Using a printable Christmas template for your annual holiday letter to family and friends is an eco-friendly way to make sure you’re not wasting paper – or running out! You’ll always have just the right amount.

What is a Christmas letter template?
A Christmas letter template is simply a document with a holiday design that has been set up for you to customize with your own content. Typically, they are saved as Microsoft Word documents, so they’re easy to edit. You simply download the document, open it in Word, and replace any sample text with your own. Basic templates may just have a Christmas background design inserted into Word with the text box already set up, or more advanced templates may include a place for you to add your own photo, or may be formatted as a newsletter with multiple columns, boxes and areas for you to write your own content.

Why Use a Christmas letter template?
If you’re concerned about our natural resources, a template makes sense for several reasons. First, you’ll never have to worry about having leftover paper that you can’t use. With a downloadable Word Christmas template, you’ll never have excess.

Second, you can always choose recycled paper. If you buy Christmas letter paper at the store, you may have a hard time finding a design you like on recycled paper, or the recycled content may not be up to your standards. With a printable template, you can print your holiday letter on the paper you prefer.

Third, there’s no shipping or packaging involved. Your stationery isn’t hauled across the country in gas-guzzling freight trucks or packaged in non-biodegradable plastic. So your purchase is greener and cleaner than stationery from the store.

You can find inexpensive printable Microsoft Word Christmas letter templates here at Christmas Letter Tips.com or at our partner site, ChristmasLetterTemplate.com.

Article Source: Go Green with a Christmas Letter Template

By Lisa Howard

If you’re looking for a way to lessen your impact on the environment during the holidays, consider green Christmas cards. There are now a number of stores that offer cards made from recycled paper, printed with soy inks and/or created with reusable energy. Here are a few places to find these green Christmas cards.

My Good Greetings
My Good Greeting’s Christmas photo cards are made of 100% recycled Forest Stewardship Council (FSC)-Certified card stock (50% post-consumer waster) and paired with recycled envelopes manufactured with 100% post-consumer recovered fiber. In addition, they use 100% recycled labels and recycled shipping materials. You’ll find over 100 green Christmas cards here, such as the design shown above, as well as cards and invitations for all occasions. They even offset their carbon footprint through Greenshipper. This is a great place to shop for green Christmas cards.

Gallery Collection
You’ll find two types of green Christmas cards in their Environmentally Friendly holiday card category – recycled paper cards and wind power cards. Cards are marked with icons to let you easily see which ones are made at low-impact, emissions-free mills powered by wind-generated, renewable energy, which ones are made from recycled paper, and which ones are made from raw materials that have been certified by the Forest Stewardship Council.

Fine Stationery
Although they don’t have a category specifically for recycled greetings, Fine Stationery has over a dozen designs you’ll find if you search for recycled Christmas cards on their site. Some contain post-consumer fiber. You’ll just need to read the descriptions to discover which ones.

Pear Tree
In addition to offering a nice selection of regular recycled holiday greeting cards, Pear Tree also offers recycled photo cards that contain up to 100% post-consumer fibers.

Holiday Classics
Holiday Classics offers a variety of recycled holiday cards, some of which are also printed with soy ink. Detailed card descriptions help you determine which cards have 100% recycled content, post-consumer content or soy ink printing.

Sierra Club
The Sierra Club’s holiday cards offer beautiful images of nature on them and come on recycled paper with soy inks. Plus, you’ll be supporting their environmental efforts with each purchase.

Greenfield Paper
In addition to offering 16 recycled card designs, Greenfield Paper also offers recycled gift wrap.

RedStamp.com offers over 30 environmentally friendly Christmas photo cards, and they make it easy to find them with a link to their Eco-Friendly offerings. Descriptions for many of the cards give the post-consumer recycled paper content, and some are printed with soy inks and created with renewable energy.