Keep Brevard Beautiful. Save the Earth. Have a happy holiday season. Can you do it all? Of course! Here are a few ideas to make your season even greener.

TIP 1: Choose gifts made from recycled materials. Many individuals and small businesses have developed great products using recycled materials. Supporting these businesses helps reduce the waste stream.

TIP 2: Use environmentally friendly wrapping paper. Gift bags can be made using fabric scraps, or wrapping can be made using comic strips from the paper, old calendars, maps, posters and more.

TIP 3: Skip the tinsel for the tree and avoid buying plastic decorations. Nature provides beautiful ornaments and other holiday decorations: gather a basket of evergreen branches, berries, flowers, fresh fruit, etc. and arrange as you desire, or make ornaments from twigs, bark, flowers and herbs.

TIP 4: Plan your menu and exactly how much food you’ll need to minimize food waste. Compost food that is not eaten. Serve your guests with re-usable cups, plates, silverware, and utensils. Even suggest your guests bring to go containers so no food goes to waste.

TIP 5: Ditch the cheap stocking stuffers. Often, stockings are filled with cheap plastic items that end up broken, lost, or discarded once the holiday season ends. Instead, fill them with delicious homemade treats and a few small, thoughtfully chosen gifts to round it out.

TIP 6: Connect with nature and your family. A peaceful walk through nature on Christmas day will be remembered and valued more than the score of the football game. The walk will also bring on hunger and provide good conversation during mealtime.

TIP 7: Shop local and support small businesses. If you can, carpool with friends and family or use public transportation. This will lower transportation emissions. You should also bring your own reusable tote bag and avoid using plastic bags for your purchases.

TIP 8: Offset your holiday travel. Try to reduce air travel whenever possible, and consider offsetting the fossil fuel pollution generated by your trip, no matter how you travel. Find flights with newer aircraft like the A320neo or Boeing 787-8 have 15% less fuel burn than older designs.

TIP 9: Whenever possible, avoid synthetic wax materials in your candles. These often contain paraffin, a byproduct of crude oil. Instead, look for sustainably, responsibly sourced and produced beeswax, coconut wax, rapeseed wax or soy wax candles. These materials can be biodegradable and are far less likely to contain chemicals that leech out into the air as they melt.

TIP 10: Donate time and energy by volunteering. Specifically with your favorite environmental nonprofit that gives back directly in your local community.