This was a Library Thing Early Reviewer book that I requested. I was disappointed with this book. It was fun to go through one time, and I did love the extensive photographs, but most of the ideas just weren't that creative. It was full of basic ideas that I feel I could have put together and that as a mother have already done with my kids. For someone who has never entertained "Green" perhaps this book would fit the bill. ( )

I was quite disappointed to receive this book late on Christmas Eve, rather too late to use it for this year's holidays. But as I glanced through the book, reading some of the articles and enjoying the colorful photos, I realized that even if the book had arrived earlier, I would not have used it.

First, I live in California, where brightly colored autumn leaves are something of an anomaly. Writing this review now in mid-January, only two of the trees in my backyard have lost any leaves; the rest are as healthy and green as ever. Many of Schherazade Goldsmith's proposed projects require leaves; it seems silly to import them from somewhere else when one of the goals of the book is to reduce my carbon footprint! A resident of England, Goldsmith comes from a completely different climate than I do, and many of her ideas can't translate to my area. For example - foraging for chestnuts? Chestnuts have not grown wildly in California for decades. Burn a wood fire? That was actually banned in my city on "Spare the Air" days, which are virtually every day if I'm trying to go green!

I was also disappointed by the crafts offered. Most of them were country-esque, replete with gingham and felt, materials that I would not want in my home. Her "Natural Christmas Tree" ornaments, made of dried fruits and pomanders, would not go over well with my friends. I mean, my amigas are all about handmade, but if I presented one of them with the "Cinnamon Spice Bundle" on page 61 - essentially a half-dozen sticks of cinnamon tied together with raffia - I would be treated to a raised eyebrow and a strained "How...nice."

Every craft, no matter its difficulty, was reduced to four steps. For many of the ornaments, this was plenty, but for the recipes and more advanced crafts (like hand-bound books) this seemed inadequate.

The book is beautifully put together, with lush photographs and well-planned layouts, but for a young hip fashionista in the city, it is absolutely not the aesthetic I would seek to create while going green. ( )

I was so pleased to get this one from Early Reviewers. What a great looking book! I love that it has difficulty ratings for the crafts in here. Not all of them are my style, but the pictures are great and it did give me lots of ideas for making my own Christmas a little greener next year. I just wish I had gotten this a little sooner, so I could have implemented some of these ideas. My favorite section was the recipes - because I love food! ( )

I wasn't sure what to expect from this book, but it turned out to be not really my style. It is a book of crafts, recipes, and gift ideas for a simpler, less commercial Christmas. Some of the items are a bit too "craft-y" for my tastes, but there are lots of ideas to choose from.

Throughout the book there are also informational pages on environmental issues. I can't say that I read all of them, but the ones I looked at were interesting and thought-provoking.

The book itself is very attractive and well laid out (which I would expect from a Dorling Kindersley edition!) ... beautiful illustrations and easy to read instructions. ( )

I was excited to receive a copy of A Greener Christmas through the LibraryThing Early Reviewer program. It arrived right before Christmas making it a timely addition to my collection.

I'm always looking for ways to live a "greener" life, so I particularly enjoyed the suggestions related to recycling and reusing material. However I found that the book spent more time focusing on natural decorations and traditional recipes than approaches that fit with my thoughts about a "green lifestyle." Many of the "green ideas" seemed to be thrown in as an afterthought. For example, the food section mixed traditional recipes with green ideas. It seemed like pages related to local foods and composting were thrown in without connecting them to other aspects of the chapter.

As with all DK publications, the layout and use of photographs was outstanding. Each topic was presented in a simple presentation of steps. The "level of difficulty" rating for each project was a great idea. Although the individual activities and ideas were well-organized, the organization of chapters and topics seemed random. An introduction to each chapter with a visual overview of the contents would have given the book a more effective flow.

Overall the book is a wonderful resource whether you're interested in green approaches or traditional activities and recipes. ( )