail these days, including your Christmas tree. Real Simple has a link to some mail order Christmas tree farms.

PLUSES: Easy.

MINUSES: You can’t pick your exact tree. Pricey.

7) Create your own tree: Be artistic and make your own Christmas tree out of wood, real branches or plastic water bottles.

PLUSES: Environmentally friendly. Reusable from year to year.

MINUSES: A plastic water bottle tree?? Hmm.

8) Decorate a houseplant: Why not decorate your ficus? Or any other houseplant that you have?

PLUSES: Environmentally friendly. Inexpensive (you already have the plant). Easy. Reusable from year to year.

MINUSES: It won’t be the classic Christmas evergreen and it might not be as big as some family members would like.

9) Plant your own baby tree for future use: The Yule to be Tree kit gives you a cute baby Scotch Pine that will reach 7-8 feet in six to eight years.

PLUSES: Environmentally friendly. Satisfaction that you grew it yourself.

MINUSES: Requires PATIENCE. If you want one every year, you will need enough yard space to have your own tree farm. Honestly, who wants to watch a tree grow for 8 years in their yard and then chop it down?!!

10) A bonsai or miniature evergreen: Can be purchased at nurseries or through mail-order and should last year round.

PLUSES: Reusable. Easy. Great for small spaces. Environmentally friendly.

MINUSES: Perhaps not good for “non-plant people” since they require year-round care. Small. Can be pricey.

11) Decorate a tree outside: OK. So it won’t be in your living room. But why not decorate a live tree in your yard for you, the neighbors, and all passers-by to enjoy. You could even put on some strung popcorn and peanut butter pine cones for a birds’ Christmas.

PLUSES: Easy. Reusable. Free. Environmentally friendly. Can even help wildlife. Provides enjoyment for others too.

MINUSES: Not in your living room. Not possible if you don’t have a yard with a tree.

11) Forget the tree in your house or yard, and give your Christmas tree money to a charity that plants trees: American Forests plants trees in damaged areas. It costs only $1 per tree ($15.00 minimum) and they send a personalized certificate and holiday greeting if you want to give this as a gift. For example, instead of killing one tree for $30, you could plant 30 new trees for the same amount of money!! The Arbor Day Foundation also does $1 per tree with a certificate ($10.00 minimum).

PLUSES: Increasing the number of trees on this planet. Environmentally friendly. Helping others. No personal care required. Inexpensive. Tax-deductible. Spirit of Christmas?

MINUSES: No tree in your living room.

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Other links debating the pros and cons of Christmas trees:

Dreaming of a Green Christmas: Real or Fake Christmas Trees

Second Thoughts-Ghosts of Christmas Trees Past

Peace Signs - Seeking an Environmentally Friendly Christmas Tree

The overwhelming view seems to be that live, potted trees are best. But of course that is not possible for everyone. So read the links above and decide for yourself.

Another Christmas tree link:

Selection and Care of Christmas Trees

DISPOSAL: Rather than junk your tree and fill up the landfills, seek out a Christmas tree composting program. These are available in most areas. Trees are sent through a wood chipper and turned into garden mulch.

Read all the Christmas/Holidays Unplugged posts here.

Thanks to morguefile.com and photographer sullivan.

Comments (8)

By Mom Unplugged, November 24, 2007 11:25 pm

I get (a conservative estimate) 1,095 catalogs/year…my husband (at our other home and on fewer mailing lists) says he probably gets about 300 catalogs/year. We get about 1,395 catalogs/year. Let’s conservatively round up to 1,500 for the ease of calculation and to include any Holiday excess that we may have. I calculate that MY FAMILY ALONE, is responsible for the death of 4.2 trees per year. How do I figure that? Read on.

This time of year is catalog time of year. One of the many commercial aspects of Christmas that I find depressing is heaving a 100 pound stack of catalogs out of my mailbox every day, piling them in a wagon, and hauling them off to the recycle bin. OK, I exaggerate slightly, but 19 BILLION catalogs are sent each year in the US, and at this time of year, it feels like every single one of them passes through my mailbox (that equals 53 million trees by the way, in case you were wondering). Do the math like I did, how many trees do you unknowingly kill per year?

Now to the real point of my post. Heard on NPR yesterday: There is a new website which allows you to opt out of catalogs that you don’t want, yet still keep the ones you like!

