Here to answer your eco-friendly holiday questions!

Question 1: I want to avoid wrapping paper altogether and really go green with my gifts this year…do you have any suggestions on what other ways I can wrap my gifts?

Do I ever! Canadians will create over 540,000 tonnes of waste in gift wrap and shopping bags each year! To put that into perspective that’s the weight of 4.5 CN Towers! Think of the weight of just one CN tower! My go-to trick for zero waste wrapping? Make the wrapping part of the present, use something that the giftee can keep and make use of!

I’ve got a gift wrapped in a produce bag here, I love produce bags. Now when you’re out shopping, you won’t grab a plastic bag! Gifting a zero-waste lifestyle!

These sponge cloths make a great wrap for wine and spirit bottles. Just going to tie some twine to hold it in place, add a sprig of pine and voila! And these sponge cloths will eliminate any and all paper towel use in your home, they last 6-12 months and then you compost them!

Question 2: Hey Cityline, can you help? I saw a fun video online that showed gift wrapping with no scotch tape? I thought this would be fun to show your viewers

This is for everyone this holiday season, I challenge you this year to not use any tape!

The first thing that I love to use is a silk scarf that can become part of the gift. I’m using a silk scarf from Silk Labs which is a lovely Canadian company. You are going to take your gift and put it in the center of the scarf and fold the scarf over each side and fold in the corners then tie the loose ends in a bow!

If you’ve got a bigger item that needs a bit more coverage, try to opt for compostable and recyclable materials, such as burlap, jute, twine, old maps or newspaper, or a magazine!

Who doesn’t love a brown paper package all tied up in string? It’s one of my favourite things! It’s about having fun and doing what we can to not contribute to that 540,000 tonnes of garbage that’s created every holiday season.

Question 3: Hi Cityline can one of your experts show some decorations using things I can find in my backyard or around my house? I want to make some fun ones with my kids. Thanks!

It is so fun to use things around the house and one of my favourite things to make is dried oranges to create an orange slice garland. To do this you are going to thinly slice your oranges and lay them flat on a baking rack. Bake at 200 degrees F for two hours. Once they are dried you can hand them on your string and tie them around the tree!