by Tao Oliveto, Carrboro, NC

I have a confession - I left out one item that I wanted to order from Real Goods on yesterday’s list. I’ve been struggling with the indulgence of it, since it serves no purpose besides being merry and bright. In the end, I happily bought one of my first “new” items of the year - one long, colorful string of LED holiday lights.

I escaped the nonsense of consumer “Holidayism” awhile ago, forgoing the traditional living tree, shopping for anything non-consumable, overeating, mailing cards and using gift wrap (not necessarily in that order). The result? I’ve since experienced many calm, meaningful and creative holiday seasons - filled with the actual “peace and goodwill” that disappeared with the invention of the mega mall.

It’s been especially fun giving different green gifts each year. Thrift stores are always an option - they are full of surprises and treasures this time of year. I’ve made dream pillows and boxes of original poems. I’ve given edibles like Fair Trade and Organic coffee, chocolate and tea. I’ve donated to Heifer International. I given pet sitting services and lunch dates. In fact, I’m no longer stumped about what to give - when I keep “Peace on Earth” in mind, the ideas just keep coming.

It’s also been fun ’sprucing’ up the house with sustainability in mind. One year, I collected a trunk load of pine boughs that had fallen to the ground in a December ice storm, enough to fill every corner of the house and decorate my yoga studio. It smelled great for a long while and I did my part in cleaning up on my block. Another year, I hung pine cones covered with peanut butter and bird seeds outside my windows. Another time, I made a huge wreath out of coat hangers and dried branches, decorated it with vintage silver and gold ball ornaments and hung it on a rope from my ceiling, where it moved and glittered in the sunlight. At night, it’s beeswax candles - besides being sustainable and lead-free, they clean the air and smell great.

I admit that I’ve missed a few good, old-fashioned colored lights - the problem being that they suck up energy and you end up throwing them out and buying more. Bah, Humbug. But, I’ve found my LEDs and I’m pretty jolly now. I will still be certain to light them only when I’m there to enjoy it so they will last for years to come.

Oops. Even a Pagan like me got suckered into thinking about the holidays REAL early after looking through the REAL GOODS catalog. Oh well - It’s a Wonderful Life!

Tags: community, culture, food, health, history, home

This entry was posted on Tuesday, October 2nd, 2007 at 12:15 pm and is filed under Green Misc.. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.