This holiday season, Anna GettyGÇöenvironmental advocate, writer, television personality, chef, mother, and organic living expertGÇöhelps families reduce their carbon footprint and save money without sacrificing style or tradition. Anna advises how to best choose a tree (real or fake?), mitigate the negative effects of necessary travel, recycle post-holiday, and more. She shares favorite holiday recipes for organic appetizers and homemade craft ideas such as pinecone wreaths and recycled sweater pillows. With inspiring photographs, extensive resources, and advice from the 'Lazy Environmentalist' Josh Dorfman, Seventh Generation's Jeffrey Hollender, and other leading eco-experts, families might just find that these tips help them stay green all year longGÇöthe perfect New Year's resolution!
I'm Dreaming of a Green Christmas
and over one million other books are available for Amazon Kindle. Learn more
| ||||||||||||||||||||
Browse our Bookshelf Favorites store for big savings on popular fiction, nonfiction, children's books, and more. |
Book Description
Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com Review
This holiday season, Anna Getty chef, mother, organic living expert, environmental advocate, and writer helps families save money and reduce their carbon footprint without sacrificing style or tradition. Anna advises how to choose the best tree (real or fake?), mitigate the negative effects of necessary travel, recycle post-holiday, and more. She shares favorite holiday recipes for organic appetizers and homemade craft ideas such as pinecone wreaths and recycled sweater pillows. With inspiring photographs, extensive resources, and advice from the 'Lazy Environmentalist' Josh Dorfman, Seventh Generation's Jeffrey Hollender, and other leading eco-experts, families might just find that these tips help them stay green all year long the perfect New Year's resolution!
Q&A with Anna Getty
Q: How can being green save you money?
Getty: When you use less you buy less. If we buy less ipso facto we save money.
Q: How does the book help to teach your kids to be green?
Getty: This book is about creating family traditions. This book is about being more green during a very wasteful time of year. If we incorporate our children into these new traditions of crafting with what we already have, making gifts and not buying gifts, we help our children become more green and more conscientious about respecting the planet. Children learn through example. If we make changes with our own wasteful habits , our children will adopt these changes as their own.
Q: What is your favorite holiday tradition?
Getty: Baking Christmas cookies with my daughter and her little friends.
Q: What is a good place to start if you are new to the green movement?
Getty: Start with easy doable steps. If you are not recycling, start recycling, if you still use stores plastic bags switch to paper (many paper bags are now made from recycled paper) or better yet bring your own cloth bags. Do one or two things and let them become a part of you rather then too many at once and then give up. In terms of the holidays, ditch the store bought wrapping paper. Most store bought wrapping paper uses virgin paper stock and toxic dyes or ink. Go for recycled wrapping paper or reuse paper (just be careful when you open gifts so you can save it to rewrap). Or find alternative ways of wrapping like using old maps or music sheets, or pages out of magazines or old newspapers and books.
Q: Are there any tips from the experts in the book that surprised you?
Getty: Darren Moore of www.ecovations.com surprised me with the information that having ones home Energy Star Home Performance tested could cut ones energy consumption in half. I also really loved Jeffrey Hollender of Seventh Generation's tip about being reflective and appreciative during the holiday time.
Q: What’s your favorite recipe or craft from the book?
Getty: Hard to pick as I love so many of them but my favorite recipe hands down is the Trufled Goat Cheese Macaroni and Cheese and the Recycled Christmas Card Gift tags is pretty high up there in the crafts.
Recipe Excerpts from I'm Dreaming of a Green Christmas
Q&A with Anna Getty
Q: How can being green save you money?
Getty: When you use less you buy less. If we buy less ipso facto we save money.
Q: How does the book help to teach your kids to be green?
Getty: This book is about creating family traditions. This book is about being more green during a very wasteful time of year. If we incorporate our children into these new traditions of crafting with what we already have, making gifts and not buying gifts, we help our children become more green and more conscientious about respecting the planet. Children learn through example. If we make changes with our own wasteful habits , our children will adopt these changes as their own.
Q: What is your favorite holiday tradition?
Getty: Baking Christmas cookies with my daughter and her little friends.
Q: What is a good place to start if you are new to the green movement?
