I’m  so over the annual mandatory retail blitz which prompts us to purchase scads of presents no one needs (and few can afford).

Enough is enough. Necessity is one thing; waste is another. Be an angel and give material items only to the needy. Give kisses,  homemade jam and DIY potpourri to your family, teachers, bosses, employees and friends. Stick to eco for everything else.

Here is my festive round up of gifts both you and Santa can live without:

A new cell phone

The cynical perspective is that these communication devices are made not to last. From batteries that die prematurely to signals that crash to the uncool technology factor, we are inclined to trade in our models for new bells and whistles. Instead of tossing out (remember, there is no out), research ways to make your battery last through a few more seasons.

Uggs

AOL Shopping wants you to buy Uggs for the holidays because “they are getting better and better, having evolved from a boho chic trend to an integral part of many people’s wardrobe.” The so-called sheepskin baked potatoes grew 57% in sales last year because of the desire to own newer pairs. Shouldn’t a pair of $200 boots (and I don’t mean the knock-offs) last several winters? I say keep the ones you have lovingly broken in and get them resoled and patched or whatever is needed to endure the city and slopes.

Toys

Dear Syd and Lolo: You have been more nice than naughty this year but that doesn’t mean I will buy you  toxic plastic entertainment to junk up your rooms, or virtual computer games or board games, DVD’s or learning gadgets. You hardly use the ones you have and your life won’t be improved by having more under the tree. Let’s take a hike, instead. Love, Santa.

Calendars

How much paper is wasted on these obligatory annual date keepers that are becoming obsolete? I was at Borders the other day and couldn’t believe the variety, from New Moon to 365 Cats to Nuns Having Fun. The ones that don’t sell are virtually useless, having no shelf life in 2011. Sure, some of them are green, but there are greener ways to schedule your days.

Diamonds

They aren’t a girl’s best friend. Everyone knows chocolate is. Or her Pug dog. Or maybe her laptop. The U.S. is the largest consumer of the rocks, purchasing over $33.7 billion dollars’ worth in 2005. If you must become engaged and do it with diamonds on Dec. 25, buy the conflict-free variety. Otherwise, say it with a handwritten letter or poem.

Ornaments

There are enough existing tree ornaments out there to deck all the halls of the  North Pole and then some. If you’ve busted your balls, buy used or eco tree decor that will last, or trade with friends and loved ones. Make your own DIY felt ornaments with your kids, string some corn, nix the lights or go solar. The more the demand, the more the production, the more the waste. When the old objects get thrown out, remember, there is no “out”.

Personalized Coffee Mugs

They’re far better than throwaway paper cups, but still tacky, and usually are made in China from toxic materials. Sure, Nana might enjoy getting her morning jolt looking at renderings of her precious babies with reindeer ears, but an eco-friendly commuter cup made from corn, stainless steel or recycled post consumer materials is a better way to go, plus, you won’t need a refill of that Joe.

Holiday Gift Baskets

Stores like Costco are make shopping for that boss or neighbors a no-brainer with a pre-packaged $130 junk food basket disguised as a gourmet food orgie. If you must give a basket, why not go with quality, healthy goods, such as fair trade dark chocolate and coffees? I’m sorry, but Jalapeno-blend cheese spread is not organic and summer sausages have Food Inc. written all over them.

Dalmatian Puppies

Rascal, one of the stars of the new 101 Dalmatians Musical was one of dozens of rescue dogs discovered at animal shelters for the stage show. Rescue was found with a broken leg at the side of the road. Like many Dalmatians, he was abandoned when he grew from an adorable Christmas puppy into a energetic teen. Resist buying puppies for Christmas unless they are from a shelter and you plan to see them through adulthood, just as you would a child.

Main Image: NeilT

But step inside, and it’s beginning to look a lot like Hanukkah. You want tinsel? We got tinsel. You want some banners and dreidels? Come in, come in, have a jelly donut, sit by the fire. We know from decorating for the holidays. We’re yuppie Jews who majored in art.

For me, getting in the spirit of the season isn’t limited to peeling potatoes for latkes and lighting the menorah. I like going that extra mile (oy, my back!) to hang ornaments, gather festive decor and make merry the Jewish way. Have a peek, darling:

Hang Blue and White Ornaments

Etsy Star of David Ornament

Large handmade six-sided star surrounded by copper band. Pattern created with clear and light blue faceted beads, highlighted with golden foil lined beads. Golden glitter on back. 4×3, $33.

