Gift of Going Green … With an Eye Toward Design

Here’s a unique way to get in good with friends, family and Mother Earth this holiday season.

For me, the holidays are about that warm feeling that sweeps over us around mid-November in anticipation of good things just around the corner. I especially enjoy the art of giving. Here’s a unique way to get in good with friends, family and Mother Earth this holiday season.

There’s a guy in town who goes by the name of Scotty Claus this time of year. His Living Christmas Tree Company is not only green but regenerative. He delivers beautiful, potted Christmas trees in all shapes, sizes and varieties from San Diego to the Palisades—in a truck that runs on biodiesel fuel. After the holiday, he picks up the trees and returns them to a six-acre facility in Carson where adults with disabilities are hired to care for the trees in the off-season. This year, like last, his trees will line the Manhattan Beach Pier all season long.

This other Mr. Claus also offers recycled ornaments, including glass balls made from old bottles—beautiful on a tree or in a bowl as a centerpiece.

Trees and ornaments can be ordered at livingchristmas.com. Valerie Sartini is the owner of Treasures Interior Design in Manhattan Beach. For more of her gift giving ideas, visit her blog at oursouthbay.com.