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"Have an Eco-Friendly Holiday" is one greeting that sounds, well, a bit un-merry. Scroogey, even. About as festive as reusing wrapping paper...for the fourth time.

Rest assured, going greener for the holidays doesn't imply donning a Grinch costume and regifting. Follow these simple suggestions, and no one will feel cheated.

Send the Very Best

In the age of e-mail and text messages, a handwritten note can be a treasure. It's fashionable—and environmentally friendly—to reuse greeting cards to make funky new ones.

Or send an alternative to a conventional greeting card. All of Seltzer's cards, envelopes and wraps are made from 100-percent post-consumer content (cards, $3.50/each; wrap, $6.50/roll; www.seltzergoods.com). And some sport eco-friendly motifs: There's a compact-fluorescent-nosed reindeer and a cheery wreath of pomegranates wishing "Peace, Love and Antioxidants."

Hammond Greetings offers cards that can be bought in large and small quantities and personalized—ideal for businesses—made from Forest Stewardship Council–certified paper ($110-$140/100; www.hammond.com).

There's no shortage of e-cards online, and many are free. For a small annual fee, Three Leaf Cards will send animated, musical e-cards to as many folks in a year as you designate ($24/year; www.threeleafcards.com). Plus they'll send you gentle birthday reminders, then donate 10 percent to a nonprofit partner such as The Mountain Institute, Co-op America or the Conservation Fund.

O Tannenbaum

Live tree or artificial? It feels more environmentally loaded than "paper or plastic." Ideally, you'll find a local, organic tree grower, but these are few and far between, so ask vendors where their trees are grown and what pesticides they use. You can also craft a few branches pruned from a living tree into a shapely cone. Artificial trees, on the other hand, are made from nonrenewable petroleum, may contain lead and are usually only kept for a few years.

Although organically grown Christmas trees and greenery are still a rarity, visit www.localharvest.org or check with an organic grocer to see if they're available near you. Curtis Buchanan of runs Glen Ayre Christmas Tree Farm in Jonesborough, Tenn., is certified under the USDA's National Organic Program ($60; available regionally, call for locations, 423-753-5160).