Each year I say – I should figure out a Christmas holiday tradition for my family that’s not only eco-friendly, but fun, and also something that everyone can swallow.

Facts:
I personally was raised with Christmas – trees, cookies, gifts, the whole darn deal. I liked it and as a kid thought it was mostly fun, but I never loved how hectic it was, and by the time I was in my early 20s I was sick of the whole planning perfect gifts mess.
By the time my son Cedar was born, his dad and I wanted to do something for the …read more

Tomorrow is Black Friday and Buy Nothing Day. I already know what I’m planning on doing. Have you decided? If you’re leaning toward Buy Nothing Day, but still need a little help deciding what you can do, here are some activities you can try tomorrow…

Find a BND event.
Do the obvious – hang with the family, have a cookie baking day, play games, go for a walk, plant a tree, play dress-up, sing, make some crafts, it’s a great day to find a family activity.
Go to a store, but not to shop, instead stick one of these up quietly.
Get started on …read more

For anyone interested in the Buy Nothing Day Challenge, I’ve rounded up some of the best consumer posts we’ve had here at THF (and a few from Declutter It).
These are posts full of tips that can help you to rethink purchases, money, and the general idea of stuff.
Cold Turkey Paper Towels & the What Questions
Why Does Being Green Cost So Much?
Organizing by Simplifying
How To Start Getting Rid of Stuff – Get Rid of “Maybe” Items
Kid specific consumer info: 
Raising Green Kids In A Commercial Culture
Kids & Shopping – How Kids Can Be Smart Consumers
My Own Little, His View of Commercials, …read more

Each year I advocate Buy Nothing Day.
Each year I run a green gift guide here, and if you visit my other blogs, you’ll see that I run gift guides there as well.

Could I be more hypocritical?
Each year at this time I start feeling like I should answer the question above. Last year I posted, If you’re so against having stuff, then why show all these products on this blog? That post basically covered why I’m not a hypocrite. But, it’s always good to recap during the holiday season.
My take on stuff:

Black Friday or Buy Nothing Day – you should choose a side. If you’re choosing Buy Nothing Day, that’s great; you can participate in this month’s green challenge here at Tree Hugging Family. If you’re choosing Black Friday, maybe you should reconsider.
Basics: 
Buy Nothing Day it’s fairly self-explanatory; it’s a day you, you guessed it, buy nothing. Created by the folks at Adbusters; Buy Nothing Day correlates with Black Friday otherwise know as the biggest shopping day of the year.Facts:

You have better things to do with your time than shop.
The U.S. is overwhelmed with consumerism, and this is one day …read more

You may remember the popular BYOB Challenge – the bring your own reusable bag challenge and the Paper Towel Challenge. In any case, we haven’t had a green challenge in a while here at Tree Hugging Family, but this month, it’s on.
Your green challenge, for November 2008, should you choose to accept it, is…
To buy nothing on Buy Nothing Day 2008.

Steps to take:

Sorry I’ve been MIA. It’s been one of those weeks. I do have some quickie news flashes of note.
Be a non-consumer:
In re-news (as in each year it comes around) Buy Nothing Day is quickly approaching. This year it falls on November 23rd in North America and on the 24th internationally. For those of you new to the concept Buy Nothing Day is brain child of one of my faves Adbusters. At least it has been for as long as I can remember — not sure if the original idea was theirs or not (I’ll look into it). Buy …read more