Avoid the Inflatables

That’s right.  I’m writing it.  If you want to have a greener, simpler Christmas AND save money, don’t buy those inflatable yard decorations.  They require constant energy from a fan to keep them blown up.  You could make a beautiful 3D display with homemade cutouts and a fluorescent or LED spotlight.  Making a cutout could be a great family project and you can make it even greener by trying to use items that would be destined for a landfull.   Do you have some old construction material in your basement?  I bet you do.  Or you can go to a reuse building center and see what they have for salvaged materials.  Even if you do purchase new material it will be more sustainable than an inflatable that will probably stop working in a few years.  When you make your own 3D decoration make sure to use good outdoor paint, no-VOCs please or seal it with, yes, a no-VOC sealer.   And remember, simpler and more efficient is better.  You can make a beautiful display with LED’s in all sorts of colors.  10 strings of LEDs use the same amount of energy as one incandescent string.  And you can go one step further  by using solar lights.  We have used a couple and they work pretty well.  If you live in a climate with a lot of sun they would work even better.  Let’s not trash our environment to celebrate the season.