Getty: Start with easy doable steps. If you are not recycling, start recycling, if you still use stores plastic bags switch to paper (many paper bags are now made from recycled paper) or better yet bring your own cloth bags. Do one or two things and let them become a part of you rather then too many at once and then give up. In terms of the holidays, ditch the store bought wrapping paper. Most store bought wrapping paper uses virgin paper stock and toxic dyes or ink. Go for recycled wrapping paper or reuse paper (just be careful when you open gifts so you can save it to rewrap). Or find alternative ways of wrapping like using old maps or music sheets, or pages out of magazines or old newspapers and books.
Q: Are there any tips from the experts in the book that surprised you?
Getty: Darren Moore of www.ecovations.com surprised me with the information that having ones home Energy Star Home Performance tested could cut ones energy consumption in half. I also really loved Jeffrey Hollender of Seventh Generation's tip about being reflective and appreciative during the holiday time.
Q: What’s your favorite recipe or craft from the book?
Getty: Hard to pick as I love so many of them but my favorite recipe hands down is the Trufled Goat Cheese Macaroni and Cheese and the Recycled Christmas Card Gift tags is pretty high up there in the crafts.
Recipe Excerpts from I'm Dreaming of a Green Christmas
 Truffled Goat Cheese Macaroni and Cheese |  Salt Dough Ornaments |
About the Author
Anna Getty is a leading green living expert. She works with the Organic Center, Global Green, NRDC, and Seventh Generation, among others, and is the author of the upcoming Easy Green Organic. Anna lives in Los Angeles.
Ron Hamad is an acclaimed photographer and director who lives in Los Angeles.
Zem Joaquin is ecofabulous.com's founder and editor-in-chief. She lives in San Francisco..
Ron Hamad is an acclaimed photographer and director who lives in Los Angeles.
Zem Joaquin is ecofabulous.com's founder and editor-in-chief. She lives in San Francisco..
Product Details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images? |
More About the Author
Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
10 of 12 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Vine™ Review
(What's this?)
Every year for more than a half century I've made thousands of Christmas cookies, handmade wreaths and scores of home-made decorations - some of professional quality and some just fine things to make with your children! I am a child of people who grew up during the Great Depression and then survived World War II. I was raised on the motto "Use it up. Wear it out. Make it do or do without!" so recycling household items into something new has always been a way of life. Many of the things I've made have been my very own ideas. Other ideas have come from Woman's Day and Family Circle and Martha Stewart and so on. Unfortunately, "I'm Dreaming of a Green Christmas" contains few to none of those great ideas.
Best left in the great recycling bin at the print shop, "I'm Dreaming" is a perfect example of an "author" who is dreaming of a great pile of green cash for Christmas without knowing much about anything at all she preaches about. And make no mistake - this is not a "fun" book. It is a sermon from the very first page - and not very original.
Many of her ideas are ill-conceived and poorly planned. Some, however, are downright dangerous. Completely ignoring the various ways to cover fruit with sugar sparkle, edible gold and silver leaf or edible glitter and fairy dust - all safe techniques in use over decades and centuries - the author recommends the application of a non-toxic glue stick and ordinary glitter. And then recommends eating the fruit so as not to waste it.
My nomination for the Worst Book of 2009, "I'm Dreaming" is not worth the paper it is printed on. Save a tree and leave the book behind. Send a subscription for Martha Stewart Living or Good Housekeeping (1-year) or Ladies Home Journal (1-year) instead!
Best left in the great recycling bin at the print shop, "I'm Dreaming" is a perfect example of an "author" who is dreaming of a great pile of green cash for Christmas without knowing much about anything at all she preaches about. And make no mistake - this is not a "fun" book. It is a sermon from the very first page - and not very original.
Many of her ideas are ill-conceived and poorly planned. Some, however, are downright dangerous. Completely ignoring the various ways to cover fruit with sugar sparkle, edible gold and silver leaf or edible glitter and fairy dust - all safe techniques in use over decades and centuries - the author recommends the application of a non-toxic glue stick and ordinary glitter. And then recommends eating the fruit so as not to waste it.
