| I think something may be happening...so we may be a family of four very soon! 
I'll keep ya'all posted. Off to bed now...
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| Ever since I've become more environmentally-conscious, I've been struggling to find the balance between celebrating the holidays without destroying the Earth. So far, we have not taken Lochlan trick-or-treating mainly because he's been too young to understand what it's all about. While I love dressing up, I just don't like the idea of all that candy, especially the ones individually wrapped. All that plastic is going into our ocean. Did you know that we have a floating plastic "country" between Japan and California? Yep, and it's TWICE the size of Texas. How sick is that? I just cannot bring myself to continue buying and throwing out plastic that cannot be recycled.
Fake Plastic Fish wrote a post about how America and its overconsumerism is really taking a poll on the environment because of all the plastic JUNK being sold for the holidays. The post is exactly what I needed to force me to think about the overconsumerism of the holidays.
So for this year, we will dress up for Halloween (as for me, it depends when the baby arrives) and participate in the Halloween parade that takes place during the day on a street downtown Burlington. I think this would be a fun alternative: celebrating Halloween by wearing a costume (that we already have on hand or will make) in the daylight with lots of other children. Some stores will be giving out candy so we may just take Lochlan to a few of those stores just to get a few treats but nothing more. His treats will be put in a little bag that he already has. Our jack-o-latern is a real pumpkin expertly carved by Nick:
The real thing is better than the plastic thing, don't your agree?! 
As for Thanksgiving, we will be celebrating with our families by cooking good local food, chatting with family and just spending time together. There will be no elaborate decorations or anything bought from a store. The best and most environmentally-sound thing to do is BRING nature inside from outside: leaves, pine cones, tree branches, plants, pumpkins, etc.
For Christmas, we will be giving out handmade gifts or useful gifts that will help our family members become a little more "green." The reason for this is because we feel it's more personal and helps us avoid overconsumerism. For our children, we really do not need any more toys so I am trying to think of useful gifts that our children will enjoy that family members can give. Just ONE gift from each set of grandparents, aunts/uncles and even from Nick and I is more than enough. Ever since Lochlan was born, we have given him one special toy, one new outfit and one new book for Christmas. He has more than enough books to enjoy for years to come so we won't be buying him any books this year. Clothes, we usually buy when the need arises. His Christmas present for this year is something that we bought YEARS ago (when he was a baby) because it was on sale! Now he's finally old enough to enjoy it. Time with family is more precious than any gift bought. That's what I want my children to appreciate, instead of the material things.
So here's what I plan to do and what YOU can do too to tame the commercial holiday beast (courtesy of Mindful Momma):
- Talk to your kids about the true meaning of the holidays.
Even Halloween, the most commercial holiday of them all, can be viewed
as an opportunity for giving, sharing and appreciating friends
and family.
- Just say NO to cheap, plastic crap. Like I said, put on your blinders (don't go into store selling holiday stuff or completely ignore those aisles to reduce the tempetation to buy junk).
- Decorate with nature. It seems we're
supposed to give our homes a complete makeover for each and every
holiday. If you do feel the urge to decorate, do it with the beautiful
things that nature provides - pumpkins, gourds, pine branches..you get
the gist.
- Give homemade gifts. Pick a special craft
or food to make with your kids. We made homemade bookmarks with photos
of the kids one year. Last year we made Fizzy Bath Balls.
- Choose quality over quantity. When it comes down to buying gifts for your kids, choose one high-quality gift over a lot of cheap ones.
Enjoy your plastic-free, UNDERconsumerism holidays! 
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http://www.jimikiwi.blogspot.com
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