Last year, I wrote a couple of posts about green Valentine’s Day gifts — one for kids and one for adults. Both are full of good tips on ways to celebrate the holiday in an eco-friendly way.

But I thought I’d try to find some more fun, green V-day ideas for this year.

Want to tell your sweetie how much you love him/her? Do it with an e-card. No paper, no resources used to deliver it, no ink printed on it. There are LOTS of cards available, from sweet to silly. There should be one that’s perfect for your loved one.

If an e-card isn’t enough, why not do a video tribute? There are also lots of examples of this — try youtube.

A home-cooked meal of your sweetheart’s favorites is also a wonderful way to celebrate the holiday. You took the time to prepare a meal and remembered important foods.

This tip was in last year’s list, but bears repeating — if you want to buy flowers, make sure they are organic.

Or, buy a plant. It can be the gift that keeps on giving. Plants can help purify the air and – with moderate maintenance — won’t die in a week.

Some people give pets for Valentine’s Day. If you want to do that, please head to your local animal shelter or humane society instead of a pet store. These pets will make wonderful additions to any family.

Want to buy some jewelry? This was in last year’s post, but estate jewelry or vintage jewelry is a great option.

If you have kids, handmade Valentine’s are a great treat for family members. My son isn’t the biggest fan of coloring, but if he knows he’s making a card for a family member, he gets a little more prolific.

A sure-fire way to my son’s heart? Sweets. His birthday is right before Valentine’s Day, but I plan on making him some heart-shaped cookies to enjoy on Valentine’s Day. And since he’s been into smoothies lately, we’ll make him a red or pink smoothie (with as many hidden healthful ingredients as possible!)

What are you doing for Valentine’s Day? Any tips you want to share?

 What do you get the person who has everything? That’s the question facing lots of us right now.

We live in a society of too much. At least my family does. You should see the huge amount of toys taking up residence in various spots around our house. Our closets and drawers all overstuffed with clothes. Shortly before our move this summer, I sold and gave away a lot of tchotchkes, books, CDs, DVDS, etc.. Yet, I’m sure that we will be getting more of all of those in a few weeks.

And don’t forget all of the wrapping paper, bags, boxes, tissue paper and bows that will be used to wrap all of those presents. Most of which are not recyclable. And of the ones that are, many won’t be recycled.

Enough with all of the negativity. There are lots of ways you can enjoy the holidays and still be eco-conscious.

We’ll start with gift-giving, which is one of my favorite things about the holidays.

There are all sorts of environmentally- and socially-friendly options available today. You can donate to charities in your loved ones’ names. Your family can pick a charity together and volunteer as a whole. There are a wide array of charities available. It should be very easy to find one for your family or loved ones.

Spending an afternoon or weekend together volunteering sounds like a great way to create some wonderful family memories. You could help at a soup kitchen or pancake dinner. You could pick up litter along the highway. Visit a nursing home or hospital and sing carols. Play with animals at the local HumaneSociety.

If you want to give something tangible, look for a gift that benefits an organization near and dear to your loved ones’ hearts. There are lots of options available, including green ones.

I recently read about Trees for a Change. This organization plants trees as gifts in national forests that have been decimated by wildfires. You can buy a tree planting, which comes with a certificate on recycled paper or an e-certificate. You can also order Tree Gift Cards, which are printed on recycled paper. Each card represents one tree.

Good news about gifts like this? You don’t need any wrapping paper!

According to informinc.org, we waste lots of paper during the holiday season. The website reports that enough paper to cover 45,000 football fields could be saved if each American wrapped three gifts in reused paper.

Rolls of recycled paper can be expensive, but there are lots of other green alternatives. Buy something that doesn’t need to be wrapped! A bottle of wine, basket full of organic goodies, etc. If it does need wrapping, get creative. Since we have a toddler, we’ve started wrapping presents in newspaper that he’s colored on. Our son is very minimalist with his artistic renderings, but it’s still pretty sweet. And newspapers are recyclable.

 If your kids are too old to find that fun, try wrapping presents in beautiful pieces of fabric. If you’re getting someone something for his/her house, wrap it with linens.

Or, buy canvas shopping bags and put your presents in those. These come in a variety of sizes, and stores like Whole Foods offer holiday specific totes.

These don’t create any extra mess, and many of the canvas shopping bags cost about $1.

Any holiday present or wrapping advice?