Turkey Day is past us, and the rest of the holiday season is right around the corner. In celebration, and to encourage you to buy green gifts for the holidays, we wanted to provide you with a list of green stores in the Washington, DC, area. I’ll keep the list short since you’re probably eager to get started right away!

• Eco-Green Living: Keith’s store has been around for a few years and offers a great variety of green and fair trade products, ranging from home and building to home and personal accessories to organic and fair trade clothing. It is located in Logan Circle, one street away from Whole Foods.
• Greater Goods: Recently opened, this store on U Street focuses on products for energy efficiency, water savings, and waste management. As a side note, Eco-Coach will be doing workshops there in the new year, so check out their website for an upcoming schedule!
• Hoopla: Another recently-opened store, this Adams Morgan store is for the green fashionista. They carry a range of fair trade, green, and eco-friendly jewelry, handbags, clothing, and art.

And if you want to take a break from shopping and get some good, sustainable food, here are some of our favorite restaurants for you to try out!

• Java Green: Absolutely wonderful vegan food - I’m not a vegetarian nor a food critic, but Java Green has a loyal following (yours truly being one of the disciples), not to mention that all the plastics used are biodegradable (down to the straws!).
• Hook: For those of you who like fish but don’t eat it because it’s not sustainable, I’ve got great news! Now there’s a place to go to get your fix! Did I mention that EarthEcho International helped them with their sustainability messaging? The food is great, can’t say enough about it!
• Restaurant Nora: A classic - or should I say two classics - Restaurant Nora and Asia Nora are both certified organic. Actually, Restaurant Nora was the first certified organic restaurant in the United States. Pretty exciting and, again, great food.

If you’re in other parts of the country, we’d love to hear what your favorite places are - and if you’re in DC and have discovered other green places, let us know!!

Wondering what to get the graduate in your family? How about getting them something that’s eco-friendly and matches their interests? Eco-friendly doesn’t necessarily mean an organic shirt or Fair Trade items, although those are great as well. You can get something related to your graduate’s interests that he/she will use longer term or something for his/her next stage in life, be it college or entering the “real” world. Some ideas:

• An adventure: They’ve graduated and have the whole summer in front of them—it’s time for some adventure! Excitations or the Green Tortoise Bus Tour provide some fun experiences that they’ll remember for a long time.

• Transportation: Whether it’s a brand new bike and/or related accessories, or a Eurail pass to help them on their wanderings, having a way to get around is always appreciated it (if it’s an old car, you might want to promote the biking!).

• Sports equipment: Encourage him/her to spend time outdoors and play their favorite sport. Whether it’s at the park or on a field, they’re still experiencing a bit of nature and hopefully learning to appreciate and respect it!

• Music: No, I don’t mean CDs, I mean a gift card for music downloads, from a source such as iTunes. If they don’t have an iPod or MP3 player, that might be an option. While you’re at it, you can also get a solar charger like Solio to help them power it up (or power up their cell phone, which they are sure to be using!).

• Eco-friendly furniture: Be it for their dorm room in college or their apartment out of college, or even after grad school, home-related items are always welcome (but make sure they match your graduate’s tastes!!). Choices include: Ikea, Eco-Furniture, 2modern (their eco-friendly section), Re-Modern and Vivavi, among many others.

• Eco-friendly anything! There are so many products out there, there’s bound to be one that fits his/her tastes. Great Green Goods is a blog to check out on eco-friendly items to buy. Take a look, or make something (as always, a good option for the creative types).

Let us know of other ideas you’ve come up with!

Mother’s Day is right around the corner! Show your mom (or any of the amazing women in your life) you love her and Mother Earth (it is Mother’s Day after all - it shouldn’t be just for humans!). Here are some eco-friendly ideas:

• Spend quality time with her: We’re so busy running around, that even when we are with others, we’re thinking about something else half the time. Focus on just her for a few hours.

• Cook! Especially if you don’t usually do it: There are plenty of great recipes even for people (like me) who aren’t master chefs. You can make her brunch, dinner, or just a snack - and spend more quality time with her! Check out the Edens Food or Organic.com web sites.

• Get her a subscription to a “green” magazine: There are more and more out there - odds are, you can find one that focuses on her favorite topic and is environmentally friendly, like Natural Home, Organic Gardening, and Organic Spa. You can also go for something less mainstream, like A Real Life.

• And while we’re on the subject, another option is a gift certificate to an organic spa: Check out one that’s near her.

• Or how about some organic bath and body products? I seem to be stuck on the spa theme - the idea of massage sounds heavenly right now, but I digress…

• Write her a note or a letter: Remember writing and how good it felt to get something handwritten in the mail? When was the last time you wrote your mom? Now’s the time. Don’t forget to do it on recycled or tree free paper!

• Then there’s the old standby - flowers: Always a great gift, whatever the occasion. I’d suggest ordering flowers or a plant from a store that is near your mother’s, to decrease emissions created from transportation, or at least one that has organic flowers, such as Organic Bouquet or California Organic Flowers.

