Some Thoughtful Holiday Hints from Annapolis Green:
Gifts:
- Give a gift that discourages waste, such as a reusable water bottle to “take back the tap” and stop the waste of plastic bottles filled with filtered water.
- Give gifts that can either be eaten or otherwise used up (like food, wine, theatre tickets or even carbon offsets).
- Buy local! We’ve got a number of local chandleries and boat stores, including those that sell used gear. Support them!
- Support a local non-profit in your recipient’s name. Buy a plank at the Annapolis Maritime Museum or a membership in the Spa Creek Conservancy, the South River Federation, the Severn Riverkeeper, the South River Association, the West and Rhode Riverkeeper, etc. This is a prime example of think globally, act locally.
- Select gifts that have minimal packaging or recycled or recyclable packaging.
- Take reusable bags with you! Tell the store clerks you don’t want their plastic bags.
- Make a Gift
- Put together a basket or bag of environmentally friendly boat cleaning products or personal care products to introduce your unaware friends to living sustainably.
Wrap your gifts:
- in old sail cloth
- in old, outdated charts
- in boat-themed or holiday fabric; even the fabric from flannel pajamas bought at a thrift store,
- tie with real fabric ribbon or small stuff
- in the comics pages from the newspaper – especially good for kids
- in a 99-cent grocery store reusable bag
- turn the brown paper bags from the grocery store inside out and decorate them with rubber stamps, paint, or cut-outs from last year’s holiday cards
Decorating your boat
- Buy LED holiday lights. Use a timer so they don’t burn all night.
- Recycle old holiday lights at holidayleds.com by mailing to HolidayLEDs.com, Attn: Recycling Program, 120 W. Michigan Ave., Suite 1403, Jackson, MI 49201.
- Yes there are solar holiday lights. Amazon sells them.
- Use nature for decoration, not man-made imitations. For example:
Pinecones or branches from evergreens for decorations. Friendly Christmas tree salespeople may give you branches cut from trees for free.
- Donate unwanted or unused ornaments and other decorations to the local thrift store or nursing home.
Annapolis Green is selling stainless steel water bottles, organic cotton sweatshirts, and plantable ornaments at www.annapolisgreen.com/shop.html
