You know, I was going to make a list of green party ideas that didn't scream "I'm a green party idea." As I was thinking about the list, it occurred to me that it isn't the food or the decorations or the lights that would be the ones screaming "I'm green." They are inanimate objects and very few people are going to wonder if your candles are parafin or soy, your turkey is free range, or your lights are LED. The only way your guests are going to know these things is if you scream about them.So here's what I think. I think that your holiday celebration isn't about celebrating green. It's about celebrating the birth of Jesus or celebrating the miracle of eight nights of burning oil lamps or simply celebrating friends and family.
So go ahead. Make your holiday party as green as you want. Buy the free range turkey, serve the organic wine, play holiday music downloaded via mp3's instead of going out and buying physical cd's, buy all your linens from a thrift store, and re-wear last year's Christmas sweater. Just keep your mouth shut about it all.
Don't spend Christmas dinner talking about why your real tree is greener than your brother's artifical tree. Don't let everyone know that the paper plates your using for dessert are made from recycled materials and are completely compostable. Don't make this holiday about being greener than everyone else at your table. Be a gracious greenie this holiday season.
Oh, and the above picture is this year's tree that we decorated last night. And I'm not going to tell you if we bought it from a local source or if the light's are LED. I know and I don't need to scream about it.
3 comments:
Thanks Robin. I'm really glad you said this. It will be nice to take a respite from it all.
I think the most powerful message we can send to people we personally know, is just living our lives and answering the questions that they may have for us. Because you just know that if you don't tell them that the Turkey is local organic, they will probably ask.
Beautiful Tree by the way. I especially like the older ornaments, the round ones with the glitter on them.
Good on ya Robin,
Adam
I'm totally with you on this one.
People who want to know and/or have similar ideas will ask while it's easy to alienate others by preaching. The holidays are to be enjoyed, not a time to offend or show off to one's nearest and dearest.
And yes the tree is georgeous!
Thanks for the compliments on the tree - we let the boys put the ornaments where they want with no direction so there are big gaps in places, but it's more fun to decorate when you're not dictating.
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