Really? I hear you asking. Thrifting for holiday gifts? Yes, friends, absolutely. It just depends on how you approach it. There is a huge push in Western consumer culture to buy something new, flawless, in the package (gee, who taught us that? The corporations perhaps?) but there is a lot of treasure out there. You can be green and reuse/repurpose, and stretch your gift-giving dollar as well.

When I was asked to write a post about cool holiday crafts, I thought, "Oh, this could be fun!" I've been getting a little more crafty myself lately and have been really digging the craft blogs.

It started, for me, with Amy's No Plastic Holiday Challenge. I'm just not ready to give up all plastic, not entirely, anyway. But it did get me thinking. And as I'm now actively looking for little steps towards growing greener, I did find something I thought I could do: Skip the wrapping paper, this year.

Instead of buying fancy new dresses for the holiday party circuit, recessionistas (and savvy fashionistas) are opting for beautiful vintage dresses. Not only are these gorgeous vintage finds great for your pocketbook, the quality is often better than that of modern--and often disposable--ready to wear clothes. Plus, re-using vintage clothes is good for the environment--and you'll never face dress-duplication issues when you're out at a party.

If there's a time of the year during which it's hard to be green, this would be it: the holiday season is a season of consumption. There's just no getting around it: regardless of what winter holiday you celebrate, you invariably spend December (and, if we include Thanksgiving, November) (and if you're Canadian, October) eating and drinking and shopping and eating and drinking and eating and did I mention eating? And odds are that you're not sticking to your locavore diet (because, my god: eggnog without rum?), and not restricting your shopping list to locally made goods.

Shake up your shopping habit this season to find the most thoughtful and unique holiday gifts -- all while avoiding getting trampled by huge shopping mobs. Instead of spending your cash on the same cheaply-manufactured gizmo everyone else is getting at chain megastores, buy local!

Plastic is all around us. From our kids' toys to their sippy cups, from grocery bags to Tupperware bowls, from furniture to toothbrushes. That's not even including all of the plastic involved in packaging - from food to appliances to toys to clothing. Plastic is everywhere and while it's not good for our health, it may be even worse for our environment. So this holiday season I am challenging all of you to become more aware of your plastic consumption and make conscious choices to avoid plastic whenever possible.

Herein lies the big secret to making post-holiday party cleanup easy: Make less trash to begin with! :P That's my plan for tonight: My friend Traci and I are throwing a green-as-possible holiday party at her place, and not only have I baked an eco-gingerbread house, I'll be toting over my gifts in a reusable bag. We're shunning the one-use stuff altogether: All the organic drinks and yummies will be served in real glasses and on real plates with real flatware -- a choice that also has the nice side benefit of upping the classiness factor of our party.

Part of me hearts web shopping. Sometimes, it's super eco, what with e-cards, downloadable music, and the like. That said, part of me hates web shopping. The reason: Most of the stuff I get arrives with lots and lots of plastic packaging.

Giving green gifts this season? Stay green with the presentation too. Make that gift look pretty, without buying a ton of new wrapping paper, gift boxes, and ribbons. Here's how to wrap a gift eco-style:

Latest trend for eco-films: Eco-friendly DVD packaging. I got a screener of "Everything's Cool," a new enviro docu (I reviewed it here) that comes out on DVD next month, to see this message on the back: "Packaging made from 100% post-consumer recycled material."

At first glance, supporting fair trade and supporting local business can seem like two opposite endeavors. After all, fair trade goods are generally brought into the US from faraway countries, while local goods are, hopefully, made by your neighbors. But the two movements have one critical goal in common: Making sure that the person who made a product gets a good share of the money you spent buying it.