Un-Decking the Halls!

DC Department of Public Works will pick up Christmas trees and wreaths from Dec 26 through January 8 for composting! PLEASE DO NOT BAG YOUR TREE, and kindly remove all ornaments. Trees will be pick up after January 8, but may not be composted! Just leave the trees near your trash bins!

Meanwhile, you can send your holiday cards to St. Jude's Ranch for Children which will upcycle these into new creations!

The DC Recycler's 2015 Green Holiday Gift Guide

Need some green gift ideas about now?  Here are just a few to ponder!

• Shop Online but offbeat. Have you found The Grommet?  They have a plethora of unique and quirky gifts.  Check out their Sustainable Living line. Uncommon Goods also has some fun stuff. 
• Buy more conventional, but still green. Bambeco is Baltimore based and they're all about sustainability.  They give a lot of money to help restore the bay, and OK, they're my friends. Check them out.
• Buy local.  Indulge your favorite chef or gamer with a gift certificate from Hill's Kitchen or Labyrinth. 

Otherwise......

• Gift a class.  The Hill Center on Capitol Hill has a wide array of classes - including an urban foraging class and a vegan cooking class. 
• Kayak and paddleboard the Potomac: The Key Bridge Boat House has 2016 season tickets on sale now.  You'll be set to go when they open in April.
• How about an amazing helmet or backpack for your favorite cyclist from Torch Apparel?! 
• Give some homemade food.  If you have 15 jars of strawberry jam, or salsa, or jalapenos, that you made this summer (ummm, like me), share that bounty!  Or, make a batch of granola and bag it as gifts. You can find my favorite recipe here!  There's still time to get some great labels at www.evermine.com.
• Live the cliche, make potholders!  Those potholder frames have evolved and are larger and much more practical.  You can pick up a loom and loops at Sullivan's Toy Store on Wisconsin Avenue. If you want more loop colors, check out harrisville.com/.
• And for that person who has absolutely everything, share the love. Gift a donation in their name to a local non-profit! There are so many great groups to choose from such as Sierra Club DC, the Anacostia Watershed Society, the Alice Ferguson Foundation and the list goes on, and on.  

Mostly, have yourself and yours a merry and very GREEN holiday season!