Between the food waste associated with Thanksgiving, the wrapping and packaging inherent in Christmas, Hanukkah and Kwanzaa gifts, and liquor bottles and party favors that go along with New Year celebrations, the holidays can be a particularly waste intensive time of the year.

Here are some tips to "green up" your holidays...

Buy local food. Local food has a smaller carbon footprint, because of decreased shipping distances. Locally raised produce typically uses less or no chemical fertilizer. Locally raised meats and poultry use fewer antibiotics and hormones than their feedlot raised counterparts, sometimes none at all. Here's a link to a list of local turkey farms and winter farmers' markets.

Buy locally made gifts. Again, a smaller carbon footprint because of decreased shipping miles. There are plenty of boutiques, fairs and stores that sell locally made products. Check out Craftland this holiday season for locally produced gifts.

Buy from local merchants. This one is a no-brainer — 70 percent of every dollar spent in the local economy stays local. Check out our Green Pages for some local merchants.