• For those of you who feel like doing some serious shopping for mom: Check out Gaiam, GreenFeet, Commondi (if you’re in Canada), and all the fun stuff on the Internet. Happy planning! or

AND we’d love to hear what you’re thinking of doing for Mother’s Day that is also eco-friendly.

Valentine’s Day is just around the corner, and whether you have a special date, want to treat a friend, or are single and plan on treating yourself to something beautiful and/or sweet, there are lots of earth-friendly choices out there. Personally, I think Valentine’s Day is a commercial holiday, but I won’t say no to a box of chocolates or some beautiful flowers (hint, hint). So, whether you’re pro- or anti-V Day, here are some ideas for you:

• Traditionalists: Put less pesticides in the waterways and show your sweetheart you care about her/him AND the environment by buying organic flowers. For those more inclined towards sweets, buy Fair Trade chocolates and stop buying products that support child labor in West Africa, where much of the cocoa beans are picked. Personally, I love chocolate, so I have lots of recommendations. Three of my favorites are Endangered Species, Divine, and Dagoba. Jewelry is another good one if you like going the traditional route. I won’t go into the atrocities of the diamond mining trade, since I’m sure most of you have seen Blood Diamond, but needless to say, there are other alternatives when purchasing diamonds. And for those who like jewelry but not rocks, check out Eco-Artware for some fun and funky pieces.
• Romantics: If your idea of Vday is a nice bottle of wine with some, um, massage oil, indulge the natural way. We all know, by now (I hope) that moderate wine intake is good for you and for your heart, so have some that’s also good for Mother Earth (sorry if I’m bringing in any unwanted images while you’re trying to be romantic) and show your partner you care that much more with all-natural massage oils.
• Creatives: If you’re a little more adventurous, you can cook an organic meal or write a poem. Both are personal, use your creativity, and minimize the impact you have while showing you care. Plus you put some effort and thought into the gift - that counts for a lot, at least in my book!
• Anti-gift-givers: Some of you don’t believe in gifts for Vday, but still want to show that you care. Send an e-card or pick up a recycled card or just an eco-friendly knick-knack (you don’t have to give it on Vday, after all).
• Anti-Vday-ers: Are you totally anti-Vday, regardless of whether you’re single or part of a couple? Then forget the holiday, and just pamper yourself. Get together with friends, and crack open a bottle of wine - yes, the organic kind! Or if you’re in the mood for a quiet night, take a nice warm bath with natural oils. There are lots out there, though pick one that’s certified organic.

If you have other recommendations or ideas or products that you really like, we’d love to hear from you.

Have you been waiting until the last minute to do your holiday shopping? Me too! For those of you, however, who have been organized enough to have bought your gifts and are now thinking about getting some nice shiny paper with pretty pictures to wrap them in, DON’T. Or at least not until you’ve read below for other wrapping ideas:

• Reuse wrapping paper: Did you know that, on average, each of us wraps 20 gifts during the holidays? We could save enough paper to cover 45,000 football fields if we wrapped just three of those gifts in alternative ways. That’s a lot of trees!! Wrinkled paper and ribbons can be ironed out with a warm iron, so no excuses!
• Use cloth gift bags: Instead of a regular gift bag, use an attractive canvas bag that can later be used for toting groceries. Or try a hand-dyed cloth Wrap Sack that can be reused and tracked on the Internet.
• Use the gift as wrapping: Use a scarf or tie as ribbon, put cookies in a decorative tin, or wrap the dishes in a tablecloth - you get the idea!
• Recycle items: Things you were thinking of donating or tossing could make great containers or wraps, such as baskets and magazines, old maps, or comic strips.
• Get creative: Many things in your home can be used to wrap gifts. Turn that brown paper bag from the store inside out, grab some markers, and voilá two presents in one (your artwork is priceless!).
• Forget the wrapping: For oversized gifts, just put a bow(tie)on it.

If you do decide to buy wrapping paper, look for 100 percent post-consumer waste (PCW) content or papers made from natural elements whenever possible. And save the wrapping and boxes from gifts you receive for next year.

Do we really need to? Maybe. If you aren’t looking forward to battling the crowds and waiting in long lines while listening to ‘Here Comes Santa Claus,’ but want to show your love and keep it green, you’ve got many choices.

• Get creative, use your talents: write a song, paint a portrait, give a foot massage, you get the idea
• Give an experience: theater or concert tickets, a cooking class, a spa day, a ride in a hot air balloon (I particularly like that one!)
• Subscribe or donate: Subscribe to an eco magazine, make a contribution to a green organization such as the Ocean Conservancy on behalf of your loved one, or adopt a sea turtle or other ocean animal in his/her name from Oceana.

If you’d still like to give something tangible, consider green gifts and using the Internet, since it’s easier and allows you to avoid the craziness of the malls

• Buy gifts with little packaging: For example, music downloads instead of CDs
• Shop green: There are quite a few sites with green gifts, such as EcoMall and Gaiam. For more ideas, check out these great green gift guides from Treehugger and Co-op America.

And if you’re brave enough to get out there, remember to use a cloth or reusable bag to do your shopping and say no to plastic!