It shouldn’t come as any surprise that this year is going to be the greenest Christmas (and Hanukkah) of all time–at least for the folks on my “nice” list. My mission in nearly everything I do and buy this holiday season is to have green in mind, which hopefully won’t cost me a lot of green.

For starters I’m still searching the Internet for the best recycled paper holiday cards. (If you know of a website, please let me know.) Hallmark stores sell recycled paper greetings, but only in single cards, not the boxed kind for the holidays, though you can order (PRODUCT) RED recycled cards for the holidays from Hallmark.com. Worse-case scenario: I print my family newsletter on recycled paper, send it in a recycled envelope, and skip the cards all together (though I don’t think my family newsletter will go over well with my clients).

As far as holiday wrapping goes, I don’t plan to use it this year. Instead, I’m going to hit my local Wal-Mart this week, and stock up on their $1 reusable bags that say “Paper or Plastic? Neither” (pictured above right). These bags will become my default packaging for holiday gifts.

With regard to the gifts, I’m going for items in the simplest packaging, such as CDs, DVDs and video games, which come in containers that double as storage vessels. Also, I found some cool recycled rubber doormats on Target.com which are right in my price range. And, as I’d blogged earlier, I am doing the lion’s share of my shopping via the Internet to save fuel (though the family and I did spend this past Sunday at the mall, and we will be one of those crazies up at 5:00 a.m. and in line on black Friday).

Finally, this year we won’t be sacrificing any evergreens for our living room, though if you must have a live tree, the potted kind that you can add to your garden is the best. Last year after Christmas we invested in a fake Christmas tree, complete with lights. Hopefully, this purchase will last us for many Christmas’ to come.

It’s good to know that I’m not alone in dreaming of a green Christmas. According to the 2007 Cone Holiday Environmental Study, nearly 60 percent of Americans say they are more likely to buy “green” products this year than in the past. More than half of Americans (54 percent) say they would be willing to pay more for a holiday gift or product if it is environmentally responsible, and an equally motivated number (55 percent) say they proactively seek opportunities to buy green gifts and products around the holidays.

Here are some other ways this study shows that Americans are greening their holidays:

* purchasing gift wrap made from recycled paper (42 percent)
* decorating with energy-efficient holiday lighting (32 percent)
* buying products made by companies that are environmentally responsible (29 percent)
* shopping with retailers that have environmentally responsible practices (27 percent)
* giving energy-efficient gifts (27 percent)
* choosing gifts with recycled content (26 percent)
* serving meals or choosing food that is organic/locally produced (23 percent)
* buying apparel made with environmentally responsible materials (20 percent)
* making a donation to an environmental cause as a gift in someone’s name (15 percent)
* purchasing carbon credits to offset holiday travel and/or shopping (three percent)

So what are you doing to make your green Christmas dream a reality?