christmas paper

Well, it wasn't easy but I finally convinced everyone to skip the holiday cards and the wrapping paper. It is amazing how hard it is to change people's habits. It is not really something you want to fight over, but if you don't try, it simply won' t happen.

It is very difficult to change behaviors when it comes to feel-good stuff like holiday cards and shiny wrap. But this year we are using pdf files for our holiday letters and jpgs for the pictures, and emailing them to our friends. You could argue that the internet and computers are just as polluting and use more energy, and that is certainly true, but why double up ? And why cut down extra trees? Isn't it enough that we cut down christmas trees already?

We are using computers daily. Why not take out a few minutes to send well wishes and save tons of paper, stamps, and cardboard? Our energy use is quite modest as is. We rarely get an electric bill that is over $30 a month.

As for the wrapping paper, given that everything you buy is already triple wrapped and boxed as is, there is really little need for additional wastage here. But once again this is one area where people are loath to give up on their habits and do things differently. Don't you want to hide what you are giving until that magic moment? The truth is that most people know well in advance what they are getting and the magic is largely in the eye of the beholder. The surprise factor is minimal to begin with. Mostly we are deluding ourselves when we think we can surprise people. And in most cases, surprises are no good and elicit nothing but wry smiles and after holiday returns. People really do not like surprises all that much.

And who says you can't keep things hidden until you give them to the recipient? Hiding the whole thing is much better anyways as it prevents spoilers like size estimates, weighing packages, and shaking them.

Whatever you do, have a good holiday and try to conserve energy and paper. It is hard but I am sure you can do it too.