Not only green weddings - but also green living and giving this Christmas Holidays

Poppy from Yorkshire, UK sent me the following question:

"I've just got engaged to my boyfriend Mark and we're planning to get married next summer. We're going to have a "green" wedding as far as possible, and I have already sent off to Amazon for a copy of your book to show us how to do it. But in the meantime, how can we make our lifestyle greener this Christmas?"

First of all, many congrats to Poppy and Mark on your engagement, and I'm delighted you're going to have a "green" wedding in the summer. Thanks for buying the book - I'm sure you'll find it very helpful.

Here are some ideas for green measures you can take over the Holidays - while still having an enjoyable time...

1. Buy local produce as far as possible. If you're going for the traditional turkey or other poultry dinner, get a fresh bird from a local butcher or farm shop - one which has been reared range free on a farm near you. It will probably cost a bit more than a frozen bird from a supermarket, but it will taste miles better - and by buying local you will be supporting local business. The same applies to your fruit and vegetables; in the UK there are locally produced apples and pears around now, as well as a large selection of root vegetables, locally-grown sprouts, leeks, cabbage, spring greens, etc. Try if you can also to buy locally or regionally produced dairy goods, jams, pickles, cakes, biscuits, etc.

2. "Farm shops" does not necessarily mean local produce in the UK. Farm shops are local businesses so it's good to support them if you can, but use your common sense when choosing produce from their shelves ... avocados, oranges, cherries, mangos, satsumas etc are not likely to have been grown in Britain, especially in December (!!) and so will have involved polluting air travel even if they have been produced on a fairtrade basis.

3. Plan your menus so there is as little food waste as possible. Leftover turkey (or goose) can be cut off the carcass and frozen for use in casseroles, pasta bakes, soups and other dishes later on, and the carcass will make a lovely poultry stock which you can reduce to a concentrate and freeze in ice cube trays to add flavour to future meals. Obviously all fruit and vegetable waste can go on to your compost heap or into your wormery if you have one. Meat scraps are efficiently disposed of in our house as over the Holidays we will have three dogs and three cats here! Failing that, some councils in the UK now have food waste recycling schemes - be sure to use them if they're available. Leftover cooked vegetables can be puréed and added to soups, or - as my clever Canadian cousin does - can be mixed with eggs and cheese and made into tasty quiches. Leftover gravy can be frozen and used later to make shepherd's or cottage pie, or (diluted with a little water or wine) as a stock or braising liquid for stews and other casseroles.

4. Think green when it comes to gifts. Try if you can to give presents which have been locally produced, are made from natural and preferably organic materials. Think creatively about what to give - gift vouchers for activities are always appreciated and provided they are relatively local (so don't involve much travel) are a lot greener than goods manufactured in sweatshops thousands of miles away. Consider vouchers for gardening or green gifts from organisations like The National Trust. You can even make gifts out of your own time ... give an I.O.U. to a needy friend or relative for so many hours of lawn mowing or other gardening ... spring cleaning ... baby sitting ... dog walking ... shopping ... etc.

5. If you giftwrap, wrap greener. Many commercially produced giftwrap papers have metallic or plastic coatings are so are unsuitable for most composting and recycling programmes. Plain paper - preferably made from recycled paper to start with - can look lovely when decorated with scrap ribbon and fresh leaves and berries from your garden or farm shop. Fabric can make lovely giftwrap, too, and if you're creative can even form part of the gift - wrap the item in a pretty scarf or table cloth.

6. Think about your Christmas tree, if you use one. People say the best choice is a real tree with roots so you can plant it out afterwards and use it again the following year, but if you - like me - have a fake tree already, to me it makes more sense to go on using that until it wears out. In any case, real trees with roots actively dislike the warm, dry conditions of most homes and may not survive the transition from that to a chilly outdoors in January, especially in colder climates. Fake trees may have been manufactured in far-flung sweatshops but they do last for many years if you take care of them, and new ones these days are made from more environmentally friendly materials in fairtrade conditions.

That's all I can think of for now, but do please add your comments on how to have a greener Holiday season - or email them to me ( suze@suzanstmaur.com ) and I'll post them for you. Until then, have a great time and all good wishes for 2009!

Sz.