I could go to Direct Marketing Association, theoretically opt out of everything, and then see how that reduces my catalog intake. But I confess that there are some catalogs that I actually LIKE to receive. Plus, living in the boonies forces one to engage in some degree of catalog and internet shopping.

Usually these days I choose quick and easy internet shopping, but there are some catalogs I like to slowly peruse “in person.” Just like real books for example (in case you were considering it, please don’t buy me a new Amazon Kindle for Christmas).

The solution for semi-catalog lovers like me? The Catalog Choice website (www.catalogchoice.org … make sure you spell it right, if you add a “ue” to the end of “catalog” then you’ll get a shopping site which is not the idea here). Here you can opt out of catalogs that you don’t want.

The site also allows you to enter a Customer Number from the back of a catalog to be sure you get rid of it, or you can enter different names and addresses (for example if you get the same catalog as: T. Brown, Teresa Brown, Sam Brown (your partner?), and Lysander Wojtasik (the former resident at your address), then you can opt out of them all.

There is a chance that you could be put back on the mailing list if you buy from the company etc. But if you request an opt out and after 10 weeks you still receive a catalog, then you can report that as an infraction.

Apparently even some major retailers are supporting this endeavor. It costs them an average of $0.80 to send a catalog. I imagine that they’d love to have you gone if you really have no intention of buying from them.

From the NPR story, I learned that this project is supported by several nature organizations including the National Wildlife Fund.

Give it a try, you’ll be helping save trees as well as your own holiday sanity, what could be better!

Listen to NPR story: The Greening of the Holiday Catalog (3 minutes 32 seconds).

ADDENDUM: Please visit Jules at Andamom.com. Her post Minimize the Clutter Before it Comes into Your Home has lots of great ideas!

Read all the Christmas/Holidays Unplugged posts here.

Thanks to morguefile.com and photographer solrac_gi_2nd for this photo.

Comments (8)

By Mom Unplugged, October 15, 2007 12:01 am

I truly believe that the way to raise environmentally aware children is to instill a love and appreciation of nature at an early age.

Here are some ideas and resources to help parents encourage a love of nature in their children. Just one of these ideas alone may not make much of a difference, but a combination of several should begin to have an impact on the way children perceive the world we live in. I hope so anyhow! Please give some of these a try:

1) Get your kids outside! Go for a hike, or even a walk around the neighborhood. The National Wildlife Federation has a website for parents and kids called The Green Hour which is filled with ideas for what to do outside. Also check out Backyard Nature with Jim Conrad for 101 nature-oriented activities that change seasonally.

2) Have your kids plant a small garden. If you live in the city, have them plant a pot or two on the deck or even in a sunny window. Here are some of my tips for gardening with children: The Children’s Garden.

3) Subscribe to nature magazines for children such as Zoobooks (ages 4-12), Zootles (ages 2-5), National Geographic Kids (6-14), National Geographic Little Kids (ages 3-6), Ranger Rick (ages 7 and up), Your Big Backyard (ages 3-7) or for really little ones (ages 1-4) - try the National Wildlife Federation’s Wild Animal Baby. Not only do these magazines teach kids about nature, but they encourage reading too!

Note: Ranger Rick must have been around for eons, because even I remember getting it, and loving it, as a child.

4) Subscribe to a nature club such as the Arbor Day Foundation’s Nature Explore Club.

5) Put out a bird feeder, or better yet, a variety of bird feeders (hummingbird, thistle seed, suet feeders, platform feeders, peanuts in shells, as well as the traditional sunflower and millet varieties). Even in the city it should usually be possible to hang a small feeder outside a window. If you can put out a bird bath, especially a heated one for climates with cold winters, you will notice an even greater number of bird visitors.

6) Get a kit for raising butterflies, frogs, ladybugs, or hermit crabs for example.

Or how about an ant farm?

Or my personal favorite…sea monkeys!

7) Set an example. Whether we like it or not, kids model parents’ behaviors. Show your own interest in nature, and point out interesting animals, insects, plants etc. on a daily basis. To inspire yourself, I suggest reading Rachel Carson’s book The Sense of Wonder. Read my review of it here. Also, you can check out the adult resources here, at the Hooked on Nature website.

8) Come up with some nature-themed art projects for your children, or recycled art. Good resources for ideas are: Nature’s Art Box, Recycled Crafts Box, and Earthways: Simple Environmental Activities for Young Children

If you are interested, I reviewed Earthways here.

9) Involve children in your recycling. Let them help sort. Take them with you when you drop it off. Older children might benefit from a book like Down-to-Earth Guide To Global Warming. Read my review here for more information.

