Eco-friendly holiday tips

Now you don't need to just dream of a green Christmas or Hanukkah. You can make it a reality with these tips on decorating, setting out lights, sending holiday greetings and wrapping -- all in an eco-friendly fashion.

Happy Little Trees: In lieu of buying a plastic tree -- or cutting down a tree and then discarding it -- this holiday season, consider charming and even edible alternatives. I like an adorable little Christmas rosemary bush from ProFlowers.com. It's $34.99, shaped like a tree and comes in an assortment of cheery container colors.

Luminous Hanukkah: Since Hanukkah is the Celebration of Lights, it's natural to want to, you know, celebrate with some lights. However, the byproducts of classic paraffin candles can be less than desirable for our planet. Luckily, there are all sorts of good-for-the-environment candles, be they beeswax, palm oil or soy. Beelitecandles.com can meet all your lighting needs with candles in all shapes and sizes, ranging from $.85 on up. L' Chaim!

It's in the Cards: Each year, millions of people send holiday cards to friends and family members. If you want to do the same, but feel guilty about wasting paper, consider sending out e-cards or homemade cards (on recycled paper, please), or choosing cards made with 100 percent post-consumer fibers. Peartreegreetings.com lets you buy them individually or by the bulk -- or, if you prefer, it has an Earth-friendly option for personalized photo cards as well.

It's a Wrap: Is it what's inside that's important? Of course. But do we all like a bright and shiny box to house what's inside? Yes, please! Luckily, we can have both without leaving heaps of wasteful paper and ribbons behind. Right inside your home, consider decorating paper brown bags or carefully choosing newspaper comics or even vases or bowls you no longer have a use for. Otherwise, papermojo.com has a gorgeous banana paper, and greenfieldpaper.com offers all manner of fun and funky designs on recycled, "tree-free" papers.

With green lovelies in your home, and green wishes to send out, you can ensure the happiest holidays and a healthy planet, too.

(Helen Malani is the chief shopping expert for Shopzilla.com, a Scripps Networks Interactive company, and the largest comparison-shopping search engine on the Web. E-mail Helen at askhelen(at)shopzilla.com.)

(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, http://www.scrippsnews.com)

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