My nomination for the Worst Book of 2009, "I'm Dreaming" is not worth the paper it is printed on. Save a tree and leave the book behind. Send a subscription for Martha Stewart Living or Good Housekeeping (1-year) or Ladies Home Journal (1-year) instead!
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
This book is a very thorough guide to greening your holidays. From entertaining, decorations, recipes, and shopping choices, it delivers quite a packed punch of beautiful and sustainable information. My husband and I are both foodies and love to cook. We are very discriminating about recipes, and I can assure you that Anna's Sweet Potato Christmas Enchiladas are delicious and the Truffled Goat Macaroni and Cheese is now a regular staple in our weekly dinners. The apple, brie, and cranberry quesadillas are perfection as well as the pumpkin gnocchi. I made the salt-dough ornaments with my kids and it was gleefully nostalgic and is now a new tradition in our household. This book has re-birthed the handmade goodness that our culture has lost in all its plastic consumerism. My most favorite decor item I did this year was the Bell Jar Mini-Scenes. So cute and fun, and people rave about them when they come over. Such a simple, but unique idea that anyone can make. What I love most about the book is how stocked with information it is. There are so many great projects, ideas, tips, and recipes that I keep thumbing through for something new. A lot of entertaining books I own are very sparse in their content, but this book has an abundance. I'm giving one to all my girlfriends and my mom for Christmas and it will be a permanent fixture on my entertaining/cookbook/holiday guide bookshelf forevermore.
5 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Vine™ Review
(What's this?)
"During the holidays, household waste increases by more than 25 percent...Americans throw away an additional 5 million tons of trash between Thanksgiving and New Year's Eve."
This statement was part of the author's inspiration to write this book, which gives tips and ideas to help minimize the impact of the holidays on planet Earth. But it is so much more than that...this book has ideas to simplify your holidays, build family traditions, and bring meaning back to what has become such a commercialized time of year.
This book starts with the 10 easiest things you can do to save energy during the holidays (although several of the tips apply to the entire year). These range from switching Christmas lights to LEDs to avoiding junk mail (the author gives websites to stop the catalog madness). From there, she goes into decorating projects, recipes, simple homemade gifts, entertaining, and other subjects. Throughout the book are sprinkled easy ideas and scary statistics from other sources. She discusses the greenest Christmas tree issue (fake vs. real...which is better for the environment?), the fact that many traditional paraffin candles have wicks containing lead, cloth vs. paper napkins, and many other issues.
The main reason I purchased this book is I have a 2 1/2 year old son, with another child on the way. I want to do things greener for them, but I also want to do more homemade projects and start some traditions so they enjoy the holidays without thinking of mountains toys. This book accomplishes this for me, with many simple & easy crafts and tips. I love the idea of making wreaths out of old wool sweaters, putting some sparkle on fruits (something I never would have thought of), making angel doily ornaments and twig stars.
Many of the recipes sound great, although some sound strange or have some fairly exotic ingredients. I can't imagine making truffled goat cheese macaroni & cheese (I don't even know if I can get truffle salt or truffles in Alaska), or celery root soup with crumbled bacon and humboldt fog cheese, or apple cranberry & brie quesadillas with black bean salsa. However, several of the recipes do sound good like the stuffed mushrooms, maple walnut cookies, and seven layers of sin bars. I can tell you that the roasted acorn squash soup is simple & excellent!
My main complaint about the book (why I gave it 4 stars instead of 5) is while most of the crafts seem simple, a few of the crafts were not explained well enough and were a bit confusing. Pictures of the steps would have been helpful. Some of the crafts had no pictures at all. Granted, I'm quite craft challenged, so if you are crafty this may not be an issue for you.
I would recommend this book to anyone looking for green tips, starting family traditions, or wanting ideas for homemade gifts and decorations. While some of the recipes sound good, that is not really the main focus and is not a reason to purchase this book.
This statement was part of the author's inspiration to write this book, which gives tips and ideas to help minimize the impact of the holidays on planet Earth. But it is so much more than that...this book has ideas to simplify your holidays, build family traditions, and bring meaning back to what has become such a commercialized time of year.
