Submitted By incorporating leftover and natural items into the holidays, you'll be green and save money.

The holidays are traditionally a season of excess. We eat too much at Thanksgiving and spend too much on gifts. You may think there's no way to have an environmentally friendly holiday that won't throw the family into a tizzy, but it is possible, according to Corey Colwell-Lipson and Lynn Colwell, authors of "Celebrate Green, Creating Eco-Savvy Holidays, Celebrations and Traditions for the Whole Family."

The book, available at CelebrateGreen.net and at Amazon.com, has creative suggestions for greening up Thanksgiving, and none involve eating more broccoli.

"Thanksgiving is a tough nut to crack for the newly eco-sensitive," the book says. "Rein in your burgeoning holiday eco-zeal just an eensy-weensy bit for the sake of family unity. Seek out a local farmer who raises turkeys organically, meaning without pesticides, antibiotics, nitrates or nitrites, in uncrowded conditions where they can graze on natural edibles."

You likely can buy all the ingredients you need for Thanksgiving dinner locally. Farmers across the region can provide everything you need, from wine to turkey. In the Quad-Cities, check out allensgrovegreenhouse.com/bfbl/pdf's/QCBFBL08.pdf for a list of Buy Fresh, Buy Local producers. Year-round farmers' markets in Davenport (downtowndavenport.com/residential/farmersmarket.html) and Sterling, Ill. (tcmarket.org), are good places to start.

In addition to stimulating local economies, buying local cuts the waste used in transportation. According to the book, "each ingredient in an average Thanksgiving dinner travels about 1,500 miles to arrive on your plate. A 2007 study determined that one Christmas dinner for eight people in the United Kingdom generates an equivalent to 44 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions. Feeding the country is equal to driving a car around the globe 6,000 times."

To cut the holiday carbon footprint, mix common sense with creativity. If you need extra plates, borrow or rent them instead of buying paper ones. Pass on expensive arrangements of out-of-season flowers in favor of decorations from nature.

Christmas is undoubtedly the biggest waste-producing holiday. According to Stanford University, Americans throw away 25 percent more trash between Thanksgiving and New Year's than any other time of year. The extra waste amounts to 25 million tons of garbage, or about 1 million extra tons per week. The easiest way to green up gift giving is to say "no" to wrapping paper. You may be able to use natural items or scraps of paper or cloth (if you sew) for gift wrap, and gift bags are available in a wide variety of styles and are reusable. (In my family, we pass them around so much that it's almost a game of trying to remember how many times a certain bag has been used!)

Look for heavy-duty gift bags that will last through years of giving, or buy a canvas tote bag that not only can be used for groceries, but which also can result in a refund at the register. (Hy-Vee stores give a five-cent refund for every bag you bring.)

You'll need gifts to put in those gift bags, so look for ways to give greener presents. Someone who's just beginning to live the eco-friendly way would enjoy a canvas shopping bag with compact fluorescent bulbs (CFLs), rechargeable batteries and a book on Earth friendly cleaning recipes. Offer to buy MP3 downloads for someone's music player. And you can't go wrong with homemade gifts, like jewelry or food. Solar powered gifts, like the "frightened grasshopper" from Robotikits (owirobot.com) are easy to assemble and don't require batteries.

Mention "eco-friendly Christmas," and the debate begins: artificial or real tree? An artificial tree can be used for years, while a real one must be bought every year. Artificial trees are petroleum-based and require a significant amount of energy to create and ship. Real trees are often grown using chemical pesticides and fertilizers. Artificial trees eventually wind up in the landfill, while real ones can be mulched or composted. Potted Christmas trees are another option, but only if you live where you can plant it later. If you choose a real tree, buy one grown locally. If you choose artificial, try to find a used one through Freecycle or a resale store like Goodwill.

Maybe this can be the start of a new tradition for your family and friends. See who can have the greenest holiday!