On the first day of Christmas we put up our tree...

My 13 year old son, Justin, suggested I write about the 12 GREEN days of Christmas and as it is the 13th of December we figured this is the first day! So I will share our green holiday tips.

Tonight we will decorate our tree. This year we have a real tree. After going back and forth about what is the most environmentally friendly type, we decided on a cut tree.

This link from the National Christmas Tree Association makes some good points about real tress vs artificial.

There is no lead, PVC, plastic or other chemicals in a real tree. They are biodegradable and support farmers. We bought our tree down the road from us at the local hospital fundraiser.

We brought it home on our wagon and will pull it up to the fire hall in January when they do the free tree chipping. Our house smells great, it is like we have a 7 foot air freshener in the living room.

Colours

I have had this basket of dried leaves since the fall. I have been meaning to compost them. We originally collected them for thanks giving because when I was growing up we always decorated the house with beautiful leaves we would find for thanksgiving dinner.
I couldn't believe how the colours had lasted, and although they will crumble if you touch them, they are frozen in time and now here forever beautiful.
(click to enlarge)