DREAMING OF A GREEN CHRISTMAS - Lights & Largesse


And in the dark house shining
The everlasting lights
CO2 ills and future bills
Are met in this tonight

If you are a traditional family, you probably decorate your house for Christmas in the first week of December and do not take the decorations down until January 6th - or twelvth night. If you include a Christmas tree with lights on throughout this period, use fairly lights in your décor or decorate the outside of your home with lights then you will be using far more electricity than you might otherwise.

Here are a few tips to cut down on this excess electricity use:

  1. Only switch the tree lights on in the evening and turn them off again when you go to bed.
  2. Try to avoid using too many lights as decorations
  3. Turn the television right off and unplug it before you go to bed. Firstly, this will save you money. A television on 'standby' uses almost as much electricity as one left on. Secondly, a large proportion of house fires are caused by faults in television.

Candles are an attractive alternative to electrical lights as long as you remember the safety precautions:

  1. Never leave a burning candle unattended, even for a moment.
  2. Make sure candle holders are both stable and designed for the purpose. Many house fires start because a candle has either been knocked over or has set fire to the container it is in.
  3. If you are using candles, make sure that you ventilate your room. A candle can quickly reduce the oxygen levels in a room, making people feel drained and sleepy.
  4. Allow children to light candles only with your supervision and impress on them that all sources of fire can be potentially dangerous if treated like toys.

My FIFTH Rule of Christmas is:

The night is lit by stars. Keep your lights for the evening only.

~~~

Four meals a day
Three snack breaks
Too fat to move
And a turkey we'll eat until March

It is considered inhospitable not to offer generous fare at Christmas. There is a happy medium, however, between hospitality and waste. More food is wasted at Christmas than at any other time of the year. Surprising really, as you would think food was more likely to be wasted in Summer when the weather is hot. The main reason for this waste is over-purchasing.

Consider these pointers when you buy your Christmas food and drink:

  1. Don't over-buy the meat. There is nothing worse than various forms of turkey for the next few weeks. A good cookbook should give you guidelines as to the quantities you will need or, failing that, take advise from a friend in catering.
    The copyright of the article DREAMING OF A GREEN CHRISTMAS - Lights & Largesse in Green Home is owned by Linda Little. Permission to republish DREAMING OF A GREEN CHRISTMAS - Lights & Largesse in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

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