We don’t go nuts over Thanksgiving at my house. We get together and cook a meal, but nothing too fancy or formal. That said, everyone’s idea of Thanksgiving is different. Whether you’re hyper casual like at my house or extra formal, there’s still room to be green. I’ve got some ideas below that can help you out, no matter your Thanksgiving style.

Watch this space for more ideas as November continues…

• Throw a Green Thanksgiving Event

Eco-friendly Thanksgiving decor and crafts:

• Natural Thanksgiving Decor
• Eco-Friendly Thanksgiving Place Cards

Planning your Thanksgiving day menu:

• Save money on organic food for the holidays
• Homemade Organic Honey Oat Bread
• DIY Healthy Organic & Fair Trade Hot Chocolate
• Organic Cooking Know-How – 18 Green & Healthy Cookbook Ideas
• Need organic pumpkins? Learn where to find them.

General green Thanksgiving resources:

• Celebrate Green – a must have holiday book.
• Plan a Thanksgiving tree planting celebration.

Thanksgiving is a busy time of year. It’s a little nuts but you can still keep it green. Following are some ways you can celebrate without compromising your eco-ethics or too much more of your time.

Get sane: Traveling during the holidays is a nightmare. It’s more expensive, it’s stressful, and it keeps your emissions nice and high. Staying put at home is a great way to cut stress and save gas and resources. Ah sanity.

Get real: Real cloth napkins and cloth tablecloths, actual reusable dishes, and banning paper or plastic toss away cups is a great place to start. If you don’t have special holiday dishes and want some low cost options check out your local thrift store. Not only can you find great sets of dishes but you can donate them back after the holiday. NO dish storage!

Get organic: Organics don’t have to cost more. If you’re concerned about costs split them with all family members attending or buy the most important organics first, then others if you can afford it. For example, an organic turkey should be top priority. Organic onions and spices are cool, but you’re not getting as big a pesticide punch with them, so the turkey, apples for pies, and dairy are bigger deals.

Get flowers: Organic flowers for your table are a pesticide free, beautiful option. If you go local they don’t even cost much more than conventional flowers. Many co-ops offer a flower section where you can pick and choose your favorite stems – much cheaper than buying a ready-made bouquet.

Get vegetarian: Skipping the turkey, ham, bacon bits, and whatever other meats you like at Thanksgiving, is a great way to keep your holiday green. For veggie meal ideas visit a great vegetarian Thanksgiving menu planner.

Get the commercialism out: Vow to skip Black Friday. In fact there’s a real honest to goodness event called Buy Nothing Day that you can join up with if you want to skip the madness. Why shop til you drop the day after Thanksgiving? Why not have a more peaceful day? I’ve been doing Buy Nothing Day for years – hit them up on Facebook if you’d like to get involved.

Get natural: Plan decor that’s eco-savvy and natural or made with recycled goods. Decorating with fall leaves is a good start – later we’ll look at a few more green Thanksgiving crafts.

Get greener place cards: If fancy is your game plan this holiday then you need pretty place cards. Of course go for eco-friendly Thanksgiving place cards.

Get thankful: Try making a homemade gratitude journal with the kids with recycled goodies. If you want something extra special try the WishFrame. Family and friends can write what they’re thankful for on little slips of paper then tuck them away in the WishFrame.

What are you doing to celebrate a green Thanksgiving?