Etsy Mosaic Peace Crane Origami

Beautifully handcrafted at Etsy, $6 each.

Recycled Blue Glass Balls from World of Good

Support fair trade and suspend these balls or collect in a pretty vintage mercury glass bowl. $9 each, handmade from glass bottles from restaurants and homes.

Put up a Banner That Screams “We’re Fun, Too!”

2009 Happy Hanukkah, $25 from eco-friendly Land of Nod

Spread the Wealth By Scattering Gold Coins

Fair Trade Chocolate Gold Coins, $5.25 from Global Exchange

The cocoa used in these chocolates is from Kuapa Kokoo, a cooperative of 40,000 cocoa growers in Ghana. Spread them around the menorah or dining table to add to the festive motif. No snacking until you’ve finished that grassfed brisket and kugel!

Gather Menorahs Old and New, Borrowed and Blue

This mixed media Moving Lights Menorah was hand fabricated by British sculptor Richard Miller with a base made of Vermont green slate and nine movable stone candle holders. The earth-friendly conversation piece is $85 at Eco Atware. Assemble it on a table with other menorahs loved and cherished through the years.

Recycled Galvanized Steel Pipe Menorah. $185 from Two String Jane, at Etsy.

Don’t be hating on Scrooge. There might have been some green blood flowing through that iniquitous heart of steel.

True, Ebenezer was a clueless curmudgeon, hardened by celibacy and tortured by a dysfunctional relationship with money. An abusive boss and cynical social recluse, he shunned the caroler’s tin cup and community connection, holing up in his work space and bed chamber, destined to die unloved and alone.

In short, he acted like an ass – an ass with some weird-ass dreams. That’s what you get for eating kidney pie before bed, you old meanie. Any good EcoSalon vegetarian could have told you that.

But in revisiting the new 3-D animated Disney remake of A Christmas Carol with my 10-year-old daughter, Lauren, I detected traces of green in Scrooge’s social gaffes. Once we got past the unnecessary harshness of the production, directed by Robert Zemeckis and starring the agile Jim Carrey, I found a new appreciation for Scrooge’s commendable frugality.

He boasted a spare old house with no central heating and a vintage wardrobe. He steadfastly refused to associate personal happiness with material accumulation. Anyone who subscribes to Ad Busters (including my husband, Edwin) applauds these traits.

It is no coincidence the book, America’s Cheapest Family, is becoming a favorite read as the nation’s recession drags on. We yearn to learn how to be tight wads, too, and not to part so easily with our hard-earned cash.

True, Scrooge also withheld giving emotionally, but it can be challenging giving of one’s soul when its casing has been neglected for decades. A dearth of sex can make us stingy. I’d share my thoughts about this with you, but first I need some sex.

In terms of his anti-social life, I can’t say I blame him for rejecting his nephew’s festive fetes which encouraged insensitive guests to join a rousing guessing game of Charades at someone else’s expense.

There are no excuses for how the boss man treated Tiny Tim’s nice dad, Bob Cratchit, forcing him to work long hours and holidays at a poor wage, except for the fact I see this all the time in the American workforce as over-worked retail cashiers and migrant workers suffer at the hands of the profit-hungry corporate machine.

Perhaps the best argument that Scrooge was not just mean, but also rather green, was his strict no gift policy, a trend that is catching on as a rising number of celebrants choose to pass on amassing more junk they simply don’t need.

Some, like my friend’s 8-year-old son, Samuel, need more prompting than others. His mom, Susanne, convinced him to throw an “eco birthday party” last week (below) with paperless invites, no presents and a fun craft project of constructing a solar car.  In the end, she says, he got the message that sustaining is better than receiving.

Other friends of mine turning 30 or 40 or 50 are happily forgoing gifts and stating so on invitations with notations that say stuff like, “No presents: Your presence is all we need.” There was a funny Curb Your Enthusiasm addressing the issue at a party for an injured Ben Stiller, who was peeved when Larry David took him at his word and nixed the gift. At least old Scrooge withheld with conviction.

Who decided honoring one another requires spending money on new things? Here is a cashmere sweater and a diamond heart pendant to say you are special. Here is an electric razor, a Snuggie, an iPod, to make sure you know.

If you don’t agree Scrooge was a tad green, you might concede that the moral of the Dickens tale qualifies: Giving is a state of mind.

