In this series of articles, we are taking a look at the ways in which you can bring the concept of green living into all of your holiday activities. Here, we are going to focus on making your entertaining opportunities as green as possible.
When you think of entertaining strictly in the sense of a group of people hanging around together (we cover eating in the last installment) you probably can't think of too many areas where you can restrict your eco-footprint. After all, it's not likely that you and the people you spend the holidays with will organize some kind of car rally or other type of emission producing activities. Though, one way that you could help is to make sure that people are carpooling and sharing cabs when getting to and from these events. This is easy if the event is after something like a hockey tournament Ontario and everyone starts in the same place.
What you need to take a look at is the consumption and the activities that you traditionally incorporate into entertaining during the holidays. For example, most of us will serve our guests some kind of appetizers or beverages apart from a main meal. Disposable dishes are an easy option, but why not try laying everything out on dishes that can be washed and used again? You will not only limit your impact as far as waste goes, but will lessen the environmentally harmful production of these products as well. Sometimes when we live in a nice looking place like Brampton real estate we forget that there is a lot of waste piling up somewhere.
You might also want to take a look at the way in which you heat or light your home as part of the entertainment package. Energy consumption is a big focus of the green movement, and you can reduce the amount of energy you use even when entertaining large groups of people. You don't need to already own a piece of Halton Hills real estate with all of the environmental innovations either. Even a rustic Haliburton cottage can be improved. Purchase fluorescent bulbs and make sure they are turned off when a room is not in use. You might even want to try moving to wood or (better still!) pellet heat instead of relying solely on a furnace.
When it comes to green options, it is a little bit harder to colour your entertainment than it is in other areas of holiday fun. What greener entertaining means is really taking a look at lifestyle choices and your home, and making the appropriate changes to your consumption habits.
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