Greening Your Holiday Decorations
Posted by Melanie Milonas November 11th, 2007 .So, I’m no artist, but something about the holidays gets me in the mood to… CREATE!
There is nothing better than bringing the outdoors in to help you celebrate the season. There are lots of ways to save green and go natural during the holidays.
For the Halloween/Thanksgiving/Fall season:
Create a simple centerpiece in seconds by grouping three small pumpkins on a placemat and scattering nuts on top and around. (Go outside, we found a pecan tree in a local park!) Finally, place a candle in the middle. I accented the centerpiece with some faux leaves I had.
For Christmas:
Create a wreath or a basket… It’s pretty simple and fun. Last year, I gathered dried buds from a magnolia tree and wired them onto a wreath base. This year, I am going to try two new projects. My mom, Karen, and I recently visited the Caw Caw Interpretive Center in Ravenel and gathered pine needles, pine cones, punk tree seed pods, and acorns. (This is ok to do if you stop in the information center to let them know what you are up to.) My mom got the idea from a workshop she attended there earlier in the year—be sure to check out all of the Center’sNature, Environmental, Historical, & Cultural Programs!
The ultimate goal is to create a pine cone wreath and a pine needle basket. I’ll keep you posted on how that goes. (Wish me luck!)
On another note—this year I’m switching to led Christmas lights. Check out the benefits here.
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After reading this entry I decided that if I bought any lights at all, I was going LED. I picked out my first tiny Christmas tree and the one strand of lights I needed to fully light it — but when I opened the box I was surprised to read something along the lines of the following: These lights contain lead. Please wash hands after handling. What? Is this just one brand of lights or is this something common among all LEDs or lights in general?
Interesting! I did a little research and found this on Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas_lights
“Many light sets may contain traces of lead, and consumers should wash hands thoroughly after handling these products, especially before eating. Proposition 65 of California requires that if products contain lead or traces of lead then a warning must be printed on packing of products. One must be sure to check the label for this and any additional warnings.”
It sounds like this is the case in all types of lights and even some PVC Christmas Trees and greenery. Here is some more news of note on the issue with some tips for avoiding products that contain lead: http://www.checnet.org/healthehouse/education/articles-detail.asp?Main_ID=700.