November is here. You all know what does that mean? My birthday of course. Oh, I mean…THANKSGIVING! The happiest time of the year to give thanks to everything good in the world and to be thankful for stretch pants. Gobble gobble. Talking about gobble; I recently have gotten on the eco-friendly craze, and want to throw a Thanksgiving party while at the same time thanking the Earth for all it has given us.
So here are some eco-friendly thanksgiving ideas everyone will love, even the turkey in the backyard.
Table Deco: The leaves are falling in many shades. Instead of raking them up an putting them in glad bags that do not make any landfill glad, use them to make wonderful decorations. Glue some together to make tablemats. Use semi-large ones as coasters so no liquid will damage your reclaimed wood ten seat table. Glue some one inch apart from another on some twine or rope for a festive garland. Acorn turkeys are always fun to make.
Halloween’s Treat:
- Keep those pumpkins you carved out. You can turn them around and carve thanksgiving theme patterns to illuminate throughout the house. You can even use some as flower holders. Who does not like a cute pumpkin vase?
- Have any extra face paint from your costume? If you do then use them to make one–of-a-kind hand turkey art with the kids and display them throughout the house or use them as name cards.
- Use anything orange you saved from your Halloween parties. Reuse and make it look new. No one will know once all the pies are on the table.
- Left-over candy from trick or treating is always rare. If you have any then use them on your deserts. You can make turkey cookies or leaf cookies and use M&Ms to decorate them.
Faux Turkey: Go vegan for one day. Save a turkey. Yes they taste good especially with a bit of honey. C’mon, stop it. The turkey is an animal and has feelings too. Trust me it will be thankful if you do not kill it. Instead why not kill it with kindness and make a tofu turkey substitute? If your family does not like it then tofu-rkey-ing bad.You get the point.
Energy: Play outside with the family. Have your own football game. Turn off the television, turn off the air conditioner, and go outside for a while. Be thankful you have a family to enjoy such a wonderful holiday with.
Dishes: If you are having a small gathering then use you green set of plates that you bought specifically for this festive holiday. Wash them all at the same time to conserve water. Or do what I do…recycle them. If you are having a potluck type get together then purchase some biodegradable plates, napkins and utensils. If you do own a dishwashing machine, you may want to wait until you can wash a load of dishes that fills it up entirely, therefore you’ll be conserving water and not wasting away our sacred electricity.
Food: Two words…organic and local. Buy in bulk for less packaging waste. Save leftovers, or better yet let your guest take some home to keep them from wasting energy the next day. Recyling leftover food is easy, you can always make a pie out of anything.
Hopefully these tips help you out on your day of thanks. If it does then all I can say is…you are welcome.