10) Read nature-themed stories to your children. Here are some suggested reading lists by age from the Hooked on Nature website:

Ages 3-8
Ages 6-14

11) Set up a seasonal nature table in your home where children can display their outdoor finds. A fall table for example might have fall leaves, acorns, and pine cones, whereas a spring table might have spring flowers, feathers and grasses. Change the table seasonally and see what wonders your children come home with.

12) Start solstice celebrations in your home. Explain about the movement of the Earth, what causes the seasons, and what the solstice means. Last year we had our first annual solstice celebration on the winter solstice. We lit candles and had a special meal. The children gathered whatever they could find outside to create the centerpiece (pine branches, pine cones, rocks, and twigs). They still talk about that evening more than any other holiday celebration that we have had! I believe that being more aware of the natural rhythms of life, helps build an awareness of the importance of nature and the planet.

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I really wish I had begun this post three weeks ago instead of last night, because I know that there are many more great ideas for getting kids excited about nature and the environment. This will definitely have to be an ongoing project for me.

I hope you have enjoyed my ideas, and will find them useful. The main point is that children are the future of out planet. Get them outdoors and teach them just how wonderful our planet is…PLEASE!!!!

Comments (2)

By Mom Unplugged, October 13, 2007 8:16 am

THOUGHT #1:
For a few weeks now I have had this little picture in my sidebar. It is a link to www.blogactionday.org. Blog Action Day is scheduled for October 15th…as in this coming Monday…as in the day after tomorrow.

The idea behind Blog Action Day is to get as many people talking about the environment, as possible. As of this morning, the Blog Action Day website has 12,316 blogs signed up to participate. These blogs are estimated to reach a worldwide audience of 11,284,000 readers!! Wow!

All you have to do, is write a post on Monday that is somehow related to the environment. It doesn’t have to be fancy. It can be anything at all really: funny, informative, serious…how about a book review? Or even a photo? The idea is to write in order to join a global conversation on October 15th.

If you decide to do it, you can register your blog here. The Blog Action people will post a link to your blog as a participant and add you to the other 12,316 involved blogs!

THOUGHT #2:
In order to get you all thinking about the environment, I found (via the Blog Action Day Resources page) an interesting little test to take which will calculate your personal or household environmental impact and compare it to the US average. Mine was scary. How’s yours? The test is at the Nature Conservancy website.

THOUGHT #3:
Congratulations to Al Gore and the UN Panel on Climate Change for winning the Nobel Peace Prize. If you haven’t heard yet, Al Gore and the UN Panel were jointly awarded the prize yesterday for their efforts to spread awareness of the effects of human-caused climate change and to come up with steps to counteract it.

The Nobel Committee announcement stated that Mr. Gore “is probably the single individual who has done most to create greater worldwide understanding of the measures that need to be adopted.” You can read the entire announcement here.

To quote another Nobel Peace Prize recipient (1964):

“Let us realize the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.”
- Martin Luther King Jr. (“Where Do We Go From Here?” speech, 1967)

Comments (3)

By Mom Unplugged, September 21, 2007 6:46 pm

I have written several posts about how to certify your yard as a Backyard Wildlife Habitat with the National Wildlife Federation (NWF):

Project: Make Your Yard a Certified Wildlife Habitat (July 5, 2007)

Backyard Wildlife Habitat: Great Nature Slideshow (July 14, 2007)

Another Backyard Wildlife Slideshow (July 20, 2007)

The other day I just got an NWF email saying that they have almost reached their goal of certifying 100,000 habitats. The NWF needs to certify only 5,000 more yards to get there!

If you have been thinking about doing it (or even if the whole concept is new to you), now is the time. You don’t have to have a grand estate. All you need are the four basic habitat elements: food, water, cover, and places to raise young.

Once you go through the easy online process to certify, you will be eligible to buy the cool sign like ours in the photo. That way, neighbors and passers-by will know that you care enough about wildlife to provide a sustainable habitat in your own yard. You’ll also help spread the word to others about the existence of this great program.

Having your kids help you certify your yard is a wonderful way to teach them about the needs of wildlife. Two Unplug Your Kids readers even created online nature slideshows of their habitats. You can view them by clicking these links: Meeyauw’s slide show and Tiffany’s slide show (Nature Mom). If you feel like making your own slideshow, please let me know and I would love to link to it.

So, click here to get started today!