As the holidays draw close, everyone's activity level is rising. Parties, parties and more parties await. If you plan on playing host this season, now is the time to think about how to throw the coolest party while keeping it “green.”

Here are some suggestions on how to throw a fun holiday party that’s also gentle on the planet:

Combine errands, and encourage guests to carpool. When you’re getting ready for your party, think about the errands you need to run. Can you do them all at once, thus saving time and preventing gas pollution? If your guests live close together, you can suggest that they carpool. Families can come to your party together, or maybe the parents can take turns picking up and dropping off your friends.

Have a potluck featuring locally grown ingredients. Cooking for others is fun, and locally grown food expends less energy to get to your market than those bought from farther away. Spend time planning your meal with your friends. Each person can bring a part of the meal. Another way to have a potluck is simply to ask everyone to bring a dish to share. This is a lot of fun to do, especially when dishes from different cultures are shared.

Offer reusable dishes and flatware, or suggest that people bring their own dishes to use. A number of companies make disposable-type dishes that can be washed and reused. If you don’t wish to clean such dishes, some places now accept plastic party ware for recycling. Check with your city or county.

Wrap presents with reusable gift wrap and encourage others to do the same. You can make beautiful cloth gift bags that can be used by your friends and family year after year. They are simple to make from patterns found online and can be decorated in any way you choose. You can also use the comic section from the newspaper or hand-decorated paper to wrap a gift.

Make gifts or have a “white elephant” gift exchange. When times are tough or people just want to conserve natural resources and focus on what’s important in life, rather than just on “stuff,” some groups of friends or families will plan “no buy” holidays or agree to only exchange gifts they’ve made for each another. This takes a lot of creativity. Sometimes, people aren’t used to making things, or they have just never thought about what they might make for one another. Instead, you can also try a “white elephant” exchange. This is an event where everyone brings something they were previously given but don’t want or can’t use and then exchange these items for something they do want.

Make donations instead of giving “stuff.” Finally, instead of making or buying anything, another great, green gift idea is to donate money in someone’s name to an organization he supports. People often appreciate these types of things. Just be sure the cause is one in which your recipient is truly interested.

The holidays don’t have to be about spending a lot of money or burning up gas driving all over the place. They don’t have to be about bags and bags of trash out at the curb on December 26, or about returning those pants from Auntie that are just a size too small. They can be very rewarding and full of memories of the nice things you made and the people who enjoyed them, about the conversations you had with loved ones over dinner and about pure peace and joy.

Jennifer Moore is a freelance writer and artist who lives in the Washington, D.C., area. Her work can be seen at www.dragonrags.etsy.com and http://jlynnpro.redbubble.com. She can be reached at from.jens.pen@gmail.com.