This week, families gather together to give thanks for their blessings and celebrate the bounty of the autumn harvest. While this holiday of fellowship and fun can be a wonderful time, it often results in great amounts of wastefulness that can be easily avoided with a little planning ahead. Just type "Green Thanksgiving" or "Eco-Thanksgiving" into a web browser and you'll find dozens of great ideas to make your gathering more Earth-friendly. Here, we offer a few highlights for your consideration:
1. Spare the bird. Take a cue from the President of the United States, who "pardons" a lucky gobbler each year at the White House. Instead, try a vegetarian Thanksgiving!
2. Buy local. If your family just can't think of giving up that turkey dinner, buy organic and buy local. Locally-raised poultry and other produce uses much lower amounts of fossil fuels as they make it from the farmers to your table!
3. Stay local. Consider other alternatives to driving or flying hundreds of miles just for one family dinner. Consider meeting at a centrally-located venue that saves both time and energy for all.
4. Turn it down. If your stove is running full blast and your home is full of people, it'll probably get pretty warm in there! Turn down your thermostat and open some windows if it gets too hot, instead of running the air conditioning! 
5. Buy recycled. Many families go through trash bags full of paper products and plastic-ware instead of doing a mountain of dishes. If this sounds like you, search for recycled paper products or ones made from sugar-cane fibers instead.
6. Eat leftovers. Don't just toss that extra stuffing, send it home with your relatives! If you have meat left over, see how creative you can get with turkey sandwiches for the next few days.
7. Don't overbuy. If you have loads of leftovers every year, consider that you may be buying too much. Really plan ahead and only purchase what you plan on eating this year!
8. Decorate creatively. Instead of rushing out and purchasing a cartload of decorations, see what you can come up with that you already own. Make your own cornucopia and dried flower arrangements.
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