Giving from the heart, not the pocketbook, is the true message of Christmas – the message articulated by Christ and Buddha and other teachers who demonstrated how to be a kinder, gentler, carbon mass.

When Ebenezer turned the corner that fateful Christmas morning and became decidedly present, his new-found sense of positive Karmic energy was the gift that touched his community, even more than the massive goose he bought for the Cratchits or the cash donation he pledged to the needy. A re-birth is always something to celebrate, whether you’re talking about an old dog like Scrooge or the beloved planet.

This is the latest installment in Luanne Bradley’s column, Life in the Green Lane.

Images: Disney, Luanne Bradley, HBO

Sure, you’re forced to take down the ghosts and fuzzy spiders (news flash: your neighbors are pissed if you haven’t done so), but some of the seasonal elements we put up to get in the mood  should endure until the end of the year, if not beyond.

Here is my list of favorite affordable decorative displays for the festive and frugal in all of us.

1. Lanterns

Rice paper lanterns bobbing outside (with solar lights) or in your rooms make a huge, happy statement. I love the cylinder shapes with Asian motifs like the ones found at My Green Party Goods, $3.50 each.  Keep out of wind and rain and purchase eco options.

2. Mini Pumpkins

Don’t toss these babies out with the bad Halloween candy. They transition to the Thanksgiving table (orange+pumpkin) and even co-mingle happily pomegranates and pepper berries for winter holiday merrymaking. You can buy organic by the case at Baldor, if you haven’t already succumbed to the adorable guys at the farmers’ market.

3. Bowls of shells

It’s likely you have amassed these already. Gather them in a pretty bowl for the coffee table, scatter on the table, line them on the mantle. Shells – often used to evoke romantic, seaside summer lazing – work just as well in fall and winter. I like combing the beach for sand dollars and tossing them into my mix.

4. Strung Cards

I string three rows of natural wire along my dining room wall to hang beautiful cards from the high holidays and my daughter’s October Bat Mitzvah to Halloween, Thanksgiving and winter holiday greetings. Just pick up some clamps and you’re in business. Guests love them and cards are so cool, why toss them out?

5. Photo Displays

I’ve mounted many photo walls for clients and friends, which is affordable art for the home and a way to display treasured memories from the year. Of course, assorting eco frames on various tables throughout the house works well, too (school photos, Halloween shots, other fun scenes).

6. Foliage

Harvest leaves, twigs and pine cones and branch out in your earthy styling of tables, entryways and other venues that smack of fall color. I like how Arenamontanus gathered a grouping for a desk.

7. Candles

Beeswax candles come in all shapes and sizes and really set the mood for seasonal statements. Mix ‘em and match ‘em, turn off the lights and turn on the tunes. For a great assortment visit 1000 Markets.

8. Recycled Cloth Coasters

Like these vintage treasures from Etsy, turn your excess fabric into coasters with easy sewing for delightful results. When do you put them away? Never.

9. Table coverage

Roll out the organic runners and roll out the fun, kids. This sumptuous moss design from Amenity can take you through the seasons and inspire unique styling. I use them to dress up many surfaces from the dining table to the buffet and entry way.

10. Vintage Dishes

This peach glass from Step Toes is a lovely example of the menagerie of collectibles you can break out to display and use for serving, from favorite heirloom porcelain to tea pots and even plates hung for display. This is where you canhave blast and save on that styling budget.

Am I the only one who doesn’t get warm and fuzzy about cutting down trees for a few weeks of decoration and then kicking them unceremoniously to the curb? Christmas: the official chopping block of evergreens everywhere.

It’s one thing to bring home a sapling from Santa’s Qwik Gro tree lot. But consider the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree. That’s no mere farmed sprout we’re talking about ““ this year’s tree is 77 years old. At least the 72′ beauty will be donated to Habitat for Humanity to provide wood for housing projects. (This is the second year the Rock tree is being donated to that organization.)

If you’re thinking, “Very well, you Scrooge, just what do you have in your house?” the answer is that I’ve chosen to decorate a potted rosemary bush that’s been pruned to look like a Christmas tree. We’ve had this bush for 2 years now and during the rest of the year it’s flavored many a meal. No harm done, and sustainable to the core.

Yes, it’s Bah Humbug of me, but I’m delighted to see that alternative trees are growing in popularity. (You can also read Slate’s article about whether it’s greener to go live, go faux, or forgo the tree altogether.)

Image: A. Belani