Q: How can I teach my 8-year-old daughter about keeping Christmas environmentally friendly?

A: Of course, having an artificial tree so you do not have to cut down a tree to decorate is a good start on keeping Christmas green. Or you can buy a tree with roots and set it out in the spring.

Probably the most waste comes from the rolls of wrapping paper that are bought and used to wrap gifts. Then, in a few seconds after the hands receive the gifts, the paper is ripped off and wadded up and thrown away.

Not only is this a waste of money; it is a waste of trees. So many trees are cut just to provide a little beauty for a few minutes on some wrapped packages.

You can talk to your daughter about ways to avoid this waste of paper. You can brainstorm with her about giving gifts without using all this paper.

Your daughter might say just don’t wrap the gifts, but that makes Christmas less festive.

Your daughter could decorate white bags. She could use magic markers to make Christmas pictures on the bags.

You can buy Christmas fabric, cut two pieces of fabric the same size and big enough to hold each particular gift for which the bag is being made. Put the right sides together of this fabric and sew it by hand or on the sewing machine. Then turn the bag right side out. Tie a ribbon around the bag to close it.

Your daughter can learn to sew the bags together on the machine or by hand. She will need supervision if she uses the sewing machine.

If your daughter wants a fancier bag, she can line the bag. That means she sews two bags in complementary fabric. Sew the open tops of the two bags together. Then turn them right side out. Your daughter can turn the top down in a cuff and then tie the ribbon around this.

You can point out boxes available to buy to your daughter. These are very inexpensive. Some are pretty, and some are not so pretty. You can buy boxes covered in velvet or other kinds of fabric.

My personal favorite is covering your own boxes. You can buy pretty Christmas fabric and cover shoe or photograph boxes. Or you can buy papier-mâché boxes that are round, oval, rectangular or square. Your daughter can cover these boxes with fancier material such as velvet or glistening gold or silver fabric. Your daughter can use fabric glue to cover these boxes.

Tie a beautiful bow around these boxes. If you buy ribbon with wire, you can use it over and over.

Explain to your daughter that these gift wrapping solutions can be used again and again. The people who receive the gifts can use them for many Christmases also. They can store them with their Christmas decorations.

In your own family, you can use the boxes year after year for Christmas. The velvet boxes and glittery boxes can be used for storage throughout the year.

You will be teaching your daughter the importance of recycling by making this effort to avoid wasting wrapping paper.

She will remember these lessons when she is an adult.

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