Decking The Nest Early?

November 11, 2011 Ronnie

Don't get me wrong, I love the winter holidays...just not yet.

I ducked into the Apple store at the Danbury Mall last weekend to get my iPhone fixed. Lining the mall, the trees were trimmed, the holiday tunes were humming and credit cards were working overtime...five days after Halloween. I was having a hard time conjuring up warm holiday spirits (like the image above). In fact, I channeled Scrooge to anyone who would listen. Those poor people who had just come in to check their email because they were still out of power from a freak snowstorm thought I was nuts.

Welcome to the Holiday Creep – the commercial phenomenon created by retailers to accelerate the start of the holiday shopping season. When you venture into the stores, you’d better watch out and you’d better not pout.

But not all stores sign on early. Check out my latest Care2 post and find out how Nordstrom’s is obviously not the norm. Not only do they have an eco-friendly shopping policy, they don't buy into the creepy behavior of other stores that attempt to cash in before the turkey takes center stage. Did I mention they also have a fabulous shoe department?

Tell the truth, when does Rudolph start ringing the sleigh bells in your nest?

Photo: Remodelista

Illuminating A Waste-Free Halloween

October 31, 2011 Ronnie

Are pumpkins invading your nest like these grinning jack-o’-lanterns that have overtaken this Massachusetts home? Even when the pumpkin glow is at a minimum, ambulance if you celebrate Halloween with your little ones, buy cialis it may be time to pick up those heavy holiday footprints. Why?

According to the EPA, household waste increases more than 25 percent between Halloween and New Year’s Day!

On Halloween, the US spends a whopping $6.5 billion on candy, costumes and decorations. That’s a carbon footprint more like a Loch Ness monster than a dainty Halloween bat. Plumping up our local landfills for years to come is not the friendliest, or healthiest legacy to leave our little trick-or-treaters.

We talk a lot about what we can do to clean up the planet, but often it’s what we don’t do that creates the most impact.

Here’s a ghoulish goal worth bobbing for: Cut down on holiday waste, and don’t perpetuate the horrors of Halloween’s past. Here are 10 DIY Ways To A Waste-Free Halloween and here are my kids demonstrating one such DIY idea: "Ditch the cheap mass-produced non-recyclable polyvinyl chloride (PVC) costumes. Dig through your closet (or a friends), or take a spin through vintage clothing stores, resale shops and flea markets for Halloween inspiration."

Happy Halloween, and hold those red-dyed #40 bloody ladyfingers, because I think I see a green light beaconing out of one of those jack-o’-lanterns!

Photo: Richard Nowitz for National Geographic

Random Halloween Sightings

October 29, 2010 Ronnie

Halloween comes and goes without much hoopla in an empty nest deep in the woods. Trick or Treaters that spook the living daylights out of my dogs haven't ventured up my driveway in years. My own little zombies (below) are all grown up and have flown the nest (as they should). There is a glimmer of regret about not being able to enjoy Halloween vicariously through my babes.

Do not shed a tear for me – Halloween may not be my holiday anymore, and the kids only mildly resemble grown-up versions of those little zombies, but I still enjoy the holiday. Even if you have given up participating in the kitchier side of Halloween (parents do the strangest things), one does not have to relinquish all the treats.

Here’s an adult-sized dose of Halloween eye-candy:

Pumpkin Pillow