This book starts with the 10 easiest things you can do to save energy during the holidays (although several of the tips apply to the entire year). These range from switching Christmas lights to LEDs to avoiding junk mail (the author gives websites to stop the catalog madness). From there, she goes into decorating projects, recipes, simple homemade gifts, entertaining, and other subjects. Throughout the book are sprinkled easy ideas and scary statistics from other sources. She discusses the greenest Christmas tree issue (fake vs. real...which is better for the environment?), the fact that many traditional paraffin candles have wicks containing lead, cloth vs. paper napkins, and many other issues.
The main reason I purchased this book is I have a 2 1/2 year old son, with another child on the way. I want to do things greener for them, but I also want to do more homemade projects and start some traditions so they enjoy the holidays without thinking of mountains toys. This book accomplishes this for me, with many simple & easy crafts and tips. I love the idea of making wreaths out of old wool sweaters, putting some sparkle on fruits (something I never would have thought of), making angel doily ornaments and twig stars.
Many of the recipes sound great, although some sound strange or have some fairly exotic ingredients. I can't imagine making truffled goat cheese macaroni & cheese (I don't even know if I can get truffle salt or truffles in Alaska), or celery root soup with crumbled bacon and humboldt fog cheese, or apple cranberry & brie quesadillas with black bean salsa. However, several of the recipes do sound good like the stuffed mushrooms, maple walnut cookies, and seven layers of sin bars. I can tell you that the roasted acorn squash soup is simple & excellent!
My main complaint about the book (why I gave it 4 stars instead of 5) is while most of the crafts seem simple, a few of the crafts were not explained well enough and were a bit confusing. Pictures of the steps would have been helpful. Some of the crafts had no pictures at all. Granted, I'm quite craft challenged, so if you are crafty this may not be an issue for you.
I would recommend this book to anyone looking for green tips, starting family traditions, or wanting ideas for homemade gifts and decorations. While some of the recipes sound good, that is not really the main focus and is not a reason to purchase this book.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
This book motivates me....
I enjoy reading this book. The author gives all kinds of green tips (cleaning tips, cooking tips, gift-giving tips, etc) that revolve around all things Christmas. Read more
Published 16 months ago by Jodi
5.0 out of 5 stars
awesome ideas
we are always looking for different ideas on what to give/make for the holidays. this book was unique and creative as well as offering ideas that i consider suitable for gift... Read more
Published on November 29, 2010 by CLF
3.0 out of 5 stars
Christmas Decorating
I liked the idea behind this book about utilizing materials that you may already have to decorate for example using pine cones as an ornament or gift bow. Read more
Published on July 22, 2010 by Ariaceliz
3.0 out of 5 stars
Preachy and Smug, but influential nonetheless
I was very excited to pick this book up because I have been rather active in "greening" up my lifestyle, and this is the first one I've read devoted to the holidays. Read more
Published on March 17, 2010 by J. Plummer
1.0 out of 5 stars
pretty much pointless
Not as helpful as I'd like. I was hoping for some easy to do Christmas decor, perhaps using things already around the house. Read more
Published on March 3, 2010 by S. Thompson
5.0 out of 5 stars
Crafty, Tasty Book
This is a good book for people interested in making environmentally friendly Christmas ornaments. One I particularly liked is the pine cone and nut wreath. Read more
Published on December 17, 2009 by ' Groovin' guy
5.0 out of 5 stars
Even Christmas is Going Green...
I liked this book. I grew up in the country where simple and natural was considered pretty, opposed to glitz glamor and the caked-on make-up of the city life. Read more
Published on December 17, 2009 by C. Maynard
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good ideas
This book have good ideas to green decorations, have good recipes as delicious as "Prosciutto and goat cheese wrapped figs" yummy
this is a different book whit lots of tips... Read more
this is a different book whit lots of tips... Read more
Published on December 16, 2009 by Elle Pece
4.0 out of 5 stars
Dreaming of a Green Christmas...
I'll admit upfront that this is a review coming from an outsider to the whole "green" culture. What appealed to me were the home-made crafts and recipes. Read more
Published on December 14, 2009 by L. Abel
3.0 out of 5 stars
Not enough good ideas to fill a book
While this book has a few good "green" ideas, there are not enough to fill a book. I wish the author had written a few magazine articles instead. Read more
Published on December 12, 2009 by Peregrinn
