How To Decorate For A Toxin-Free Christmas
It's the time of year when icicle lights hang from the gutters, garland sits on the mantle, and Christmas trees dominate living rooms. Behind all the festivities, there are hidden threats in the fake greenery, PVC trees, and plastic ornaments. Christmas decorations are laden with toxins, especially in the cheap decorations that start to fill store shelves right after Halloween.
There is a better way. We will discuss some of the most common Christmas decorations, what toxins are present in them, and ways you can avoid them for a toxin-free Christmas celebration.
It's also important to note that if you don't have small children or pets, some of these are not issues that you should go out of your way to fix. The risk of these toxins affecting your Christmas will be relatively low if you're not worried about these toxins going in you, your family's, or your guests' mouths.
Ornaments, Decorations, and Lights
The biggest threat that Christmas lights and decorations pose to your health is mostly due to lead.
Most of the Christmas decorations you purchase from US stores and retailers contain no or relatively low levels of lead that are safe for handling, However, if you've had your decorations for a long time or you decide to purchase cheap decorations online, you run a higher risk of lead exposure. Some countries do not have the same regulations that restrict the levels of harmful toxins, like lead, in their products.
This isn't a huge issue if you wash your hands after handling these decorations, lead can not permeate through your skin. Kids and animals on the other hand love to put just about anything in their mouths.
Be sure that you keep pets away from the Christmas tree and other holiday decorations. Children should also be kept away from Christmas decorations, however, if they must, make sure they wash their hands afterward and they don't put any decorations or lights in their mouths/don't put their hands in their mouths after touching ornaments or lights.
Be very careful when you shop online and only shop from reputable retailers, or go to a physical store in the US to avoid decorations and lights that have higher levels of lead.
Holiday Plants
Mistletoe, Poinsettias, and Holly are favorite plants to use as Christmas decorations, however, they have a bad reputation as being poisonous to humans and pets alike, despite the fact that they aren't that dangerous overall.
Although they are technically poisonous, most people will just have temporary stomach-related issues such as nausea, vomiting, upset stomach, and diarrhea.
If you use these plants in decorating your home for Christmas, be sure to clean up any dead leaves or berries that fall from the plants. Cleaning up the area surrounding the plants regularly we help keep these plants out of your kids' and your pets' stomachs.
Wrapping Paper
Wrapping paper contains many chemicals, dyes, and synthetic products that help them retain their color and to maintain the paper's pliability. Wrapping papers produced here in the U.S. will have lesser levels of toxins in them than those produced outside of the U.S.
The main way of avoiding toxins in wrapping paper is not to put it in your mouth or allow children or pets to have access to it. If you or your family are handling presents wrapped in wrapping paper, be sure to wash your hands after you're done, especially before you plan on eating or putting anything in your mouth.
It's very important that you do not burn wrapping paper. Burning wrapping paper will vaporize those toxins and make it easy for you to breathe right in. Don't do it, it's not worth it!
Wrapping Up
Most of the decorations, lights, and wrapping paper won't hurt you. Even if you have children and pets that might accidentally ingest it, the effects usually aren't that serious.
Washing your hands after handling Christmas decorations, lights or plants, will help remove the overwhelming majority of the toxins you might encounter from your skin. It's also a good practice to keep decorations away from small children or pets who are prone to putting things in their mouths that they should not.
If you or anyone else does ingest any toxins, be sure to contact your primary care physician, Urgent care, or ER to determine if an emergency room trip is in order or if you just need to wait it out and let your body fight off inspection.
Make sure when you are shopping for new decorations or holiday items you pay attention to where products are made and what they are made out of. Simply reading ingredients in products is the easiest way to avoid bringing new toxins into your home!
