Green is a popular color in Christmas decorations. But festive decor doesn’t just have to be green in color. There are several cool and easy ways to decorate your home for the holidays without harming the environment.

Oh, Christmas Tree

Let’s start with the tree. There’s a debate over which type of tree is more eco-friendly — the real tree or the artificial tree.

Full disclosure, we have a fake tree. We bought it several years ago and don’t plan on replacing it any time soon. It’s not the prettiest tree at this point, thanks to a toddler and two cats. But it works well for us, and will until I feel our sons are at an age where they won’t destroy the tree. Pretty sure the cats will never get to that stage.

But the boys and the cats are another reason for us to stay away from real trees. Our cats would eat the needles, no matter how much we tried to stop them, and then get sick everywhere.

The boys would also try to eat the needles. At least the toddler would, and knowing our toddler, he would probably try to feed some to his baby brother as well.

Still, if you don’t have cats and toddlers in your house, real trees are the eco-friendly option. According to the National Christmas Tree Association, real trees are the better choice because they are grown in the U.S., don’t have chemicals, and are easily recycled. Trees are replanted after they’ve been cut down, and do provide local jobs in the areas where they are grown.

How do you recycle the tree once Christmas is over? You can chip it into mulch, or let your city recycle the tree for you. Many cities offer special days after Christmas where they will pick up your tree and make it into mulch. You can search earth911.org to find out if your city has any tree recycling programs. If your area doesn’t show up, simply google your area and Christmas trees or call your local waste management provider to see what’s offered. We wrote about other Christmas tree recycling options in this post last year.

To me, the best option is to get a living tree. The tree comes in a pot that you can plant outside once the holidays are over.

Light me up

For many people, it’s not Christmas unless their house is blanketed in thousands of lights. If you are one of  those people, please consider upgrading to LED Christmas lights. These lights use 1/10th the power of regular lights. These are pretty common and should be available in most stores.

But don’t toss your old energy sucking lights! Instead recycle them. You can send them to holidayLEDS.com. This company will recycle the lights and give you 15 percent off their EnergyStar approved bulbs.

Garlands and ornaments

When looking to string something up around the tree, or to lay across the mantel, opt for something natural. Limbs from evergreen trees smell wonderful and look great when draped around banisters or fireplaces. As do pinecones, mistletoe, cranberries, and red berries. Be careful if you have pets or small children. Some things can be poisonous, or easy to choke on.

These natural options, while not as shiny, are much better for the environment and your home than plastic or PVC tinsle and garlands.

And why not look to days of old when dressing up your tree? String up popcorn or cranberries for a pretty and green Christmas decoration. This could be a great way to spend some family time with the kids.

There are lots of eco-friendly ornaments available these days. And many crafters do amazing things with local materials. I also love old ornaments that have been passed down, and am looking forward to making ornaments with our oldest son this year. He’s very minimalist in his coloring, but seems to love gluing things like noodles.

For other Christmas decor ideas, look at this post from last year.