This year your family can kick off the holidays in super green style with a brand new book that will help you to ease holiday stress, celebrate green, and add more meaning to your holiday celebrations; all while still having fun.
BOOK: I’m Dreaming of a Green Christmas: Gifts, Decorations, and Recipes that Use Less and Mean More
BASICS: From the publishers…
This holiday season, Anna Getty—environmental advocate, writer, television personality, chef, mother, and organic living expert—helps families reduce their carbon footprint and save money without sacrificing style or tradition. Anna advises how to best choose a tree (real or fake?), mitigate the negative effects of necessary travel, recycle post-holiday, and more. She shares favorite holiday recipes for organic appetizers and homemade craft ideas such as pinecone wreaths and recycled sweater pillows. With inspiring photographs, extensive resources, and advice from the “Lazy Environmentalist” Josh Dorfman, Seventh Generation’s Jeffrey Hollender, and other leading eco-experts, families might just find that these tips help them stay green all year long.
COST: $16.47
ECO-PERKS:
- Book is packed with eco-friendly tips for a green Christmas. Obviously, an eco-perk for families, although, individuals will also find useful tips and ideas.
- The ideas in the book are easy enough that people will actually use them, thus making the book an actual green resource.
- Book is printed on 100% post consumer waste recycled paper.
- The author, Anna Getty has experience in green, having worked with the Organic Center, Global Green, NRDC, and Seventh Generation, among others, and is the author of the upcoming Easy Green Organic.
WHAT I THINK:
I liked the content in this book a lot overall and the style especially won me over. The book kicks off with ten great energy saving tips for the holidays and follows with chapters on…
- Nesting – including decor, basics such as LED lighting and wreaths, and stockings.
- Entertaining – including table setting, little gifts for guests, and wine table know-how.
- Trimming – all about the Christmas tree.
- Giving – including gifts for everyone, easy green wrapping, homemade gifts, and the little things like tags.
- Reflecting – including recycling and an interesting section called composting Christmas.
The book itself is gorgeous with non-glossy classic looking pages full of AMAZING images and pretty little vintage looking flowers and snowflakes scattered throughout. I especially like the various page color choices and how font is printed in a stand out, easy to browse format.
The tips for how to celebrate are great throughout and very easy to follow. Each section (or idea) is broken up into items you’ll need to gather, then the how to create the idea. Tips from all sorts of green experts are included throughout the book. Plenty of the idea offered in the book are completely kid friendly and your family will have fun doing the holiday crafts and decorating ideas together. Lastly, there is a wonderful end resource section packed full of every little thing you need to celebrate a green Christmas.
Most of all I liked Getty’s style. Lately, it seems I’ve read a rush of eco-friendly books that are seemingly trying to be hipper than hip, which works for some people but just comes off as a little pompous to me. Getty’s style is so chill, NOT holier than thou, and really seems genuine. I felt it was a very family friendly style that focused on celebrating with people not things in mind.
NEEDS IMPROVEMENT:
I found very few negatives in this book. There’s no digital version offered which would be an eco-friendly choice. Also, I felt the book was a wee bit heavy on recipes. Each section included quite a few, and I felt that many were more adult than child friendly. My son would maybe try about 1/3 of the recipes in this book – but a less picky child may be more open. As with most green books on the market, this one didn’t offer 100% new tips for people already immersed in green living (i.e if you’ve been living green for a while, there’s less new-to-you content). I did learn some new things though and think this is perfect for a family new to green living.
OVERALL SCORE:
Four and a half out of five little trees. Overall I’d highly suggest this book for green families. The focus is perfect, Getty’s style is personable and friendly, plus the book is seriously beautiful. It loses half a point because there’s no digital version offered and it could be a little better in the kids recipe department. Check it out at your local library or get your own copy – I’m Dreaming of a Green Christmas: Gifts, Decorations, and Recipes that Use Less and Mean More.
See my review criteria for green products.
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